Office......................Center 418
Office Hours....9:30-10:00 and 12-12:30 MTWTH
Office Telephone.............463-5064
Voice Mail.........463-3535 (Mailbox 7804)
E-Mail......................socshop@yahoo.com
Home Phone...............................736-0204
SOC 205 Message Board
DETAILS
LCC Catalog Course Description
Class Policies and General Comments
What you'll need for SOC 205
Wadsworth's Virtual Society Surfing Lessons---A Tutorial
Required Reading
Online Required Readings
Schedule of Topics and Readings
Assignments and Instructions
Due Dates
Summary of Points in Course
Grading Scale
My Philosophy of Teaching
Lane Community College
TSS Directory
LCC Catalog Course Description
Explores the dynamics and influences of social stratification. Examines prejudice, discrimination, race, and ethnic groups. Discusses systems of bureaucracies, political and economic action, delivery systems, the development of communities, and collective behavior.
Grading Scale
A+ = 98-100 (Exceptional)
A = 94-97 (Excellent)
A- = 90-93 (Good/Excellent)
B+ = 87-89 (Very Good)
B = 83-86 (Good)
B- = 80-82 (Good/Fair)
C+ = 77-79 (Fair)
C = 73-76 (Fair/Basic)
C- = 70-72 (Basic)
D+ = 66-69 (Poor/Basic)
D = 60-65 (Poor)
F = ??-59 (Needs alot more)
Sociology, Eighth Edition, by Jon M. Shepard
Black Like Me...by John Howard Griffin
Click on title to read a short description of the book
NOTE: The following is my "best guess" of how our course will go...but at least it gives you an idea of WHAT you should be reading and approximately WHEN.
7/22....Introduction/The Sociology Shop/Selected Sociological Concepts
7/23....Sociological Concepts/S6 (Bureaucracy-pp. 156-170) and S13 (Authority/Power-pp.369-371)
7/24....S8 (Social Stratification)
7/25....S8
7/29....S8
7/30....S9 (Race & Ethnicity)
7/31....S9
8/01....S9
8/05....S10 (Gender and Age)
8/06....S10
8/07....S10
8/08....S9 and S13 (Political Economy)
8/12....S13
8/13....S13
8/14....S13 and S17 (Collective Behavior-pp.512-526)
8/15....S17 and Conclusion
8/16....FINAL and AP#5 Due
----Between 10-12 AM...in Center 418
There will be Analysis Papers worth 20 points each...you will get 10 for just doing it and I'll evaluate the other 10 points. Minimum length is 1 page...Maximum is 3 pages. Topics are HERE.
BOOK REPORT
You will have a Book Report on BLACK LIKE ME...worth 100 points. Instructions are HERE.
DISCRETIONARY ASSIGNMENT
The "Discretionary Assignment" allows you to choose the type of work you do...for the 50 points. Instructions are HERE.
FINAL EXAM
This exam...worth 100 points...covers all the materials of the course. It will be a
Take-Home Essay test.
7/24.....................Analysis Paper #1
7/29.....................Analysis Paper #2
8/01.....................Analysis Paper #3
8/06.....................Book Report
8/08.....................Analysis Paper #4
8/12.....................Pass Out Final Exam
8/13.....................Discretionary Assignment
8/16.....................Final and AP #5 Due
You are going to need access to a Computer for this course with access to the Internet. Whether its your own computer, your parent‘s, one in a Lab, a friend's computer, or one at a Library, they're not that difficult to find these days.
That means you'll need to have or to learn a basic minimum of skills in navigating the Internet. It's a tool that's quickly become a necessity in today's world...especially as it relates to academics. If you have no experience in doing this, don’t worry, there's plenty of help available...especially at LCC (Social Science Lab is on the 4th floor of Center Bldg on main campus) I've put a link under DETAILS (above) to a "beginners" tutorial which takes you through it step by step. I’m also willing to help get you started, if necessary.
ALSO, you will need an EMAIL address for this course. There will be occasions I may need to email you individually as well as the class as a whole. Likewise, you may need to email me with questions or information and possibly, an assignment. If you don't have an Email account, please get one SOON...it is a requirement of the course, not an option. Many are free, such as Yahoo and Hotmail...and these can be accessed on any computer, anywhere. I will be glad to assist you in setting one up...just ask me. IF you already have one (or when you get one), please send me a message (indicating your name---sometimes usernames don’t reveal that) so I can enter your address into my address book and create the class list. Send it to socshop@yahoo.com Please pay prompt attention to this matter...Thanks.
Why? Besides being an immensely rich and important source of all sorts of information, the Internet provides the opportunity for providing reading material for academic classes...making materials accessible to anyone...anytime. This also cuts down on the amount of copying necessary...saving paper and money.
My own website, The Sociology Shop, will be an integral component of this course...it will have a “room” for our class, links to required reading materials, a Message Board for our class, and the details of the course...including assignments and instructions you will need, plus, of course, due dates. The Required Reading Materials...beyond the textbook...in effect substitute for asking you to buy a Reader, thus saving you money. Thus you need to become familiar with The Sociology Shop in general as well as familiar with our “Sociology 205 Room”...which you are “in” right now.
Analysis Paper #1
The first AP is both a general one and a quite specific one. In short, after reading about the "selected Sociological Concepts" and hearing about them in class, I'd like your reaction and analysis of them...what's new here, which one or ones do you consider the most important, how familiar are you with "critical thinking," and how might some of them help you not only in this course but also in general life? These are just a few suggested themes for this paper...react the way you want, but do consider that we will be attempting to utilize and apply them throughout the course, so, in other words, they ARE important.
Analysis Paper #2
We're going to be covering various areas of "inequality" in this course...primarily class structures, racism, sexism, and political/economic... so maybe a good place to start is with "Equality." What is it...what isn't it? Some say its absolutely necessary, some say its not possible, some say its not desirable, and some say "inequality" is simply a fact of human existence...i.e. inevitable. Regardless, to even grasp what inequality is...we need to grasp what equality is, too, right?
Sociologist Alexander Liazos gives a different slant on this important concept...in the short piece entitled "Equality (doesn't equal) Sameness. Read it and comment on it...giving a brief summary of your current views as it applies to the areas mentioned above. Just why do we tend to equate "equality" with "sameness"? Why do we have such a difficult time with "differences"? Why are we seemingly obsessed with "ranking" and notions of superiority and inferiority? The questions could go on forever about this...I'd like to see what you can make of it as we begin.
Analysis Paper #3
Having just viewed the Oprah video on racism, I'd like your reaction/analysis to/of it. The sheet covering this video is HERE
Analysis Paper #4
The Stanford Prison Experiment video (Quiet Rage) is about lots of things...for our purposes the main focus is on "roles" and the power they have in our lives. Although the "criminology" aspect of the whole thing is hard to ignore, lets focus primarily on the roles...react/analyze what you just saw.
Analysis Paper #5
I'd like you to evaluate YOURSELF in this course. This isn't about your grade, it's about you...so, tell me how you "did" in this course...vis-a-vis the materials and ideas we've covered. (A serious attempt at this will garner all the points...a less than serious attempt won't...eh?)
