COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SERVICE-LEARNING
Sociology 250
Prof. Enos
Spring 2012
Suite J-118
senos@bryant.edu
232-6576
Office hours: M/W/ 11-1: Please check with me to make an appointment
Introduction
This semester we will be embarking on a learning adventure that will be different from
the traditional classroom learning experience. We will consider our local community our
classroom and call upon our experiences in mentoring, tutoring and other service settings
to inform our understanding of the world. Your performance in this course will be based
upon your ability to link academic concepts from sociology to what you are learning and
observing on-site.
Laptops in class
Students may not use laptops in this class unless they are using them to take class notes.
If you need to use your laptop to take notes, you will need to request permission from me.
If you haven’t discussed your use of laptops in the class with me, I will ask you to close
your laptop during class. Most research shows that laptops are used in classrooms for
tasks that are not associated with the course, including doing other class work, checking
on email and the like. This course is very much a class that relies and expects class
discussion. .
Course objectives
1. Students will demonstrate the ability to identify key concepts of theoretical
perspectives.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to distinguish among the major theoretical
perspectives.
3. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply sociological theory to individual
experiences and real world settings.
4. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the 5 key social institutions common to
all societies.
5. Students will demonstrate knowledge of social stratification.
6. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the elements of social structure and
culture.
7. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply sociology to understand their
personal biographies.
Expectations
 This course is a service-learning course which means that all students enrolled
in the course are expected to perform some community service or field work
during the semester. There are no exceptions to this. Arrangements for
assignments will be made early in the semester. Opportunities will be provided to
work with off-campus partners on addressing key social problems that arise in our
communities and others. At semester’s end, you will showcase your work in a
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class presentation. You will coordinate placements with my research assistant,
whom I will introduce to you early in the semester. All communications about
placements should be done the research assistant.

I expect that you will come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. To
gauge this, I will circulate and collect in-class writing assignments at the
beginning of some class periods. I will also call you in class. If you respond that
you have not read the assigned material on several occasions, I will ask you to
submit written summaries of assigned readings.

I will rely on Blackboard to post your assignments. Due dates for reading and
other work are posted early in the week. If you have any questions about when
work is due, consult with Blackboard. If you cannot locate a reading or other
assignment, ask another student in the course or contact me before the
assignment is due in class.

I will also communicate with you by email and expect that you will use your
Bryant email address. I don’t use text messaging.

Class participation and attendance are key in this course. Absences must be
made up by submitting a one-page summary of the assigned readings for the
day. (See note above, as well) If no reading is due that day, submit a report
on readings due other times during the week. Failure to submit these within a
week will result in a one-point deduction from your final grade. When these are
submitted, each should be titled “Assignment written in lieu of attending class on
[include the date when you did not attend the class]”. Whether the absence is for a
college sponsored event, like a conference or game, or due to individual
circumstances, assignments must be submitted.
ASSESSMENTS
As you will see below, there is an array of assignments that you will complete over the
course of the semester. The grade points for these assignments total 100 points. We will
discuss these assignments in class as the semester proceeds.
REFLECTIVE ESSAYS AND RESPONSE PAPERS: 40 POINTS
 Four reflective essays and response papers will be submitted over the course of the
semester. These essays take as their focus your community site as a place to
understand social relations in our society. In some cases, you will be working
with a student partner on these assignments.
MID-TERM EXAMINATION: 15 POINTS
 The mid-term examination consists of short essay questions based upon the
readings, class lectures and discussions.
FINAL EXAMINATION/STATEMENT: 25 POINTS
 This twenty-five-point submission combines an in-class multiple-choice
examination (15 points) with a written final assignment (10 points) that
summarizes key learning points during the semester. The latter will be handed in
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the day of the final examination.
NOTES FROM THE FIELD: 15 POINTS
 This assignment will include original research that ties outside reading, synthesis of
course work, and community service experience. The format of this may be a
standard term paper, an annotated photographic essay, a PowerPoint presentation,
a short video, a short play or other vehicle to tell the story, as you see it. We will
meet during the semester to discuss your proposal for this assignment.
ATTENDANCE AND CLASS PARTICIPATION 5 POINTS
See above.
Resources for learning
Books
Gladwell, Malcolm. 2008. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and
Company
ISBN 978-0-316-01792-3
MacLeod, Jay. 1995. Ain’t No Makin’ It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income
Neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
New York Times: As our “paper of record,” the New York Times provides timely articles
that are of sociological interest. You should visit their website at www.nytimes.com to
sign up for daily headlines for the U.S., Editorial, Op-Ed, Daily featured section and
World. This will allow you to have access to readings in the Times that are published
during the semester.
Web sites worth examining
http://www.umsl.edu/~rkeel/010/decisions.html
The Sociological Imagination: Focus on Personal Decisions and Individuality
http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/207socimagination.htm
The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills (excerpt)
http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/conduct/code.asp
International Red Cross Code of Conduct for Humanitarian Relief
http://www.nelson.com/nelson/sociology/glossary.html
A glossary of sociological terms
Readings from the popular and academic presses
Best, Joel. 2001. “Promoting Bad Statistics,” Society, March/April.
Brooks, David. “The Harlem Miracle,” New York Times, 8 May 2009.
Brooks, David. “Thoroughly Modern Do-Gooders,” New York Times, 21 March 2008.
Cowen, Tyler. “Investing in Good Deeds Without Checking the Prospectus,” New York
Times, 15 June 2006.
Dugger, Celia. “CARE Turns Down Federal Funds for Food Aid,” New York Times, 16
Aug 2007.
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Eckholm, Erik. “As Jobs Vanish, Food Stamp Use Is at Record Pace,” The New York
Times, 31 March 2008.
Editorial. “An Intolerable Fraud,” The New York Times, 8 February 2008.
Fisher, Ian. “Can International Relief Do More Good Than Harm?” New York Times
Magazines, 11 February 2001.
Fiske, Edward B. “A Nation at a Loss,” The New York Times, 25 April 2008.
Freedman, Samuel. “A Fair-Trade Approach to Licensed College Gear,” New York
Times, 13 February 2008.
Friedman, Richard A. “Behind Each Donation, a Tangle of Reasons,” New York Times,
14 November 2005.
Giridharadas, Anand. “Mumbai Journal: In a Restaurant Row, Drive-Through Charity,”
New York Times, 17 June 2008.
Gladwell, Malcolm. “Million-Dollar Murray.” New Yorker Magazine. 13 February 2006.
Green, Elizabeth. “Building a Better Teacher.” New York Times, 7 March 2010.
Gross, Daniel. “Fighting Poverty with $2-a-day jobs,” New York Times, 16 July 2006
Hafner, Katie. “With Sudden Wealth, the Desire for Sudden Impact,” New York Times,
12 November 2007.
International Red Cross. Code of Conduct NGO Distance Response Programmes.
http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/conduct/code.asp
Jacoby, Susan. “Riders Face a Beggar and Themselves,” New York Times. 9 December
1997.
King, Jr. Martin Luther. 1963. Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16th
http://www.bu.edu/irsd/Ec326_2004/material_2004/Letter%20from%20Birmingham%20
Jail.htm
Kristof, Nicholas D. “The Age of Ambition,” New York Times. 27 January 2008.
Kristof, Nicholas D. “Would You Let This Girl Drown?” New York Times. 9 July 2009.
Kristof, Nicholas D. "Talia for President,” New York Times, 16 November 2008.
Kristof, Nicholas D. “The Sin in Doing Good Deeds,” New York Times, 25 December
2008.
Martin, Andrew. “One Country’s Table Scraps, Another Country’s Meal,” New York
Times, 18 May 2008.
Mills, C. Wright. Excerpt from The Sociological Imagination
http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/207socimagination.htm
Moskin, Julia. “Helping Third World One Banana at a Time,” New York Times, 5 May
2004,
Mosle, Sara. “The Vanity of Volunteerism,” New York Times, 2 July 2000.
Navarro, Mireya. “To Pull a Thorn From the Side of the Planet,” New York Times, 3
February 2008.
Nixon, Ron. “Bottom Line for (Red),” New York Times, 6 February 2008.
Otterman, Sharon. “Brooklyn School Scores High Despite Poverty.” New York Times,
23 April 2010.
Packer, George. “How Susie Bayer’s T-Shirt Ended Up on Yusuf Mama’s Back,” New
York Times, 31 March 2002.
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Pogash, Carol. “Free Lunch Isn’t Cool, So Some Students Go Hungry.” New York Times,
1 March 2008.
Pogue, David. “Laptop with a Mission,” New York Times, 4 October 2007.
Pollan, Michael. “Why Bother?” New York Times, 20 April 2008.
Rasmussen, Derek. 2001. “Cease to do Evil, Then Learn to do good.” Cultural Survival,
1(1). Article distributed by professor.
Rosenberg, Tina and David Bornstein. 2010. Health Care and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance. New York Times. 18 October.
Shah, Riddhi, “Poor neighborhoods around the world embrace a surprising idea.” Boston
Globe, 9 May 2010.
Singer, Peter. “What Should a Billionaire Give – and What Should You?” New York
Times, 17 December 2006
Stewart, Amy. “Pick Your Poison,” New York Times, 16 May 2006.
Tough, Paul. “What It Takes to Make a Student.” New York Times, 26 November 2006.
_____.“What if the Secret to Success is Failure?” New York Times, 18 September 2011.
Vogel, Carol. “Attention Shoppers: Philanthropy in Aisle 5.” New York Times. 12
November 2007.
Wines, Michael. “Calling All Cameras: Living Large, Doing Good,” New York Times, 22
October 2006.
Zezima, Katie. “From Canned Goods to Fresh, Food Banks Adapt,” New York Times, 10
December 2008.
Finding course materials
Links will be provided in Library Resources on the Blackboard site to this semester’s
readings from the New York Times. If you sign up for the New York Times, you can also
access these directly. If you are off campus, you will need to enter your name and ID
number to get access to these materials.
Assignments
Most of the written assignments will be posted on the Assignments page of the
Blackboard sites.
Daily reading
The assignments for the week will be posted in-class. Changes may be made to the
syllabus, which should be considered a general guide to our reading
Assignments and tentative semester schedule
Week
one
Visits by
community
partners
Readings and assessments
Better Deed in-class writing
Sociological Imagination by Mills (see link above)
MacLeod (Appendix)
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Week
two
Week
three
Trip to
Ashoka
Week
four
Feb. 15
A&S
Showcase
Week
five
Feb.
20th
No
class
Holiday
Application Sign up for NY Times
for service Me and the sociological imagination writing
assignment
Placements Friedman, Tough (What It Takes to Make) and Fiske
arranged
MacLeod Ch. 1&2
Service
Schools as social institutions: Linking poverty and
Fair
achievement exercise
Orientation Gladwell Introduction
to service
Community service project: What will you do?
Small
groups
Small
groups
Individual
service and
community
action
Group
work and
Organizati
on
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: How
sociology views and understands the world
Gladwell, Chapter 9
Brooks, The Harlem Miracle
Otterman, Brooklyn Schools
Tough What is the secret?
MacLeod, Ch. 3&4
DUE: Response paper #1
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: Social
stratification and inequality
MacLeod, 5&6
Gladwell, Chapter 8
Shah, Poor neighborhoods
Assignment for Providence Plan
Mapping America: Every City, Every Block
http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer?ref=
us
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: Culture
and social structure
Stewart
Nixon
Moskin or Navarro
Freedman
MacLeod, 7&8
Gladwell, Ch. 6
The 500 pennies exercise
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Week
six
Week
seven
Week
eight
Service
check in
partners
Planning
for
reflection
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts:
Assimilation, race and ethnicity
Mosle
MacLeod, 9 &10
Green
Rosenberg & Bornstein
Identity lecture
The identity map
DUE: Response Paper #2
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: Symbolic
interaction
Best on Bad Statistics
Packer
MacLeod, 11
Story of Stuff and Pollan Assignment
Midterm examination
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: The
construction of social problems
Lecture on Poppendieck: Feeding the hungry
Eckholm
Giridharadas
Pogash
Gladwell, Ch. 3
Week
nine
Week
ten
Philanthropy exercise
Nixon, Editorial on fraud & Philanthropy exercise
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: The
construction of social problems (continued)
Wines, Living Large
Martin
Gladwell Ch. 4
DUE: RP# 3:FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE
Class and inequality
Singer and Kristof “Would you let….?
Good Fortune film about international aid
Cowen
King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
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Week
eleven
Week
twelve
REDay
Apr 18
Week
thirteen
April
27th
NEURSC
Week
fourteen
Globalization and world systems theory
Fisher
Dugger
Rasmussen
International Red Cross Code of Conduct
DUE: RP#4
Complex organizations and the NP form
Diffusion and the spread of innovations
Gross
Zezima
The Fixes Opinionator Blog various readings
Pogue
Haffner
The work and genius of social entrepreneurs
Kristof
Gladwell, Epilogue
NOTES FROM THE FIELD PRESENTATIONS TO
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
KIVA nominations
Sociological Terms, Theories and Concepts: Thinking
like a sociologist and learning from experience
NOTES FROM THE FIELD PRESENTATIONS TO
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
10 point take home exam question distributed
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/giving/index.html
Me and the sociological imagination: Take II
POLICY MEMORANDUM ADDENDUM
SOC 250 A& B
PROFESSOR ENOS
Religious holidays
In the Bryant community, we have practitioners of various faiths. Please let me
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know well ahead of time if you will not be attending class due to religious
observances. I will make every accommodation to make certain that no
examinations are administered during these holidays. If such an arrangement
cannot be made, we will work together to make other accommodations, such as a
make-up exam or an extension on project deadlines. It should be understood that
these arrangements become nearly impossible to make if I am informed of your
planned absence where it is imminent.
Attendance and missing classes
All absences from classes—excused or not—must be made up. You must submit a
one-page summary of one of the days assigned reading assignments. These
assignments will typically not receive a grade but missing assignments and those
poorly done will be applied against your grade in class. For example, if you fail to
complete an assignment, it would result in a 2-point deduction from your
cumulative class grade. These must be handed in on the day you return to class.
Plagiarism
The aim of this course and others is to build your intellectual and civic talent and
skills. As such, I am interested in your original work. I am assuming that you
understand exactly what intellectual honesty is and that you know the difference
between using other sources and citing these properly and misappropriating the
work of others and presenting it as your own. I take breaches of intellectual
honesty seriously. Make certain you understand the range of punishments that can
be levied for these violations.
Student Handbook policies
The student handbook includes policies relating to academic and student. I expect
that you are familiar with these
The classroom environment
In this classroom, we will be discussing current events and controversial issues. It
is important to give each other the time and space to fully understand the points of
view of each of our members. Mutual respect is the watchword of the day.
Community placements
One key feature of the courses that I will be teaching is involvement in the
community. In our work with community agencies, their staff and their clients,
we need to be remindful that we are representing Bryant University. What we do
in the community reflects on the school’s reputation—good and bad. Since the
University intends to remain here in Smithfield, it relies on good relationships
with its neighbors. As we build the University, we are expanding our reach into
the local community and beyond. We will set down some ground rules for our
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responsibilities. These are similar to those required for a job—mutual respect,
promptness, patience, ability to see different points of view, a willingness to pitch
in and an ability to make each situation a learning experience. Finally, it is
important to keep in mind that others are relying on you. For example, a sixth
grade student who is at risk will very likely admire someone like you and will
consider you a role model. It is essential that we keep our commitments in these
situations.
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