Mc Gene Introduction to Sociology Syllabus Spring 2021 PDF

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SOCI200 Syllabus...

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SOCI 200 Introduction to Sociology Units: 4 Spring 2021; T/Th: 11 - 12:20 AM Location: ZOOM and Blackboard Instructor: Juliana McGene Office Hours: Wednesday 9-11 AM Contact Info: [email protected]

Discussion Sections (all on Zoom/BB) Your TA will give your more specific information about the requirements for your discussion section. Please direct all of your questions about paper and exam grades to your TA first (see policy in syllabus). Maria Labourt W: 10 - 10:50 AM W: 11 - 11:50 AM [email protected] Zoom Office Hours: Mon. 12-2 PM

Valentina Cantori M: 10 - 10:50 AM M: 1- 1:50 PM [email protected] Zoom Office Hours: Mon. 11 AM-1 PM; Tues 10-11 AM

Ruiyi Li W: 4 - 4:50 PM W: 5 - 5:50 PM [email protected] Zoom Office Hours: Mon. 10 AM-12 PM

Course Description Sociology is the systematic study of the social world ranging from individual experiences in everyday life to global level social processes. This course will introduce students to core sociological theories and concepts by considering a wide variety of topics within sociology. These topics, including social problems, social inequality, race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, family, education, and population dynamics, will serve as vehicles for applying sociological theories and concepts, as well as providing empirical evidence that informs the strength of these ideas across sub-fields. Through course readings - which include classic sociological selections as well as newer readings, class discussions, exercises, and films, the course will help students develop their “sociological imaginations” and will encourage students to think critically about micro- and macro-levels of the social world.

Learning Objectives  Learn concepts and theories to view societal problems via the sociological imagination. In doing so, students will develop the ability to engage unfamiliar questions and approaches to social issues.  Identify and recognize the ways in which individual-level choices, attitudes, and behaviors are shaped by, and also shape, broader social structural forces, including economic, cultural, and political forces. As a result, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between human action and organizations, institutions, and/or social and cultural settings.  Understand and reflect on our society’s inequalities based on gender, class, race-ethnicity, sexual orientation, and more, which will enhance the capacity for empathy and an appreciation of diversity.  Enrich skills of writing, interpretation, critique, and argumentation, as well as analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods and the examination of empirical evidence in explaining specific social phenomena.  Apply methods of social analysis from at least one social science discipline to the study of human behavior and experience in economic, political, cultural and/or social settings

Special Accommodations: If you need any special accommodations to complete the course requirements, please talk to your TA right away.

Required Readings 1) You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (6th edition), by Dalton Conley (ISBN 10: 0393674177)

2) All reader selections (all but Conley textbook chapters) will be available on Blackboard. Most will come from Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology (8th edition), by Susan J. Ferguson (Noted as “F” on the course schedule) (ISBN: 9781506368283) Additional required reader selections will also be posted on Blackboard, and are noted in the course schedule as “BB”.

DESCRIPTION AND ASSESSMENT OF ASSIGNMENTS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION (8% FOR LECTURE; 7% FOR DISCUSSION SECTION): This course is designed to foster dialogue about issues and ideas that come up in lectures, readings, and group discussion over the course of the semester. For this reason, students are expected to attend the live/synchronous lecture and discussion regularly and punctually, do all required reading on time, and come prepared to participate in class discussions. Students are expected to welcome differing viewpoints and to respect the thoughts and ideas of all class participants, listen quietly while others are speaking, and arrive and leave on time. Disrupting the flow of instruction and discussion does a disservice to other students and to the instructor. With our course being online this term, this includes entering and leaving the meeting and/or working on other programs/apps, etc. instead of staying present with the rest of the class. Please try to treat our synchronous time as close to in-person time as possible. Please also be mindful of not engaging in tangential and distracting input into class discussions or questions. We can explore different viewpoints and entertain sincere efforts to understand the material, but the ultimate goal should be to deepen our understanding and thinking around the topics and issues selected for this course. Engaging in disruptive behavior will result in the student being asked to leave the class for that day, which will be accompanied by no participation or attendance credit for that day. Note that information covered in lectures and discussion sections may not be in the readings, and vice versa. Students often overlook how important participation and attendance are in their education. In this course, your grade for participation and attendance is based on the percentage of synchronous class meetings you attend (you can’t participate if you’re not here!), and will be increased or decreased based on your participation. Moreover, having more than 3 unexcused absences will result in a reduction in your participation/attendance points to a maximum possible 4 points for lecture (out of the original 8) and to a maximum possible 4 points for discussion section (out of the original 7). Signing in for another student is not permitted and is a form of academic dishonesty. Assigned Readings: Each class period, you will need to come having already read the readings that correspond to that date. You are responsible for assigned readings whether or not I have discussed them fully in class . Also, participation will affect your grade indirectly as well as directly. If you have not read the material, it will be difficult for you to participate fully in class discussions. TWO EXAMS (50%) Each examination will cover material from lecture, the readings, films, and class discussion. Exams include multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. For the most part, the final exam will not be cumulative, but you will need to apply theoretical concepts and foundational information from earlier lectures and readings, as they will carry over throughout the term. Exams will happen in synchronous time on Zoom twice this term: once for the midterm and once for the final exam. Exams are closed book and closed notes. See course schedule for exams dates and times and do not make other plans for those times/dates. No make-up exams will be offered. You must attend the Zoom meetings on exam days at the scheduled time in order to take the exams. If you have unchangeable plans that interfere with these exam dates, you should withdraw from the class. TWO SHORT REFLECTION PAPERS BASED ON THE COURSE READINGS (20% TOTAL - 10% EACH). You will write two reflection papers (3 pages each) in which you connect two reading selections (two selections for each paper, for a total of four selections for both papers) with each other and with a social issue of your choosing. (The reading selections refer to all the readings other than the chapters in the Conley textbook, and which are on Blackboard.) This can be a current event, phenomenon, or issue OR an older historic event that you will discuss by drawing on the two readings you have selected for that paper. The first paper should draw on two reading selections from the first half of the course (all the readings covered until the midterm exam), and the second paper should draw on readings from the latter half of class (all readings covered since the midterm exam). A break-down of the points for the required components will be given in a separate handout.

Each paper should integrate a balance of your own reflections on this issue as they relate to the readings you have chosen, as well as clear reference to specific aspects of the readings you are including. You will have to put some time in to decide what issue, event, or phenomenon you will choose for your paper. This process is part of the work, so please be thinking about this as you read each reader assignment and be actively searching for social/political/cultural issues or themes. Each 3-page paper must be wellorganized and clearly written. You must write at least 3 full pages, but please do not exceed 4 pages. All papers must be typed in . 12 Times New Roman font, one-inch margins. Please use the APA citation format to cite all sources including the class readings for your papers. Do not directly quote from the readings. Please be sure your name and the name of your TA is on the top of your paper. No cover pages, please. Please see Course Schedule for Due Dates Each paper is due at 10:30 AM on Blackboard via a Turnitin link. After that time, you will not be able to turn your paper in for full credit. Late papers may be turned in to your TA via email by the next calendar day by 10:30 AM for a maximum of ½ credit/5 percentage points (depending on the quality of your paper). No late papers will be accepted more than one calendar day after the due date at 10:30 AM. Media Research Paper (15 points): This will be a media assignment, for which you will find 3-4 images (advertisements, magazine covers, films, TV series, YouTube videos, etc.) that relate to one of the societal issues we discuss in class (tip: Social inequality issues, such as gender, ethnicity, & social class are among the issues with which most media images are saturated). You will clearly identify the issue/norm/etc. and write 3 pages in which you describe the media images and reflect on how the media images you chose specifically speak to that issue. For instance, what is the message (whether intended or not) about women/men/etc.? What might the implications be? This is not a paper that places specific blame or responsibility on any one advertiser or filmmaker, etc. The idea is to notice and document what messages/ideas/values/suggestions are embedded in the media images. You must also integrate the relevant concepts/findings/theories from lecture and the textbook in your paper. A break-down of the points for required components for papers will be given in separate handouts. Your paper must be well-organized and clearly written. All papers must be typed in .12 Times New Roman font, one-inch margins. No cover pages, please. See Course Schedule for Due Date. Your paper is due at 10:30 AM on Blackboard via a Turnitin link on the date noted in the course schedule. After that time, you will not be able to turn your paper in for full credit. Late papers may be turned in to your TA via email by the next calendar day by 10:30 AM for a maximum of ½ credit/7.5 percentage points (depending on the quality of your paper). No late papers will be accepted more than one calendar day after the due date at 10:30 AM. Important note about paper grades (this applies to all three papers for this class): The TAs use a common grading plan to assign point reduction for certain types of missing or erroneous paper content. This means the grading approach has been made as uniform as possible across students and discussion sections. If you need clarification on any point deductions for your paper, please contact your TA and arrange a conversation to have this clarified. If you disagree with the point deduction, you need to first explain to your TA in very specific terms why that particular point deduction was unwarranted (given the grading schema that is being used). This means you will have to point out specific text that you have already included in the paper that actually addresses the dimension of the paper that has received a point penalty. This should take care of the vast majority of paper grade questions. If after all of this, you still wish to have your paper grade reconsidered, you may submit it to me within three days of the date that paper’s grade was posted. There is a very specific protocol for this which must be followed. You must send me a scanned copy of the original paper with your TAs comments and point deductions on them; you must also submit a copy (in Word) with track changes marking very specifically the original text of your paper that addresses the specific points you were penalized for that particular content error, with a very clear sentence explaining why that point infraction is not accurate in light of your original text. Explaining or clearing up what you meant to say will not suffice. It has to be clear from the original writing that you actually did what you were supposed to do for that component of the paper. Simply thinking you deserve a better grade will not be a specific enough procedure for having you paper grade reconsidered. Moreover, please be cautioned of two things: 1) doing this will not guarantee that any points will be added to your paper grade; and 2) if I find additional problems with the paper, I will deduct additional points, which may mean you will have fewer points on your paper than you had before you brought it to me. This is not meant to be punitive, but rather to be fair regarding the regrading of papers. The whole paper will be regraded, which, again, could mean additional points being deducted. Please do not attempt to obtain a grade change on a paper in any other way than the process described above.

DISCUSSION SECTION ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION (7%)

Your TA will inform you about what is expected for your discussion section. Your grade in this section of the class will be based on your performance on these expected exercises as evaluated by Valentina, Maria, or Ruiyi.

GRADING BREAKDOWN The points you earn on these assessments will determine your grade in this course. Each of these will be weighted as follows: Two Exams (25 points each) Media Research Paper (15 points) Two Short Reflection Papers (10 points each) Participation (Lectures) Participation (Discussion Section) Total Possible Points

50 15 20 8 7 100

Your letter grade is based on a percentage of the 100 total possible points that you earn, and will be assigned on the following basis: A = 94 to 100; A- = 90 to 93.99; B+ = 87.9 to 89.99; B = 83.33 to 87.89; B- = 80 to 83.32; C+ = 75 to 79.99; C = 70 to 74.99; D = 60 to 69.99 and F = 59.9 and below. No exceptions. Note that negotiation skills are nowhere on this list of assessment factors. I do not ever change grades unless there has been a computational error. I do not respond to emails, phone calls, etc. whose aim is to ask me to change a grade other than those due to computational errors. (I don’t give extra credit assignments.) A NOTE ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: Students must in no way misrepresent their own work or be a party to another student’s failure to maintain academic integrity. All work must be your own work and no one else’s. All work must also be original for this course (you may not use a paper from another course for any work for this class). Any violation of the code of academic integrity will result in a failing grade for the course. Additionally, since this course deals with sensitive topics, I expect a great deal of respect be given to your fellow students and to me.

Assignment Submission Policy All due dates are noted in the course schedule below. Please refer to this syllabus for due dates. All assignments are to be turned in on Blackboard (Turnitin) by the due time on the due date. No late assignments (or exams) will be accepted unless you can provide clear documented evidence that circumstances beyond your control prevented your timely performance. Written assignments must be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins, and you must keep a copy of all work that you turn in. Each student must turn in his or her own writing assignments and respect USC’s standards for academic integrity. Authors and researchers work hard on their papers and books; plagiarism will not be tolerated!

Additional Policies In addition to the assignment submission policy noted above, having more than 3 unexcused absences will result in a reduction in your participation/attendance points to a maximum possible 4 points for lecture (out of the original 8) and to a maximum possible 4 points for discussion section (out of the original 7). Lecture and section each have their own attendance, so missing a lecture and a discussion section on the same day will result in a separate absence for each meeting. You will otherwise be graded on your percentage of attendance and participation in lecture and discussion, which will be calculated out of the maximum possible points for each. Example: If you have missed 4 lectures, and earned an 85% in lecture participation/attendance for the days you were there, you would earn 3.4 out of 8 points for the participation/attendance for lecture. As the course progresses, it may be necessary to make some adjustments to the schedule of readings, topics, assignments, and due dates printed in this syllabus. You should check the course website on a regular basis for updates and changes. You should also check your USC email account regularly for announcements, as I will often use email instead of Blackboard. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed. Lectures will be recorded, but notes are not posted online. If you miss a class, you will need to get these materials from another student in the class. Please be prepared to stay with us on the Zoom app (only) during class unless you are ill. Such behavior interrupts the lecture and is inconsiderate to us and your fellow students. Since this course deals with sensitive topics, I expect a great deal of respect be given to your fellow students and to me.

Finally, regarding technology etiquette, please put “SOCI 200” in the subject line of any message. Your TA should be your primary contact for this class regarding grades and attendance/participation. Assignments will not be accepted via e-mail. We will be using Blackboard (https://blackboard.usc.edu) to post announcements, most handouts, and some articles, so check this site periodically. Please turn cell phones off completely during class. The use of non-class programs/apps/other non-class materials, cell phones, etc. will result in dismissal from that lecture. After three lecture dismissals you will be asked to drop the class.

COURSE OUTLINE *Synchronous lectures will meet on Zoom each Tuesday and Thursday from 11 AM to 12:30 PM. You are expected to be prepared to enter the Zoom meeting a few minutes before 11 to get yourself settled and to check in with the TAs for attendance. You’ll also see that the papers are due on Blackboard by 10:30 AM on due dates, so be sure you are uploading those in time and before class starts. I will make every effort to make recordings of each lecture available on Blackboard, but I will not guarantee recordings for each/all lectures, as this class is designed to be taken live as a group. You are expected to attend each lecture live during the scheduled time. You should not count on recordings to substitute attending class nor for taking notes/engaging in active listening during the live lectures. If you miss something during the lecture, you’ll need to get the notes from a fellow student. Also, all students must take exams during the scheduled times. Attending from a different time zone will not excuse you from taking your midterm and final on the scheduled day and time. Please plan accordingly. Note: “(F)” indicates the selection comes from the Ferguson Reader; “(BB)” for Blackboard Week 1: T 1/19 & Th 1/21

THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE AND SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

1.

You May Ask Yourself (Conley) Chapter 1: The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction

2.