Sociology 1001: Introduction to Sociology
Spring 2003
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00 - 8:50 a.m.
Blegen Hall 5

Course Instructor: Ana Prata Pereira
Phone: (612) 624 -7548
Email: pere0087@tc.umn.edu
Office: 1168 Social Sciences Building
Office hours: Friday 9:15-11:15 a.m. and by appointment

Lab Instructors: Xinxiang Chen, Carla Mantel, Trina Smith and Melissa Weiner

Course Overview:

This course is a basic introduction to Sociology and key sociological concepts, theories and ideas. Using personal and everyday life experiences, we will discuss how we are all products--and producers--of social processes. Students completing this course will have a critical base from which to have a sociological understanding of the social world. Students will also be prepared for further study in the discipline of Sociology and in other social sciences.

Required Course Materials:

Textbooks

• Giddens, Anthony et al. 2000. Introduction to Sociology. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Massey, Garth (editor). 2000. Readings for Sociology. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

The textbooks are available at the University Bookstore for purchase. They are also available on reserve on Wilson Library. You are allowed to check out these materials for 2 hours from the reserve.

Course Organization and Requirements:

You will complete five regular quizzes, one midterm exam, five in-lab assignments and four course assignments.

Attendance and Participation (35 points)

Students are expected to attend Lecture, although it is not required. You do not need permission if you cannot or choose not to attend class at any time. Nevertheless, there will be participation points for attending lecture and for turning in small in-class assignments (10 points). You are also supposed to attend Discussion Sections (labs) and missed labs cannot be made up (25 points). You are also expected to participate in class and keep up with the assigned reading for both lecture and lab.

Quizzes (40 points)

There will be 5 quizzes during the semester. These quizzes will be short, and will cover material from the readings and from lecture. They will not be announced beforehand. A missed quiz cannot be made up for any reason and only the four highest grades will count.

Midterm Exam (35 points)

We will have a midterm exam in class on Friday, March 14th. The midterm exam will cover material from the readings, from class, and from labs.

Lab Assignments (50 points)

There will be 5 lab assignments during the course of the semester. Please see the lab syllabus for details.

Course Assignments

There will be 4 course assignments related to your final paper:

Research proposal statement (1 page), due in your lab on Week 3 (10 points)

In this assignment, describe your research proposal or topic statement for your final paper. Include the research question and the hypothesis. Please see the syllabus on the "Final Paper" section.

Meeting with your TA or Instructor by April 4th (15 points).

You should meet with your TA or Instructor during her or his office hours (or by appointment) to briefly talk about your research topic and get some feedback on your paper. Please bring your research proposal statement to this meeting.

First Draft of final paper (6-8 pages), due in class on April 21st (25 points).

This assignment is due in lecture. Please see the syllabus "Final Paper" section. I will provide a more descriptive handout for both projects.

Final Draft of analytical paper (8-10 pages), due in class on May 7th (40 points).

The Final Draft is also due in lecture.

All assignments can also be turned in into the Sociology Department Office (909 Social Sciences). Assignments turned in to the department will be date/time stamped.

Grading:

There will be a total of 250 points for this course and I will not grade on a curve.

The point breakdown is as follows:

• Attendance and Participation [35 points = 14%]
• Quizzes [worth 10 points each; 40 points total = 16%]
• Midterm Exam [35 points = 14%]
• Lab Assignments [worth 10 points each; 50 points = 20%]
• Research proposal statement [10 points = 4%]
• Meeting with your TA or Instructor [15 points = 6%]
• First Draft of Final Paper [25 points = 10%]
• Final Paper [40 points = 16%]

Grading Scale

91% and above = A

90% - 88% = A-

87% - 84% = B+

83% - 80% = B

79% - 76% = B-

75% - 72% = C+

71% - 68% = C

67% - 64% = C-

63% - 60% = D+

59% - 56% = D

55% and below = F

Course Policies:

E-mail Policy:

Please do not e-mail assignments for this class. However, you can e-mail questions at any time, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. If you have a good reason as to why you want to e-mail the assignment, please e-mail your TA explaining the situation before the due date and we will accept your paper in the e-mail format.

Late Policy:

There are many assignments for this class. Please watch the syllabus closely to make sure that you do not miss a due date. Assignments that are late will only be accepted up to one week after the assignment is due. A penalty of 5 points will be given to every late assignment, regardless of how late it is, or the reason for it being late. There are no exceptions to the late rule, even for special circumstances. All assignments can be turned in early.

Please turn in all of your assignments during your lab sessions to your TA, except for the First Draft (due in lecture on April 21st) and your Final Paper, also due in lecture on May 7th. Assignments can also be turned in to the Sociology Department Office (909 Social Sciences). You should mention your TA's name when turning your assignments in.

Lecture / Discussion Notes

If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain class notes and learn the content of the class, by reading the texts and asking your classmates for notes. Neither the TA nor the instructor will give out lecture and discussion section notes.

Incompletes

No incompletes will be given for this course unless you have a prior written agreement with the instructor. Incomplete coursework is a major inconvenience for students and instructors.

Missed Midterm Exam

If you missed the midterm you are allowed to take a make-up exam only with valid official documentation to excuse your absence. Please e-mail both the instructor and your TA explaining the situation no later than one day after the midterm exam (March 14th).

Missed Quizzes

Quizzes cannot be made up.

Re-grading Assignments

Every assignment in this class can be re-graded. You just have to send an e-mail to your TA or to the instructor within a week after you got the assignment back. In that e-mail you should say that you wish to have her/him re-grade the assignment again. You might have a specific reason as to why. If you do, you should also mention that in the email. The normal procedure in these cases is for you to hand the assignment to your TA or instructor in lecture or turn in 909 Social Sciences Building (mentioning the TA or instructor name). After that, we will re-grade it and hand it to you.

Extra Credit

I will not give extra credit assignments.

Academic Dishonesty and Class Conduct

You are required to adhere to university codes of conduct and guidelines throughout this course. In particular, you must be aware of what constitutes plagiarism and cheating. For more details on university guidelines and policies, please see the last page of your syllabus.

Support Services:

• Skill-building, text-anxiety, counseling, etc:

University Counseling & Consulting Services, 109 Eddy Hall & 199 Coffey Hall

(612) 624-3323 or http://www.uccs.umn.edu/index.html

• For assistance with physical or learning disabilities:

Disability Services, University Gateway Building on 200 Oak Street, on the South West corner of University and Oak Street, Suite 180

(612) 626-1333 or http://ds.umn.edu/

• For Writing

Center for Writing provides student writing support at various locations on campus. http://www.swc.umn.edu

Student Writing Center. Located in 9 Appleby Hall. Walk in for face-to-face consultation or get help via e-mail.

http://www.gen.umn.edu/resources/arc/writing_center.html

Quick Check Grammar Guide. Provides a helpful guide for grammar problems often encountered by non-native English speakers in their writing.

Note:

Students with special learning needs should inform the TA at the beginning of the course so that reasonable accommodations may be made.

Week 1

January 22/24

Introduction to the Course and to Sociology

What is Sociology?

Read:

Chapter 1

"From The Sociological Imagination" pp.13-18 (reader)

Week 2

January 27/29/31

Asking and Answering Sociological Questions

Culture and Society

Read:

Chapter 2 and 3

"Queer Customs" pp.82-90 (reader)

"Growing Up as a Fore Is to Be "In Touch" and Free" pp. 75-81(reader)

Week 3

February 3/5/7

Socialization and the Life Cycle

Read:

Chapter 4 (text)

"Mixed Messages" pp.82-90 (reader)

"Masculinities and Athletic Careers"" pp. 285-296 (reader)

Week 4

February 10/12/14

Social Interaction and Everyday Life

Read:

Chapter 5

"On Face-Work: An Analysis of Ritual Elements in Social Interaction" pp.96-106. (reader)

"Getting" and "Making" a Tip" pp.137-144 (reader)

Week 5

February 17/19/21

Conformity, Deviance and Crime

Read:

Chapter 6

"The Saints and the Roughnecks" pp.145-158 (reader)

Week 6

February 24/26/28

Stratification, Class, and Inequality

Read:

Chapter 7

"The Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America" pp.38-51 (reader)

"Manifesto of the Communist Party" pp.159-168 (reader)

Week 7

March 3/5/7

Gender Inequality

Ethnicity and Race

Read:

Chapter 8 and 9

"Women's Personal Lives: The Effects of Sexism on Self and Relationships" pp.265-275" (reader)

"Domestic Networks" pp.371-374 (reader)

"My Secret Life as a Black Man" (reader)

Week 8

March 10/12/14

The Rise of Modern Organization

Read:

Chapter 10

"The McDonald's System" pp.323-329 (reader)

Week 9

March 17/19/21

Week 10

March 24/26/28

Government and Political Power

Read:

Chapter 11

"The Foundations of Third World Poverty" pp.297-303 (reader)

"Jihad versus McWorld" pp.472-483 (reader)

Week 11

March 31 and April 2/4

Work and Economic Life

Marriage and the Family

Read:

Chapter 12 and 13

"Nickel and Dimed" pp.206-225 (reader)

"The Emotional Geography of Work and Family" pp.375-387 (reader)

Week 12

April 7/9/11

Marriage and the Family

Education and the Mass Media

Read:

Chapter 13 and 14

"Love, Arranged Marriage, and the Indian Social Structure" pp.354-364 (reader)

"Savage Inequalities" pp.388-396 (reader)

"Media Magic: Making Class Invisible" pp.169-176 (reader)

Week 13

April 14/16/18

Religion

Read:

Chapter 15

"From The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" pp.315-322 (reader)

"From Habits of the Heart: Religion in American Life" pp.409-420 (reader)

Week 14

April 21/23/25

The Sociology of the Body

Urbanization, Population, and Environment

Read:

Chapter 16 and 17

"From American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass" pp.177-190 (reader)

Week 15

April 28/30 and May 2

Social Change and Social Movements

Read:

Chapter 18

"From Café Europa: Life After Communism" pp.452-456 (reader)

Week 16

May 5/7/9

FINAL PAPER

For your final paper you can choose between these two projects:

Observation Project

This project requires you to do some original research by observing social interaction in a public space. You should expect to do 12 hours of observations and write one (or more) pages of notes for each hour you observe. We will give you credit for the number of page notes you turn in. They may be handwritten, in normal size with clearly readable writing, although we prefer you type your notes. Turn in your notes along with your final paper on the day the final paper is due.

Before you get started, you need to choose a site (or comparative sites). Really think about types of interaction you want to observe. Do you want a mix of ages? Races or genders? Then decide on a public space where you could observe the types of interactions that interest you. The University has very strict rules that protect research subjects, which means that any place you observe must be a public space (think about it as a space where people are free to be there or not). You can't do research at your job, or in class. But you can sit outside and watch people. Or go to a library or coffeehouse or mall. There are several other things you should consider. Do not choose a site where many of the people there might be vulnerable in some way. This includes sites where there are mainly children, sick people, or elderly people. Also, do not choose a site where you might put yourself or someone else in danger. Choose one or two places where you will do all of your observations.

Then think of a question about people that interests you. You have a wide latitude to choose your question. While you are refining your question, also think what you think the answer is to your question. This answer is in a sense your hypothesis, or what you are theorizing about a social situation. For example, you might choose the question: why do people who appear destitute or homeless act friendlier to strangers than people who appear middle class? Then think of your hypothesis, which might be something like: homeless people are friendlier to strangers because they have no steady home/family to provide their main social relationships. Another example, if you want to compare two sites, you might choose to observe people at two different coffeehouses, one in a suburb, the other near the University. Your question might be: why do people in the University coffeehouse stay longer while they drink their coffee? And your hypothesis might be: people who live in the suburbs have created a social life that depends on moving quickly from place to place. One thing to remember about your hypothesis is that your observations may well suggest that you are wrong. You may be very wrong or partially wrong, but this is OK. Keep track of all the ways you are wrong and write about them in your final paper. It is also very important to identify what will be your variables - one social factor that influences another, i.e., homelessness leads to interaction with strangers.

Once you have settled on your site, on your hypothesis, and on your variables, you should think about what you will need to be looking for as you do your observations. You will see many things, but what you should do is decide what indicators you will look for that will help you test your hypothesis. Make a list of your indicators and how you will identify them. You may find that you want to change your indicators once you are in the middle of observing. This is fine. But keep track of any changes you make, so you can write about it in your final paper.

While you are doing your observations, keep notes. You may want to write while you are observing, or immediately afterward. Just make sure to do it as soon as you can so you remember details. Depending on what you have chosen as your indicators, you will be taking notes on certain things, perhaps you will be timing interactions, or observing what people wear, or where people sit, or how people interact. Make sure you write descriptively.

Paper requirements:

• Description of your site(s);
• Your question and hypothesis;
• Your specific identification of your dependent and independent variables;
• Your list of indicators that you will look for when you observe.
• Include the observation notes

Literature Review Project

If you choose this project you will write a sociological paper on a topic of interest to you using secondary sources: academic sociological journal articles (4-5) and books (1-2). The first step in this paper is to choose your research topic. You might want to develop a topic related to something that you are interested in, but you have to narrow it down to a specific research interest. For example, if you are interested in deviant behavior you might want to consider as a research topic something like the following: "deviant behavior among the elderly", "deviant behavior among suburban youth" or even "new trends in white collar crime". If you are interested in gender, you might want to consider "gender division of labor in the household", "gender roles in advertisement (or in storybooks)" or "the gender pay gap". There are several topics that you might want to choose to look at. My best advice is to start with some general idea that intrigues you and then try to find in the textbook a topic related to that idea (you might even want to use the textbook to find some suggestions or ideas). Once you have narrowed down your topic, for example to "gender division of labor in the household" you need to develop your research question. Your question might be: "Which household chores are done by men and which ones are done by women? Is there an unequal distribution of household chores when both men and women work fulltime?" Your hypothesis could be: Different generations have different distributions of household chores. That is, the gender division of labor in the household tends to be more unequal among older couples than among younger ones. Or another hypothesis could be: In couples that both work full time females still do most of household work. However, you might find after reading the literature (the articles and the books that you found related to your topic),s that the authors tend to agree that there is no major change in the distribution of household chores and that women still do the major part of the housework, and "age" or "generation" is an irrelevant variable. It is OK to find that the literature says something different from what you hypothesized, you just have to acknowledge that.

Paper requirements:

• Description of your research topic;
• Your question and hypothesis;
• Your specific identification of your dependent and independent variables;
• What the literature says and doesn't say about your research topic;
• What do you think is missing or what could be improved in the literature;
• Bibliography.