PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY (SYG 2000, Section 0963) Spring 2018 Class: Monday: 10:40-11:30 AM Wednesday 10:40-11:30 AM, in 2322 Turlington Hall Instructor Name: Min Li Office: 3309 Turlington hall Email: minli124@ufl.edu Office hours: Monday 11:45AM-12:45PM, Wednesday 11:45AM-1:45PM, and by appointment Course content This course is primarily an introduction to Sociology. We will begin by briefly discussing the definition, history and methods of Sociology. The reminder of the course is reserved for the study of individual in society and culture, including socialization, social groups, gender and sex, and age and aging. We will later wide our scope from individual to social life, for instance social stratification, ethnic and racial minorities. At the end of the course, you should have a basic grasp of Sociology, think and analyze in a sociological pattern and start to discern your special interest and enthusiasm in certain subdomain of Sociology. Required reading Manza, Jeff. (2016). The Sociology Project: Introducing the Sociological Imagination. From the New York University Department of Sociology. Pearson. Notes: Directions to purchase the required digital materials will be posted in Canvas to do this. Along with your purchase of Revel, you get free access to the Revel app. This app lets you read, practice, and study anytime and anywhere and set notifications so you never miss a due date again. You can access your course materials, including your full text, on your tablet or mobile phone, offline and online. Please download the app to make sure you get the most out of Revel. General Education Subject Area Objectives Social and behavioral science courses, like SYG 2000, provide instruction in the history, key themes, principles, terminology, and underlying theory or methodologies used in the social and behavioral sciences. Students will learn to identify, describe and explain social institutions, structures or processes. These courses emphasize the effective application of accepted problemsolving techniques. Students will apply formal and informal qualitative or quantitative analysis to examine the processes and means by which individuals make personal and group decisions, as well as the evaluation of opinions, outcomes or human behavior. Students are expected to assess and analyze ethical perspectives in individual and societal decisions. Course Objectives for SYG 2000 Principles of Sociology 1) Introduce students to the basic concepts, theories, and methods that sociologists use. Course materials and activities provide students opportunities to see how social scientist use varied methods to collect information about specific social issues. Moreover, students will critically assess how that information can be used to frame understanding about why social patterns exist and what might be the possible consequences of those patterns. 1
2) Provide students with a brief overview of sociology as a discipline within the social sciences that exposes students to strategies to identify, study, and address social issues and research questions. Course activities will provide students with opportunities to apply critical thinking skills to evaluate debates about contemporary social issues and the evidence needed to address the issues. 3) Help students to develop the ability to understand how various social processes and structures affect one another. 4) Encourage students to develop a better understanding of how their own lives and significant relationships are shaped by larger social forces. 5) Provide students with insights about how individuals' interactions with others can affect the larger society. Student Learning Objectives The general education student learning outcomes (SLOs) describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students are expected to acquire while completing a general education course at the University of Florida. The SLOs fall into three categories: content, communication, and critical thinking: Content is knowledge of the concepts, principles, terminology and methodologies used within the discipline. Students demonstrate competence in the terminology, concepts, methodologies and theories used within the discipline. Communication is the development and expression of ideas in written and oral forms. Students communicate knowledge, ideas, and reasoning clearly and effectively in written or oral forms appropriate to the discipline. Critical thinking is characterized by the comprehensive analysis of issues, ideas, and evidence before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion. Students analyze information carefully and logically from multiple perspectives, using discipline specific methods, and develop reasoned solutions to problems. Performance Indicators of Mastery of SLOs Assessment (assignments and grading): Requirement Attendance/ Inclass projects % of final grade 10% Dates 10% Online discussion 15% Exam 1 20% Feb. 12 Exam 2 20% March. 14 Exam 3 25% April. 25 Notes: 1) the date of exam is tentative and might be rescheduled. 2) the exams will be given during the Tuesday two-hour class time Final grade distribution: 2
A GRADE OF "C-" OR BELOW WILL NOT BE COUNTED TOWARD YOUR GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS OR YOUR SOCIOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS. Grade Grade Points Percent Points A 4.0 93-1000 930-1000 A- 3.67 90-92 900-929 B+ 3.33 87-89 870-899 B 3.0 83-86 830-869 B- 2.67 80-82 800-829 C+ 2.33 77-79 770-799 C 2.0 73-76 730-769 C- 1.67 70-72 700-729 D+ 1.33 67-69 670-699 D 1.0 63-66 630-669 D-.67 60-62 600-629 E 0 Below 60 599 and below Attendance/pop quiz: In some weeks, I take attendance and those who are present for the entire period(s) will receive 10 points. In other weeks, I may present a pop quiz and ask students to provide a written answer to a question(s) relevant to the week's reading. Some of these projects will involve small group exercises. These answers will be assessed on a 1-10 scale. I will do this 11 times during the semester but I will only count the top 10 scores for each student. You cannot make-up in-class projects under any circumstances. It is part of your responsibility to attend class on time. Once you miss class that day, you forfeit those 10 points. However, if you have UNIVERSITY AUTHORIZED absence for travel or illness, you can show me written documentation and I will add 1% to the weight of your final exam for each instance. Illnesses without a doctor's excuse are NOT legitimate. : During the first week of the semester I will start a Canvas discussion and everyone in the class will select his/her preferred date/topic for group presentations. Groups are expected to give a presentation of the current event and why they think it relates to the course. Groups will also be required to come up with 3-5 related questions for the class to discuss following their presentation. Please limit the presentation (including discussion) to about 25 minutes. Groups will be graded on the relevance of the material, the quality of the presentation, and the creativity of the questions. Presentations should not simply regurgitate material from the textbook and/or lectures. Instead, they should offer an account of the current event from the sociological perspective and emphasize how concepts from the course are liked to their chosen current event. Online Discussions: For each chapter, you get a discussion question in Canvas. There will be 14 questions in total. The discussion involves writing at minimum 300 words for your own post to the board, and providing 3
responses to three other students posts. Your own post dues by Friday evening (11:59 pm) of the week (Exact due time will be listed on Canvas). Your response to other students posts dues by Sunday evening (11:59pm). There is no word limit for the responds. However, incompletion of responses leads to penalty of at least 50% of the discussion grade of the week. Late submissions are not accepted. Exams: Exams are not cumulative and will consist of some multiple choices. You are responsible for presenting at any of these quizzes. But I totally understand that there are conditions when you couldn t show up. So as long as you could provide me with certain certificate, I would arrange a make-up examination. But you are really encouraged take the examination. Students are not permitted to sell any class material the teacher gave to them. All exams are the property of this course. Students are not permitted to take an exam out of the classroom or office nor may they write down exam questions--failure to comply will result in an "E" since non-compliance is, in effect, cheating. I define making it convenient for others to copy your answer, or copying parts or whole of others answers as cheating. You could expect serious penalty when you are found to be cheating in an exam. You would not only fail the exam ( E ), but also the class immediately. Special considerations: Students, who are not confident of their writing, could seek help from UF reading & Writing Center (CWC). For further information, please refer to the website: http://www. at. Ufl.edu/rwcenter The syllabus is tentative and everything subject to change as we move on. 4
Tentative class schedule Week Topic Assignments Assessment Due dates Week 1 Introduction: Discipline of Sociology Ch. 1 Week 2 Sociology theory Ch. 2 Week 3 Introduction of Sociology Methods Ch. 3 Week 4 Society, Social Interaction, and Culture Ch. 4 & Ch. 6 Week 5 Social Structure, Groups, and Organizations 7 Ch. 5 & Ch. 8 Week 6 Cities, Communities, & Exam 1 Feb. 7 Socialization 14 Ch. 9 Week 7 Deviance and Crime 21 17 Week 8 Stratification and Social Class 28 Ch. 10 Week 9 Spring break Week 10 Race and Ethnicity 14 Ch. 11 Week 11 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 21 Ch. 12 Week 12 Immigration 28 Ch. 21 Population 28 Week 13 Families 4 Ch. 13 Week 14 The "Sociological Body": Age, Health, and Ch. 16 Sexuality 11 Week 15 Education, Religion, and Science 18 Ch. 14 & Ch. 15 Exam 2 March 14 Week 16 Exam 3 April 25 5