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Mount Ida College
SO 101 – Introduction to Sociology – Sections C, D, and E
Fall, 2008

(For printable version click here.)

Instructor: Dr. Madeleine Cousineau
Telephone: 617–928–7304
Website: www.mcousineau.net/so101		 Office: Academic Tech Center, Room 232
Office Hours: Monday, 1–2, Wednesday, 3–4
Email: click here

PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the sociological perspective, and to explore ways that this perspective enables us to gain a deeper understanding of our own experiences and of the world around us. Classes will include both lecture and discussion, and your participation will be welcomed.  Specific course objectives are:

  • To know basic sociological concepts and to be able to apply those concepts to specific situations
  • To understand world events in terms of social structure and historical context
  • To be aware of how social factors affect one’s individual life
  • To envision one’s own impact on the world
  • To strengthen skills in writing, critical thinking, Internet research, and oral communication
  • To work effectively as part of a team

READINGS AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
Assigned readings are from these two books:

Introducing Sociology: A Whole New World, by Madeleine Cousineau
Intersections: Readings in Sociology (A Pearson Custom Reader)

In addition, there is one short reading to be downloaded from the course website.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Do not purchase Intersections anywhere except at the Mount Ida Bookstore or from another Mount Ida student. It is a custom reader, which means that there are other versions of it that do not contain the readings for this course.

Due dates for reading assignments are at the end of this syllabus. Study questions to guide you in doing the readings may be found on the course web­­site. On Friday, August 29, and then on every Wednesday, beginning September 10, students will work in teams of six to discuss the week’s readings. Although everyone is expected to do the whole reading assignment, each member of the team will be responsible for contributing an answer to only one of six questions on the readings. The questions may be found  by following the link for study questions at the top of this page and clicking on the due date.  

If you choose to hand in written answers to three of these questions by Wednesday of each week, you may use them for extra credit or in place of the weekly quiz. (See further information about extra credit on the next page.)


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EXAMS AND QUIZZES
There will be a midterm exam on October 10, a final during the exam period (December 10–15), and a quiz at the end of class on every Friday, beginning on September 12.

Quizzes are based on the assigned readings and on concepts that will be explained in class and in the book. In order to prepare for each week’s quiz, go to the course website and click on the “tests” link at the top of the page. This will give you all the information that you will need to study for the quiz, as well as an extra credit option. It is important to get this information each week early enough to guide your reading and note-taking in class. So you will need to go to the website between Friday afternoon and Sunday evening (or very early on Monday morning).

Missed quizzes cannot be taken later. However, you may substitute a weekly written assignment (answers to three of the six study questions found on the website) for a quiz. Written assignments are due each Wednesday. So if you know in advance that you will have to be absent on a Friday—for example, because of a field trip, an away game, or your cousin’s wedding—please be sure hand in the written assignment by the date when it is due.

If you take the quiz and hand in answers to study questions, you may earn extra credit. (See the explanation of extra credit below.)

GRADES AND EXTRA CREDIT
Grades will be determined as follows: 

Assignment Points Final Grade
Midterm Exam 331/3% 93-100 points
90-92 points
87-89 points
83-86 points
80-82 points
77-79 points
73-76 points 		A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C

70-72 points
67-69 points
63-66 points
60-62 points
< 60

C- 
D+
D
D-
F
Final Exam 331/3%
Average of tests/assignments 331/3%
Total 100%

Grades of C-minus or lower will be reported as midterm warnings.

You may earn extra credit for help sessions with the instructor and/or for handing in answers to three of the study questions in addition to the weekly quiz. For the first option, ten points will be added to your quiz grade. For the second, you will receive the higher grade, plus 10 percent of the lower grade. All students are graded according to the same standards and final grades are non-negotiable.

ATTENDANCE
Your contribution to the course is valuable, both for yourself and for others. For this reason, attendance is required. One percentage point will be deducted from the final grade for each absence. More than six absences will result in an automatic F for the course. Frequent late arrival will count for 1/3 of an absence each time. If there are special circumstances affecting your attendance, please let me know. 

To be excused for a religious holiday, you must hand in, one week before your absence, a typewritten one-page explanation of the meaning of the holiday and why it is important to you.

PLEASE NOTE: Class cancellations will be posted on this website. There is no ten minute rule in this class. If class is not cancelled, students who leave after ten minutes will be marked absent.

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ACADEMIC HONESTY
 Honesty is an absolute requirement in this course. It is obvious that cheating is harmful to the student who does it, since that student is not learning as much as he or she could learn by studying. In addition, it is also unfair to other students, who may study hard for a test and get lower grades than students who cheat. For these reasons, there is a policy in this course of ZERO TOLERANCE for cheating on any assignment or test. Students who are caught cheating or encouraging others to cheat will be dismissed from the course with a grade of F. In the case of plagiarism on written assignments, students will be given a warning for the first offense, to allow for the possibility that it was unintentional, and dismissed on the second offense.

Plagiarism is using someone else's ideas without giving credit to the original author.  This includes: 

  • copying all or part of another student's assignment

  • copying word-for-word from the Internet, a book, or an article for an assignment, 
    paper or open-book test without using quotation marks around the words copied

  • taking ideas from the Internet, a book, or an article without giving credit to the source. 

Sometimes students may think that they have not understood a reading assignment very well, and that if they copy the words of the author they will be sure to get it right. However, professors know what is in the reading assignments, and will recognize the words that the students copied. Copying from the Internet is an especially bad idea, because it is very easy to discover and prove this kind of cheating. Use reading assignments and Internet searches to gather information and to develop your own ideas, but do not copy the words or ideas of others.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
We all have a right to be respected. In this class each person is expected to treat others with courtesy and respect, to listen when others speak, and to refrain from distracting behavior. In addition, in order to ensure that everyone feels accepted and supported, negative comments related to race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sex, or sexual orientation are not permitted. Students who disregard any of these principles will be suspended from the course until they have a meeting with the professor. The intend of this policy is to create an environment in which all students may maximize their learning potential.

COMMUNICATION
You are welcomed to drop in during office hours or to make an appointment. At other times the best way to reach me is by email. If a message is urgent, please send it to both of my addresses. Announcements are posted on this website. Please check it several times each week.

BARKS AND BEEPS
Seeing eye dogs are welcomed in the classroom, but all other non-human companions will be asked to stay outside. 

Please keep in mind that a class is a community of learners. Conversations among students before and after class reinforce that community. So please turn off your cell phone, iPod, and any other electronic devices before you enter the classroom.

INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
If you have a documented learning disability, please let me know by September 3, so that appropriate testing accommodations and other help may be made available to you if needed.

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CALENDAR

I. Introduction (August 25–29)

Read by

 August 29: Textbook (Introducing Sociology: A Whole New World), Chapter 1.
II. Culture: What It Is and How We Get It (September 3–17)
Read by

 

September 10: Textbook, Chapter 2, through the section on "Subcultures";
Lee, "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari," pp. 1–9 in Intersections;
September 17: Textbook, Chapter 2, beginning with "Socialization;
Davis, "A Final Note on a Case of Extreme Isolation," pp. 36–45 in Intersections.

III. Small Groups and Big Bureaus (September 17–24)
Read by September 24: Textbook, Chapter 3;
Meyer, "If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger," pp. 21–31 in Intersections;
IV. Living With Social Institutions (September 26–October 3)
Read by October 1: Textbook, Chapter 4;
Mutari, "Finland Experiments with Six-Hour Workday," pp. 33–40 in Intersections;
October 8: Kozol, "Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools," pp. 42–59 in Intersections.
V. Stratification and What it Means to Individuals (October 8–22)
Read by October 15: Textbook, Chapter 5, through the section on "Vertical Mobility";
Ehrenreich and Piven, "Without a Safety Net," pp. 61–68;
October 22: Chapter 5, beginning with "Poverty and Globalization";
Fuentes and Ehrenreich, "Women in the Global Factory," pp. 69–74 in Intersections.

VI. Racism and Sexism (October 24–November 5)
Read by October 29: Textbook, Chapter 6, through the section on "Immigration";
De Uriarte, "Baiting Immigrants: Heartbreak for Latinos," pp. 77–85 in Intersections;
November 5: Chapter 6, beginning with "Sex and Gender";
Sanders, "The Men We Carry in Our Minds," pp. 86–90 in Intersections;

II. Being Different: Deviance and Social Control (November 7–14)

November 12: Textbook, Chapter 7;
Davis, "Masked Racism," pp. 92–97 in Intersections.
VIII. Societies in Transition (November 17–December 5)
Read by November 19: Unit VIII, pp. 242–245;
Kanagy, "How Will the Internet Change Society?" pp. 221–230;
Walljasper, "When Activists Win: Renaissance of Dudley Street," pp.232–243;
December 3: Unit VIII, "Social Movements," p. 245–247;
Cousineau, "Religion and Social Activism in Brazil" (hand-out).
 

VIII. Summing Up (December 8-9)
Read by December 9: "Final Note," p. 271.

FINAL EXAMS: DECEMBER 10–15

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SCHOOL SUPPORT SERVICES
ACADEMIC
SUCCESS CENTER  
(ASC)

The Academic Success Center (ASC), located on the first floor of Hallden Center , next to the rear entrance to the campus, offers free tutoring for students of all skill levels across a wide range of subjects.

For the tutors’ schedule and further information about the Academic Success Center, go to the College website and select Resources and Services and select Academic Services and then select Tutoring..

Contact Christine McLaughlin, Director of the ASC and the Writing Center , at 617-928- 4709 or cmclaughlin@mountida.edu if you would like additional information about the help the ASC can provide.
WRITING CENTER

The Writing Center provides free, professional tutoring for writing; it is located on the third floor of the Academic Technology Center (ATC306).

For the writing tutors’ schedule and further information about the Writing Center , go to the College website and select Resources and Services, and select Academic Services and then select Tutoring.

Contact the Supervisor of the Writing Center , at 617-928-7322 if you would like additional information about the help the Writing Center can provide.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Mount Ida College is committed to arranging reasonable accommodations for all students with documented disabilities.  If you have a documented disability and would like accommodations in the classroom, please speak with me at your earliest convenience.  If you have not yet presented your documentation to the College, you should schedule an appointment with Dean Curtis at 617-928-4556 or acurtis@mountida.edu to arrange for appropriate support services and classroom accommodations.
FACULTY
ADVISORS		 To help ensure your success, you will be assigned a faculty advisor in your first semester. Usually within your major, this advisor will provide you with guidance on course selection, as well as long term academic planning and advisement to help you successfully reach your career goals.

All students have been assigned a Faculty Advisor in their program or major area. You need to keep track of your Faculty Advisor’s telephone number, office hours, and office location so you can contact your advisor.

Contact Alyce Curtis, Dean of Academic Services, at x 4556 or acurtis@mountida.edu if you have general questions about the advising system or who your advisor is.
WADSWORTH
LIBRARY

The Reference Librarians will help you find the information that you need for assignments, class presentations, projects and co-curricular activities.  You can request reference support in person in the Wadsworth Library or on-line.

You can link directly to the Library’s electronic databases and the Library’s online catalog, from the College website – go to www.mountida.edu, select Library.  You can ask a Librarian a question online, from the Library homepage select Ask the Librarian under Library Information.

The Wadsworth Library is open every day of the week.  Mon. through Thurs. – 7:30 am to 11:00 pm; Friday – 7:30 am to 5:00 pm; Sat. – 10:00 am to 5 pm; Sun. – 1 pm to midnight.  Library hours are extended during exam periods and change during holidays; you can check the Library hours on the Library homepage under Library Information. If you have any questions about Library services, please contact Judy Harding, Coordinator of User Services, 617-928-4552 or jharding@mountida.edu.
MEDIA SERVICES

Students may borrow a wide range of audiovisual equipment to gather information, document and present information, e.g. a digital camera.  Notebook computers and data/video projection systems are also available for classroom presentations.  The Media Specialist instructs students in the use of AV equipment.

To request AV equipment or support, you must submit a request online.  Go to the College homepage and select Resources and Services and then select Media Services, choose Media Services Request Form – fill it out and submit it.  Manouche Madanipour, Coordinator of Media Services, will respond to your requests.  Requests must be submitted one week in advance of the scheduled event.
ACADEMIC
COMPUTING

The College has two open access computer lab areas: Shaw and the Wadsworth Library.  Instructional computer classrooms are available for student use when classes are not in session.  Schedules are posted on the doors of the computer labs and on the College website – select Resources and Services and then select Computer Labs

If you have questions about accessing or using the College’s computer labs please contact Wallia Wright, Campus Computer Lab Manager, at 617-928-4066 or wwright@mountida.edu.
WebCT SUPPORT In those courses for which WebCT is used, support for accessing WebCT, and using any of the features of WebCT, may be obtained by contacting Kevin French, Instructional Technology Specialist, webct@mountida.edu or 1-617-928-7396.  Kevin French or a staff member will respond within 24 business hours.

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