Introduction to Sociology
Fall 1998

PROFESSOR: Douglas Smith
104 Grise Hall
745-2152
Office Hours: MW 2:00 - 4:00pm or by appointment

COURSE OBJECTIVE:

Sociology 100 is a survey course. My goal, at least for the time we meet each week, is to make you think sociologically. While I'm not interested in making clones of me, I am interested in you becoming intelligent examiners of and participants in the social world around you. You will discover how much the world shapes you as well as how much the world is shaped by you. To do this I will provide you with some basic knowledge of what Sociology is and is not through an examination of sociological concepts, theoretical orientations, and methods of investigation. We will spend some time discussing topics in depth, but the hope is that the course will inspire you to seek out additional material on issues that are of interest to you.

Newman, David M. 1997. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, 2^nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Newman, David M. 1997. Readings for Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, 2^nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

COURSE EVALUATION:

This is NOT the standard exam driven course.

Grades will be assigned on a 450 point scale like this:

Points are available for the following activities listed below. Each student is expected to submit a game plan describing which activities they plan to undertake to the professor anytime during the first week. NOTE: You must have at least 50 points completed if you expect to skip the first exam. You are expected to keep to your filed game plan you set unless you file a new one with the professor. You can file a new game plan during the week following each exam.

1. Exams:

These exams are largely objective (for quick and easy grading). Those who do better on essay and interpretive testing will want to opt for the field assignments and lab exercises. There will be three exams.

• Exam 1 - Fifth week of class (Approx. Sept. 24) 150 points possible
• Exam 2 - Tenth week of class (Approx. Oct. 29) 150 points possible
• Cumulative Final 100 points possible
• STARPOWER (50 points):

Starpower is a game of bargaining and trading. The game takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to play. Tentatively, I have scheduled the game for November 18, 1998 at 7:00pm (room to be discovered by prof). However, if enough people are interested in the game, another night may be scheduled. Playing the game gets you 30 points. A short paper describing the sociological significance of the game and what it taught you must be completed in order to claim the other 20 points.

2. Assignments: (25 points each).

There is a separate guide sheet for each assignment. There are six possible assignments that can be done. However only 4 completed assignments will be counted toward your grade. These assignments will be handed out during the course of the class.

3. Film Series: (25 points each)

There will be six film labs at which we will watch and sociologically analyze a movie on video. One is to use concepts from the book to explicate the movie shown. Again, only 4 completed movie assignments will count toward your grade.

4. Special Events: (25 points each)

From time-to-time, I become aware of campus/community activities which I feel may demonstrate sociological concepts and principles. If you attend these events, you may write them up. However, in order to receive the points, one will need to use at least 5 sociological concepts from our text and/or classroom experiences. Again, one can do up to four of these for credit.

Here is a short list of events that I am already aware (but please keep me informed of other events that you think would fit this category):

• Film: Salt of the Earth - October 22 (7:00pm Garrett Auditorium)
• Speaker: Tessie Adams on "Women, the Constitution, and the Battered Women's Movement - October 29 (Place and Time to be announced)
• Film: Anne Lewis Film Festival - November 5 (7:00pm Garrett Auditorium)
• Speaker: Anne Lewis on "Fast Food Women, Activists, and Community Leaders" - November 12 (7:00pm Garrett Auditorium)

5. Mini-Debates:

You and another person in class may, at some point during the class, realize the desire to have a debate about an social issue which has been brought up in your texts or general classroom discussion. These debates will be coordinated by me and scheduled when the two of you are ready. Each debate will last 5 minutes. Each side will get 2 minutes to speak and 30 seconds for rebuttal. For this intrepid exercise, you will each be awarded 15 quality points.

6. Questions:

Each day, the three best questions poised in class (as selected by me or a judge of my choosing) will be awarded 5 points. The questions must be based upon the chapter under discussion.

7. Jokes:

These must be suitable/tasteful for the situation and based upon the topics covered so far. Jokes must be cleared through the teacher/censor before being told. Five points will be awarded if a joke is deemed worthy by the prof and the class.

8.  Special Self-Directed Projects:

15 Points each. Limit 2/person. Any student can design a special written project for him/herself for points. Each such report will be about five pages long and require at citations to at least 3 scholarly sociology articles/books beyond the textbook. Do these as early as possible since time will be a problem the last three weeks of class. They might include case histories, cross-cultural research on rape, teenage pregnancy, educational policy, or disemployment. Anything which affects the fate of young people in America is fair game. Approval required; see Professor.

9. Personal Creativity:

You may submit two personal assignments for up to 10 quality points each. Creativity is of the essence for this work. Cartoons, brochures, posters, editorial pieces in the paper, songs, poetry, and even three dimensional models of the sociological concepts from this course qualify.

10. Magic Words:

There will be a magic word from each Chapter, which if used in a question, will earn an instant 10 quality points for the questioner. The magic word for the first chapter has between 9 and 12 letters. We will celebrate the magic word (and award points) only when it appears for the first time in a question.

11. Soap Operas:

Limit of three presentations per person. Each episode illuminates 3 basic concepts from the text. The basic concepts are presented in bold throughout each chapter. They are also listed and defined in the index/glossary at the end of the textbook. These concepts and theories will be used on the exams, so the plays present an interesting way of reviewing both.

20 points for the Producer/Director per episode; 10 points per student/actor per episode. P/Ds write, direct and act in each episode. 5 bonus points for members of the team which goes first. P/Ds have the first ten (10) minutes of class time to present each episode. Schedule with the professor.

Possible Storylines (others can be hammered out with the professor):

A. CAPTAIN SCIENCE: A semi-serious spoof on sociological explanations of human behavior/social problems. Captain Science always saves the day by applying sociological knowledge to heart-rending problems. Captain Science takes himself/herself a bit seriously because she/he uses THEORY!

B. BOYZ N' AMERICA: All about the politics of identity in America. Race/Gender/Ethnic/Religious/Nationalistic politics may be examined in these skits. Have fun, but be nice.

C. SAVED BY THE BELL: All about the ways schools are organized in primary, secondary and university. Explore the sub-cultures; Expose the politics; Explain the Crazy; Examine the Hierarchy; Enquire into the Secrets of the school. Have fun; be nice.

D. JUNK SOCIOLOGY: Use this Soap to expose the silly sociology that people use to rationalize dumb things they want to do. Focus on social problems for the most part; crime, suicide, divorce, racism, etc.

E. GAME TALK!: Run a spoof on T.V. Game shows/Talk shows/sit-coms. Use GAME TALK! to explain/clarify any three concepts from current or coming lectures.

GUIDELINES for Soaps:

A. Each student must arrive well before the class meeting in which they are scheduled to present for dress rehearsal. No credit is given students who miss show time. Actors earn 10 points for creating the character and the story line as set out by the producer/director.

B. Each student is responsible for the lines and actions of his/her character within the framework of the story line prepared by....

C. The Producer/Director. The P/D creates a one-page story line with a general outline about how the concepts and theory is to be used. The P/D writes a three page dialogue which each student/actor will use to improvise his/her part.

D. Ethical Considerations:

• You may use real life events but you may not use real names of actual persons.
• You may use colorful language but please do avoid sexist, racist, or other language which demeans a group.

Make-up Exams:

I view make-up exams as inherently unfair to the other students in the class, to me, and to you as well. Additionally, given the nature of the evaluation system stated above, I do not view them as necessary. Still, I will give a make-up exam if truly necessary. However, the petitioner must provide me with a written verification of the illness, death, or other extenuating circumstance which requires them to miss the given exam. If a make-up exam is approved, it will be scheduled during finals week.

A Word to the Wise:

Note-taking is very important, especially for the students who are taking exams. Exam questions come from both the assigned readings as well as definitions, statistics, and examples discussed in class. Write down examples used in class, and be sure that you understand what concept or idea is being illustrated by them. One helpful strategy is to re-copy your class notes within 24 hours of taking them.

GAME PLAN FOR QUALITY POINTS

Name ______________________________

Remember: The overall limit in your game plan is 450 points; you may not try for any combination totaling more than 450 points.

I plan to earn points as follows. (REMINDER: EVERYONE WITH FEWER THAN 50 QUALITY POINTS PRIOR TO THE FIRST EXAM MUST TAKE THE FIRST EXAM.)

Tentative Class Schedule

August 25 (Tuesday) Introduction to Course

BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS:

August 27 (Thursday) 1

September 1 (Tuesday) 2

September 3 (Thursday) 3

September 4 (Friday) 4 Assignment 1 - Presentation of Self Paper.

September 8 (Tuesday) 5

September 10 (Thursday) 6 Movie lab 1- Norma Rae

September 17 (Thursday) 8

September 18 (Friday) 9 Assignment 2

September 22 (Tuesday) 10

September 24 (Thursday) 11 Test 1 Movie lab 2 - Roger and Me

September 29 (Tuesday) 12

October 1 (Thursday) 13

October 2 (Friday) 14 Assignment 3

October 6 (Tuesday) 15

October 13 (Tuesday) 16

October 15 (Thursday) 17 Movie lab 3 - Koyaanisqatsi

October 20 (Tuesday) 18

October 22 (Thursday) 19

October 23 (Friday) 20 Assignment 4

October 27 (Tuesday) 21

October 29 (Thursday) 22 Test 2 Movie lab 4 - Boyz n' the Hood

November 3 (Tuesday) 23

November 5 (Thursday) 24

November 6 (Friday) 25 Assignment 5 - Budget

November 10 (Tuesday) 26

November 12 (Thursday) 27 Movie lab 5- Matewan

November 17 (Tuesday) 28

November 18 (Wednesday, 7:00pm) ***STARPOWER***

November 19 (Thursday) 29

November 20 (Friday) 30 Assignment 6 - Budget

November 24 (Tuesday) 31

December 1 (Tuesday) 32

December 3 (Thursday) 33 Movie lab 6- Trading Places?

December 8 (Tuesday) 34

December 10 (Thursday) 35