Introduction to Sociology
Soci 1310, Section 011, Fall 2013
Mon. & Wed. 2:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
UAC 209
“The fascination of sociology lies in the fact that its perspective makes us see in a
new light the very world in which we have lived all of our lives. It can be said that
the first wisdom of sociology is this—things are not what they seem. People who
like to avoid shocking discoveries should stay away from sociology.”
- Peter Berger, 1963 Invitation to Sociology
Instructor: Michael C. Whitehawk
Office: UAC room 448
Office Hours: Mon/Wed. 11:00–noon, & Tue/Thur 2:00-3:00 or by appointment
Phone: 245-4766 (voice mail)
E-mail: mw39@txstate.edu (best)
GA: Kellen Begin kbegin@txstate.edu
I reserve the right to change this syllabus and any assignments that are given.
Note: Please read the syllabus in its entirety. If upon completion of reading the syllabus,
you are unable to accept the assignments, objectives, expectations, policies, and
appropriate behavior as specified, dropping this course would be necessary.
Course
A survey of the basic concepts in sociology including social organization,
Description: culture, socialization, groups, human population leading to the
development of the sociological perspective of human behavior.
Course
Objectives:
At the end of this course, students will be familiar with concepts related to
social structure and social action: societal prerequisites, social institutions,
social processes, and their contribution to the creation and maintenance of
order in society. The main objective of this course is to provide students
with the necessary tools to critically assess the social world we experience
everyday.
It is our goal that each student shall be given the opportunity to
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Learn basic concepts of sociology
Develop a sociological imagination
Develop an in-depth understanding of racism, discrimination,
prejudice, and stereotyping
Develop an attitude of tolerance
Philosophy: Students are expected to complete all readings prior to class, attend class,
and participate in discussion. I view teaching as a learning experience, not
only for students, but myself as well. Therefore, I encourage discussion
and questions to facilitate the learning process on both our parts. If you are
unable to attend class, I encourage you to get notes from a classmate. In
addition, I will be happy to discuss the notes with you after you have
gotten them from someone else. I do not give out grades over the phone
or via e-mail. I bring grades, assignments, and class materials to class
only once. If you are absent on a day something was handed out, you
must share with a classmate or come by my office to receive it.
Readings:
Keeping up with the reading is expected at all times. Keep up with the
reading. You should finish the readings for each week before the week's
lectures begin. Students are responsible for all the material in the required
readings, even if the material as not been discussed in class. Some of the
exam questions will come from the readings, even though we have not
explicitly covered it in class.
(Note: The following text is available on-line. An access code can be
obtained directly from the publisher.)
Required Text: Conley, Dalton 2013. You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to
Thinking Like a Sociologist Core Third Edition. New York, N.Y. W. W.
Norton & Company, Inc. Keeping up with the reading is expected at all
times.
Learning
Disabled
Students:
Students with special needs (as documented by the Office of Disability
Services) should identify themselves at the beginning of the term. The
Department of Sociology is dedicated to providing students with the
necessary academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to facilitate their
participation and performance in the classroom.
Exams (90%) There will be three exams including the final. The exams will consist of
# 1 = 30%
multiple-choice and true/false questions. The material for each of these
# 2 = 30%
exams will be drawn from both your course reading and from lecture
# 3 = 30%
material. All three exams are worth 25% of your grade. Note that the
nature of sociology tends toward cumulative knowledge. The final exam
will be comprehensive and concepts learned for the first exam will be used
throughout the course. Hence, there will be concepts, theories, and
interpretations learned in the beginning of the course that will be
applicable to questions posed on later exams. ALL make-up exams will
be given in essay format on the date of the final exam.
Assignments (10%): In addition to the three exams, there will be two assignments
comprising 10% of your overall grade (5% each). These assignments
consist of social science articles with related questions to be read and
completed outside of class, or exercises from our textbook, or field-study
project as assigned. Due dates will be specified in class.
Attendance: Attendance will be taken daily. For every student absence past 5, the
student looses 10 points (equivalent to exam points). To be “in
attendance,” a student must be in his or her seat no later than 10 minutes
after beginning of the class. In addition, students who sleep or excessively
use unrelated technologies (e.g. cell phones/lap tops) in class will be
counted as absent. Entering the classroom after the class has begun should
be the exception rather than the rule. If you need to leave class before it is
over, please notify the professor prior to the class-time. These are
common rules of courtesy and are appropriate in a civilized setting.
Students who have perfect attendance at the end of the semester will
gain 10 points toward their average (equivalent to exam points).
Missed
Exams:
Tardiness
for Exams:
Textbook
Readings:
Ch. 1
Ch. 2
Ch. 4
Ch. 3
Ch. 12
Ch. 8
Ch. 7
Ch. 10
Ch. 13
Ch. 14
Ch. 17
Ch. 9
Ch. 16
Ch. 6
Students who miss either of the first two exams, regardless of the reason,
must make up that exam after the final exam.
Students who are late to exams will not be able to take the exam if anther
student has completed and left the exam room.
Semester Calendar: Exam and subject dates are subject to change.
8/27
8/29
9/3
9/5
9/10
9/12
9/17
9/19
9/24
9/26
10/1
10/3
10/8
10/10
10/15
10/17
10/22
10/24
10/29
10/31
11/5
11/7
11/12
11/14
11/19
11/21
11/26
11/28
12/3
12/5
Introductions/Sociological Imagination
Instincts/Debunking!
Societal Prerequisites
Socialization
Order
Second Shift
Gender
Culture
Institutions
Exam I & required film
People Like Us
Role Allocation & Status Roles
Social Class
Stratification
(NOTE: Spring’14 Registration Oct 10 – Nov 7)
Class/Opportunity
Manifest/Latent Functions
Poverty/Wealth
Education
(NOTE: Last day to drop a class10/24)
Global Stratification
Environmental Decay
Race, Prejudice and Discrimination
Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes
Exam II & required film
Religion, the Supernatural and Science
Churches, Sects, Cults
Crime, Deviance, and the American Way of Life
Anomie
(NOTE: Extra credit due 11/26)
(No Class) Thanksgiving Break : )
Individual Modes of Adaptation
DEC. 12th *FINAL EXAM* 11:00am-1:30pm (make-up exams to follow)
It is my intention to follow the above schedule as closely as possible. This
schedule is subject to change. I will notify you if and when exams or due
dates are altered.
Laptops:
Only students sitting in the first row of the classroom may use personal
computers or tablet devices for educational purposes.
Extra Credit: (choose one of the following two extra credit assignments) Due 11/26
Students will interview six people from a social group regarding their
views on a social issue, then write a 4-5 page double spaced paper
summarizing and explaining those views in light of their developing
sociological imagination. Quotes from the respondents should be used to
demonstrate patterns and points of discussion. Evaluation will be based
on an understanding of the social research process and discussion of
findings.
OR
Students will review one sociological publication authored by a faculty
member at Texas State, and write a 4-5 page double spaced paper
describing and commenting on the work. Evaluation will be based on an
understanding of the social research process, discussion of findings, and
use of a sociological imagination.
Rules for Papers: Make sure to follow all the rules for good writing. Be certain to
(Assignments, organize your thoughts, using well-developed paragraphs, complete
& Extra credit) sentences, and correct punctuation. Be certain that your arguments are
well reasoned and logical. If you use colloquial language, put it in
quotes so that I know you know it is colloquial. Everything turned in to
me should be typed and stapled. When completed the extra credit papers
should contain an introductory paragraph and at least one summary
paragraph. Between these two paragraphs should, of course, come several
paragraphs containing the body of your paper. Remember that a
paragraph normally contains five or more sentences. My comments on
your work will be based on organization and content, though you must not
ignore punctuation and grammar, a rather common attitude that will be
shared by most of the people who read what you write throughout your
life. Extra credit papers are due no later than November 26th.
Borderline
Scores:
Grades assigned to borderline scores (59.5%, 69.5%, 79.5%, 89.5%) at the
end of the semester will resolve to the higher grade if the following
criteria are met:
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The student has had no more than one absence; and
The student had actively participated in class discussions, and
The student has completed all assignments
RUBRIC:
The papers are worth 100 points. Points will be awarded as indicated by
this rubric.
The Quality of the Analysis: (30 points each, 60 points total.)
Accuracy of the analysis: Does the paper accurately reflect issues
raised in the class or textbook readings?
Organization: Do ideas logically follow from preceding ideas? Is
the paper coherent?
The Mechanics of Writing: (10 points each, 40 points total)
Usage: Are words used correctly? Are platitudes and vague
phrasing avoided?
Paragraph structure: Is each paragraph organized with a topic
sentence and supporting sentences?
Grammar: Is correct grammar used?
Punctuation: Is correct punctuation used?
Sociology Department Academic Honesty Statement
As members of the university community, students are expected to be aware of and abide by university
policies regarding academic honesty. By the same token, members of the faculty within the university
community are expected to enforce those policies. Members of the Department of Sociology operate on the
assumption that each student has thoroughly reviewed the university policies regarding academic honesty
and that the policies will be followed. Accordingly, members of the Department of Sociology will enforce
all policies related to academic honesty. The specific policy statements in this regard are to be found at the
following websites:
http://www.dos.txstate.edu/TxState-Handbook/Rules-and-Policies/Honor-Code.html (Texas State Student
Handbook) http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-10-01.html (Academic Honesty, UPPS No.
07.10.01) The following is not a substitute for the statement of policies found in the above referenced
material. Rather, it serves to call each student’s attention to the breadth and depth of academic dishonesty.
Academic dishonesty includes the following: Cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or abuse of resource
materials. Each term or phrase is defined in some detail in the above referenced material. Because the
offense of plagiarism can be confusing to students, the following information is provided as essential
reading by all students. “Plagiarism means the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged
incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.” (Texas State University
Handbook, UPPS No. 07-10-01)
Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
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downloading or buying a research paper
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cutting and pasting information from several sources to create a paper
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leaving out quotation marks around quoted material, placing quotation marks around some but not
all copied information
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leaving out quotation marks around copied information but adding a citation implying that the
information is the student’s summary of the source
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leaving out quotation marks for more than three consecutive words taken directly from a source
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providing a reference/bibliography page but leaving out the reference citation in the body of the
paper
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faking a citation
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unintentionally using words or ideas or quotes without citing them in the body of the paper and on
the reference/bibliography page
(http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm)
Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism or having plagiarized in the past without having been penalized
does not excuse such acts in the Department of Sociology. Any student charged with plagiarism may appeal
in writing in accordance with Texas State University policy.