Soc 119N Syllabus PDF

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RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE (SOC 119N) – Fall 2021 Section 001 & 601 – 4.0 credits

T/R – 4:35 – 5:50 pm – 100 Thomas INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Sam Richards USE THIS EMAIL FOR ALL COURSE QUESTIONS: [email protected] COURSE ASSISTANTS: Lily AbiNader and Yuli Prieto COURSE WEB SITE: www.soc119.org TOPHAT: www.tophat.com PACKBACK: www.packback.co/ WORLD IN CONVERSATION (registration page): https://winc.la.psu.edu

WHERE DOES THE CLASS MEET? In Person: 100 Thomas Building Online: www.youtube.com/soc119/live or www.twitch.tv/soc119

TAKING SOC 119 ONLINE OR IN PERSON – WHAT IS POSSIBLE? Can I take SOC 119 online? • At this point, we are organizing the class around the idea that people will attend class in person in 100 Thomas Building on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:355:50pm.

What if I cannot attend class? • Like every other pre-Covid19 semester of Soc 119, students receive points for being in class because attendance is an “assignment.” • If you miss class, then you still must make up those points. How do I make up attendance points when I miss class? • You can watch a recording of class and take a quiz on Canvas.

What if I am immunocompromised and I want to take SOC 119 as an online course? • Reach out to us and then we will consult with Penn State and get back to you. ([email protected]).

What if I am an international student and at the last minute, I have decided not to risk coming to University Park? Do I need to drop the SOC 119 class? • Reach out to us and tell us of your plans. We will consult with Penn State and then get back in touch with you. ([email protected])

What if I get Covid-19 during the semester? Or what if I must go into quarantine? Or what if I cannot attend class for an extended period because I am having surgery? • We will follow Penn State guidelines, just like we do for any extended illness when instructors are asked to allow students to make up work that they have missed.

How many times during the semester can I NOT come to 100 Thomas for the inperson class? • You can decide to watch the recording instead of attending class on SIX different occasions throughout the semester. Remember, after watching the recording you will take a quiz on Canvas to earn • the attendance points.

Can I just stay home and watch the SOC 119 live stream instead of coming to the Thomas Building? • Yes, but it will count as one of your SIX opportunities to miss the in-person class. • FYI: SOC 119 is streamed on YouTube and Twitch every T/R @4:35-5:50pm. o We will make sure that you have the links

Are there any days during the semester when class will be cancelled? • There are 30 classes throughout the semester but there are only 28 in-person classes. • We do NOT have class on: Thursday (Sept 2) and Thursday (Sept 30). o Everyone will watch a recording of a “classic” SOC 119 lecture on those days. o These two classes (Sept 2 & 30) do NOT count toward the SIX days you do not have to be in class. o Technically speaking, therefore, there are EIGHT days total that you do not need to come to the Thomas Building.

How do I receive attendance credit when I am in 100 Thomas? • You log into TopHat on your phone while you are in the classroom, and you find that day’s attendance link.

How do I receive attendance credit when I am watching the livestream or the recordings? • Each class will have an associated quiz in Canvas that you will take AFTER you watch the livestream or the recording. The quiz will have questions pertaining to the class. The Canvas quiz will be available shortly after each class period. • If I miss a class, how long do I have before I must watch the recording? • The Canvas quiz will be open for three weeks after the end of each class. How will my attendance points be calculated? • We will add up your points from TopHat and add them to your points from any of the Lecture Attendance Quizzes that you take on Canvas (i.e., the days that you were not in class)

WHAT IS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE? To inspire you to think on your own terms regarding whatever it is we end up talking about in class. We shift the specific topics every semester according to what is in the news and what people are thinking about. Notice that the objective of the course is not to get you to think in any particular way, and it is certainly not to “teach” you something. Sam does not believe in “teaching” – his role is to stimulate you to think on your own terms.

HOW CAN I SEE MY GRADES? Packback: Follow your progress on your personal Packback page • Click on "Track My Own Participation" in the blue box on the right • Click on “Discussion Posts” below the gray box and then scroll down to see each post that you have done TopHat: Follow your progress on the TopHat app (and we might update it on Canvas as we go along if we can get the sync function working between TopHat and Canvas) World in Conversation: Follow your progress on the WinC landing page when you’re logged in Make-up Lecture Participation Quizzes: Canvas gradebook Readings and Videos Quizzes: Canvas gradebook Syllabus Quiz: Canvas gradebook

EARN EXTRA CREDIT You can earn ONE extra credit point each day that you are selected to be a Case Study volunteer. You only receive the point if we select you as a Case Study volunteer and not simply by filling out the volunteer questionnaire You do NOT receive extra credit by randomly raising your hand and asking a question or making a comment during class. We will keep track and we will add the points to your Canvas grade at the end of the semester. The maximum extra credit you can earn is TWO points. You must fill out the volunteer survey and sign the Case Study Volunteer consent form to volunteer and receive the extra credit. TO VOLUNTEER: www.soc119.org/volunteer

ASSIGNMENTS SYLLABUS QUIZ - 4 points Read the syllabus and go through Canvas and the web site (www.soc119.org). Then take the quiz. You have three tries to get 100 percent and hopefully everyone manages to do that. This quiz is due on Sunday, September 26 at 11:59pm.

READINGS and VIDEOS QUIZZES - 60 points There will be THREE quizzes for the course – all on Canvas. The quizzes are made up of Multiple-Choice questions and will cover ONLY the readings and videos on the website for one of the three sections. Each question on the quizzes is worth ONE point. The third quiz is not cumulative. Readings and videos are at (www.soc119.org). • • •

QUIZ ONE: Opens in Canvas on Thursday (September 23) at 5:50pm and is due before Monday (September 27) at 11:59pm QUIZ TWO: Opens in Canvas on Thursday (October 28) at 5:50pm and closes on Monday (November 1) at 11:59pm QUIZ THREE: Opens in Canvas on Thursday (December 9) at 5:50pm and closes on Tuesday (December 14) at 11:59pm

PACKBACK ASSIGNMENTS – 60 POINTS PURCHASING PACKBACK: $20.00 (This is a special SOC 119 rate, and it is NOT optional.) STEPS FOR PURCHASING PACKBACK: STEP ONE: Go to the SOC 119 Canvas page and find “Packback Questions” in the left column. Click on that and follow directions, including pay. USE YOUR PENN STATE EMAIL ADDRESS STEP TWO: Then log into: https://www.packback.co/ STEP THREE: Get started

YOU ONLY GET CREDIT FOR ONE (1) SET OF PACKBACK ASSIGNMENTS EACH WEEK. IF YOU DO MORE THAN ONE, GOOD FOR YOU – BUT YOU WILL NOT GET SOC 119 CREDIT.

CURIOSITY SCORE: In order to receive full points for these assignments, your Curiosity Score must be above the minimum threshold: • •

80 for the Question-Answer submissions 70 for the Response submissions

MINIMUM WORD REQUIREMENT: • •

250 for the Question-Answer submissions 150 for the Response submissions

Here are a few things to ensure that you reach the CS thresholds of 80/70: • • •

Do not have spelling errors Use paragraphs and make sure you write at least 250 words for new question and 150 for a response Include the link to the SOC 119 class YouTube video that you are commenting on while writing your Question Answer by clicking on the “Insert Video” tab (do not just put it in the middle of your text)

•

There are no half credit responses, so you will either receive FULL points or ZERO points for your efforts

IF YOUR CURIOSITY SCORE IS LESS THAN 80/70, JUST CLICK ON THE “OPTIONS” TAB AND EDIT YOUR SUBMISSION. You cannot edit your submission if someone has commented on it. If that happens, then just copy what you wrote and resubmit it with the changes that you want to make. So, for that week you will have two submissions and that is fine. TWELVE - Question-Answer Submissions – 36 points You submit twelve (12) of these assignments – one each week. You can forget on two different weeks, and you are still good and will not miss those points because on the final week of the semester you can make up TWO of your missed assignments. If you miss more than two, then you are out of luck because the system will only give you credit for UP TO 6 POINTS for two of these assignments during that final week. You receive THREE (3) points for each Question-Answer submission with a Curiosity Score at 80 or above. Each week you will select a segment from lecture that sparks a question in you. On the Packback platform, you will type in the question and provide the video link from the SOC 119 lecture that points to the part of class that addresses your question. Then you are going to answer your question in a minimum of 250 words. So, each submission will have three parts to it: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Your question A “reflection video” link that you will get from the SOC 119 web site (www.soc119.org) Your 250-word response If you want, you can include another source in the Source box at the bottom

We want you to use videos from more recent classes. It takes us a week to get videos up so focus on the previous three weeks of lecture when you are formulating your questions. Twelve of these submissions are due throughout the course of the semester, beginning during Week Three. However, during the final week of the semester you can make up TWO of these assignments if you miss two. Again, if you miss more than two, then you are out of luck because the system will only give you credit for UP TO 6 POINTS during that final week.

HOW TO SUBMIT A NEW QUESTION IN PACKBACK: STEP ONE: Go to www.soc119.org and select a video segment from class about which you want to comment STEP THREE: Log into Packback and go to the SOC 119 page

STEP FOUR: Click on “Ask a New Question” and type in the question that you want to answer pertaining to segment from class that you have selected REMEMBER, USE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS. STEP FIVE: Paste the YouTube link into the “Add a Video” box by clicking on the Insert Video tab (do not just paste it into your text) STEP SIX: Write a 250-word answer to your own question. Use paragraphs and do not make spelling errors. STEP SEVEN: Make sure your Curiosity Score is above 80 and then log out

TWELVE - Response Submissions – 24 points Along with your weekly Question-Answer submission, each week you will also formulate ONE 150-word response to a classmate’s Question-Answer submission assignment that is posted on the Packback platform. For this response you MUST get your Curiosity Score to 70. Each Response Submission is worth TWO (2) points and each response must receive a “Curiosity Score” of at least 70 for you to receive the points. Twelve of these submissions are due throughout the course of the semester, beginning during Week Three. However, as with the Question-Answer submissions, during the final week of the semester you can make up TWO of these assignments if you miss two. If you miss more than two, then you are out of luck because the system will only give you credit for UP TO 4 POINTS during that final week.

HOW TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE TO A CLASSMATE’S QUESTION IN PACKBACK: STEP ONE: Log into Packback and scroll through the Question-Answer submissions from other students on the SOC 119 Packback page STEP TWO: Read through questions from your classmates to find one that you would like to talk about. We pin what we think are some of the more interesting ones at the top. STEP THREE: Start your Response submission by clicking "Add Response" on someone’s question. Or provide a counter/supporting point to a classmate’s response by selecting "Add Response" on someone’s reply. STEP FOUR: Check your Curiosity score and make sure that it is at least 70 (remember there is no half credit) and make sure you hit 150 words.

VERY IMPORTANT: These assignments are due on Sundays at 11:59pm. If you submit them after 11:59pm, then they count toward the next week’s required assignments – which means that you do not have to do them during that next week. But keep track because you can only miss TWO and still “retrieve” the points during the final week of the semester. Again, you can only “retrieve” a max of 10 total points.

Lecture Participation – 56 Points Throughout each lecture class on Tuesday and Thursday (4:35 – 5:50pm) we will open two Top Hat poll questions to give you a chance to tell us that you are in 100 Thomas. There will be two poll questions per class – one at the beginning and one at the end. This means that you will receive TWO total points for attendance each lecture. You will get 2/2 if you participate in BOTH Top Hat poll questions but if you miss one of them, then you will get just one of the two possible points. If you are paying attention, then you WILL get the points and we will announce that the question is up. Once we announce, then you have 75 seconds to answer.

WATCHING CLASS RECORDINGS OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME We will allow you to not be in 100 Thomas (i.e., “miss class”) and either watch the livestream in real time or watch the recorded class lectures outside of class time (i.e., T/R @ 4:35pm) on SIX different occasions throughout the semester AND STILL RECEIVE YOUR TWO LECTURE CLASS PARTICIPATION POINTS. Your attendance grade for these late lectures will be based on Canvas quizzes that will have FOUR questions about the information discussed during the corresponding lectures. These four questions are each worth 0.5 points, adding up to a total of 2 points per quiz, the same number of points that you would be able to receive through Top Hat during the live lectures. These Canvas quizzes will open after class (generally within 15-20 minutes) after the end of class and will remain open for three weeks. After that they close, we are not reopening them. Therefore, you cannot wait until the end of the semester to make up class work. We are going to say this another way: YOU CAN ONLY EARN UP TO TWELVE (12) ATTENDANCE POINTS WATCHING RECORDINGS OF THE CLASS – which means that if you want FULL credit, then you can only miss class SIX (6) times.

NOTE: If you have an ongoing medical issue that requires that you miss class on a regular basis or for an extended period, contact the SOC 119 staff ([email protected]) and let us know what is going on.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarizing, or facilitating acts of dishonesty of others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person.

World in Conversation Dialogue - 45 points Throughout the course of the semester, you need to have completed SIX World in Conversation dialogues. • •

Five (5) of these are “local” – meaning that you will speak with other students in the class and maybe a few outside of class (7 points each) One (1) of these is “global” – meaning that students from Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Brazil, and Russia will be in the dialogues with you (10 points)

Again, each of the “Local dialogues” worth 7 points toward your final SOC 119 grade while the “Global dialogue” is worth 10 points toward your final SOC 119 grade. All Global Dialogues occur in Zoom. The Local Dialogues will occur both in Zoom rooms and in rooms in Pond Lab where you will sit in circles. You can decide which ones you would like to do, although on some days (e.g., Sundays) all dialogues happen in Zoom. • • • • • •

Each dialogue is 95 minutes, and you must be in the room the entire time You can only register for ONE dialogue at a time per two-week period One of the SIX dialogues must be a Global Dialogue Please do NOT register for more than one Global Dialogue. You can attend more if you want to just sit in, but do not register for it. If you miss a dialogue for which you are registered or arrive more than 10 minutes late and are not allowed in the room, you will have to make it up. HOWEVER, during the final week of the semester you can only make-up ONE dialogue. If you are required to have a World in Conversation dialogue for another course, it cannot “double count” for this one and this assignment cannot “double count” for your other course.

More information about this assignment will be posted on the web site and send to you via email. However, please not the following information about registration:

Here is how this works: Every two weeks you must complete one of your World in Conversation dialogues. It is up to you to get them in during that two-week period. If something happens and you miss one, then re-register for it during that two-week window. If you cannot fit a dialogue in or there are no available seats, then you will have an opportunity to make ONE of them up during the final week of the semester. Please note: YOU CAN ONLY MAKE UP ONE OF SIX REQUIRED DIALOGUES AND WE CANNOT GUARANTEE ENOUGH SEATS DURING THAT LAST WEEK IF DEMAND IS TOO HIGH. Let us say that again: During the final week of the semester, we cannot have unlimited dialogues available for people to attend. As such, there will be competition for the seats that will be available for make-up groups, and you might not get registered. Our best advice is that you do not slack on this assignment, or you will be in dire straits at the end of the term.

World in Conversation Dialogue Schedule for SOC 119: Block 1: Sunday, September 5 - Saturday, September 18 Block 2: Sunday, September 19 - Saturday, October 2 Block 3: Sunday, October 3 - Saturday, October 16 Block 4: Sunday, October 17 - Saturday, October 30 Block 5: Sunday, October 31 - Saturday, November 13 Block 6: Sunday, November 14 - Saturday, December 4 Make up groups: Sunday, December 5 - Thursday, December 9

If you have any questions or issues regarding your World in Conversation account, scheduling, or about the dialogues themselves, please contact the WinC office by phone at (814) 865-5692 or fill out a help form at www.worldinconversation.org/help and someone will get back to you within 24 hours.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE WEEK ONE: T/Th August 24 & 26 Assignments: • •

Read the syllabus Register for Packback by going into Canvas and clicking on “Packback Questions” on the left side of the course page (it will cost $20 for this course – as we get a discount)

WEEK TWO: T/Th August 26 & September 2 Assignments: • •

Take the Syllabus Quiz on Canvas – it is due by Sunday, September 26 at 11:59pm Check your email for the World in Conversation registration link

WEEK THREE: T/Th September 7 & 9 Assignments: • •

Packback submission (#1) is due by 11:59pm on Sunday, September 12 Register for and complete World in Conversation Dialogue (Block #1) – either this week or next

WEEK FOUR: T/Th September 14 & 16 Assignments: • •

Packback submission (#2) is due by 11:59pm on Sunday, September 19 Register for and complete World in Conversation Dialogue (Block #1) – if you did not do it last week

WEEK FIVE: T/Th September 21 & 23 Assignments: • • •

Packback submission (#3) is due by 11:59pm on Sunday, September 26 World in Conversation Dialogue (Block #2) – either this week or next FIRST QUIZ - opens in Canvas on Thursday ...