SOCIOLOGY 01: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

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1 SOCIOLOGY 01: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY Online Course (4 Units) COURSE SYLLABUS Instructor: Maristella ( Mari ) Huerta Tapia Office: F21T Office Hours: Mon-Thurs 12:40 pm-1:30 pm and Online through course website tapiamari@deanza.edu Voic Although we are all influenced by the contexts in which we find ourselves, none of us is simply determined in our behavior by those contexts. We possess, and create our own individuality. It is the business of sociology to investigate the connections between what society makes of us, and what we make of ourselves. Anthony Giddens Studying sociology should be a liberating experience. The field enlarges our sympathies and imagination, opens up new perspectives on the sources of our own behavior, and creates an awareness of cultural settings different from our own. Insofar as sociological ideas challenge dogma, teach appreciation of cultural variety and allow us insight into the working of social institutions, the practice of sociology enhances the possibilities of human freedom. Duneier et. al The Essentials of Sociology. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: Welcome to Sociology, the study of human societies. Sociology is a discipline that challenges us to broaden our scope of the world. The social world is often taken for granted or reduced to explanations that stem from personal experiences or conventional wisdom. Sociology is a way of understanding the world that requires empirical research and what C. Wright Mills called a sociological imagination, the ability to connect our individual lives to the world around us and to the lives of those with which we share this world. Through a critical engagement with the readings and assignments for this course, you will: Understand how social factors influence our choices and behaviors. Analyze the roles that institutions play in addressing, creating and maintaining social inequality. Apply critical sociological analyses to current, social, political and economic issues and trends. Gain an understanding of what the discipline of Sociology encompasses and how it differs from other social science disciplines. Become familiar with different theoretical perspectives and methods in sociological scholarship and appreciate the dimensions of the different approaches to framing and researching social phenomena. Gain self-awareness and confidence in your ability to articulate and interpret your experiences.

2 COURSE ADVISORY: This class will involve a good amount of complex reading and you will be required to write short essays in this course. Because of this, students are advised to have taken and passed EWRT 1A with a C grade or better prior to taking this course. REQUIRED READINGS: 1. Textbook (Required): You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist by Dalton Conley, 4 th Ed. WW. Norton. New York, NY: Online Readings and Video Links: In each weekly seminar, there will be links to required readings in addition to the assigned chapters in your text books. There will also be links to short animated videos or films. You will be required to read and view all of these links. The text for this course is available through the campus bookstore. Please order your texts through the bookstore website: or in the store. In addition to these readings, you will also need to access readings from the Catalyst website for this class. COURSE POLICIES Note: Please read all of the links and information located Getting Started section of the course website in addition to this syllabus. A) ATTENDANCE POLICY: In an online class, logging into the course is how you show up. You are expected to check into the course at least twice a week-- (at the beginning and end of every week) in order to stay tuned into what is happening in the course. Please note that you may be dropped from the online website for inactivity or if you miss several consecutive assignments. However, if you intend to drop, know that it is your responsibility to do so. B) QUIZ POLICY: Quiz deadlines for this course are firm. You have 1 workweek to complete each quiz. Quizzes will be due on Sundays at 8pm, with the exception of the week 11 quiz. Each quiz can be taken twice to give you the chance to improve your score; your highest score will be recorded. If you miss a quiz, you miss it. There are no extensions for quizzes. Once the quiz window closes, you will not be allowed to enter or re-enter the quiz. C) SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS: Submit on time!!! All work must be submitted through the appropriate assignment link on or before the due date. You will only be allowed TWO late submissions per quarter for discussions and/or critical thinking assignments. Unfortunately, there are NO make-ups for missed quizzes or exams. You will submit your late assignments through the Late Submissions link located in the Getting Started section of the course (please submit both late submissions at once it closes week 11 so you can wait until the end of the quarter to submit your two missed assignments). Aside from these two exceptions, I do not accept late assignments. Again, please note that there are NO makeups for quizzes or EXAMS.

3 Submit Level Work! You are expected to use academic language and college-level vocabulary and include and cite text whenever possible, using MLA or APA citation format. Your discussion postings should follow the posting guidelines contained in the Begin Here: Course Orientation page in the Getting Started seminar. Please PROOFREAD work before submitting it to ensure that it is free of grammatical and structural errors. Once you have submitted your assignments, you cannot resubmit them. For tips on writing and reading for this course please consult the Advice for Reading and Writing Sociologically" located in the Being Successful In this Course link in the Getting Started area of the course. I also recommend you use the on-campus tutorial or writing centers for help in writing for this course if you are in the area. Please note that this class is NOT recommended for people who have not yet taken and passed English 1A with a C grade or better. For quick, online guides to using MLA and APA citation formats, please visit: Follow assignment descriptions carefully! It sounds simple enough, but students often lose valuable points on assignments because they do not read and follow directions carefully. Your work will be graded on how well you fulfill assignment criteria and follow directions. Save and Format your Work! Always create your work in a word document or some other savable format prior to posting it to the assignment links. I cannot give credit for work that is lost or not submitted! Also, please double-space your responses in the assignment text boxes. (Save, save, save!) D) Online Conduct: Please treat this course, your colleagues and your professor with utmost professionalism and respect. You are not required to agree with everything you encounter in this course, but you are required to know the material and confront it academically. Pay special attention to the way in which you interact with your colleagues and professor. Express your views in a way that does not insult, blame or put others down. I reserve the right to temporarily remove any student who participates in disruptive, lewd, rude, harmful or disrespectful behavior from the online forum until such matters are resolved with said student. Making sure that your postings follow the guidelines laid out in the Course Orientation link located in the Getting Started section of the course will ensure that your participation in this course is working for you rather than against you. E) Academic Honesty: Please be aware that academic dishonesty in any form, including plagiarism and cheating, will not be tolerated in this course. There are serious consequences for committing an act of academic dishonesty of which you may be unaware. Please consult the DeAnza Academic Honor code for more information regarding academic dishonesty, how to avoid it and consequences that come along with it at

4 the following website: IV. COURSE WORK: Due dates/times for the assignments below are located in the Syllabus Schedule below 1. Course Introduction and Updated profile (5 points): Take some time to learn your personal Catalyst settings and post a picture of yourself (your face) as your profile picture. Because this is a fully online course, it is required that you upload a picture of yourself and not an avatar or some other picture. In addition to updating your profile, you will post an introduction of yourself for the class in the Student Lounge discussion forum, located in the Begin Here section of the Catalyst site. In that forum, you will see a topic posting that reads: Introductions! Post Them Here. Please submit your introduction posting to this discussion by hitting the Reply button. Please do NOT start a new discussion topic. You must submit your introduction posting by the due date in the syllabus schedule below to receive credit for your intro posting. 2. Course Logistics Quiz (15 pts total): This quiz will be based on the information contained in this syllabus and on the information contained in the Getting Started section of the course website. Students must take this quiz by 8pm Thursday January 7th or risk being permanently dropped from the course! Students will be able to take this quiz an unlimited number of times to earn up to 100% until the quiz window closes. After the quiz window closes, students will not be able to take the quiz. 3. Quizzes (10) (100 pts total): Please note that there will be no traditional midterm or final for this course. Instead, students will take weekly quizzes that will open on Mondays and close on Sundays at 8pm (from weeks 2-11). The quiz for week 11 will close at 8pm on Monday, March 21 st. Quizzes will be based on course readings, as well as video or audio links in the seminars that you are required to watch/listen to. Please read the syllabus policy on quizzes located in the Course Policies section of the syllabus above. 4. Critical Thinking Assignments (3) (10 pts each 30 points total): In several of the weekly seminars of the Catalyst course site, I will provide short essay prompts that ask students to write a well-crafted short essay to a reading, a video or web-link, or a specific concept in the course. 5. Weekly Discussion Forum Postings (50 points total): Each week s seminar will contain a discussion forum. You are responsible for two postings a week in these forums one response to one of the questions in the forum, and one response to a classmate s posting. To learn how to do your best on these weekly postings, read the Discussion Posting Page link contained in the Begin Here section of the Catalyst site.

5 5. Extra point Assignment (10 points): For extra credit, students have the option of watching any 2 interviews of sociologists referenced in the text book chapters, and write 2 paragraphs in response to the interviews one paragraph summarizing the points of the interview and one paragraph reflecting on the ideas of the interview. 200 Assignment Points; 210 Possible Points (with Extra point assignment) V. COURSE GRADING SCALE: This grading scale is based on the total of 200 assignment points for the course % =A %=A 90-95%=A %=B %=B 76-79%=C %=C 60-65%=D 0-59%=F

6 SYLLABUS SCHEDULE (READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS) Week 1 (Jan 4 th -8 th ) --Seeing Sociologically (Below, the word text refers to Conley text and the word Catalyst refers to the readings contained it the links for the particular week s seminar.) Text: Ch1: The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction Catalyst: The Promise by C. Wright Mills And The Blessing is Next to the Wound by Hector Aristizabal Watch: Video link contained in this week s module The Basics: What is Sociology? Course Logistics Quiz due by 8pm Thursday Course Introduction posting due by 8pm on Friday Week 1 Discussion posting due by 8pm Saturday *Failure to take the course logistics quiz by the closing time of the quiz may result in being permanently dropped from the course. Week 2 (Jan 11 th -15 th ): The Study of Sociology: Research Methods Text: Ch 2: Methods Catalyst: Sidewalk by Mitch Duneier Watch: Video link contained in this week s module The Basics: Theory and Research Week 2 Discussion assignment due by 8pm Saturday Week 2 Quiz closes 8pm Sunday Week 3 (Jan 19 th -22 nd ): Culture and Media January 18 th School Closed in Observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday Text: Ch 3: Culture and and the Media Catalyst (2 readings): Rituals as Tools of Resistance, Brown et. al, and Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Watch: Video link contained in this week s module The Basics: Culture Critical Thinking Assignment #1 Due by 8pm Saturday Week 3 Discussion Assignment due 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 3 closes by 8pm Sunday Week 4 (Jan 25 th -29 th ): Socialization, Social interaction and Groups Text (2 chapters): Ch 4: Socialization and the Social Construction of Reality and Ch 5:

7 Groups and Networks Catalyst (3 Readings_): Why White Parents Don't Talk about Race, Bronson and Merryman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman, and Self Segregation: Why It s So Hard for White Folks To Understand Ferguson Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Socialization and The Basics: Society, Groups and Organizations Critical Thinking Assignment #2 Due by 8pm Saturday Week 4 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 4 closes 8pm Sunday Week 5 (Feb 1 st -4 th ): Social Deviance and Crime Text: Ch 6: Social Control and Deviance Catalyst (3 readings) On the Normality of Crime, Durkheim; The Saints and the Roughnecks, Chambliss and The Rich Get Rich and the Poor Get Prison Reiman Watch: Video link contained in this week s module The Basics: Deviance Week 5 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 5 closes 8pm Sunday Week 6 (Feb 8 th -11 th ): Class Stratification February 12 th -15 th Campus Closed for President s Day Weekend Text: Ch 7: Stratification Catalyst (2 readings): Some Principles of Stratification by Davis and Moore with a Response by Tumin and Media Magic Mantsios Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Stratification and The Basics: Social Class in the United States Week 6 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 6 closes by 8pm Sunday Week 7 (Feb 16 th -19 th ) Gender Inequality Text: Ch 8: Gender Catalyst (3 readings): What it Means to be a Gendered Me, Lucal, Masculinity as Homophobia, Pascoe and The Social Construction of Gender Margaret Andersen. Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Sexuality and The Basics: Gender

8 Critical Thinking Assignment #3 by 8pm Saturday Week 7 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 7 Closes 8pm Sunday Week 8 (Feb 22 nd -26 th ): Racial Inequality Text: Ch 9: Race Catalyst (3 readings) Optional Ethnicities, Waters, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of Privilege Peggy McIntosh and Are Races Real? Not Really, Genes Show Angier Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Race and Ethnicity Week 8 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 8 closes by 8pm Sunday Week 9 (Feb 29 th -Mar 4 th ): Social Institutions Economy and Housing Text: Ch 14: Capitalism and the Economy Catalyst (2 readings): The Job Ghetto Newman and The Communist Manifesto Marx and Engels Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Economy and Work and Race the Power of Illusion: The House We Live In and Taylorism Week 9 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Closes by 8pm Sunday Week 10 (Mar 7 th -11 th ): Social Institutions Education Text: Ch 13: Education Catalyst (2 readings): Savage Inequalities, Kozol and English Learners Still Far Behind Under English Only Law Garland Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Education Week 10 Discussion Assignment due by 8pm Saturday Extra Point assignment due by 8pm Saturday Quiz Week 10 closes by 8pm Sunday Week 11 ( Mar 14 h -18 th ): Collective Action and Social Change Text: Ch 18: Collective Action, Social Movements and Social Change Reader: Watch: Video links contained in this week s module The Basics: Social Movements

9 Week 11 Discussion posting due by 8pm Saturday Late Submission Link Closes by 8pm Saturday Quiz closes by 11pm Monday March 11 th Week 12: FINALS WEEK There will be no traditional final for this course (see quiz policy above) VII. A FINAL NOTE ON SUCCEEDING IN THIS COURSE: It is always a good idea to keep your instructors aware of situations that may affect your learning or performance in the course. If you are having difficulty with any of the assigned readings or written assignments, or have any other problems or issues with the course, or if you just want to talk, please come talk with us during office hours. We are happy to assist you in any way possible, and excited to know you all as people, not just as students. If you cannot make our office hours, please contact us to make an appointment. ***Please let us know if you have any disability related learning needs, so that the appropriate accommodations can be made to support your learning** Finally, I want to stress that ALL students are welcome in this class, regardless of national origin, immigration status, religious affiliation, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, socioeconomic status, or cultural background. Let us work to make our classroom an environment marked by kindness and mutual respect for one another. It is our differences even more than our similarities that offer the greatest opportunities for learning. Useful Campus Resources: Writing and Reading Center, ATC 309, Tutorial Center, L47, Math/Science Tutorial Center, S43, Counseling Center, 2 nd floor Student & Community Services Bldg., Transfer Center, 2 nd floor Student & Community Services Bldg., Career Center, 2 nd floor Student & Community Services Bldg., Disability Support Services, 1 st floor Student & Community Services Bldg., Financial Aid, Lower level Campus Center, Health Services, Lower level Campus Center, Child Development Center, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, Lower level Campus Center, VIII. Proviso: I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus as necessary.