SOC251 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY

Bryant University

Dr. Carter

Office Hours

Held in the Koffler Center, #215: Thurs.: 12:30--5:30 p.m.; or by appointment. It is best to make an appointment; see me after class to do so, or, if you prefer, contact me by e-mail (gcarter@bryant.edu) or telephone (401.232.6186). There may be some occasions that you find it necessary to send me a fax; this number is 401.232.6435. For more information, please see my web page: http://web.bryant.edu/~gcarter.

E-Mail/Blackboard

From time to time during the semester, it may be necessary for me to send you an e-mail (e.g., to cancel a class, or to change a homework assignment). I send all such communications to your Bryant e-mail account. If you do not regularly check this account, but use another one (e.g., your AOL account), then be sure to set up your Bryant account so that it automatically forwards all e-mails to the account you normally use. When you get such an e-mail, please let your study partner (see below) know about it. Please note that we generally do not use Blackboard--and if we do use it, I will alert you beforehand.

Preliminary Remarks

Students entering college are typically imbued with the American philosophy of individualism: They see their successes and failures, as well as the successes and failures of others, as solely caused by individual decisions and personal effort. Although this is a good philosophy to encourage hard work and success, and no one would deny its truth, it is misleading. The directions we go in life, our successes, our failures, our actions, and our thoughts--all of these--are intimately connected with forces larger than the individual. Sociology introduces these larger forces to the student and attempts to show their relevancy to all aspects of his or her life. Among these “larger forces” are social structure, culture, the group, and institutions such as the family, education, the polity, and the economy.

Goals

Sociology is the systematic study of group structure, group behavior, and of the influences of the group and of other social arrangements upon individual behavior and thought. By the end of this course, you should have a better understanding of that which is implied by “systematic study,” “group structure,” and some of the “influences of the group upon the individual.” More specifically, you should be able to:

1. apply selected sociological concepts in describing and interpreting specific social settings or circumstances;

2. appreciate cultural differences that abound among human societies, along with being able to use “culture” as an explanation of human thought and behavior;

3. recognize the principles of social organization that are common to all societies---despite the enormous cultural diversities that can exist among them;

4. understand and conceivably be able to use the rudiments of basic social research; part and parcel of this will be the abilities to construct questionnaire items that can measure sociological variables and to construct and read cross-tabulation tables, graphs, and data plots;

5. apply some of the universal principles of “causal analysis” in your interpretations of empirical facts and in your critiques of interpretations offered by others.

Sociological concepts tend to be quite abstract and difficult to appreciate at first wash. As such, they need to be approached from more than one angle. In this course, our approaches emphasize readings, lectures, discussions, and actually “doing” sociology.

Reading and Computing

Our primary text is Empirical Approaches to Sociology (Allyn & Bacon). We will complement these books with computer exercises from Doing Sociology with Student CHIP, Data Happy! (Allyn & Bacon). We will use the most recent editions of these books. Reading and computing assignments are given out on an interim basis (see last page of this syllabus). The number of pages assigned per week is much heavier toward the end of the semester compared to the beginning.

Class Time

is divided between lectures, focused discussions, and participation in sociological exercises. You are expected to take notes (some lecture areas are not covered in the books) and to actively participate in discussions and exercises. Attendance is mandatory!

Study Partners

Very early in the semester you should find a “study partner.” Many of your homework assignments will be turned in as two-person projects (you and your study partner). On rare occasions, I allow three individuals to form a study-partner team, but never more than three. Your study partner will serve as a valuable resource in preparing for tests and for better understanding the lectures and workbook assignments.

Grades
Your final grade is based on:

1. Three examinations (two intra-term and one final--the final is not cumulative). You can expect a variety of question types, e.g., essay, short answer, and multiple choices. Intra-term exams are tentatively scheduled for the seventh and eleventh weeks of the semester (3rd & 5th weeks during summer session). You should bring two #2 pencils and two ink pens to all exams; calculators are allowed. One little footnote: By their very nature, “make-up” examinations are unfair to those students who take tests at their scheduled times; for this and other reasons, I don't like giving them; as such, I am generally less sympathetic when devising and grading “make-up” test questions (so don't miss an exam unless you have a true emergency or are extremely ill).

2. Homework. As the semester progresses, you will usually be given one computer exercise to complete each week. The exercises complement our readings and class discussions--allowing you to test the sociological concepts being introduced. As these exercises are intended to help you to better understand the topic at hand and to prepare you for tests, their greatest importance will be reflected at examination time. However, to keep everyone honest, I will grade at least 3 or 4 homework assignments at random. Graded homework assignments are temporarily returned and the answers are discussed in class in detail; non-graded assignments are discussed in class but not returned. Graded assignments constitute 25% of your final grade; thus, keeping up with the homework and turning it in on time are critical to your overall success in this course. Indeed, the homework ideally represents the last line in the Confucian homily:

I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I understand

I keep all exams and graded homework assignments on file for 60 days after the end of the semester, after which they are discarded. (Otherwise my office would be deluged by paper.)

3. Class attendance and participation. As part of your participation in this class, you are responsible for reading your Bryant e-mail on a regular basis. As noted above, if you use another e-mail server (e.g., Yahoo or Hotmail), please be sure that you set up your Bryant e-mail account to forward to the e-mail account that you prefer using. It is not uncommon for me to send the class general informational e-mails on upcoming examinations and on other matters as well. When you do receive an e-mail, please let your study partner know about it.

The above grading criteria are weighted as follows:

Exam #1: 20% of your final course grade;

Exam #2: 25%

Exam #3: 30%

Homework: 25%

(Criterion #3, class attendance and participation, will be invoked only if your grade falls on or very near the borderline between two grades, e.g., say a “B” versus a “B+”).

(Please let me know if you have a physical condition or learning disability that may impact your academic activities in this class.)

Reading and Computing Assignments for the Semester

(with Special Notes for Honors Students)

Begin block number one (“I”) during the first week of the semester; when I say we will start “Block II” (or whichever block) the next class session, I expect you to begin--and finish in a timely manner--the appropriate block of assigned readings. Of greatest importance is to have your computer workbook assignments ready to turn in on the day I say they are due (doing both the Basic and the Advanced sections). Each computer workbook chapter ends with a set of “Exploratory” exercises, the completion of which is required for Honors Students; these exercises are part of what differentiates the Honors and non-Honors sections of SOC251. Do not despair if early in the semester you struggle with the “Advanced” exercises--eventually you will not only be able to do them but to understand their importance in helping you to become a critical thinker.

Please note that Empirical Approaches to Sociology has 12 major “Parts” (e.g., Part I, The Problem of Social Order), with 46 numbered readings (e.g., reading #1 is “Social Order and Control via Close Social Ties: The Example of Suicide”); you are only responsible for selected readings in selected Parts; thus, for example, in Reading Block I, you are only responsible for the Introduction (“A Primer on Critical Reading”), the Introduction to Part I (pp. 11–12), and articles #1 (Durkheim) and #3 (Breault and Brown); note, however, that you are responsible for the short introductions to any Part for which an article is assigned (e.g., pp. 11–12 for Part I). Similarly, Data Happy has 12 major Chapters, with 33 numbered exercises; you are only responsible for selected exercises in selected Chapters; thus, for example, in Reading Block I you are only responsible for Exercises 1 (“Social Order and Control via Strong Social Ties: The Example of Suicide”) and 2 (“Social Characteristics of Happy Individuals”).

Reading Empirical (workbook)

Block Approaches Data Happy Topics

I Introduction Both Primers Intro. Concepts / Methodology

(“A Primer Chapter 1

on Critical (Exercises 1 and 2)

Reading”)

Part 1

(#s1, 3);

Note: the Anderson

“Intro.” on social problems is not required)

II Part 2 Chapter 2 Doing Social Research

(#s5–7 only) (Exercises 4 and 5)

First Examination

III Part 3 Chapter 3 Culture

(#s9–10) (Exercise 7)

IV Part 4 Chapter 4, Ex. 8 Society/Groups

(# 11 only) (Exercise 8)

Part 6 Chapter 6

(#s18–20, 22) (Exercises 12–14)

Second Examination

Reading Empirical (workbook)

Block Approaches Data Happy Topics

V Part 5 Chapter 5 Socialization

(#s15–16) (Exercises 10–11)

VI Part 7 Chapter 7 Interaction

(#s23, 25) (Exercise 16)

VII Part 9 Chapter 9 Inequality

(#s 30–31, 34) (Exercises 22, 24—

due day of the final exam)

Third Examination

(Note: Our “Third Examination” is our “Final Examination” and is not cumulative; it always includes Reading Blocks V–VII. Reading Blocks VIII and IX are short, but are assigned only selected semesters—if you will be responsible for these last two Blocks, I will let you know in class.)

VIII Part 10 Chapter 10 Race/Ethnicity

(pp. 419– (Exercises 26–27)

423 only)

IX Part 11 Chapter 11 Gender

(pp. 471– (Exercises 29–30)

473 only)