Syllabus
Department of Sociology, University
of Colorado, Boulder
SOCY-1004 (002):
“Deviance in U.S. Society”
Classroom: Hale Science Bldg., Room 230 ○
Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 3:00
– 3:50 pm
Instructor: Kevin D. Vryan Office: Ketchum 217 Fall, 2006
I very much hope that this class will
be educational, interesting, and
fun for all of us. Throughout the semester, please feel free to let me know if
you have any ideas about how we might be able to better achieve these goals (or
please feel free to suggest anything at all). Email is a great way to send your
thoughts to me, there’s a WebCT discussion thread for this purpose, or you can call
me or write your thoughts down (anonymously if you prefer, delivered to my
campus mailbox).
Here’s what you can expect in
this class on an average day of regular class…
First, we’ll usually begin with a
very short and very easy (if you did the readings) quiz.
Immediately after the quiz, I’ll tell you the answers. If
there’s no quiz, I’ll pass around an attendance sheet at the very beginning of
class (right at 3 pm).
Next, except on exam or
presentation days, I’ll ask if you have any questions or comments about
anything. If you have any questions about the assigned readings or upcoming
papers or exams, this is the time to ask. Also, if you want to bring up anything for discussion relevant to the
subject matter of the course, you can do that during this time (e.g., a topic
in the news related to deviance).
After the quiz and Q&A, I’ll
proceed to lecture briefly and/or lead discussions or other activities related
to the topic o’ the day. I will not regurgitate everything that’s important
from the readings in my lectures (that’d be boring for all of us), and I try to
maximize time for students to talk in class and to take part in guiding our
focus. However, I will lecture about some of the ideas I consider most important
or most potentially confusing from the assigned readings. Further, lectures
will present additional information not in the readings (this additional
information is included on exams).
I hope this class will include a
lot of student participation even though it’s a fairly large class. After all, we and the people we experience in
our everyday lives are part of the
subject matter of this course; …we all share common experiences of deviance and social control in our own lives;
…we each have a unique set of experiences
that no one else shares; …and every one of us has something to teach
the rest of us about the extreme complexity and diversity that characterizes
human experience in contemporary society. And if that isn’t compelling enough,
then please participate in class discussions just to break up the monotony of
my voice.
While being
considerate of and civil with others should characterize all classroom
behavior, I ask you to keep in mind that this course includes subject matter
that at times can be disturbing or can touch on sensitive areas of people
lives, such as rape or victimization due to race, religion, body
characteristics, or sexual orientation. It’s also the case that we examine a
wide range of ways that people behave, think, and feel, and we look at groups
that define “right” and “wrong” in ways differently than we do. We’ll learn
more about others, social reality, and ultimately ourselves, by keeping an open
mind and suspending judgment as much as possible while trying to learn what
different realities are like and how other people experience them.
I expect that all of us will treat each other
with professional courtesy, respect, dignity, consideration, and understanding.
These concerns are especially important with respect to individuals and topics
dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics,
sexuality-related identities, gender variance, and nationalities.
For
more information regarding student classroom and course-related behavior, see: http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html.
More information regarding student conduct policies and procedures can be found
at: http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code.
& Required Textbook:
- Patricia A.
Adler & Peter Adler (Eds.). 2006. Constructions of Deviance: Social
Power, Context, and Interaction, 5th ed. Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth.
- If you buy a used copy, note that you
need the FIFTH edition!
(other editions have different readings)
i Course
Requirements & Grading i
Ź Final Course Grade Ź
Your final grade in this class
will be based on three exams, two short papers, a number of short quizzes, and
attendance. The maximum number of points you can earn in this course is 500
(not including extra credit), distributed as shown in the following table.
Extra credit, described later in this syllabus and in separate handouts, may be
worth either a maximum of 50 or a maximum of 75 points (explained below).
- Final Unadjusted Score 100%
(500 points)
- Extra Credit: Presentation maximum of 50 or 75
points possible
Your final letter
grade will be calculated using the following table. The “Final Adjusted Score”
consists of your “Final Unadjusted Score” plus any Extra Credit points earned.
|
Final Letter
Grade
|
Final Adjusted Score
|
Final Score Percent
|
|
A+
|
485 – 500
|
97% - 100%
|
|
A
|
465 – 484
|
93% - 96%
|
|
A-
|
450 – 464
|
90% - 92%
|
|
B+
|
435 – 449
|
87% - 89%
|
|
B
|
415 – 434
|
83% - 86%
|
|
B-
|
400 – 414
|
80% - 82%
|
|
C+
|
385 – 399
|
77% - 79%
|
|
C
|
365 – 384
|
73% - 76%
|
|
C-
|
350 – 364
|
70% - 72%
|
|
D+
|
335 – 349
|
67% - 69%
|
|
D
|
315 – 334
|
63% - 66%
|
|
D-
|
300 – 314
|
60% - 62%
|
|
F
|
0 – 299
|
0% - 59%
|
F TIMELINE:
October 20 EXAM
1 75 points
November 29 EXAM 2 75
points
December 16, 1:30-4:00 pm FINAL
EXAM 75 points
F PURPOSES OF EXAMS:
(1) To
assess how effectively you have learned the material from the assigned readings
and the in-class lectures and discussions.
(2) To
provide a fair and relatively objective way to evaluate your performance and
issue grades.
(3) To
encourage you to study the readings carefully and to pay close attention in
class.
F GENERALLY HOW IT WORKS:
There will be
three exams. Exam 1 and Exam 2 are mandatory, and are each worth a maximum of 75
points. These two exams will be administered in class during our regular class
time.
Each exam may
include any of the following formats: multiple choice, true/false, short
answer, and short essay questions. Exam 2 will only cover material from classes
or readings since Exam 1 (it is not cumulative).
The Final Exam
is optional (see options below). The Final Exam will be cumulative, covering
all course material from the entire semester.
For
all three exams, you will be responsible for knowing the material from:
(a) Assigned
readings (note: this includes information NOT discussed in class)
(b) Any
handouts I distribute in class (even if you were absent when distributed),
and
(c) Everything
said or done in class, including lectures, discussions, videos, guest speakers,
etc.
F FINAL EXAM OPTIONS:
You have two
options for the Final Exam. The choice is yours:
OPTION A: You can take Final Exam as scheduled, on
December 16, 2006, from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm.
·
If you take the Final Exam, you can NOT do
Option B. You must use your Final Exam score.
·
If you do not show up to the Final Exam, you
will automatically be doing Option B.
OPTION B: You can use the average of your scores on
Exams 1 and 2 as your score for the Final Exam.
·
If you are happy with your previous exam scores,
you can choose this option and not take the Final Exam.
F MAKE-UP POLICY FOR EXAMS:
Except in extreme circumstances, there are no “make-up”
exams, so be sure to be present on exam days! Also, the time
that you have to complete the exam will not be extended if you are late. If you
experience a verifiable emergency that makes it completely impossible
for you to attend the class on an exam day, you must provide documentation of
the emergency and contact me as soon as possible. If you have a documented and
valid reason for missing an exam, I may issue a substitute exam which may be
more difficult than the original exam. If you know in advance of a conflict
with an exam day/time, see me as soon as possible.
These policies
of only granting make up exams in the most extreme circumstances and of making
substitute exams more difficult than regular exams are meant to ensure that a
student can’t have an unfair advantage over the rest of the class by having
more time to prepare for an exam. Many students don’t feel prepared enough and
would like more time when the dreaded exam day arrives, but if they take the exam
anyway, it’s unfair to allow someone else to have extra time to prepare. These
make-up policies are also intended to keep a student from gaining an advantage
by being able to find out from other students what topics were covered or what questions
were on the exam.
ţ Short Quizzes on Readings ţ
F PURPOSES OF QUIZZES:
(1) To
assess whether or not you did the readings due since the last quiz.
(2) To
serve as a reward for attendance and promptness.
(3) To
provide an additional way to evaluate your effort and performance in this
course.
F HOW IT WORKS:
Quizzes
will be given at the beginning of class on most days, but you will not know
which days are quiz days. Combined, all your quizzes will be worth 100 points
and constitute 20% of your final grade in this course (not including extra
credit). Because the number of points possible on all quizzes will not equal
100, I will rescale the quiz scores at the end of the semester so that the
maximum possible is 100.
Quizzes will
cover the assigned readings that were due since the previous quiz (which
may be more than one class period and therefore more than one set of readings),
and nothing else!
They are
intended to reward you for doing the readings on schedule, but these quizzes
will not seek to test the depth of your knowledge in the way that the Exams
will (in other words, quiz questions are easier than exam questions). Thus, you
shouldn’t have to “study” the readings to ace the quizzes, BUT the questions
are designed so that you MUST have read the readings carefully at least one
time through to get the questions right (unless you’re just a lucky guesser).
Just carefully read the assigned readings
and come to class on time!
If you do
those two things, you will surely do very well on the quizzes. If you don’t do
the readings, you will likely do very poorly on the quizzes. Also, if you are
tardy, you will not only lose attendance points, but will also lose all the quiz points for that day (since there are no
make-up quizzes).
F MAKE-UP POLICY FOR QUIZZES:
There are NO “make-up” quizzes
under any circumstances, so be sure to be on time to class! Quizzes will always
be at the very beginning of a class period, so if you arrive a few minutes late
to class you may miss that day’s quiz. If you miss a quiz, you miss it forever,
and can not make up those lost points (except by doing extra credit, as
described elsewhere in this syllabus).
ť Short Papers (written assignments) ť
F TIMELINE:
Monday, September 18 Paper 1 Proposal Due
Friday, September 22 Proposal
Approval Due
Friday,
September 29 Paper
1 Due
Friday, November 17 Paper
2 Due
F PURPOSES OF SHORT PAPERS:
(1) To
give you an opportunity to reflect more deeply on some of the ideas we explore
in class.
(2) To
give you an experience of conducting sociological research, analyzing social
phenomena, & communicating your findings in a scholarly manner.
(3) To
encourage you to use a sociological lens to inquire about aspects of your own
experience, and to facilitate your learning of how sociology can be personally
relevant and useful to you.
(4) To
give me an additional means of assessing the depth of your knowledge and
understanding of the course material, and to do so in a diverse manner (i.e.,
different than the exam and quiz formats).
F TOPICS:
- Short Paper 1:
Norm Violation: A Deviant Sociological Field Experiment
- Be deviant & observe. Then describe, analyze,
and explain (as described in handout).
- NOTE: you must get prior approval of your Short
Paper Proposal before doing this assignment
- Short Paper 2:
“When I Was Labeled”: An Autoethnographic Inquiry
- Analyze your own experience of having been labeled
as deviant in the past or present.
F GENERALLY HOW IT WORKS:
Short Paper 1
is worth a maximum of 50 points (10% of your grade), and Short Paper 2 is worth
a maximum of 75 points (15% of your grade). Combined, both paper grades are
worth a maximum of 125 points, or 25% of your final course grade (not including
extra credit). You must submit a Proposal for Short Paper 1 by Monday, 9/18. In
case you need to modify your proposal or explain something further, you have
until the end of that week (Friday, 9/22) to get approval of your Proposal. I
must approve your project by 9/22, and before you do the rest of the Short
Paper 1 assignment.
The details
about the topic for each Paper, and explanations of what I expect of you in
these Papers and in the Proposal, will be given as handouts in class. If you
miss class, make sure to get these handouts!!! As always, it is your
responsibility to make sure you get handouts if you are absent (or tardy) when
I pass them out. Note that all handouts will be available online via WebCT.
F REQUIREMENTS & GRADING:
Grading
criteria and requirements for each assignment are detailed on the handouts. Read
them carefully!
F LATE POLICY FOR SHORT
PAPERS:
- A Paper (or Proposal) is due at the beginning
of class (3:00 p.m.) on the day it is due.
- After the due date and time, an assignment will be
penalized by 5 points for each day (“day” = a 24-hour period starting at 3
pm) that it is late. Thus, be sure to get your papers & proposals in
on time!
- A Short Paper that is six or more days late will
not be graded and will result in no credit (0 points).
- If you must submit an assignment late, I prefer
that you email it to me as an attachment. The email server will note the
time I received the email, which will determine the amount of the late
penalty.
- If you drop off a paper or proposal with the staff
in the sociology department, you must ask them to put the time and date
on it, and then they will put it in my mailbox.
¦ Attendance & Tardiness ż
F PURPOSES
OF ATTENDANCE/TARDINESS POLICIES:
Attendance
is a very important part of this course. There’s a lot that goes on in
the classroom that you can’t get from someone else’s notes, and that you will
be responsible for knowing for the exams and paper assignments. The attendance
policy is designed to reward you for showing up each day, and for doing so on
time (and to negatively sanction the deviant behaviors of failing to come to
class or showing up late).
F GENERALLY
HOW IT WORKS:
There are 40
days of class for which you can earn attendance points. Absences on August 28
(first day), December 16 (Final Exam day), and on the days dedicated to Q&A
(review) for the exams (October 18, November 27, and December 13) will not be
counted against you. Attendance and tardiness will be assessed for all other
days of class. The maximum number of points you may earn for attendance is 50,
or 10% of your final grade in this course (not including extra credit). Keep in
mind that you can lose quiz points due to absences and tardiness in addition to
the attendance points you lose.
It is solely
your responsibility to seek out any new information, announcements, or handouts
that you might have missed during your absence. You may contact me to ask if I
made any important announcements. Also be sure to ask your classmates what you
missed (I suggest you ask someone who takes good notes for a copy). WebCT will
have all handouts (or I can email you a copy upon request).
F TARDINESS:
Please
don’t be late! You risk missing a quiz, you risk missing very important
announcements, and it breaks the flow of classroom activity (we all have to
turn and see who’s coming in late, or at least notice the late entrance, thus
interrupting whatever we’re doing).
If you are tardy, it is your
responsibility to notify me immediately after class (in person) that
you were present! If you do not do
this, you will be marked absent for the entire day, which is much worse
than just being tardy. This is because I usually use the quizzes or an
attendance sheet at the very beginning of class to know if you were present,
and if you miss the quiz or attendance sheet, I will think that you were not
present at all that day. Three tardies equals one
absence (for the purpose
of using the following table).
F ATTENDANCE « POINTS:
The following table will
be used to calculate the number of attendance points you will receive:
|
|
Attendance Points Earned
|
|
0-2
|
50
|
|
3
|
 45
|
|
4
|
40
|
|
5
|
35
|
|
6
|
30
|
|
7
|
25
|
|
8
|
20
|
|
9
|
15
|
|
10
|
10
|
|
11
|
5
|
|
12 or more
|
0
|
Ţ
THERE
ARE NO EXCUSED ABSENCES, except in unusual and extreme circumstances
(email me as soon as possible if you believe you are in this situation). Save your freebies until you really need
them!!! You may become very ill or
get snowed in (or whatever) later in the semester.
— Extra
Credit Presentation ®
F TIMELINE:
November 6 DUE: Extra Credit Proposal
November 17 DUE: Final Approval of Your Proposal
December 8, 11, 15 (dates
may vary) Extra Credit Presentations
December 15 DUE: Extra Credit Report
F PURPOSES OF EXTRA CREDIT:
(1) To
give you an opportunity to improve your final grade in this course via extra
work and accomplishment.
(2) To
give you an opportunity to reflect more deeply on some of the ideas we explore
in class.
(3) To
encourage you to pursue an independent project that interests you and that was not
discussed in this course, but that can be examined using sociological ideas
(including inquiries into your own life experience).
(4) To
give you the opportunity of creating and conducting an in-class presentation or
activity.
(5) To
allow you an opportunity to gain experience conducting sociological inquiry and
communicating your findings in a scholarly and/or creative manner.
F OPTIONS:
- OPTION 1
(0–50 points): Presentation
& Report on Expanded Short Paper 1 or 2
- You may
choose either of your Short Papers, build on it with an expanded report, and
create an in-class presentation, performance, or activity based on the
project. The extra credit presentation and report must EXTEND (add to)
what you did for your Short Paper in some significant way.
- OPTION 2 (0–75
points): Presentation & Report on a New
Project
- You may create a report and in-class presentation,
performance, or activity based on a new project.
F GENERALLY HOW IT WORKS:
You have the
opportunity to create a project that includes both an in-class presentation,
performance, or activity, and also a written report. If you want extra
credit, you MUST submit an “Extra Credit Proposal” to me by the deadline: October
6, 2006! A handout will explain what to include in the proposal. I must
approve your proposal by November 17 (i.e., before Thanksgiving Break), which
usually requires one or two in-person meetings and some emailing.
More details
about each option and explanations of what I expect of you in these presentations
will be given as handouts in class. If you miss class or are late, make sure to
get these handouts!!! It is solely your responsibility to make sure you get
handouts if you’re not there when I pass them out. Note that all handouts will
be available online via WebCT.
F REQUIREMENTS & GRADING:
Grading
criteria and requirements are detailed on a separate handout. Please read
all handouts carefully!
F “NO-SHOW” & LATE POLICIES
FOR PRESENTATIONS:
See handout.
= Incompletes =
I usually will
not grant an incomplete. If you have an unusual and documented situation that
you feel warrants an incomplete, see me as early as possible.
p Academic Integrity N
All
students are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity
policies of the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Violations of university policy include cheating on papers or tests, assisting cheating,
plagiarism, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All
incidents of misconduct will be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu,
303-725-2273). Students in violation of academic integrity policy will be
subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic
sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or
expulsion). See information about the CU-Boulder academic integrity policy at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/acadinteg.html
and about the honor code at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/.
Note that I encourage you
to discuss your thoughts with others (whether they are in this class or not),
but your written papers MUST be written entirely by you and you alone. For
example, a friend or tutor writing portions of your paper for you is cheating
and thus is a violation of University academic integrity policy.
: Special Needs due to Disabilities or Handicaps é
If you qualify for
accommodations because of a disability, please discuss the specific issue with
me by the end of the THIRD WEEK of class so that we can determine if any
special action is needed to accommodate your needs. When you speak with me
about this, be sure to bring a letter to me from Disability Services.
Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities
(contact them at: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices).
Z Y Special Needs relating to Religious Observance U [
University policy
regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to
reasonably and fairly deal with students who, because of religious obligations,
have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments, or required attendance. See
the policy at: http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html.
If you will need to miss an exam or class due
to religious reasons, see me as soon as possible (and at least two weeks prior
to the date you will miss), to arrange for alternative arrangements. If you do
not notify me at least two weeks prior to the date, I will not be able
to excuse the absence or make special arrangements.
L Discrimination & Sexual
Harassment L
The University of Colorado
Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all
students, staff, and faculty. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual attention.
It can involve intimidation, threats, coercion, or promises, or create an
environment that is hostile or offensive. Harassment may occur between members
of the same or opposite gender and between any combination of members in the
campus community: students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Discrimination
is conduct that deprives an individual of a benefit of employment or
educational opportunity on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age,
disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Any student, staff, or faculty member who
believes s/he has been the victim of discrimination or sexual harassment should
contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 (http://www.colorado.edu/odh/).
If the alleged harasser is a student, contact the Office of Judicial Affairs at
303-492-5550 (http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/).
