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Course Planning by Program

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Essential Objectives

Course Syllabus


Revision Date: 13-Aug-25
 

Fall 2025 | SOC-1010-VO03 - Introduction to Sociology


Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Location: Online
Credits: 3 (45 hours)
Day/Times: Meets online
Semester Dates: 09-02-2025 to 12-15-2025
Last day to drop without a grade: 09-15-2025 - Refund Policy
Last day to withdraw (W grade): 11-04-2025 - Refund Policy
This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration

Faculty

Michael Ohler
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Gilberto Diaz Santos

General Education Requirements


This section meets the following CCV General Education Requirement(s) for the current catalog year:
Social Science
    Note
  1. Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.
  2. Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is a survey of the basic issues, concepts, theories, and methods of sociology. Students learn to think critically about the nature of society and social institutions, and the relationship among individuals and groups. Topics will include social organization, socialization and social change, social stratification, class and class conflict, biological sex, gender expression, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, and ability.


Essential Objectives

1. Describe the origin and development of sociology as a social science and give examples of how sociological concepts, theories, and methods can be used to explain cultural and social phenomena around the world.
2. Discuss how the interrelationships of heredity, environment, and social agents contribute to the development and socialization of the self.
3. Discuss the influence of social, cultural, and institutional contexts on behavior norms in global societies.
4. Compare the structure and function of various social groups and identify the factors which affect group dynamics.
5. Differentiate between functionalist, conflict, and interactionist explanations of deviance and social control.
6. Compare theories of social stratification based on biological sex, gender expression, sexuality, class, race, ethnicity, age, and ability and discuss resulting inequalities including power differentials, prestige, and privilege.
7. Identify key social institutions such as the family, education, religion, politics, and economy and examine their composition and function in global societies.
8. Demonstrate and interpret how demographic and statistical research is used to understand and respond to social change and recognize critical questions and ethical issues related to quantitative claims.
9. Describe the applications of sociology locally and globally and the various roles that sociologists play in today's societies.


Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.


Required Textbooks and Resources

SOC-1010-VO03 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.


Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

 HighLow
A+10098
A Less than 9893
A-Less than 9390
B+Less than 9088
B Less than 8883
B-Less than 8380
C+Less than 8078
C Less than 7873
C-Less than 7370
D+Less than 7068
D Less than 6863
D-Less than 6360
FLess than 60 
P10060
NPLess than 600


Weekly Schedule


Week/ModuleTopic  Readings  Assignments
 

1

introductions

    

Discussion post:

Introductions-sociology class

As a precursor to a more in depth assignment to be completed later in the semester...I think it makes sense to find out a little bit about what brought us all to the Sociology table.

  1. Introduce yourself with some of the standard stuff, where are you from, what your major is, perhaps your educational plan. are you working etc.
  2. Tell us what generated your interest in this class. Feel free to be as general or specific as you would like in your response. Its fine if it's just a requirement
  3. Offer up your own definition of sociology. no wrong answers. it can just be a sentence or two
  4. Please respond to a minimum of two others: Those responses could include (but are not limited to) the following: further questions about your colleague's interests, noting similarities in professional, and academic pursuits, other things you wanted to share but forgot in your initial post, noting that this person's post jogged a memory.
  5. Post by September 4th, responses by September 6th
 

2

Research and Sociology

  

Reading: skim chapter one and two in text by September 11th

  

Discussion Post

Please watch this video. And then offer up critique of this research, and/or suggestions for topics for sociological research that you think are important

Video: Milgram experimenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgO3ZHcuMQ0Links to an external site.

Please post by September 11th and respond to at least 2 posts by September 13th at midnight

 

3

Culture

  

please read chapter 3 in text and other readings on culture in Files

  

Writing: This I Believe (sociologically). 250 words. Prompt in files on canvas and in assignments

This I Believe Essay Sociology.docx

Discussion post: share a few lines about what you wrote about in This I Believe paper and/or discuss What about you, your community, your family, your culture, makes you unique.

due September 18th. respond to at least one post bySeptember 20th

 

4

Socialization

  

Socialization: reading: chapter 4 (67-75) and Agents of Socialization reading in files

  

Discussion Post: what do you think the most important agent of socialization is and why?

post a paragraph by September 23rd , 2 responses by September 25th

 

5

Social Groups

  

Please read chapter 6 in text and The Odds of Injury in Files

byOctober 2nd

  

Writing: Pick a sociological group (or subculture) you are a part of. Or one that you have observed. And/or Or feel free to comment on reading. 300 word minimum. dueOctober 2nd

 

6

Marriage and The Family

  

reading: chapter 14 Marriage and the Family. Other readings from SUN Magazine on canvas byOctober 9th

  

Discussion post: As a street sociologist, based on readings, and your own experience what are your thoughts about Marriage and the Family?

minimum one paragraph byOctober 9th

2 replies byOctober 11th

 

7

Describe Yourself

    

Please take a look at attached rubric, and put some time and thought into writing this paper.

Describe Yourself personal paper online.docx

 

8

Deviance

  

Reading; Chapter 13. Deviance and Criminality. Other readings under Deviance on Canvas by October 23rd

  

Discussion prompt: after doing the reading, please rank order the following deviant acts 1-10 with 1 being the most unacceptable to you and 10 being the act you find least offensive. there are no wrong answers.

due October 23rd

Cheating on a spouse/partner

Practicing medicine without a license

Burning a building protest

Driving Under the Influence

Hitting a child

Selling illegal drugs

purchasing alcohol for minors

Fraudulently using someone's identity

having sex in public

stealing money from a charity

Second Discussion prompt:

After reading through all the ranked deviant act lists in last post, offer up your observation of trends, surprises, etc.

(No Replies to either post needed) due October 25th

 

9

Race and Discrimintion

  

Please read chapter 10 and other readings in Files on Race and Discrimination

  

Writing: Based on the textbook, other readings in Files, papers, news about Black Lives Matter related issues, personal experience….do you in any way consider yourself a racist? Why or why not? (Minimum 200 words) worth 20 points on final exam. due on October 30th

 

10

Social Class

  

Reading: Social Class - Chapter 7 and other readings in Files about poverty on canvas November 16th - Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsMLinks to an external site.

due November 6th

  

Discussion Post :

Based on all of the readings: Why can’t Allison (or Linda) Get Ahead?

minimum one paragraph by November 6th .

two responses by November 8th

 

11

Sex and Gender

  

please watch attached videos and read chapter 11 by November 13th

Michael Kimmel

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_kimmel_why_gender_equality_is_good_for_everyone_men_included?language=enLinks to an external site.

Gloria Steinham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XCJiuebI5cLinks to an external site.

The Diversity of Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yM_P6WdRJULinks to an external site.

  

Discussion post:

based on readings and videos, where do you see us a society on the issues of gender equality and the acceptance of difference? How does it differ from racial equality/inequality? (please reference at least one point from reading and one from video)

post a paragraph by Thursday November 13th

2 replies by November 15th

 

12

Final Exam

    

Please submit final exam no later than December 4th . Partial exams are accepted. Happy to give you a progress report along the way

 

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

  • In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
  • Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
  • Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:


CCV strives to mitigate barriers to course access for students with documented disabilities. To request accommodations, please
  1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
  2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
  3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.


Academic Integrity


CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College.

Apply Now for this semester.

Register for this semester: March 31 - August 29, 2024