Okanagan College - Sociology Department
Introduction to Sociology II
SOCI 121 (01) Winter 2012
MW / 8:30 – 9:50 / PC 204
Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Oss
Phone: 492- 4305 ext 3255
E-mail: Blackboard E-Mail
Office: 03 - Sunoka Building
Office Hours: W 10:00 - 11:00
or by appointment
Course Objectives
Continuing the survey of sociology begun in SOCI 111, the course features major sociological themes but from a more macrolevel political economy perspective. Textbook themes such as social class, the family, education, the workplace, and the state
will be explored alongside the disaster capitalism thesis put forward by Naomi Klein (2008) in The Shock Doctrine. The course
emphasizes concept application. Exam questions will test your ability to handle concepts independently. Chapter critiques will
exercise your sociological imagination: the capacity to situate personal experience within broader social structures that frame
it. Marks, exam study questions, and most will be readings are posted on Blackboard but some hand-outs may not. NOTE: All
posted marks are tentative. Official course grades are posted by the Registrar.
Course Texts
 Sociology 6th Canadian Edition (2008). Macionis & Gerber. Scarborough: Prentice Hall.
 The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2008). Naomi Klein. Vintage.
Evaluation is based on class work (25%), four quizzes (20%), two mid-term exams (45%), and a final test (10%).
Class Work
25%
Learning Cells
Critiques
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Due Dates (listed below) - 10%
Due Dates (on quiz days) - 15%
Jan 16 (Mon)
Jan 30 (Mon)
5%
5%
MTI Exam
Feb 13 (Mon)
20%
Quiz 3
Quiz 4
MT2 Exam
Mar 05 (Mon)
Mar 12 (Mon)
Mar 26 (Mon)
5%
5%
25%
Final Test
Apr 4
10%
(Wed)
Class work (25%) consists of learning cell assignments (which includes a group exercise) and chapter critiques.
Learning Cell Assignments (10%) are written assignments based on a critical reading of The Shock Doctrine, using a
question-&-answer format: (i) read the assigned chapter/section, (ii) formulate three questions targeting what you consider
central to understanding that material, (iii) provide a well supported answer for each question, (iv) print off two copies and
bring both to class. The assignments are then used in class as the focal point for a group exercise followed by a class
discussion. Instructions will be explained in class & put on Blackboard. The first two cells are worth 5% each; the third
learning cell, worth 10%, counts as the Final Test on last day of class.
 Due dates for the 3 learning cell assignments are listed below with their assigned chapters / section.
 Cell assignments are due in class before group discussion. No submission, no entry to group discussion.
Due Date
Cell 1 - Jan 09
Cell 2 - Feb 27
Cell 3 - Apr 04
Assigned Shock Doctrine Chapters or Chapter Section
- Body Shocks: Intro - Torture Metaphor | Ch.1- Cameron | Ch.3 - Chile | Ch. 16 - Iraq | Ch. 18 Iraq
- Economic Shocks: Ch. 2- Friedman | Ch. 4 - Argentina | Ch. 5 | Ch. 8 - Structural Adjustments
- Natural Disasters: Ch. 19 - Sri Lanka | Ch. 20 - New Orleans | Conclusion - Resistance
Chapter critiques (15%) are short written assignments that require students to apply course material to their personal
experience & everyday life. Critique instructions will be explained in class & be posted on Blackboard.
 Due dates for the 4 critiques are listed below with respective assigned chapters and topics.
 Critiques are due in class before the lecture on the due date. An electronic copy of each critique must be also
submitted through Blackboard by due date. Late submission: a 5% deduction for each day late.
Due Date
C1 - Jan 16
C2 - Jan 30
C3 - Mar 05
C4 - Mar 12
Assigned Chapters
- Chapters 10, 11, 12
- Chapter 18, 20
- Chapters 16
- Chapter 17
Chapter Topic
- Social Class
- Family ▪ Education
- Economy
- State
Chapter Sections for Quiz (see below)
224-6 | 233-7 | 246-52 | 257-66 | 271-9 | 284-7
435-7 | 441-52 ▪ 485-95 | 497
entire chapter
entire chapter
Quizzes (20%) are based solely on the Macionis & Gerber (2008) text, contain only multiple-choice, & are worth 5% each.
The four quizzes match up with the four critiques (see above) in covering the same assigned chapters and in being scheduled
on the due date as the corresponding critiques. Missed Quiz - An unexcused absence will result in a mark of zero for a missed quiz. An
excused absence requires appropriate documentation e.g. a signed and dated doctor’s note with physician’s phone number.
Mid-Term Exams (45%), based entirely on class lectures, test your ability to apply concepts. If you can’t apply them, you
don’t understand them. Period. The two mid-term exams, weighted at 20% and 25%, test for comprehension of all lecture
material, including all videos, hand-outs, posted readings. Each exam contains essay-type and/or short-answer questions.
Note: There is no exam in the Final Exam period for this course: It all ends on the last class with a Final Test based on Learning Cell #3.
Missed Exams - An unexcused absence will result in a mark of zero for a missed exam. An excused absence requires appropriate
documentation e.g. a signed & dated doctor’s note with phone number .
Tentative Course Outline
The following list of topics, covered in the textbook on the chapters/chapter sections cited below, provides a general guide
for in the course. It may be subject to change. Students are responsible for all course material in the specified chapters,
hand-outs, Blackboard postings, and class lectures.
Shock Doctrine
Social Class I
Social Class II
Social Class III
Family
Education
Torture as Metaphor - Intro | Ch.1- Cameron | Ch.3 - Chile | Ch. 16 - Iraq | Ch. 18 Iraq
Ch.10 Stratification: 224-226 | 233-237
Ch.11 Class in Canada: 246-252 | 257-266
Ch.12 Global Stratification: 271-279 | 284-287
Ch.18: 435-437 | 441-452
Ch. 20: 485-495 | 497
------ MT1 -----Shock Doctrine
Economic Shocks - Ch. 2- Friedman | Ch. 4 - Argentina | Ch. 5 | Ch. 8 - Structural Adjustments
Economy
Chapter 16
State
Chapter 17
----- MT2 ------Shock Doctrine
Natural Disasters: Ch. 19 - Sri Lanka | Ch. 20 - New Orleans | Conclusion - Resistance
--- Final Test --Grading System
Course grade is calculated according to the Standardized Grading System (OC Calendar).
Grade
A
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
Important Dates
Feb
20-23
Apr
04
-
Percentage
90 –100
85 – 89
80 – 84
76 – 79
72 – 75
68 – 71
64 – 67
60 – 63
55 – 59
50 – 54
0 – 49
Reading Week
Last day of class
–
–
First Class
Second Class
Pass
Marginal Pass
Failure
No Class
Final Test in classroom
Student Responsibilities: Students are responsible for checking Blackboard regularly for announcements, e-mails, etc.
Students who miss class are expected to obtain lecture notes from another student in the class.
Jeff the Ripper slashes up to a maximum of 10% from the course grade of those unfortunate students who disrupt
classroom communication by chattering during lectures/class discussions.