NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SOCIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Achieving with Excellence

SOC 101 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES FALL 2001

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INSTRUCTOR:Dr. Charles H. Ford

OFFICE:BMH, C-154

PHONE NUMBER:823-8865, 823-8828

EMAIL ADDRESS:chford7@mail.com

OFFICE HOURS: MWF,9-9:45 a.m.; MWF, 2-3:15 p.m.; TR, 8:15-9:15 a.m.; Other hours by appointment

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TEXTBOOK: Elgin F. Hunt and David C. Colander, Social Science: An Introduction to the Study of Society, 11^th edition.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course introduces students to common and divergent perspectives of the social sciences including the general methods and special techniques used by social scientists to acquire an understanding of how human beings behave. The primary focus of the course is on the United States but the American experience is placed within a global context. The course recognizes that each of us leads a unique life within historical and geographical settings. Yet, our actions are shaped by broad societal factors that influence the manner by which we select and follow a course of behavior. The social sciences provide an understanding of the patterned regularities in human behavior.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the course students will be able to:

1. describe, compare and contrast the area of study of each of the social sciences,

2. discuss how each of the social sciences relates to organization of society and group behavior,

3. describe how social scientists follow the scientific method to understand social phenomena, and

4. analyze contemporary social issues from the perspectives of the social sciences.

TEACHING/LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

Several procedures will be used to enhance the learning of students and teacher. Most classroom activities will consist of discussions and/or lectures although small group exercises and video materials will be used also. Students may participate in activities such as a research project that will occur off campus. It is intended that students will be active learners, not merely passive recipients of lectures.

CLASS ATTENDANCE:

Students are expected to follow the university's current attendance policy as stated in the student handbook and the university catalog. Roll will be taken to monitor class attendance.

“The University expects students to attend all classes. While necessary absences are discouraged, the University recognizes that, on occasion, students may have legitimate reasons for being absent. Thus, a student will be permitted one “unexcused” absence per semester hour credit or the number of times a given class meets per week. Once a student exceeds the number of allowed unexcused absences, an instructor may require an official university excuse. Not more than 20% of class meetings (excused and/or unexcused) may be missed by a student during a given semester. At the discretion of the instructor, a student whose absences exceed 20% of scheduled class meetings for the semester may receive a grade of “F” for such course.

“Each student has the responsibility to confer with his instructors regarding all absences or intended absences. If sudden departure from the campus (for an emergency or extraordinary reason) prevents a student from communicating with each of his instructors, the student is expected to notify the Office of the Dean of students within 48 hours.

“Class excuses are issued for legitimate reasons (medical, funerals–immediate family members only, official university business/activities, etc.) By the Office of the Dean of Students. Official written documentation may be required (Notes from relatives, friends, etc., are not accepted as “official” documentation for absences.). The Dean’s office will determine if an absence is legitimate and if an excuse will be issued.

“Students who become ill are encouraged to report to the University Health Center, located in the Spartan Mall, for “minor” medical treatment.

“A current NSU ID card must be presented prior to treatment. Written verification of illness issued by the Health Center should be carried to the Office of the Dean of Students, and an official excuse should be obtained.

“Students residing in on-campus housing facilities are governed by the same policies and procedures as non-residential students insofar as class attendance and class excuses are concerned. (Norfolk State University 1999-2001 Catalog, pp 35-36.)

CHILDREN, BABIES AND CLASSROOM VISITORS:

Underaged and unregistered individuals are permitted to attend if they do not distract from the learning process and if there are enough seats for registered students. On most days visitors to class are welcome and there is no need for prior permission. It is expected that visitors will behave like officially registered students so as not to disrupt the demeanor and learning activities of the class. In general, however, underaged and unregistered individuals should not be present during regular scheduled exams or make-up exams.

EVALUATION OF STUDENT LEARNING:

Student learning will be evaluated by four quizzes, two examinations, and three written reports. The examinations will count 100 points each and the other evaluations 50 points each for a total of 500 points. The course grade will be assigned according to the following scale.

A = Exceptional (95-100) C = Average (74-76)

A- = Excellent (90-94) C- = Below Average (70-73)

B+ = Superior (87-89) D+ = Needs Improvement (67-69)

B = Very Good (84-86) D = Passing (64-66)

B- = Good (80-83) D- = Barely Passing (60-63)

C+ = Above Average (77-79) F = Failure (59 and below)

Quizzes and examinations may take the form of objective and/or essay questions and will be based on the objectives listed below in the course schedule.

There are no provisions for "extra credit" work.

All work to be evaluated for a course grade, that is, quizzes, examinations, written assignments, and the oral report, should be accomplished on the dates indicated on the course schedule attached below and announced in class. Students who miss the due-dates because of satisfactory reasons will be allowed to make-up the work within one week of the regularly scheduled due date. After one week, if the exam, quiz or report has not been made up or if the student has not contacted me to set up an alternative, then the missed exam, quiz or report becomes a zero (0) in my grade book.

Work not completed by the end of the semester will be graded as zero (0) points and averaged with all grades for a final course grade. Essentially, this means that an Incomplete (I) grade will NOT be reported unless there are strong, compelling reasons presented in a discussion between students and me.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

This course adheres to the university catalog guidelines as quoted below. Violations of these standards will result in grade reduction or a filing grade plus a recommendation for university discipline.

“In keeping with its mission, the University seeks to prepare its students to be knowledgeable, forthright, and honest. It expects and requires academic honesty from all members of the University community. Academic honesty includes adherence to guidelines established by the University for the use of its libraries, computers, and other facilities.

"Academic or academically related misconduct" includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized collaboration or use of external information during examinations; plagiarizing or representing another's ideas as one's own; furnishing false academic information to the University; falsely obtaining, distributing, using, or receiving test materials; obtaining or gaining unauthorized access to examinations or academic research materials; soliciting or offering unauthorized academic information or materials; improperly altering or inducing another to improperly alter any academic record; or engaging in any conduct which is intended or reasonably likely to confer upon one's self or another an unfair advantage or unfair benefit respecting an academic matter.

“Further information regarding academic or academically related misconduct, and disciplinary procedures and sanctions regarding such misconduct, may be obtained by consulting the current edition of the Norfolk State University Student Handbook. (Norfolk State University 1999-2001 Catalog, p 37)

DISRUPTIONS:

Noise and other disruptions are unacceptable and may result in a student's removal from class.

SOC 101 COURSE SCHEDULE AND OBJECTIVES

WEEK ASSIGNMENT and OBJECTIVES

1 Chapter 1 Social Science and Its Methods

Students will be able to: define social science and explain why it is important, list the various social sciences, state the nine steps that make up the scientific method, discuss some reasonable approaches to problems in social science, differentiate the historical method from the case method and the comparative method, discuss educated common sense from common sense, discuss problems social scientists encounter when applying the scientific method to the study of human behavior, and evaluate the scientific procedures of a report of social scientific research and explain why a good is always open to new ways of looking at issues

2 Chapter 2 Biological Origins of Social Behavior

Students will be able to: summarize Darwin’s theory of evolution, explain the role of mutation in the theory of evolution, relate DNA to genes and genetic engineering, distinguish between the theory of punctuated equilibrium and the theory of continuous equilibrium, and summarize briefly the evolution of human beings over the last 30 million years.

3 Chapter 5 Geographic and Demographic Influences

Students will be able to: identify the major countries on a map of the world, define communities and state why they are important, explain why many people believe population growth is a problem, explain how culture and environment interact, and explain how geography, population, culture, and the natural environment interact–and affect the ecology.

4 Chapter 3 Historical Influences on Western Society

Students will be able to: explain why the domestication of animals and control of land were central developments that created society as we know it today, trace the development of modern civilization from Mesopotamia and Egypt to today, explain the Greek and Roman origins of modern civilization, distinguish three periods of the Middle Ages, explain the importance of the Renaissance to modern civilization, and define the Age of Revolution.

5 Chapter 6 Technological Influences on Social Behavior

Students will be able to: define technology and explain its importance, explain how the Industrial Revolution significantly changed all aspects of society, discuss the role that technology plays in social change, present both sides of the limits-to-growth debate, list some of the important technological developments of the past, and speculate on likely important technological developments in the future.

6 Chapter 4 Culture, Society, and Cultural Change

Students will be able to: explain why culture is necessary to hold society together, list important elements of culture, summarize briefly three popular theories of cultural change, list five factors that cause culture to change, list three factors stabilizing culture, discuss the cultural lag theory and its limitations, and explain the doctrine of cultural relativism.

7 Chapter 7 The Individual, Society, and Culture

Students will be able to: explain how culture and personality are related, summarize the nature-nurture debate, state the importance of positive and negative reinforcement, discuss Maslow’s hierarchy, differentiate the id, ego, and superego, explain how IQ is calculated and the problems with its use, and define deviance and name five sociological theories about deviance.(Ch. 9)

8 Chapter 8 The Family and Socialization

Students will be able to: list four variations in family patterns and discuss where such variations can be found, list three functions of the family and explain how variations in family patterns serve those functions, discuss the state and problems of the U.S. family today, and discuss the effects of technology on the family and what effect future changes in technology are likely to have on the family. (Ch 10)

9 Chapter 11 Social and Economic Stratification

Students will be able to: list three types of social stratification, discuss the role of social mobility in making some social stratification acceptable to society, list three sources of income inequality, state what the poverty threshold is in the United States, discuss six issues that any practical program for meeting the problems of economic inequality must take into consideration, and explain what is meant by the U.S. class system and how it relates to class consciousness.

10 Chapter 12 Stratification, Minorities, and Discrimination

Students will be able to: list four reasons for racial prejudice, distinguish between minority and dominant groups, discuss the race problem in the United States today, distinguish Chicanos from Latinos and explain the problem of illegal Mexican immigration, discuss breifly the problems of sexual minorities, and give arguments for and against age discrimination.

11 Chapter 13 The Functions and Forms of Government

Students will be able to: list five primary functions of government, identify three contrasting views of government, explain the liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary, and anarchist philosophies of government, distinguish a democracy from an autocracy, list some distinguishing characteristics of a democracy, explain the democratic concept of the individual, list the common justification for an autocracy, and list four characteristics of an autocracy.

12 Chapter 14 Democratic Government in the United States

Students will be able to: give a brief account of the development of the U.S. government, list the five key elements of the Declaration of Independence, outline the structure of the U.S. federal government, explain the distribution of powers as set out in the U.S. Constitution, describe the political process in the United States, and summarize the role of the fourth estate, the political elite, the military-industrial complex, and PACs in the political process.

13 Chapter 16 The Organization of Economic Activities

Students will be able to: state what the great economic problem is, distinguish between a planned and an unplanned economy, discuss the evolution of our economy from feudalism, to mercantilism, to a market economy, to a mixed economy, explain the terms supply and demand and use them to explain how a market economy works, discuss the changing roles of agriculture in the U.S. economy, summarize the historical development of socialist thought, and give reasons why Soviet-style socialism was abandoned.

14 Chapter 17 Government and the Economy

Students will be able to: explain how the U.S. economy changed from a pure market economy to a welfare capitalist economy, explain why the Social Security system is not an insurance program, state the Keynesian explanation for the Great Depression, define the term multiplier and state why it is important, discuss the role of fiscal and monetary policy, and explain the political difficulties of using fiscal policies and the government’s bias toward deficits and debts.

15 & 16 Chapters 15, 18 - 21 International/Global Issues

This calendar should be considered as a tentative guide rather than a rigid time table. Adjustments may be made as the semester progresses.