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Mount Ida College
SO 101 – Introduction to Sociology – Sections A and B
Spring, 2008
(For printable
version click here.)
Instructor: Dr. Madeleine Cousineau
Telephone: 617–928–7304
Website: www.mcousineau.net/so101.htm |
Office: Academic Tech Center, Room 232
Hours: Monday & Friday, 1–2
or by appointment
Email: click here |
PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE
This course is introduces the
sociological perspective, and provides ways to explore ways that
this
perspective enables us to gain a deeper
understanding of our own experiences and of the world around us.
Classes include both lecture and discussion, and input from
students will be encouraged. 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, and oral communication
READINGS
Intersections: Readings in Sociology is the only book
assigned for this course, along with one hand-out that will be distributed in class. Each student must purchase this book
and read every page. (Note: Please do not purchase Intersections
anywhere except the Mount Ida Bookstore or from another Mount Ida
student, because there are other versions of it that do not
contain the readings for this course.) The library has one
copy of this book at the reserve desk. Due dates for reading assignments are found
at the end of this syllabus. Study questions on these
readings may be found by clicking on the "study
questions" link at the top of this page.
TESTS AND ESSAYS
There will be a midterm exam on February 29, a final during the
exam period, open-book essay tests, and a quiz at the end of
class on every Friday, beginning on February. There will also be
four in-class essays. These
will be done on February 11, February 27, April 7, and May 6.
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, you must go to the “tests” link at the top of
this page (or click here). 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 should go to the website between
Friday afternoon and Sunday evening (or very early Monday
morning).
Missed
essays or quizzes cannot be taken later. However, you may
substitute a weekly written assignment (answers to study
questions found on the website) for a quiz or an in-class essay.
Written assignments are due each Wednesday. So if you know in
advance that you will have to be absent – for example, because
of a field trip, an away game, or your cousin’s wedding –
please be sure hand in the written assignment by Wednesday.
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GRADES AND EXTRA CREDIT
Grades will be calculated as follows:
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Distribution |
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Points
to Grade |
|
|
|
|
|
Average of quizzes/written assignments...........
Midterm
exam................................................
Final
exam......................................................
Total..............................................................
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331/3%
331/3%
331/3%
100%
|
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93-100
points
90-92 points
87-89 points
83-86 points
80-82 points
77-79 points
|
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
|
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73-76
points
70-72
points
67-69 points
63-66 points
60-62 points
< 60
|
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F
|
|
|
Grades of C-minus
or lower will be reported as midterm warnings. All
students are graded according to the same standards.
Final grades cannot be changed except in the case of
calculation errors.
You
may earn extra credit for extra help sessions with the
instructor and/or handing in answers to
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 class is valuable, both for
yourself and for the other students. For this reason, attendance
is required. Seven absences will result in an automatic F for
the course. Frequent late arrival will count for one-third 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 the holiday, 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 the website under "Announcements and
Reminders." There is no "ten minute rule." If
class is not cancelled, students who leave after ten minutes
will be marked absent.
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
If you have a documented learning disability,
please let me know by January 25, so that appropriate testing
accommodations and other help may be made available to you if
needed.
BARKS AND BEEPS
Seeing eye dogs are welcomed in the classroom, but all other
non-human companions will be asked to stay outside. Cell phones,
pagers, and tape or CD players must be turned off and put away before
you enter the classroom.
COMMUNICATION
Announcements are posted on this website. It is important to
check it often for changes or announcements. If you hear that a class has been cancelled,
please check the website immediately in order to find out: (1)
if the information is true; (2) if there are any changes in
assignments or test dates.
You are welcomed to drop in during office hours, to talk with
me after class, or to make an appointment. At other times the
best way to reach me is by email. If the message is urgent,
please send it to both of my addresses: mcousineau@mountida.edu
and mrcousineau@comcast.net.
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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 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: (1) copying all or part of another student's
assignment; (2) copying word-for-word from the Internet, a book,
or an article for an assignment or open-book test without using
quotation marks around the words copied; (3) 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, these students need to realize that professors know
what is in the reading assignments, and will recognize the
words that the students copied. Use reading assignments 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. So
in this class everyone is expected to treat one another with
courtesy and respect, to listen when others speak, and to
refrain from distracting behavior. In addition, in order to
ensure that everyone in this class feels accepted and supported,
negative comments related to race, ethnicity, religion, age,
disability, sex, or sexual orientation are not permitted.
Students who violate any of these principles will be suspended
from the course until they make a formal apology to the class.
The intent of this policy is to create an environment in which
all students may fell comfortable while maximizing their learning potential.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
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Open-book tests:
(Be sure to bring your book to class on these days)
January 25
March 21
In-class
writing assignments:
(These cannot be made
up later)
February 11
February 27
April 7
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Quizzes:
Every Friday from February 1 to May 2
(except for February 29 and March 21)
Midterm Exam:
February 29
Final Exam Period:
(Do not book travel arrangements before this
period.)
May 7–12
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CALENDAR/OUTLINE
| I.
Introduction (January 16–21) |
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January 21: |
Unit I, pp. 1–8;
Sailes, "An
Investigation of Campus Stereotypes: The Myth of Black
Athletic Superiority and the Dumb Jock Stereotype,"
pp. 9–19. |
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II.
Culture: What It Is and How We Get It (January
23–February 6)
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Read
by
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January
30: |
Unit
II, pp. 21–24;
Lee, "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari," pp.
27–35; |
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Read by
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February
6:
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Unit
II, pp. 25–26;
Davis, "A Final Note on a Case of Extreme
Isolation," pp. 36–45.
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III.
Small Groups and Big Bureaus (February 6 –13)
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Read
by
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February
13: |
Unit
III, pp. 47–52;
Meyer, "If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a
Stranger," pp. 53–63;
Ritzer, "The McDonaldization of Society," pp.
65–79. |
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IV.
Living With Social Institutions (February 15–February
29)
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Read
by
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February
20:
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Unit
IV, pp. 82–87;
Coontz, "The Way We Weren’t: The Myth and the
Reality of the ‘Traditional’ Family," 88–95;
Dreyfuss, "Toxic Cash: How Lobbyists Poisoned the
EPA," pp. 97–107; |
| February
27:
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Kozol,
"Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s
Schools," pp. 108–125. |
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M I D
T E R M E X A M O N F E B R U
A R Y 2 9
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| V.
Stratification and What it Means to Individuals (March
3–21) |
| Read
by |
March
5:
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Unit
V, pp. 127–131;
Ehrenreich, "Nickel and Dimed," pp. 133–158; |
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Unit
V, "Poverty and Globalization," p. 132;
Reich, "Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the
Poor Poorer," pp. 160–169. |
VI. Racism and Sexism
(March 24–April 4) |
| Read
by |
March
26: |
Unit
VI, pp. 170–174;
Yamato, "Racism: Something About the Subject Makes
it Hard to Name," pp. 178–184;
De Uriate, "Baiting Immigrants: Heartbreak for
Latinos," pp. 185–193; |
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April
6:
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Unit
VI, "Sexism," pp. 174–175;
Sanders, "The Men We Carry in Our Minds," pp.
194–199;
Fuentes and Ehrenreich, "Women in the Global
Factory," pp. 200–205. |
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VII. Being Different:
Deviance and Social Control
(April 7–16)
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| Read
by |
April
9:
April 16: |
Unit
VII, pp. 208–213;
Thompson and Harred, "Topless Dancers: Managing
Stigma in a Deviant Occupation," pp. 214–231;
Zimbardo, "Pathology of Imprisonment," pp. 232–250. |
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| VIII.
Societies in Transition (April 18–May 2) |
| Read
by |
April
21:
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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; |
| April
28: |
Unit
VIII, "Social Movements," p. 245–247;
Cousineau, "Religion and Social Activism in
Brazil" (hand-out). |
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VIII. Summing Up
(May 2–6)
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| Read
by |
May
6: |
"Final
Note," p. 271.
(Wednesday schedule on Tuesday) |
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F I N
A L E X A M P E R I O D :
M
A Y 7 - 1 2 |
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