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| Professor and Department Head of Sociology 126 Grise Hall Department of Sociology -- WKU 1906 College Heights Blvd. #11057 Bowling Green, KY 42101-1057 |
Phone: (270) 745-3750 Fax: (270) 745-6493 Email: Douglas.Smith@wku.edu Webpage: http://people.wku.edu/Douglas.Smith/ |
Office Hours: By appointment |
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The purpose of this proseminar is to socialize you into the discipline and profession of sociology, as well as to acquaint you with department faculty. While you learn knowledge and skills in class, most of what it takes to be a good sociologist you learn outside of class. The biggest problem with this setup is that the knowledge gets passed haphazardly and often comes too late to do the novice any good. Thus we end up with a lot of knowledge about how we would do things if we had it to do over again. This class is WKU Sociology's attempt to systematically present some of that outside knowledge at the very start of one's sociological enterprise.
Readings will be placed on Blackboard.
Attendance. This is a pass/fail course. The majority of the learning in this class will come through class discussions. As there is minimal reading, no exams, and no huge papers, attendance and class participation are critical. Thus, I expect you to be in class with materials read.
Please do not request accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) directly from the professor without a letter of accommodation from the Office of Student Disabilities Services (OSDS). Students with disabilities who require accommodations for this course must contact the OSDS. The OSDS office is in DUC A201 in the Student Success Center. The OSDS contact numbers are: Phone (270) 745-5004; TDD: (270) 745-5121; FAX: (270) 745-3199.
This is a general schedule of readings to be done in preparation for class.
8/27 Introduction to the Course (Guest - Drs. Kanan and Smith)
9/10 Understanding Grad School (Guest - Dr. McClain)
Chapter
1 This Book Can Help (and You Probably Need It!)
Chapter 2 What is Graduate School Like?
9/17 The Master's Degree: The Nuts and Bolts (Guest - Dr. Breazeale)
Chapter 10 The Master's Degree: History and Hurdles
9/24 Time Management (or how not to be Dr. Smith) (Guest - Dr. King)
Chapter 12 Managing Yourself
10/01 Playing Politics and Well-Being (Guest - Dr. Faine)
Chapter 13 Playing Politics: Building a Reputation
Chapter 21 Dealing with Stress and Depression
10/08 The Social Milieu and Feeling Different (Guest - Dr. Groce)
Chapter 22 The Social Milieu
Chapter 23 Swimming with the Mainstream: Returning Students, Women,
Minorities and Foreign Students
10/15 The Organization and Profession of Sociology (Guest - Dr. Krull)
10/22 Choosing a Thesis Topic (Guest - Dr. Daday)
Chapter 16 The Thesis Topic: Finding it
10/29 Choosing an Advisor and a Committee (Guest - Dr. Trojan)
Chapter 5 Choosing a School: The Thesis
Advisor
Chapter 15 Choosing and Managing Your
Thesis Committee
11/05 The Proposal (Guests - Dr. Pruitt/Dr. Abrahamson)
Chapter 17 The Thesis Proposal
11/12 Points to Ponder: Funding and HSRB (Guest - Dr. Onyekwuluje)
11/19 Making a Presentation (Guest - Dr. Musalia)
Chapter 20 Oral Presentations: The Key to Being a Star
11/26 The Publication Process and How to Survive It (Guest - Dr. Lovell)
Explore: http://www.asanet.org/page.ww?section=Publications&name=Author%27s+Corner
12/03 The Big "D" (Guest - )
Chapter 19 The Thesis Defense
Finally, my standard disclaimer:
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The university may have adopted a business model; however, education is NOT a business. Moreover, the syllabus is not some sort of sacred contract (at the very least, the course calendar is not a sacred contract), but more along the lines of a road map. The readings in the course calendar are places we are scheduled to visit. Anyone who has taken a preplanned road trip or vacation knows that the trip is not fun unless you stop at the interesting roadside attractions even though they might divert from your original route or time table. It's the process of getting there that is fun and relaxing and intriguing. In that light, the above schedule and procedures for this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. |
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