Also required for course participation in lecture is
the “clicker.” This is available at the
CU bookstore as well
· Please do not arrive late or leave early or begin to pack up prior to the end of lecture or discussion. This inhibits other students’ ability to hear and understand the material.
· Please turn off cell phones, and do not engage in side conversations when the instructor or other students are talking. Again, this is disrespectful of other students and annoying to the instructor.
· No early or late exams will be given. If you miss an exam, you must be in contact with me within 24 hours or you will be given a zero for that exam. After notifiying me, you will be given a take-home essay exam that typically takes 8-10 hours to complete. It is in your best interest to be at scheduled exams. Please check the syllabus now to determine if there are any conflicts you need to discuss with me.
· late papers are not accepted. Exceptions to this policy may be granted for unforeseen and emergency circumstances and carry a heavy point penalty
· If you require certain accommodations because of a disability, please let me know by the end of the third week so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation from Disability Services (Willard 322 303-492-8671 www.colorado.edu/sacs/disabilityservices)
· If you have any schedule conflicts with final exams, other tests, due dates, or known absences let me know by e-mail by Thursday October 19).
· We (students and the instructor) are expected to adhere to the behavior standards listed in the Rights and Responsibilities Regarding Standards of Conduct. The specific policy may be found at www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html
· Both students and faculty are expected to abide by the University’s honor code. The specifics can be found at www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode. Cheating and plagiarizing will result in a failing grade. Information on what constitutes these behaviors can be found in the honor code document if you have any questions.
· Sexual harassment is not tolerated. For more information on maintaining a fair and safe environment and sexual harassment policies and reporting see www.colorado.edu/sexualharassment or call the Office of Sexual harassment at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550.
You will be given the opportunity to meet and achieve these benefits from your participation in this course, and I will be looking for how well you demonstrate your abilities with respect to these objectives in my final evaluation of your performance in this course.
If we both are successful in this course you will
· develop the ability to see individual (including your own) choices and situations in a larger social context of trends, history, culture, and structure-appreciating the influence of social forces on individual circumstances (this is the definition of a sociological imagination);
· gain an understanding of the different theoretical perspectives within sociology;
· practice the application of your sociological imagination and the various theoretical perspectives for a richer understanding of your self (your values, choices, beliefs), people, relationships, inequality, societies, and see possibilities for social transformation;
· have the opportunity to improve your test taking, study, and writing skills through practice on the evaluation components and individual coaching from your instructor;
· demonstrate your understanding of course material and your ability to meet academic standards of excellence on the papers, exams, and in discussions.
Participation: A rather subjective evaluation of your
contribution to the class.
Assessed through feedback from clickers, speaking in
class, coming to office hours
or
making appointments, seeking assistance if needed, etc.
Test
Two 85
Final
Exam 100
Participation 25
LJ
50
AP 100
Total 425 pts
The tests and final grades
are not curved in any way. Percentage
cutoffs for letter grades follow a 90-80-70-etc pattern with pluses and minuses
according to CU guidelines. If you want
to debate pedagogy or inquire as to my reasoning for this grading system, just
stop by my office. I love to talk about
this stuff.
Here’s the standards for
earning a percentage or letter grade on any assignment and overall in the
course:
|
Letter Grade |
Percentage Grade |
Description |
|
A |
90-100 |
Exceeds all required
elements of an assignment, and the quality of the work is considerably
greater than what was required. The
quality of the work is considerably above the class average and impressive to
the evaluator. |
|
B |
80-89 |
Meets all required
elements of an assignment, and the quality of the work is better than what is
required and demonstrated by the class average. |
|
C |
70-79 |
Meets all required
elements of an assignment, no more, no less. Quality of assignment is
satisfactory for college level work. |
|
D |
60-69 |
Fails to meet all
required elements of an assignment, and/or the quality of the assignment is
less than satisfactory. |
|
F |
Less than 59 |
Only meets some of the
required elements of an assignment, and/or the quality of the assignment is
considerably lower than satisfactory.
50% of points are not guaranteed.
At this level points are only given if some elements of the assignment
are met. If not, very low percentages
are likely. |
|
Zero |
0 |
Fails to meet any of
the required elements of an assignment, and/or the quality of the assignment
is well below basic standards of writing, comprehension, and/or ability to
follow instructions; assignment is late or incomplete; assignment is not
turned in at all; assignment shows signs of plagiarism
or other forms of academic dishonesty. |
These standards may be higher
than you’ve encountered previously in your educational career. The distribution curve of final grades for
this class consistently meets the standards for fair and rigorous evaluations.
I am available to offer assistance, feedback, coaching, etc… to assist you in
meeting these standards and taking away from this course the ability to perform
at this level. You must seek me out and
request this assistance, but if you do I promise the benefits of this course
increase exponentially.
Tentative
Schedule of topics and assigned readings and due dates
Readings should be completed before class or
recitation (whichever meets first) of that week.
Exploriments should be completed and
written up before the first class meeting that week.
CR: Course Reader-The
Practical Skeptic, ER-electronic reserve and Text: Ferrante’s Sociology: A Global Perspective
Week One: Introduction-Course Expectations and the Sociological
Imagination
Reading-
CR:Coontz-“How History and Sociology can help..”
Exploriment-
Ice breaker observation
Make sure you can log into WEB CT, read the syllabus
thoroughly and ask me or your TA any questions about class policy, readings,
assignments, and due dates.
Week Two: Perspective, Theory, and Methods
Reading-
Text chapter 1 and chapter 2
Exploriment-
Nothing personal…
Week Three: Social Construction of Reality through Interaction
Reading-
Text chapter 5 and CR: Karp and
Yoels-“Student Participation…”
Exploriment-
“Whaddayamean?”
Week Four: Socialization
Reading- Text chapter 4 and CR: Sadker and Sadker-“Hidden
Lessons”
Exploriment-
Noticing your “training”
Week Five: Culture
Reading- Text chapter 3 and CR: Miner-“Body Ritual…” and Loewen-“Land
of Opportunity”
Exploriment- “How Uncivilized!”
Week Six: Tuesday Wrap up—Thursday,
October 5-Test One (bring #2 pencil)
Week Seven: Deviance
and Social Control
Exploriment-Breeching
Week Eight: Stratification-RCG
Exploriment-Privilege Line
Week Nine: Stratification-RCG
Reading-Text
chapter 10 and CR: Feagin-“Racism” and
Fugh-Berman-“Tales out of Med School”
Exploriment-What makes a (wo)man?
Week Eleven: Social Organization(s) may be an oxymoron
Reading-
Text chapter 6 and CR: Scmid and
Johnes “Suspended Identity…”
Exploriment-
“You can’t fight city hall”
Week Twelve: Academic
Paper Due Thursday, November 16 in lecture
Econ and Politics
Week Thirteen: Religion and Education
Exploriment- Thanksgiving with the Smiths
Week Fourteen: Family, Aging and the inevitability of Social Change
Week Fifteen: Social Transformation and tying it all together
Exploriment-Vision and Action