Drugs and Society
Instructor: Angel Hoekstra
________________________________________________________________________
Course Description: This course provides an introduction to various sociological perspectives regarding drug use. The use of chemical substances for the purpose of healing the body or altering subjective consciousness has been practiced in many cultures throughout human history. This course addresses a variety of phenomena related to the use of drugs in society, with specific focus upon these processes in American culture.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the mere use of a drug does
not necessarily imply drug “abuse.”
Instead, the amount or frequency of drug use considered to constitute
“abuse” is socially defined: impressions of use and abuse change over time and
across human societies. The social costs
of the use of legal drugs in
This course is not designed to promote or condemn drug use, but instead to find a balance between “Just say NO” and “Just say KNOW.” We will work to develop a critical perspective for the ways in which various drugs impact society. In addition to gaining sociological knowledge regarding drug use, it is hoped that we will be able to attain a few supplementary goals, such as to form a productive and enjoyable learning community.
Expectations: You are responsible for all material presented in class, in the textbooks, and in supplemental readings posted on course reserve. I will sometimes refer to specific pages from your readings during lecture, so I suggest that you bring your materials to class with you whenever you are able to do so. In class, I will actively work to help you all form a comfortable learning community where all students can feel connected to the larger group. Therefore, please be respectful of your fellow classmates and do not disrupt their ability to learn: please do not arrive late, leave early without prior permission from me, talk “off topic” during class, or engage in any other behavior that is distracting or disrespectful to others.
Also, please do your best to remember to turn off your cell phone!
Make-ups: All quizzes must be taken on the day and time
that they are scheduled unless an excused absence has been arranged or some
extenuating circumstance arises. The
final exam is required and you must take it on the day and time it is
scheduled. The final exam cannot be taken
early or late: any student who fails to take the final exam will fail the
course. Please carefully examine
the calendar provided for this course: If you find that you have a scheduling
conflict that may result in your missing one of the course quizzes, you may
want to consider dropping the course. If
you cannot be present during the final exam on Dec. 20 (note that this is
really close to Christmas!), you will need to drop the course.
Themes to be explored in Drugs &
Society
Unit 1- Sociological
Examinations of Use and Abuse
History
of and Theoretical Explanations for Drug Use
Influences of Race and Gender, “Harder” Drugs
Arguments for and against legalization, use in moderation
Quizzes to Assess Content Learning
180
Final Exam – Dec. 20 100
Short Papers:
Written assessments of progress
toward learning goals
60
(2
x 30 possible points per assessment)
Individual Student Attendance and
Participation
40
________
Total possible points 500
Grade Point Breakdown
A 460/500 92% or higher
A- 445/500 89%
B+ 430/500 86%
B 410/500 82%
B- 395/500 79%
C+ 380/500 76%
C 360/500 72%
C- 345/500 69%
D over 300 60%
F under 300
Important Dates
Quiz #1: Tuesday, September 19
Quiz #2: Tuesday, October 17
Quiz #3: Thursday, November 16
Final Exam: Wednesday,
Dec. 20, 10:30am – 1pm
Learning Goal
Evaluation #1: Tuesday, September 26
Learning Goal
Evaluation #2: Thursday,
October 26
Although I do not expect to have to do so, this syllabus is subject to
change by the instructor should modifications be necessary.
Learning Goals for Drugs and Society
1) Foster a safe and productive learning community.
Mechanisms for Assessment:
I. Develop a community where students can feel comfortable, valued, and secure
in the class learning environment.
II. Encourage appreciation for the diversity of opinions that results from having multiple participants in the class community.
III. Learn to trust one another in discussion: Begin to value the verbal comments and
opinions of other students; do away with the notion that what the instructor has to say is automatically more valuable or insightful than what your peers have to say.
2) Encourage
each of you to develop your writing skills in order to prepare you for future
courses and/or life experiences.
Mechanisms for assessment:
I. Develop the writing skills necessary to clearly and concisely convey ideas.
II. Work to “make connections” between reading material and your own experiences
by writing in depth about a specific drug of interest to you.
3) Cultivate critical consumers.
Mechanisms for assessment:
I. Gain practice at identifying and evaluating claims about drugs conveyed in contemporary forms of media such as films, advertisements, and course readings.
II. Identify various ways in which sociological concepts are practical: useful for understanding the experiences you have in your work and/or personal life.
4) Provide
valuable information about particular drugs and their potential impacts to
encourage students to make more informed choices regarding beliefs about and/or
use of drugs.
Mechanisms for assessment:
I. Offer supplementary information at times in lecture about the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts of particular drugs.
II. View film depictions of drug use, abuse, and potential consequences in order to foster critical discussion regarding the social construction of drug use.
Required
Texts:
The
Sociology of American Drug Use.
2004. SADU
Charles Faupel, Alan Horowitz, and Greg Weaver; McGraw Hill Publishers.
The
American Drug Scene, 4th Ed. 2004.
ADS
James Inciardi and Karen McElrath; Roxbury Publishers.
Recommended
Text:
Buzzed: The Straight Facts
about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from
Alcohol
to Ecstasy, 2nd Ed. 2003.
Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder,
and Wilkie Wilson; WW Norton & Company.
To find articles on course reserve:
Click on By Course- enter “SOCY 2034” and
then click on Hoekstra
Course Components in Detail…
Course
Quizzes and the Final Exam
Quizzes are each worth 60 points; the final quiz is worth 100 points. Format is multiple choice, true/false, and fill in the blank; at times short answer questions may be included.
Paper Assignments:
#1 - “Letter to a
Friend” Introduction to the Instructor
In order to gain some initial understanding of who you are
as an individual, each of you will write a brief “letter” that provides me with
some background information about your interests and what you hope to learn in
this class. Letters are to be typed and
are due in class on Thursday, September
7th. Assignment instructions at the
end of syllabus.
#2 - Response
Paper
In this essay you
will address some aspect of drug use and its sociological implications in
greater depth by writing about one particular drug of interest to you. This assignment comprises a large portion of
your grade, but I offer flexibility both on the topic and the due date of your
paper. See the instructions at the end
of the syllabus for more detail.
Assessments of Progress toward Learning Goals
Twice during this course you will evaluate how well you believe that we as a learning community are achieving the goals of the course. In addition to evaluating community learning goals, you will develop two individual learning goals that you will turn in to me (within the “letter to a friend assignment”) that you will also evaluate. This exercise is completed in class twice throughout the semester; I will provide the rubric.
Attendance and Participation
Your total attendance and participation grade in this class is comprised of 40/500 points. Half of that total pertains to attendance, and the other half to participation in class. As mentioned above, you are permitted one excused absence. Following use of your excused absence, each further absence results in a deduction from your A&P score. The participation component derives from a consistent impression of your level of active (e.g. speaking in class, asking questions, participating in small group work) and passive (e.g. active listening, bringing completed readings with you) involvement in class.
Drugs and Society – Course Calendar –
August /September
Note: The dates given for the required readings indicate the date by which the readings should be
completed, NOT the date on which the reading should be read.
|
Mon |
Tuesday |
Wed |
Thursday |
Fri |
|
8/28 AUG |
8/29 First day of class: -Introductions, Syllabus -Learning goals |
8/30 |
8/31 RDG: BUZZED (online) |
9/1 |
SEPT |
9/5 SADU: Chap. 1 |
|
9/7 SADU: Chap. 2 Letter to a Friend Due |
|
|
|
9/12 SADU: Chap. 4 |
|
9/14 ADS : #3
(Goode) RDG : T/S
#6 (LeGrand) |
|
|
|
9/19 Quiz # 1 |
|
9/21 SADU: Chap. 5 |
|
|
|
Learning Goal Evaluation #1 |
|
9/28 Nicotine
ADS #10 (Nichter) RDG: T/S #8 (Levy) |
|
|
Mon |
Tuesday |
W |
Thursday |
F |
OCT |
10/3 RDG: Saying Yes, Chap. 3 In class film
clips: Marijuana |
|
10/5 ADS: #14 (Halnon) RDG: T/S #9 (Nadelmann) |
|
|
|
10/10 ADS: #7 (Siegal & Inciardi) ADS: #9 (Wechsler et. al) |
|
10/12 RDG: T/S # 3 (Dee) In class film
clips: Alcohol Abuse |
|
|
|
10/17 Quiz # 2 |
|
10/19 Drugs, Crime & Violence SADU: Chap. 10 |
|
|
|
10/24 Paper 2, Group 1 Due ADS : #30
(Nurco et. al) ADS : #32 (Inciardi, Pottieger) |
|
10/26 ADS: #33 (Maher & Daly) Learning Goal Evaluation #2 |
|
|
Mon |
Tuesday |
W |
Thursday |
F |
OCT |
10/31 RDG :
Saying Yes, Chap. 6
*** In class film *** |
|
11/2 - Day off from Reading! J - ***
Letter to the President *** |
|
NOV |
11/7 RDG: Buzzed, Chap. 12 |
|
11/9 Paper 2, Group 2
Due ADS: #21 (Inciardi & Surratt) |
|
|
|
11/14 ADS: #24 (Jenkins) |
|
11/16 Quiz # 3 |
|
Drugs and Society- Course Calendar- November / December
|
Mon |
Tuesday |
W |
Thursday |
F |
|
----- |
11/21 Week of Thanksgiving |
--- |
11/23 No classes: have a nice break! |
--- |
NOV |
11/28 Paper 3, Group 3 Due SADU: Chap. 11 |
|
11/30 ADS: #34 (Rosenbaum) ADS: #38 (Nadelmann) |
|
DEC |
12/5 SADU: Chap. 12 |
|
12/7 Drug Policy in the
21st Century SADU: Chap. 14 |
|
|
|
12/12 RDG: Saying Yes: Conclusion
|
|
12/14 ADS: #41
(Wilson)
|
|
Final Exam: In our regular classroom, Wed. Dec. 20, 10:30
– 1pm
Miscellaneous:
1. The department of Sociology does not permit me to give student grades over email, so please do not email me inquiring about grades.
2. An excused absence is arranged in advance, by email, with me. If you notify me that you must miss class, but forget to email me about it, your absence will not be considered excused.
3. No make up quizzes will be administered in this class for any reason. If you miss a quiz and have not arranged to use your excused absence, you will take a zero for that quiz score.
4. Class begins promptly at 2pm and ends at 3:15pm, please do not leave early or arrive late without prior permission from me.
5. You may eat or drink during class provided that you do not disrupt the learning of your classmates. Please be respectful of those around you!
If you qualify for accommodations
because of a disability, please
submit to me a letter from Disability Services by July 10 so that your needs
may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on
documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every
effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts
with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class,
if you need to miss class for a religious holiday you will need to use your
excused absence to make up any work you miss. http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Students and faculty each have
responsibility for maintaining an appropriate
learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards
may be subject to discipline. Graduate Instructors have the professional
responsibility to treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to
guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable
limits on the manner in which students express opinions. See polices at
www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at
www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student
All students of the University of
Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this
institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid
of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior.
All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code
Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in
violation of the 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). Other information
on the Honor
Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html
and at
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
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
that 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.
Harassment can occur anywhere on campus, including the classroom, the
workplace, or a residence hall. Any student, staff or faculty member who
believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual
Harassment (OSH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at
303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources
available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed
can be obtained at: http://www.colorado.edu/sexualharassment/
“Letter to a Friend”
Assignment for Paper 1
Introductory Letter to the
Instructor
Q 1: Why did you enroll in this course, or what do you hope to learn in Drugs & Society?
Q 2: What are some of your interests and/or hobbies?
(Favorite TV shows, sports, music, hobbies, social movements, religion, politics, etc.)
Next, please devise two learning goals that you will strive to achieve in this course. You will evaluate your goals (along with our community goals) each time we conduct learning goal evaluations in class. Your goals may be designed to address your level of verbal participation in class, your attitude toward the comments of others during lecture, level of attendance, being on time, your performance on quizzes, your desire to come to office hours for help, etc. – anything you personally think you could improve upon as a student.
The point of devising these goals is to help you become a better participant within a learning community. Students confront a unique learning community in every class they take, but this fact is rarely given much attention. By drawing attention to your role in our classroom, I hope to help you find your personal “space” in the learning community.
Your learning goals should be specific to you: thus if you know yourself to be shy or generally uncomfortable with speaking in class, your goals will differ from someone who knows they are a regular classroom “talker.” You should write your learning goals such that they are attainable and concrete in nature. For example, the goal, “I want to speak regularly during class discussions” is not sufficient: you need a clearly stated, concrete goal such as, “I want to participate in class at least two times a week.”
Similarly, “I am a shyer student, so I want to speak more during small group discussions,” is not sufficient because it is not as easy to assess as “I am a shyer student, so I plan to try to speak at least once a week.” On the other hand, if you know yourself to be a regular contributor to class discussions and have observed in the past that at times some of your peers might think you raise your hand too often; you should design your goals with that knowledge in mind. The bottom line: write your goals clearly and concretely so that you will be able to assess them in one paragraph.
Please state each of
your goals in one sentence form and keep a copy of these goals for yourself, as
you will need them when we do learning goal evaluations in class.
Q 3: Do any components of this class (structure or assignments) seem awkward to you?
(Are
you worried about anything on the syllabus?
Do you want further explanation as to why I have chosen to include a
particular assignment? Does everything
make sense?)
Q 4: Summarize in a few sentences the response
type (which drug or topic you prefer) and paper due date that you
plan to use for Paper 2.
(Stating
a specific drug/topic does not “lock you in” to that drug/topic here, but
simply gives me an idea of how many people plan to submit papers on each of the
three due dates available. If you desire
to change your drug/topic/due date as class progresses, please send me an email
about it at least one week before your original due date arrives.)
Q 5: Is there
anything else I should know pertaining to your performance in our class this
semester? (Are
you working, taking more than fifteen hours, do you have kids? etc.)