SOCI 101—700, 800, & 900: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY ONLINE
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
SPRING 2016
INSTRUCTOR
EMAIL
OFFICE
OFFICE HOURS (IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL)
Sela Harcey
sharcey@huskers.unl.edu
Oldfather 735
Wednesday 9:00—11:00am
REQUIRED TEXT
The Sociology Project 2.0—MUST purchase Revel student access card (ISBN 9780133884319). It is
optional to purchase a loose-leaf book with the Revel student access card (ISBN 9780134149592).
This course uses a Pearson digital product which contains important assignments and resources
used throughout the semester. The required link below is unique to this course. Here is how to
register:
1. Visit this link: https://console.pearson.com/enrollment/kigunp
2. Sign in with your Pearson Account. You can either: (1) sign in with an existing Pearson
username and password OR (2) create a new Pearson account if this is your first
Pearson digital product.
**IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU REGISTER USING YOUR NAME THAT IS USED WITH BLACKBOARD**
3. Choose your course under 'My Courses' and choose an access option: redeem an access
code that you got from your school's bookstore or purchase access online. There is a
free trial if you are waiting for financial aid.
What you should know:
 Bookmark https://console.pearson.com to easily access your materials.
 Pearson recommends using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari with this
digital product.
IMPORTANT!
**You will earn 10 points by purchasing and logging into Revel by January 15th
** Use this webpage for assistance in registering
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/revel/students/support/index.html
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this online Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 101) course, we will investigate society and human
interactions, specifically aiming to unlock your “sociological imagination.” Drawing from C. Wright
Mills, we will identify the connections between personal experiences and the social environment
that we live in—sociological imagination. The course will emphasize both theoretical and
conceptual frameworks developed by sociologists and explore how sociologists utilize these
theories within research.
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Students will learn and be encouraged to think critically and sociologically about a breadth of topics
and societal issues. Specifically concerning crime, family, health, race/ethnicity, gender, and
education.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Following the completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Demonstrate understanding of fundamental sociological theories and concepts;
 Explain the process of sociological research;
 Discover and develop their own sociological imagination and apply it to societal issues;
 Understand the ways in which social institutions are interdependent; and
 Explore how social factors contribute to social inequalities and efforts to create social
change.
COURSE FORMAT
The class is an independent study course (online) wherein students are required to complete the
course with limited instructor interaction. Please make sure to become familiar with all due dates
and course requirements. The course is designed in Blackboard with “Weekly Folders.” Each folder
contains the appropriate assignments, PowerPoints, and material needed for each week.
Announcements
 Throughout the semester, important reminders and updates will be posted on
Blackboard.
 Students are suggested to check for announcements regularly and ensure that they are
receiving emails from Blackboard too when an announcement has been posted.
Student Responsibility for Online Learning
 Students are responsible for reading and reviewing the syllabus throughout the course
as it may change.
 Students are responsible for all materials covered throughout the course. This includes
material from lectures (PowerPoints), reading assignments (book), audiovisual content,
videos, and handouts. Not all material will be covered within the PowerPoints, but will
be included on quizzes and exams.
 Students are responsible for taking notes and preparing for exams accordingly.
 All students are expected to maintain academic integrity and adhere to the Student Code
of Conduct.
 If a student requires accommodation for a disability, they should contact the instructor
immediately to insure proper action is taken.
BLACKBOARD & REVEL
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The Blackboard portal will be used for posting of syllabi, supplementary reading
materials, outlines, grades, and other important course information and updates. If you
have any limitations using Blackboard, notify me immediately, as computer access is a
requirement of this class.
Revel will be utilized for quizzes and reading materials for the course. If you have any
questions regarding Revel, notify me immediately, as Revel is also required for the
course.
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ACHIEVEMENT CENTERED EDUCATION (ACE) DESIGNATION
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln seeks to provide quality education to all its students. To that
end, it has designated certain classes as ACE certified. These classes provide and assess specific
learning outcomes. As an ACE certified class, Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 101) will facilitate
Learning Outcome #6 (using knowledge, theories, methods, and historical perspective appropriate
to the social sciences to understand and evaluate human behavior).
This class will:
 Provide opportunities to increase your knowledge of an individual’s relationship with
society, key sociological theories, prevalent patterns of inequality, and sociological
perspectives on primary institutions through lectures, discussions, readings, videos, and
readings; and
 Offer opportunities to acquire knowledge relevant to understanding patterns of human
behaviors.
ACE learning outcomes will be assessed by quizzes, discussion board participation,
reflection/reaction papers, and exams.
REVEL QUIZZES
GRADED WORK
In order to assess students understanding of course materials, each week there will be a chapter
quiz due by 11:45 pm. The purpose of the quizzes are to help students prepare for exams. Within
the chapter there are small no point quizzes embedded to help students retain and assess their
understanding of the materials. Students must make sure to complete the Chapter Quiz, located at
the end of every assigned chapter. All assignments must be completed in the assignments tab in
Revel for credit.
If students shall fail to complete the quiz by the designated due date, a ONE WEEK window will be
available to complete the quizzes for 50% of the grade. If students miss the one-week window,
students will receive a zero for the assignment. Additionally, if student have any technical
difficulties, students must first (1) contact Revel and receive a reference number. If the Revel
Technical Support cannot help, student much second (2) email me with the reference number
included to receive credit on late work (** the one-week window still applies here**).
WEEKLY DISCUSSION
Each week students are required to participate in weekly discussions. A question will be posed
every week. Students are required to both post one response and reply twice. Your weekly post
is worth 6 points and must be at least one paragraph long (at least three sentences). Each response
is worth 3 points (6 points per week) and must be at least two sentences long. Since there are so
many students enrolled, there will be groups made, where each student will post in the assigned
groups. For the semester we will have three units. Each unit there will be new groups assigned. A
change in perspectives is never a bad thing.
REFLECTION PAPERS
Throughout the semester, there will be three reflection papers due. The reflection papers will be a
reflection on a video related to topics covered in the course. The papers must be submitted via
Blackboard. Any emailed assignments will not be accepted. Each paper should be a comprehensive
summary of the topic and include your application of sociological theory, your own reflection about
how the media depicts the concepts and perspectives of sociology. Paper should be between two
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(2) to three (3) double spaced pages in length (standard 12 fonts—such as, Cambria or Times New
Roman), 1 inch around all margins. All students must upload each reflection paper as an
attachment in a word document.
EXAMS
There will be (3) three exams, each worth 100 pts. The exams will be 50 multiple choice questions
each worth 2 points. The questions will be drawn from the readings, lectures, quizzes, films, and
discussion topics. Each exam will be proctored at the testing center on campus, or an alternative
testing site for those off-campus. Students who are off-campus need to set up their testing proctor
by the end of the second week of classes (Friday, January 22nd). For more detailed proctoring
information see Exams section for the course in Blackboard.
All three exams will open on a Monday morning and close that Friday. Students will have a 5 day
period to complete the exams. For each exam, students will have two attempts.
MAKE UP EXAMS
Only under extreme circumstances are make-up exams allowed, and are at the instructor’s
discretion. Students must also provide documentation for medical emergencies. May up exams
may be different from the exam administered at the Testing Center (for example, essay format).
GRADING
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Revel Registered: 10 points
About Me Assignment: 15 points
Chapter Quizzes: 45 points per quiz
Discussion Board: 12 points per week
Reflection Papers: 30 points per
Exams: 100 points per
TOTAL CLASS POINTS: 1099
The following grading scale is applied:
A+
96%
B+
86%
A
93%
B
83%
A90%
B80%
C+
C
C-
76%
73%
70%
D+
D
D-
66%
63%
60%
F <=59%
**Please Note: Passing this course requires getting a C (73%) or higher.
GRADE CHECK REQUEST
Grade checks/reports for student athletes, scholarships, Greek society membership, etc. are
handled in person or via email request.
REQUISITION FOR RE-EVALUATION OF ASSIGNMENTS & EXAMS
If a student believes an error was made in the assignment of his/her grade on a particular
assignment he/she may address the situation in a type-written memo. For assignments and
examinations, if a student believes there was more than one correct answer for a question or points
were deducted in error he/she may submit, via email, a report detailing the error within 48 hours
of assignment or exam date. For a request to be considered the student must provide relevant
evidence from the assigned readings and/or lecture notes in support of his/her claim. Please note
that re-grading means that the grade on the assignment or examination may increase, not change at
all, or decrease. The score on the re-graded assignment or examination will then be considered the
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student’s final score. Requests for re-evaluation of re-graded assignment or examination will not be
accepted.
If a student is not satisfied with the response to a request for re-evaluation of an assignment or
examination grade, he/she may contact the Chief Advisor of the Undergraduate Program in
Sociology, Dr. Lisa Kort-Butler, in writing to detail the complaint. Please note, however, that Dr.
Kort-Butler should be contacted only after a student has submitted a request for re-evaluation, as
explained in the above paragraph, and only in the case that the student is unsatisfied with the
Recitation’s and/or Instructor’s response to the initial request.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
In accordance with the University policy, if a student has a documented disability and requires
accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, he/she should contact the Instructor via
email as soon as possible and make this need known. It is the policy of the University of NebraskaLincoln to provide flexible and individualized accommodation to students with documented
disabilities that may affect their ability to fully participate in course activities or to meet course
requirements. To receive accommodation services, you must be registered with the Services for
Students with Disabilities (SSD) office, 132 Canfield Administration, 472-3787 voice or TTY. Please
contact the Service for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office as soon as possible to have them
advance the paperwork to the instructor in a timely manner.
EMAIL ETIQUETTE
Electronic communication with your professors, instructors, and other UNL personnel constitute
formal, rather than conversational, correspondence – similar to business-style email
correspondence. As such, your email should be structured professionally beginning with the
appropriate salutation (e.g., Good Morning/Day/Afternoon Professor, Dr., Director, Dean, Provost,
Chancellor, Mr., Ms., and Mrs. ______ (Last Name)). Unless otherwise instructed, UNL personnel
should not be addressed as Hey/Hi/Hello/Yo/what’s up _______ (First Name).
Likewise, if you prefer to be addressed by a different name other than what is listed on the official
class roster, please inform me as soon as possible, so that I may address you appropriately.
When emailing please identify the course name (i.e. SOCI 101) and end the correspondence by
signing your name. I generally respond to emails between 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
However, if you have not received a response within 24 business hours, please send me a follow-up
email.
TECHNICAL ISSUES (BLACKBOARD & REVEL)
All activity in the course is monitored and recorded by our online campus administrator and can be
retrieved in the event of conflict between what has been done and what has been said. If you
experience problems with your home computer, the course (Blackboard) and book (Revel) are both
available online, so any computer with an Internet connection can access it. Therefore, if an
assignment (quiz, discussion board posting, reaction or reflection paper, or exam) is not submitted
properly or late, the instructor reserves the right to consider the assignment as incomplete,
requiring a zero for the assignment.
If you need any technical help please use the contacts below:
Blackboard help desk
 Phone: (402) 472-3970 (Monday-Friday, 7:30a-7:30p)
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Revel
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Email: mysupport@unl.edu
Phone: (855) 875-1801
Webpage: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/revel/students/support/technicalsupport/index.html
**Important: Students will be required to contact REVEL with any technical issues. Revel
will give you a reference code. All students much receive a reference code, then email me
with issues in order to receive credit**
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has set education objectives that aim to maintain academic
integrity. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating,
submitting unoriginal work in whole or part, fabrication or falsification, abuse of academic materials,
complicity in academic dishonesty, and falsifying grade reports. At minimum, any student found
guilty of committing an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade in this course and will
be reported to the Chair of the Department of Sociology and the University Judicial Officer.
However, further academic and disciplinary sanctions may also be applied.
If you are unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty, please see an academic advisor or
become familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy
(See http://stuafs.unl.edu/ja/code/three.shtml).
PERSONAL IDENTITIES & CLASS
The university blackboard system allows students to change personal information although the
system resets every night. Not all students go by their legal name or find that the set information in
Blackboard does not accurately portray who they are. Please send me an email and let me know
what your preferred name and pronouns are. For example, I prefer to be called Instructor Harcey
or Sela and my preferred pronouns are her and she.
Although this is an online course, gender is central to the lives of many students and sex specific
bathrooms are ubiquitous on campus. Gender neutral bathrooms can be harder to find; here is a
link to their locations: http://involved.unl.edu/unl-gender-neutral-bathrooms
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JANUARY 2016
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
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Start
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Registration
(10pts)
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18 SCHOOL
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HOLIDAY—
NO CLASSES
20 ABOUT ME 21
Assignment
DUE by
Midnight
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
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24 Chapter 1 25
Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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1
Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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THURSDAY
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FRIDAY
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FEBRUARY 2016
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
5 Reflection
Paper #1
DUE by
Midnight
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8
Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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10 Chapter 3 11
Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
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14 Chapter 4 15 EXAM 1
Quiz DUE by
Window
11:45pm
OPENS @
9:00am
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
19 EXAM 1
Window
CLOSES @
5:00pm
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Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
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Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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MARCH 2016
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
4 Reflection
Paper #2
DUE by
Midnight
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Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
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13 Chapter 12 14 EXAM 2
Quiz DUE by
Window
11:45pm
OPENS @
9:00am
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
18 EXAM 2
Window
CLOSES @
5:00pm
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FRIDAY
SATURDAY
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MONDAY
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SPRING
27 Chapter 13 28
Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
BREAK
29
THURSDAY
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NO
CLASSES
30 Chapter 13 31
Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
APRIL 2016
SUNDAY
27
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
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Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
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Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
15 Reflection
Paper #3
DUE by
Midnight
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17 Chapter 16 18
Quiz DUE by
11:45pm
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20 Chapter 16 21
Discussion &
Replies DUE
by Midnight
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24 Last Week of 25
Classes
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MAY 2016
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1 Finals Week 2 EXAM 3
Window
OPENS @
9:00am
SUNDAY
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CLOSES @
5:00pm
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