Required Reading

Macionis, J. J. (2007). Sociology. 11^th ed. Prentice Hall.

Class Objective

To introduce you to a variety of issues studied by Sociology, study the vocabulary of the subject, gain sufficient familiarity with the dominant theoretical perspectives in the field and develop skills that will help you to look at important social issues from sociological perspective.  

Class Format

Since the primary goal of the course is to encourage your critical thinking the class is designed to engage each student in active learning through individual and group work. To facilitate the understanding of the course material the regular class time will be divided between discussions lead by the instructor and group discussions of assignments. Therefore, you must come to class prepared, i.e., having your assignments completed, having read the assigned readings, having questions and opinions formed. 

Exams

Three exams will be given during the session.

Two midterm exams will be given to test your understanding of key concepts covered in class. These exams will include multiple choice questions and questions that will ask you to define key terms, concepts and theories. I will provide the questions on the day of the exam. You will have one hour to complete the assignment.

A comprehensive final exam would be given on the last day of regular class meetings. It will consist of multiple-choice, True/False, True/False Justify and Short Answer items. You will have two hours to complete the exam.

Quizzes

Four 15 minutes long quizzes will be given during the semester. Similar to exams quizzes will test your understanding of the class material.  I will select several core concepts covered in class and ask you to define and illustrate them.

Project

During our session you will complete one creative project.   

Each student will select and analyze an article that discusses an issue covered in class. This project is an extended version of regular class assignments with greater emphasis on the critique of author’s position and arguments. For detailed guidelines of this project please consult class website at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~ostakha.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that project is primarily concerned with providing you with hands on experience of looking at various societal issues through the prism of sociology. Therefore I do not expect you to go beyond the class readings when working on your project.

Assignments

You are expected to complete 12 assignments.

For your first assignment you will be asked to identify an article devoted to one of the issues we will be discussing in class (you could look through the table of contents in the text book to see the list of topics).

Article selection principles:

• this should be a short article between 5 to 10 pages long;
• the author should introduce a view or position that provoked or is likely to provoke a discussion (a good rule of a thumb is to select a controversial article which introduces views that you completely disagree with), and
• the author should not only introduce his or her view on an issue, but also provide arguments to prove the point.   

You will also be asked to write eleven two page essays-reflections on class readings. Each essay is due in the beginning of each class. You will not be able to successfully complete this course without submitting all the essays. For detailed guidelines on writing these essays please consult the class website at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~ostakha.

Attendance

You are expected to attend the class regularly. Although there are no penalties for missing a class your final grade will depend on participation in class discussions, therefore by missing the class you will automatically lose points reserved for the class participation. You will receive one extra credit for each class you attend.

Participation

Since your participation in class is a key for this course you will receive points after each class meeting. Please be aware that nodding while remaining silent or providing sentences such as I agree not supplemented by sufficient contribution to the class discussion are not considered as participation.

☼ If I don’t know your name by the fourth class, you are not doing too well

Curving

This class will not be curved. You earn the grade you receive at the end of the semester. Grading will be based on facts and simple calculations.

Grading System 

Exams:      150 pts            Project : 150 pts           Essays: 110 pts          Quizzes: 40 pts           Class discussions: 50 pts Total: 500 pts                                                                                                                

Grade Calculation

The grades will be calculated from the standard 100% scale.

A: 100-93%     A-: 92.99–90%     B+: 87–89.99%      B: 83–86.99%      B-: 80–82.99%  

C+: 77–79.99    C: 73–76.99%     C-: 70-72.99%        D: 67-69.99%      D-: 65-66.99%

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism: the act of paraphrasing, repeating in one’s own words, or copying the work of another author without crediting the sources shall be ground for a failing grade in the entire course. The action taken upon the discovery of dishonesty in exam completion or in fulfilling course requirements will be a failing grade in the course.

Code of Ethics 

Des Moines Area Community College is committed to providing a professional and educational environment that is free of discrimination and harassment. The procedure for Filing Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment is available at http://www.dmacc.edu/handbook/polprocedures/es4645.pdf .

Rules of the House

ª Everybody’s opinion counts. Do not hesitate to voice your opinion and share your thoughts with your classmates. Speak, and you shall be heard!

¨ No cell phones, no sleeping, no unrelated chatting: it disrupts the flow of the class

§  Please, be on time. Continuous tardiness is disruptive.

© Coffee, water or non-a