Sample Syllabus for Intro Sociology
OUR SOCIAL WORLD
www.pineforge.com/ballantine
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Ballantine and Roberts, Our Social World. ©2007. Sage/Pine Forge Press. www.pineforge.com/ballantine
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
Term:
Meeting Times and Location:
Why are there homeless, hungry and poor people?
Why do groups of people hate each other? Go to war? Commit genocide?
Why do some people commit crimes?
Why do you hold certain religious and political beliefs while others believe quite different things? Are some people just
wrong?
Why are countries’ political and economic systems so different?
What an interesting time in the world to be taking sociology! We will explore questions including many of those above—
and much more! So welcome to Intro Sociology! This class is designed to familiarize you with the subject of Sociology,
its perspective on the world, how sociologists conduct their work, how sociology can be useful to you, and how sociology
fits into the objective of the General Education requirements.
Other more specific objectives include:
 Developing an understanding and tolerance for different peoples and viewpoints;
 Understanding how the social world works and how to bring about change in the social world;
 Acquainting you with a global perspective, a new way of looking at the world; and
 Helping you use and apply this knowledge in your everyday life.
I hope you will help us make the course meet your specific needs by applying the ideas to your interests wherever
possible. Please let me know if you have suggestions for making the course more meaningful to you.
Meet Your Professor
OFFICE HOURS
Professor:
Class Teaching Assistant:
Office Hours:
1
Sample Syllabus for Intro Sociology
OUR SOCIAL WORLD
www.pineforge.com/ballantine
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
(Note: Please have readings done before class for which they are scheduled. Thanks!)
DATES
TOPIC
(2 meetings)
Introduction
Why Study Sociology?
What Do Sociologist Study?
How Do Sociologists Explain The
World?
(1 meeting)
Quiz
(2 meetings)
Culture
Begin Culture second half of class.
READINGS (Article #)
(T = Text; R = Reader)
T – Ch. 1 Introduction
R – 1 (Babbie)
Quiz 1
What Influence Do Culture,
Subcultures & Society Have On Who
We Are?
How Do We Become Members of
Society?
T – Ch. 3 Culture
R – 8, 9 (Miner & Harris)
(1 meeting)
Examining the Social
World
(1 meeting)
Exam 1
How do we know what we know?
T—Ch. 2 Examining
R—4 (Babbie)
(1 meeting)
Interaction, Groups,
Organizations
How Do Groups Function?
How are we linked to the social world?
T – Ch. 5
R – 18, 19 (Adler, Zimbardo)
(2 meetings)
Deviance & Social
Control
(2 meetings)
Stratification
Why Do Some Individuals Become
Deviant?
How Do We Deal With Crime?
Why Is There Inequality In Society?
Why are people rich or poor?
T - Ch. 6 Deviance
R – 34, 35 (Mokhiber, Rosenhan)
(1 meeting)
Exam 2
Topics: Interaction, Groups and
Organizations; Deviance, Stratification
(2 meetings)
Race and Ethnic Group
Stratification
Why do we look different?
Why is there Prejudice and
Discrimination?
T – Ch. 8 Race and Ethnicity Group
Stratification
R – 26, 30 (Omi, Bales)
(1 meeting)
Population
What affect does population have on
how we live?
T - Ch. 14 Population (pp.434-459)
R – 66, 67 (Brown, Frey)
(2 meetings)
Change
What Brings About Change?
What Effect Does It Have on Our Lives?
T – Ch. 16 Change
R – 73 (Marien)
(1 meeting)
Exam 3
Topics: Race and Ethnic Group
Stratification, Population, Change
On date for final.
OPTIONAL
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
(2 meetings)
Socialization
PAPERS DUE AND
EXAMS
Paper 1
T – Ch. 4 Socialization
R – 13, 15 (Pollack, Dyer)
Topics: Culture, Socialization,
Examining the Social World
Exam 1; Paper 1 returned
Paper 2 (revision of 1)
T – Ch. 7 Stratification
R – 25 (Gans)
Exam 2
Paper 3
Exam 3
You must sign up during Exam 3 if
you think you will take the optional
exam.
LET'S HAVE A GREAT CLASS!
2
Sign up sheet will be
passed around in class on
Exam 3 day.
Sample Syllabus for Intro Sociology
OUR SOCIAL WORLD
www.pineforge.com/ballantine
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Big News On What You'll Need To
Do To Survive!
EXAMS
3 exams: Each is worth 20% of final grade and covers
approximately one-third of the material in the course,
including readings, lectures, videos, and other class
activities. Exams will be multiple choice with
approximately 50 questions on each exam. Some exams
may have an optional essay.
1 quiz, worth 10% of your grade, over text Ch. 1
"Sociology: A Unique Way to View the World” and
class material.
EXAM TOPICS & SCHEDULE
Exams will cover texts, lectures and other class material. Below
is an outline of the chapters that each test will cover.
EXAM
TOPIC
CHAPTER
READINGS
Date
Ballantine/
Sociological
Roberts Text
Footprints
Quiz
Sociological
1
No. 1
4-3
Perspective
Exam 1
Culture
3
Nos. 8, 9
4-24
Socialization
4
13, 15
Examining…
2
4
Exam 2
Interaction, etc.
5
Nos. 18, 19
5-15
Deviance
6
34, 35
Stratification
7
25
Exam 3
Race & Ethnicity 8
Nos. 26, 30
Population
14 (p.434-459) 66, 67
Social Change
15
73
OPTIONAL COMPREHENSIVE
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
GOALS
The writing intensive courses and project have 3 goals:
1. To encourage you to think critically and integrate the sociological ideas you learn with your experiences.
2. To give you practice in presenting your ideas in written form appropriate to the college level.
3. To give you a chance to exercise your editing skills.
DUE DATES (papers due in class on assigned day)
Paper 1
Paper 2
Paper 3
Due
Returned
Due
Returned
Due
Returned
*ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF YOUR PAPERS!!
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: STEPS IN THE WRITING PROCESS
STEP 1: Pick one of the assigned chapters listed below for paper 1-2 and a different one for paper 3. Read it!
For Paper 1-2:
Ch. 10: Family Issues (such as gay marriage, abortion…)
Ch. 11: Education (vouchers, funding, special education…)
Ch. 12: Religion (faith-based initiatives, separation of church and state…)
For Paper 3:
Ch. 13: Medicine (insurance, prescription drugs…)
Ch. 14 (pp. 461-478): Urbanization (gentrification, urban growth…)
Ch. P (on BOOK website): Politics (forms of government, war and terrorism…)
STEP 2: Select a reading from Sociological Footprints text that relates to your chapter and read it! (Easiest to read an article
from the same topic area.)
STEP 3: Develop an OBJECTIVE (unbiased) question about that topic area. Bold or underline the question in your paper so that
we know what your question IS. (ie. Why do people around the world move from rural to urban areas?)
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Sample Syllabus for Intro Sociology
OUR SOCIAL WORLD
www.pineforge.com/ballantine
STEP 4: Select at least one major idea from your Sociological Footprints reading that relates to your question, and show how it
relates to your question.
STEP 5: Select at least 2 relevant ideas or pieces of information from the Ballantine/Roberts sociology text chapter related to your
topic. Tie in with #3 above to show how sociological ideas apply to or shed light on your topic and help you understand it. Note in
your paper the page from which chapter information comes. If you use a quote, put quotation marks around it. For example, “ …”(p.
236).
Now you are ready to write the 2 ½ to 3 page paper! Double space and 12 point font.
Steps in writing the paper:
Cover page: Name, paper #, contact info, date.
Part 1: State your general topic and your specific question. Briefly and objectively, explain what the topic(s) is about.
Part 2: Discuss how one article in the reader and two ideas from the book chapter help answer the question. Use different
parts of book chapter!
Part 3: Answer question you posed (if not done in Part 2).
Part 4: Give a summary of the issue based on your findings or give your opinion about the issue (You don’t need to be
objective in this part, but you do need to be thoughtful and logical and base your comments on your findings above.).
See us if you have questions, and GOOD LUCK!
KEEP A COPY OF YOUR PAPER!
EVALUATION OF PAPERS
You will be evaluated on:
1. Use of Ballantine/Roberts book ideas to help explain/understand your topic (4 points).
2. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence construction (4 points).
3. The organization and logic of your writing (3 points).
4. Your question, description of your topic, and final paragraph (4 points).
Papers 1 and 2= 15 percent of final grade. Paper 3= 15 percent of final grade.Total=30% of grade.
THE GRADING SCALE
Are you making the grade?
Quiz
10%
Exam 1
20%
Exam 2
20%
Exam 3
20%
Paper 1-2
15%
Paper 3
15%
100 points
200 points
200 points
200 points
150 points
150 points
100% possible or 1000 points
(Plus extra credit and optional exam to raise grade.)
Paper grades are 90%=A (14 or 15 points); 80%=B (12 or 13); 70%=C (10 or 11); 60%=D (8 or 9), below
60%=F (7 and below).
REVIEW SHEET FOR QUIZ 1
Ballantine, Chapter 1: “Sociology: A Unique Way to View the World”
Understand the following ideas. Think of examples or apply ideas to your life when studying.
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Sample Syllabus for Intro Sociology
OUR SOCIAL WORLD
www.pineforge.com/ballantine
Sociology and it’s focus; italicized words (like dyad, nation, group); sociological assumptions; common sense
beliefs; sociological imagination; questions sociologists ask; applied sociology: practice of sociology; focus of
different social sciences; what sociologists do; “Burnouts and Jocks” box; what employers want; what
sociologists do; parts of social world model (units, structure, processes, environment, levels of analysis—micro,
meso, macro); point of Tunesia Village box.
Class material
Understand lecture material, slides and projects.
Suggestion: I only ask a few “definitions” so don’t memorize! Rather try to understand or picture ideas by
thinking of examples or how you would use the ideas. GOOD LUCK!!!
PAPERS 1, 2, AND 3
KEEP A COPY OF YOUR PAPERS!!
Paper 1: This will be graded with comments: A, above C, C, or below C. Paper 1 will be returned within 2 weeks.
Paper 2: Revision of Paper 1 based on comments written on Paper 1. Both Paper 1 (with the comments) and Paper
2 (revisions) must be turned in together (Graded A to F – this will be ½ of your total paper grade in the class.) The
grade on revision only (Paper 2) will count. Those receiving a grade of A (14 or 15 points) on paper 1 do not need to
rewrite the paper. It will count as Paper 1 and 2 and will be automatically recorded. Late points from paper 1 and 2
will be deducted from paper 2.
Paper 3: Use the same steps, consider comments on Papers 1 and 2, and follow the same procedure for Paper 3
using assigned chapter choices.
ALL PAPERS DUE IN CLASS ON SCHEDULED DAY
LATE PAPERS = GRADE PENALTY
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Sample Syllabus for Intro Sociology
OUR SOCIAL WORLD
www.pineforge.com/ballantine
LATE PAPER COUPON
This coupon is good for up to 3 days paper extension past due date without penalty on one
paper. If paper is due in class Tuesday morning at 8:30am, after class Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday until 4:30pm count as 3 days. One per person! Attach coupon to paper if you use it.
Name:
UID#:
Paper #:
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