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Sociology 200::Syllabus
Introduction to
Sociology, Fall 2004
Professor: Robin D. Perrin
Office: AC 222A
Office Hours: M/Th, 9:30-11:00 and W, 11:00-12:00
Office Phone: 506-4885 / Home Phone: 506-4954
Robin Perrin Home: http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/rperrin/index.htm
E-Mail: robin.perrin@pepperdine.edu
TA: Taryn Ishida
Office Hours: T/F, 12:00-1:00 (in Perrin’s office)
E-Mail: taryn.ishida@pepperdine.edu
Cell Phone: (310) 801-8358
Classroom: Elkins Auditorium
Tuesday/Friday, 10:00-11:30
Fall, 2004
Download a Word version of the syllabus
here.
Course Description
Sociology is the study of human societies and of human behavior in
social settings. Sociologists look beyond individual psychology
and unique events to the predictable broad patterns and regular
occurrences of social life that influence society as well as our
individual destinies. The sociological perspective, therefore,
focuses on those details of human social life that are regular and
patterned; details not unique to a particular situation or person.
As students of sociology, you will be invited to set aside your
private views of the world in order to see more clearly and
objectively the social forces that shape and control your lives.
We will focus on both the theoretical and practical implications
of the study of sociology.
I plan to use a variety of pedagogical techniques to help you
learn sociology, including lecture, discussion, video, and
statistical data analysis. It is my hope that we can work together
as a learning community to explore a variety of topics of interest
to sociologists; the causes of inequality, the roots of social
structure, the significant role of religion in society, the
construction of our individual identities, deviant behavior, and
many others.
General Purpose and Objectives
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One goal, of course, is that you learn about sociology. Sociology provides a
new language, a set of technical concepts, and a new perspective that will
hopefully help you better describe and understand the world around you. In
learning this new perspective, I hope that you develop a critical, even
“skeptical” view toward superficial explanations of human behavior by
replacing your common sense understandings of social interaction with an
uncommon sense about the structure and process of social life.
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Learn how sociologists test their “hunches” about human interaction against
empirical evidence. As we learn about sociology as a social science we will
learn to discriminate between reasonable and unreasonable generalizations made
on the basis of limited evidence.
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Ultimately, it is my hope that you will apply the knowledge you acquire to the
betterment of yourself and your society. At Pepperdine, we take very seriously
the call to educate the “whole person,” and I hope that this course
contributes to your education in this way.
What I Expect Of You
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Attendance and Participation.
While I do expect you to attend class and to pay attention in
class, I will not be taking roll.
You
can choose not to come. However, I hope that you will find class
interesting and important. I also plan to include considerable
material from in class on tests, so I strongly suggest that you
attend.
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Deadlines.
Writing assignments are due in class and at the
beginning of class. Late papers will not be accepted
unless the student has obtained prior approval to turn in a paper
late.
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Missed Exams
will be counted as zeros except, of course, for
extraordinary circumstances. Acceptable reasons for missing an
exam would include health problems, a death in the family, etc.
Please note that arrangements should be made with me before
the exam. Exams are scheduled well in advance so
discretionary activity should be scheduled around these dates.
Students who are granted permission to take a test late will be
given a different and presumably harder exam.
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Cheating
or plagiarism on a test
or other assignment will result in automatic failure on that
assignment and possible failure in the course. Students suspected
of cheating will be referred to the Academic Ethics Committee and
face penalties up to expulsion from the University. It is
plagiarism if you turn in the work of someone else, or if you use
the words or ideas of another person without properly crediting
that person. Also, resist the urge to “recycle” papers used in
other courses. If you ever have a question concerning plagiarism
issues, please consult your professor.
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Be courteous.
Do not come to class late. Do not read the newspaper, play on the
web, read email, or do homework for other classes. Do not pass
notes or talk during class. Turn off cell phones. Treat your
professor and classmates with respect. Do not pack up your
belongings five minutes before class ends. Do not fall asleep.
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Written
assignments. Even
though content is the most important part of any assignment, in
this class, and in all your classes, the mechanics of good written
work are a very important element of your final product.
Organization, logical argumentation, clarity of expression, and
correct grammatical construction all contribute to the overall
quality of your work. Don’t embarrass yourself by handing in work
that is poorly organized and is filled with grammar, spelling,
and/or punctuation errors. All papers should be typed.
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Pepperdine email.
I will communicate with you via email so it is important that you
check your Pepperdine account.
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Robin Perrin Home
Page. The syllabus and
other information about the class will be available on my home
page: http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/rperrin/index.htm. I may
occasionally post information about the course on this site.
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Rodney Stark Home
Page
(http://www.socstark9.com)
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Book Companion
Site (access via the
Stark site). This site has all kinds of great stuff including
on-line quizzes, chapter summaries, crossword puzzles, hot topics
(mostly New York Times articles related to sociology – a
great place for Inquiry ideas)
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Pencil on test
days. Please bring a #2
pencil and eraser to tests.
What You Have the Right to Expect Of Me
- That I am prepared for class
- That I effectively combine high expectations and fairness
- That I follow, as closely as possible, the written syllabus
and communicate any changes in advance
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That
I respond in a timely fashion and as fully as possible to
student work.
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That
I be available to students as needed outside of class.
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That
I treat students with respect, and evaluate student work fairly
and conscientiously.
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Part I: Principles of Sociology
Tuesday, August 31 to Friday, September
17
TOPICS
TEXT
Groups and Relationships
Stark, Chap 1
Social and Cultural
Theories Stark, Chap 2
Micro Sociology Stark, Chap
3
Macro
Sociology Stark, Chap 4
Test #1 – Tuesday, September 21
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Part II: Individuals and Groups
Friday, September 24 to Friday, October 15 (no class Friday,
October 8)
TOPICS
TEXT
Biology, Culture, and Society
Stark, Chap 5 (pp. 125 - top 133)
Socialization
Stark, Chap 6
Crime and Deviance Stark, Chap 7 (skip
bottom 184 - top 190)
Social Control
Stark, Chap 8
Theories of Stratification Stark,
Chap 9
Test #2 – Tuesday, October 19
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Part III: Inequality
Friday, October 22 to Friday, November 12
TOPICS TEXT
Systems of Stratification Stark, Chap
10
Racial and Ethnic Inequality Stark, Chap 11
Gender Stark,
Chap 12
Test #3 – Tuesday, November 16
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Part IV: Institutions
Friday, November 19 to Friday, December 10
TOPICS TEXT
The
Family Chap 13
Religion Chap
14
Politics and the
State Chap 15(pp. 419 - 432)
Education and Occupation
Chap 16
Final – Monday, December 13, 10:30-12:00
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Final Grades
> 92% = A 90%-92% = A-
88%-90% = B+ 82%-88% = B 80%-82% = B-
78%-80% = C+ 72%-77% = C 70%-72% = C-
68%-70% = D+ 62%-68% = D 60%-62% = D-
<60% = F
Final Grades will be based on 4 exams. The
Sociological Inquiry Assignment can raise or lower your grade
one-third of a grade (e.g., from a C+ to a B-) depending on the
quality of your work. The Inquiry Assignment is discussed below.
Grading
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"A" or Outstanding Students |
"C" or Average Students |
| Ability (Talent) |
...have special aptitude, motivation, or a
combination of both. This talent may include either or both creativity and
organizational skills |
...vary greatly in aptitude. Some are quite
talented but their success is limited by a lack of organizational skills or
motivation. Others are motivated but lack special aptitude. |
| Attendance (Commitment) |
...never miss class. Their commitment to the
class resembles that of their professor. Attending class is their highest
priority. |
...periodically miss class and/or are often
late. They either place other priorities, such as a job, ahead of class or
have illness/family problems that limit their success. |
| Attitude (Dedication) |
...show initiative. Their desire to excel
makes them do more work than is required. |
...periodically miss class and/or are often
late. They either place other priorities, such as a job, ahead of class or
have illness/family problems that limit their success. |
| Communication Skills |
...write well and speak confidently and
clearly. Their communication work is well-organized, covers all relevant
points, and is easy to listen to/read |
...do not write or speak particularly well.
Their thought processes lack organization and clarity. Their written work
may require a second reading by the professor to comprehend its meaning. |
| Intellectual Curiosity |
...are visibly interested during class and
display interest in the subject matter through their questions. |
...participate in class without enthusiasm,
with indifference, or even boredom. They show little, if any, interest in
the subject matter. |
| Performance |
...obtain the highest scores in the class.
They exhibit test-taking skills such as an ability to budget their time and
to deal with test anxiety. They often volunteer thoughtful comments and ask
interesting questions. |
...obtain mediocre or inconsistent scores.
They often do not budget their time well on exams and may not deal well with
test anxiety. They rarely say much during class discussion and their answers
indicate a cursory understanding rather than mastery of material. |
| Preparation |
...are always prepared for class. They always
respond when called on. Their attention to detail sometimes results in
catching text or teacher errors. |
...are not always prepared for class. They may
not have fully completed the assignment, have completed it in a careless
manner, or hand in their assignments late. |
| Retention |
...learn concepts rather than memorize details
so they are better able to connect past learning with present learning. |
...memorize details rather than learn
concepts. Since they usually cram for tests, they perform relatively better
on short quizzes than on more comprehensive tests such as the final exam. |
| Time Commitment (Effort) |
...maintain a fixed study schedule. They
regularly prepare for each class no matter what the assignment. They average
3-4 hours of study for every hour in class. |
...study only under pressure. When no
assignment is due, they do not review or study ahead. They average no more
than 2 hours of study for every hour in class. They tend to cram for exams. |
Sociological Inquiry Assignment
The Sociological Inquiry Assignment is your chance to reflect upon
and analyze what is being taught in the course. This reflection
should incorporate your own experiences, observations, and
interpretations. Despite appearances to the contrary, it is
not a diary ‑- a regular recording of one's activities,
thoughts, and dreams. It is not a log of daily
activities. It is not a psychological journal designed to
track inner feelings and psychological states. Instead, it is an
intellectual exercise in which I am asking you to describe and
explain your own experiences and observations from a sociological
perspective.
Purpose.
There are three purposes of this assignment. First, one of the
important objectives I have for this class is to help you learn to
apply sociological concepts to your own experiences and
observations (as opposed to simply memorizing theories and
definitions). The beauty of this assignment is that it "makes"
you think about and apply sociological concepts, principles, and
theories. The better inquiries are those that successfully make
direct and detailed connections to specific course content.
Second, this assignment will help you become better researchers.
Sociological Inquiries represent mini
research papers. While I want you to feel free to report your
personal observations and to relate those observations to theory
or research from the book, I also hope that for some of your
inquiries you will take the time to do a little research on the
topic. Finally, the inquiry assignment gives me a chance to get to
know you. It also provides continual feedback to both you and me
regarding the learning taking place. Hopefully, you will find it
enjoyable.
Task.
It might be easiest to think of this assignment as having two
parts. The first part describes an event or
observation you think is relevant to class material. Examine your
daily experiences and observations for examples you can connect to
class information. Think about past experiences (e.g., high
school, your family). Think about decisions you have made,
articles you have read, movies and television programs you have
watched, etc. When you can’t think of topics to discuss you may
have to actively look for subject matter in the newspaper
or magazines. Newspapers, magazines, and TV routinely report on
topics related to sociology. Sometimes their accounts may be
distorting (i.e., they may not get the "facts" straight, or they
may be sensationalistic), which is one of the reasons the popular
media is an intriguing source of examples.
Second, you need analyze the event in light of
sociological concepts and theories. You need to make a connection
between the example you have selected and sociology. Right now it
may be difficult for you to envision exactly how to do this
because you do not know much about sociology. But the more you
learn the easier this step will be. The more specific reference
you make to course material (e.g., studies discussed in the book
or in lecture, videos seen in class, articles you find on your
own) the better your entry will be. Remember that the primary
purpose of this assignment is to get you to apply sociological
principles to the world around you. If you cannot apply specific
sociological concepts, theories, or studies, your entry is
probably incomplete. Whenever possible you should think about ways
your research might contribute to your (and my) understanding of
the topic. Data base searches make library research easy. Do a
search and see what you find!
Important Notes:
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You will hand in Inquiry Assignments twice during the semester,
and each assignment will have two entries. Inquiry #1 is due
Friday, October 22 and Inquiry #2 is due Friday, December 3.
Each entry should average 3 double-spaced pages, with a maximum
length of 4 pages. In other words, on October 22 you will hand
in two entries (approximately 6-8 pages) and on December 3 you
will hand in two more entries.
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If
you use any outside information this information should be cited
and referenced. APA style (in-text citations, rather than
footnotes) is preferable. Include a single “Reference”
page at the end of each set of inquiries. If you cite the text
(i.e., Stark, 2004) you do not have to provide the full
reference. All other outside sources, however, should be fully
referenced.
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Grades: Each Inquiry will be given a grade of 0 (did not hand
in), 1(minimal connections to sociological concepts or theories)
2 (connections to sociological concepts and theories are
accurate and clear). Total score for the two Inquires can range
from 0 to 4:
0 = final grade in course will be dropped
one-third grade (e.g., from B- to C+)
1 = final grade in course will be dropped
on-third grade if the grade is borderline
2 = final grade in course is unchanged
3 = final grade in course will be raised
one-third grade if the grade is borderline
4 = final grade in course will be
increased one-third grade (e.g., from B- to C+)
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Please staple the two entries together. No binders or plastic
folders please.
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Hard copies of the assignment are due in class, at the
beginning of class. No electronic versions, please. No
late assignments will be accepted.
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With the increasing access to information on the web, plagiarism
is becoming a larger problem on college campuses. Yes, even at
Pepperdine, students have purchased papers, cut and pasted
entire sections into their papers, and engaged in other
academically inappropriate behaviors. To help me control this
behavior, I may ask you to submit an electronic version of
your paper. This electronic version will be checked for
plagiarism. Be careful about what you choose to use in your
papers, and how you choose to use it. The consequences can be
very significant. If you ever have questions about what is and
is not appropriate, do not hesitate to ask me.
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