SOC 201 Syllabus - The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

SOC 201: Social ProblemsWhat’s the workload in this course?Reading: HeavyVideos: ModerateWriting: Heavy (9 Discussions, 4 Writing Assignments, 1 Book Review, 1 DFE Project)Exams: 2 Essay & Short Answer ExamsCourse Objectives:By the end of this course, the student will:• Develop a working knowledge of the vernacular of the sociology of social problems, andunderstand core concepts and particular styles of reasoning.• Develop a working knowledge of several contemporary social problems• Develop an awareness of the social roots, conditions, and causes of the student’s ownproblems and troubles.• Acquire rudimentary skills in using the computer as a research tool.Improve writing and critical thinking skills.Required Materials:These materials include several textbooks, films, and individual chapters and articles. You areexpected to read and be familiar with these materials before you complete the assignments towhich they pertain. Some of the theoretical work is challenging and will require not one butseveral readings.Textbooks will be sent from the UNCG Bookstore to your school, in care of your coursefacilitator. You should ask him or her for your course copies as soon as you enroll. Books need tobe returned to your facilitator at the end of the semester. Please check with him or her about thedue dates when books should be returned.Schlosser, E. (2002) Fast Food Nation. Harper Collins ISBN 0060938455Ehrenreich, B. (2002) Nickel and Dimed. Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 08050638971

Kozol, J. (1996) Amazing Grace. Harper Collins ISBN 0060976997Chafe, W. (1990). Civilities and Civil Rights. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195029194The film Supersize Me! will be made available via a link in the Announcements area two weeksbefore related assignments are due. Clicking on the link will take you to a page with the film insegments. You will need Flash Player to watch the film.The film Aftermath: The Greensboro Massacre can be accessed by clicking the appropriate linkin Assignments. If you have trouble viewing the film, ask your facilitator for assistance.Individual book chapters and articles are available on e‐Reserves. The e‐Reserves area functionsas an electronic holding bin for these short readings. You have two ways to complete them. Youcan read each chapter or article directly on the screen. If your school policies and your facilitatorallow it, however, we strongly suggest you print them out on paper for easier reading,note‐taking, and reference.Unit 1:Chapters 1, 7, 8 and 10 from C. Wright Mills, The Sociological ImaginationUnit 2: From the “Class Matters” series in the New York Times, David Cay Johnston, “Richest areleaving the rich far behind”.Unit 4: Chapters from Steve Kroll‐Smith, Phil Brown, and Valerie Gunter, (2000),Illness and the Environment. New York University Press. Balshem, Martha. Chapter 18: A cancer death. Brown, Phil, and Judith Kerwan Kelley, Chapter 3: Physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, andpractice regarding environmental health hazards. Quandt, Sara, Arcury, Thomas, Austin, Colin, Saavedra, Rosa. Chapter 11: Farmworkerand farmer perceptions of farmworker agricultural chemical exposure in North Carolina. Siskind, Janet. Chapter 9: An axe to grind: Class relations and silicosis in a 19 th centuryfactory. Steingraber, Sandra. Chapter 17: Time.Units 3 & 5: No additional individual chapters or articles assigned.Course Activities:Required Course AssignmentsAll required course assignments must be completed before final grades are turned in.A. Book Review: Jonathan Kozol, Amazing Grace (170 points)Just what is a book review?2

Simply put, book reviews offer readers potential information about books. Reviews of works offiction generally offer readers a synopsis of the book plot, a description of the characters, and anoutline of the membership of the intended audience. However, fiction and poetry are oftenwritten for the sheer beauty of language or with morality tales in mind. By contrast, socialscientific works of non‐fiction are profoundly uninterested in beautiful language or in art for itsown sake. Instead, sociological writing is there to offer insight into some form of humanorganization. Specific theories are held up for examination, and evidence is offered to support orunmask the theories.Amazing Grace falls into the latter category. It is your job to figure out what theoretical insightsKozol’s book offers. You will read the entire book in the class. Then, answer questions about thereading and incorporate your answers into a coherent review essay. Be sure to include specificdetails of actual events that occur in the book. Be also sure to incorporate what you havelearned from the course into your analysis of Kozol's work.By Friday, February 27 th , read the following two short papers listed under Course Documents:“Writing a critical book review”, and “Help for writing a book review”.The report should be at least three (3) and no more than five (5) pages in length. Both limitsare firm. Double‐space the review. Put page numbers in parentheses after a quotation. Save it inrich text format (rtf). Submit it as a file attachment. The header should include the author, titleof the book, publisher, and date of publication. Your review must contain the following: a formalintroductory paragraph; the body of the paper consisting of a minimum of 4 to 5 paragraphswherein you answer the questions below using specific examples from the book; and a formalconclusion. You should use APA style and, because this is a formal paper, you must not use verbcontractions. Finally, your name should appear at the end of the review. The work must be yourown (i.e., do not use the internet!). Failure to follow these guidelines will result in points offyour paper.Do not copy from book reviews online! Plagiarism is easily detected and WILL earn you a zeroon your review! We adhere to the Academic Integrity Policy at UNCG, and expect you to do soas well.Organize your review to answer the following set of questions:1. What is the author's intention in writing this book? What, in other words, does he or shewant to explain, interpret, or describe? What, in yet other words, is the author's BIGquestion?Spend some time on this query. Try and grasp what Kozol is up to in this monograph.2. How does the author write this book? How, in other words, is the book organized? How,in yet other words, does the discussion proceed?3

3. Does the author succeed in answering the questions posed in the book? To begin with,are they worthwhile questions? Are they answered to your satisfaction?4. What, if anything, did the author ignore? What might be added to make the book morepersuasive or readable?B. Tests (325 points total: Test 1 ‐ 150 points; Test 2 ‐ 175 points)Students will take two closed‐book exams. ALL EXAMS MUST BE TAKEN AT SCHOOL AND MUSTBE PROCTORED. Questions from quizzes (see below) may appear on the tests. The tests willinclude essay questions and questions in a short‐answer format.C: Discussion Forums (9 discussion boards at 20 points each; 180 points total)Threaded discussions will occur throughout the course. Students are required to post to each ofthese discussions.Discussion boards are not free‐for‐alls. They are places where ideas can be freely expressed andexamined. Your posts to the discussion boards need not be lengthy; however, they should benumerous and meaningful. Stating your beliefs or opinions to a room, even an online ‘room’, is apresentation; only give‐and‐take can make it a discussion. But good discussions requireengagement, so write early and often. Write about your responses, both personal and academic,to the topics at hand. We expect that in your discussion boards you’ll examine the materials,yourselves, and one another.Students will write two different kinds of posts to most discussion boards:responses.initial posts andInitial posts are students’ initial thoughts about the issue at hand. Generally, each post involveswriting a thoughtful answer to a question, a reading assignment, or a field activity. Due dates foreach initial post are listed on the calendar as Post, which are worth 10 points each.Students must also respond to other students’ initial posts. These responses form a crucial partof any discussion board. At a minimum, students should respond at least four times to eachdiscussion board. All responses on each board are together worth 10 points.All posts ‐ initial and responses ‐ must be posted before 4 pm on the due date to count. .Notethat due dates for different discussion boards overlap, so check your calendar often.D. Short Writing Assignments (4 assignments at 50 points each; 200 points total)You’ll find several short writing assignments assigned at various points throughout the course.Each of these should be treated as mini‐essays. You can find a description of each writingassignment by clicking on the Assignments link in the left‐hand course menu.Unit 1: Narrative assignment: Your life as a social processUnits 2 & 3: No writing assignment4

Unit 4: Pellagra as a social diseaseUnit 5: Arab‐Americans on the race continuumAftermath: The Greensboro MassacreE. Documentary Film Editor Project (125 points)The DFE Project is assigned in Unit 2. This film project is a fun way for students to creatively showhow they understand some of the core concepts learned in Unit 2. There is no need to filmanything; interviews, graphics, and text are provided for students. The assignment requiresstudents to select amongst the provided materials and create a narrative to go along with theirselections. View the introductory video, then read the entire set of directions for the DFE.Doing so now will save you time at the end. You can find the introductory video by doing thefollowing:Course main menu ‐> DFE Projects ‐> Access for Documentary Film Editor 1 – Unit 2Decide on the bandwidth. If you’re unsure about the bandwidth of your computer, click on LowWatch the video, then click on Continue to read the directions.A separate copy of the directions for completing the DFE can be found under CourseDocuments.Optional course assignmentsQuizzes (50 extra credit points possible; 25 points per quiz).Prior to each test, students can take extra‐credit quizzes. Each quiz can provide up to 3 points ofextra credit on top of the final grade at the end of the semester. Quizzes cannot be retaken. ALLQUIZZES MUST BE TAKEN AT SCHOOL AND MUST BE PROCTORED. Quiz One is only availablebefore Test One, and Quiz Two is only available before Test Two. Quizzes should be understoodas self‐tests, since students are not penalized for poor results. For that reason, students arestrongly encouraged to take both quizzes.Grading:Assessment:Students may earn up to 1,000 points during the semester.Amazing Grace Book review.....................................................................170 pointsExam 1.......................................................................................................150Exam 2.......................................................................................................175DFE, Unit 2................................................................................................125Writing assignments:5

Narrative assignment......................................................................50Pellagra as a social disease.............................................................50Arab‐Americans on the race continuum.........................................50Aftermath: The Greensboro Massacre...........................................50Discussion posts.........................................................................................180Total..........................................................................................................10006