Course Syllabus

Required Texts

Sociology: A Brief Introduction - Fifth Edition by Richard Schaefer (Chapter Numbers are different in Fourth Edition)

Study Guide for Schaefer by Schaefer, Kassop, & Cohen

McGraw-Hill Power Web - USER ID is packaged with your text.  Power Web came with your textbook. You can find it on the postcard thing that says SAVE THIS CARD! On the back of the card are the instructions for accessing the Power Web.

Course Description

  This course explores the roles of people in their social environment through a multicultural perspective. Basic premises of the social sciences are incorporated into discussions of cultural artifices, values, beliefs, and customs. Racial, ethnic, and other multicultural issues are related to institutions and organizations.

Terminal Course Objectives

1. Given a social problem such as homelessness, use sociological imagination to interpret the problem, assess possible solutions, and illustrate how a social science may view this issue in a cultural context.
2. Given a hypothesis such as, "Children who eat a good breakfast do better in school than children who eat a poor breakfast," apply the scientific method and use appropriate scientific techniques in refining the hypothesis, applying operational definitions, and selecting the appropriate research method for validating the hypothesis.
3. Given a social issue such as, "Who really receives welfare?" compare and contrast the major sociological theories, determine if one theory seems more applicable to this issue than another, and explain why.
4. Given a sample reading, such as Horace Miner's Nacirema (1959), or a film such as Lord of the Flies, analyze the meaning of culture within society and demonstrate how the concepts of culture and society are inseparable.
5. Given a case study dealing with issues of racial and ethnic discrimination within social organizations, identify areas of social stratification, differentiate between racial and ethnic groups, and illustrate stereotypes within the case study.
6. Given a series of short readings on the interactions of ethnic or racial groups in North America, analyze these interactions based on cultural characteristics of the groups.
7. Given a case study on a multicultural issue beyond race and ethnicity, such as the aging North American population, changing family forms, gay lifestyles, etc., analyze this issue in the context of a subgroup within a larger "normative" population and evaluate the extent to which the subgroup fits in with society's overall norms.
8. Given a film involving a multicultural issue or issues, such as Higher Learning, A Class Divided,or Do the Right Thing, extrapolate at least five major and seven minor sociological concepts and demonstrate in a well written essay how these concepts are sociologically related through the film's story line.
9. Given a case study involving an applied sociological situation, such as the current state of the educational system in a state or province, analyze the situation from a sociological perspective in order to provide basic guidelines for improving the system.

Grading Policies

Grading Scale

To get the full 100 points each week in the TDA you must post three substantive postings per graded discussion thread per week.  For example, this means that  you might post a comment on Monday ; Wednesday you might post a comment ; and Saturday you might post a comment .  That is a total of 3 comments on 3 different days in each topic.  For full credit you should offer 3 quality comments [quality means comments based on life experiences, your reading, and/or your own insights to augment, illustrate or assist others in understanding the concepts and how these apply to the Terminal Course Objectives].  Your responsibility throughout the week is to participate in the Threaded Discussion Topics as both a learner and a peer teacher. Presentation is important in the academic and work worlds, so spelling, grammar, and logical development count. Your participation is graded.

Course Schedule

Course Policies and Procedures

• All assignments are due by midnight of the night before class for which they are assigned. No late work will be accepted without a documented medical excuse. However, if you are encountering a non-technical problem during any week, let me know so we can attempt a solution.  If you encounter a technical problem, notify the Help Desk immediately.
• Answer questions posted in the Threaded Discussion area and comment on responses made by other students and the instructor.  We will be looking at some controversial topics. While all reasoned opinions are welcome in this class, discussions need to occur with a degree of decorum. So even if you feel that someone is espousing the most unreasonable position you've ever heard of, please address it in a way that fosters academic discussion.
• Learning Activities in this class include: Assigned reading in the textbook, Power Web, Lecture, and internet sites.

1.      Essay each week relating to  the TDA topicsusing sociological concepts or answering Critical Thinking Questions from the end of the assigned chapter --minimum of 2 paragraphs and identification of the TCO.  See Essay Format in Doc Sharing.

2.      Threaded Discussions - Each week  requires your quality comments and peer teaching.  Because this is so, we place a heavy emphasis on the participation in the TDA.  Each of us will be posting comments and providing examples of the sociological concepts. You need to read them all and comment on those that you may not completely understand and/or that you think could use some expansion or further explanation and/or that you have something to share that is different from the post. It is in the exchange among us that we learn to apply the concepts and see if we really understand them.

3.      The Study Guide to Sociology - In order to help digest the material you are expected to complete the applicable chapters each week. [ not graded]

Integrity Statement

Academic and Professional Conduct

Ensuring academic integrity is an educational objective we take very seriously at DeVry Online. Based on respect for individual academic achievement, each student and faculty member commits to being a part of a community of scholarship that prides itself on honesty and integrity. DeVry  Academic and Professional Conduct is as follows:

Students have a responsibility to maintain both the academic and professional integrity of the School and to meet the highest standards of academic and professional conduct. Students are expected to do their own work on examinations, class preparation and assignments and to conduct themselves professionally when interacting with fellow students, faculty and staff. Students must also make equitable contributions to both the quality and quantity of work performed on group projects.

Academic and/or professional misconduct is subject to disciplinary action including course failure, probation or dismissal. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on examinations, plagiarism, bribery, falsification of student records and improper attempts to influence Instructors or School officials.

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