Course description and goals
In this class you will learn about a sociological view of
the social world around you. We will
understand how sociologists think about society, and how they try to explain
social life in groups and organizations. A
particular emphasis will be on understanding everyday life and how even the
most personal life experiences are shaped by societal forces that are often
invisible to us. At the same time, you will learn about how everyday
experiences and behavior are involved in creating and changing the social
world in which we live. Finally, you
will come to an understanding of how your personal life experience is touched
by societal forces.
This is not an easy course, but I hope it will be interesting
and exciting for you. It is important that you keep an open mind because
looking at (your) life experiences and seeing them in a new light can be quite
challenging at times.
This course will use a mix of teaching methods, but mainly
rely on lecture and in-class discussion. It is always expected that you have done the
assigned reading for the day. Lectures and discussion will not necessarily
cover all concepts mentioned in the readings; thus it is important that you
keep up because the exams cover all of the assigned materials.
The following books are available
at the ASUN bookshop:
Newman, David M. 2002. Sociology:
Exploring the architecture of everyday life. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Pine Forge Press. (textbook)
Newman, David M., and O’Brien, Jodi. 2002. Sociology: Exploring the architecture of everyday
life - Readings. Thousand
Oaks, CA:
Pine Forge Press. (reader)
(A) All information
contained in this syllabus is posted on the internet at
Should any changes become necessary, this web address will
always have the most current version of the syllabus.
Be sure to check the website for updates, especially in cases when
you haven’t been able to attend class.
(B) This course
uses Web Course Tools (
Web CT),
an online system that allows you access to additional course material, e.g.
study guides etc.
It also permits you
to track your grades in this course.
To
get access to WebCT, go to
http://webct.unr.edu.
If you have used WebCT before, you already have
a username and password.
If you have
never used it, go to
http://webct.unr.edu,
click on “Student Resources” and then on “Logon Instructions.”
There you will find detailed in instructions
regarding how to log-on, how to change your password etc. There is also info
on how to use the system, but it is pretty self-explanatory.
Requirements
Exams. There will be three exams, each consisting of
a combination of short answer and essay questions. The exams mainly test your understanding of
the course material and your ability to think critically about it and apply
it to new situations. The exams cover
the textbook, the supplementary readings as well as the material presented
in class. The latter includes lectures,
handouts, demonstrations, activities, and audio-visual materials. The two mid-term exams each cover the preceding
5-6 weeks; the final exam is cumulative, but focuses heavily on the last third
of the course.
Quizzes. In order to give you instant feedback on how
well you have learned the textbook material, there will be a weekly quiz for
almost every textbook chapter. The
quizzes test your memory for the central concepts introduced by the chapter.
The quizzes will be brief and very easy if you have taken the time to read the chapter, but you are sure to
fail if you have not done so. All quizzes
will use a multiple-choice format. There
will be a total of 13 quizzes over the course of the semester, but only
the 10 highest scores count toward your final grade. If you miss class on the day of a quiz, you
will receive a 0). There will be no
make-up quizzes.
Norm violation
exercise. This exercise is designed to have you experience the impact
of social norms first hand. For this
purpose, you will be asked to break a social norm and write about your experience
in a brief paper. Because it is important
that your norm violation is not illegal or hurtful to anybody, you must get
prior approval for the specific norm violation you are planning on writing
about. Full details of the paper will
be announced on February 3. The assignment
is due in class on February 24.
Film analysis.
In this assignment you are asked to watch a feature film and analyze it using
sociological concepts and theory. The goal is for you to apply the material
you have learned viewing a movie through a sociological lense. Details will
be announced on March 24 and the assignment is due on April 23 in class.
Participation. Your active participation, especially in small
group discussions and activities, is critically important for the success
of this class. Naturally, you cannot
actively participate when you are not physically present.
Whether you come to class or not is your personal decision,
and there will be no formal record of your attendance. However, regular attendance
of class is highly recommended. Whereas
you could do all of the readings at home, the content of lectures and in-class
discussion are as relevant for papers and exams as is the content of the textbook
and the reader. The bottom line is
that I will try to make class interesting and worth your time, but in the
end you are responsible for making sure that you cover all the content.
Grading
All grades in this course are letter grades, usually determined
by the traditional 60/70/80/90 percent breakdown (A-range 100-90; B-range
89-80 etc.). Grading will occur in
thirds of letter grades: A+, A, A-,
B+ etc. In order to combine grades
into your final grades, the letter grade on an assignment will be converted
to its GPA equivalent (A = 4.0; A- = 3.666, B+ = 3.333; B = 3.0 etc.). The weighted average will then be converted
back to a letter grade. Below are the weights:
College grades should reflect how well you have learned
the relevant material; thus, I don’t usually give extra credit. To me an A
in a college class means that you learned 90% or more of the material—not,
for example, that you earned only 85% but then did an extra assignment to
bring up your grade. However, if you
are concerned about your grade, you will have the chance to completing an
optional assignment.
By completing it you can improve your course grade, but if you choose
not to do it or if you do poorly on it your grade will not suffer in any way.
If you are successful, the assignment will count for additional percentage,
say 5%, of your overall course grade. That is, I will weight your grade with
5% and add it to the weighted average of all your other grades, which at this
point amounts to 100%. The expanded
grade average will then be divided by 105%.
If you require any particular arrangements, please inform
me immediately. It is your responsibility
to seek assistance when you are having difficulty understanding the course
material. Please ask questions during class if the material
is unclear or see me during office hours (or set up an appointment) to receive
assistance outside of class. I want to help you, but I can only do so if you
first let me know that you are having problems. Keep in mind that you should contact me as soon
as an issue emerges, as you cannot necessarily expect to receive assistance
on the day of the exam/on the due date of an assignment.
An important part of your college education is that you
hone your writing skills.
And, as for
any kind of learning process, feedback is crucially important if you want
to get better.
In order for you to
improve your writing assignments, I recommend that you visit the UNR Writing
Center
http://www.unr.edu/artsci/wc/.
There you will find people ready to
give you helpful feedback.
You really
should take advantage of this service.
Keep
in mind that the best writers (ranging from Hemingway to our textbook author,
Dave Newman) always listen to the feedback of others and revise their texts
accordingly. (I always do).
Academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating on exams, plagiarism)
is a serious offense. All work that you submit in this class must be your
own. Each student is responsible for being familiar with UNR's policies on
academic dishonesty [
http://www.unr.edu/stsv/acdispol.html].
Any student engaging in academic dishonesty in this course will receive a
0 on the exam/assignment in question.
In
more severe cases, e.g., extensive plagiarism of other people’s work, the
case may be turned over for prosecution by the proper university authorities
(see
University of Nevada
Catalog).
If there is an emergency that does not allow you to complete
assignments or take exams, contact me as soon as possible. For example, should a family emergency require
that you leave town, be sure to contact me before you leave, not afterwards.
If there is a disagreement between the instructor and a
student concerning any part of this course, including grading, and the conflict
cannot be resolved in a conference between student and instructor, it is the
student’s obligation to follow the grievance/appeal procedures as outlined
in the University of Nevada
Catalog.