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SOC351
CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS Dr. Carter Office Hours are held in
the 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 GOALS The primary goal of this course
is to get you to understand the world around you as it pertains to
contemporary social problems. Why does poverty persist amidst
affluence? Why do people commit crime? What makes people violent? Why
do people persist in having large families when some 50 million
individuals die of hunger and malnutrition every year? Why have we
failed to achieve economic equality between men and women? What are the
causes of divorce? Such problems make the news almost every day. What
are the systematic, recurring, underlying causes of each of these
social problems? By the end of this course you will know these causes
and be able to apply them in your analyses of media reports about
social problems and in your understanding of those social problems
which touch you personally. As part of this process, you will learn to
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 (with the assistance of a computer software package
called Student Chip). The flavor of the readings is decidedly
cross-cultural and international, as well as being "solutions" oriented. READING & COMPUTER EXERCISES Our primary text is Solutions
to Social Problems: Lessons from Other Societies (Allyn and Bacon,
2001); we will supplement this with selected exercises in Analyzing
Contemporary Social Issues 2/e: A Workbook with Student
CHIP Software), Allyn & Bacon, 2001. 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 3 individuals to form a study-partner team, but
never more than 3. 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 in
this course is based on the following: 1. Two examinations (a midterm and a
final; the final is not cumulative). Exams typically have two parts: a
set of objective items and a component based on your homework (computer
exercises; note: no knowledge of computers or data analysis is
assumed-- everything will be taught to you). At least one of these may
be a take-home exam. 2. Homework. Most of your homework will be from Analyzing Contemporary Social Issues. As the semester progresses, you can expect to usually do at least one set of computer exercises each week. I collect homework regularly, but usually only give letter grades to 2--4 of your assignments.
Homework
that is handed in late will receive a heavy grade penalty. The homework
is not time-consuming, but you must keep up with it if you are to
complete this course successfully. Graded homework is temporarily
returned and discussed in detail in class; nongraded
homework is not returned, but doing it is very important to doing well
on the exams and keeping up with class discussion; 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. 3. Class attendance & participation. As
part of your participation in this class,
you are responsible for reading your The above
are weighted as follows: Exam #1:
1/3 of your final course grade Exam #2: 1/3 Homework: 1/3 (#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 or learning disability that may impact your academic activities in this class.) (with Special Notes for Honors Students) Begin block "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 the 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 exercises). 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.
Solutions to Analyzing Contemporary Reading Block
Social
Problems
Social
Issues Topics
^ I Section I Both Primers Intro. Concepts /
Chapter
1
Methodology
II
Sections II,
III
Chapter
3
Inequality / Poverty /
Human Rights
First Examination
III
Chapter 4
Racism
/ Ethnocentrism
IV
Sections IV,
VI
Chapter 5
Gender
Inequality/
Chapter 8
Sexuality / The Family /
Divorce
(Note:
Our Second Examination is our Final Examination and is
not cumulative; it always includes Reading Blocks III through V, but
sometimes only sections of Blocks VI and VII, those particular
sections being announced in class.)
VI
Sections IX, V
Chapter 9
Healthcare
/ Aging Chapter 6
VII
Section XI
Chapter
11 Environmental
Issues Second Examination |