Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | SOC-1010-VR01 - Introduction to Sociology

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Frederick Bennett
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Philip Crossman

General Education Requirements

VSCS Social Sciences

Note

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.

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 IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

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

*** This is a low cost ($50 or less) textbook or resource class. ***

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Spring 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

SOC-1010-VR01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

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.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Attendance and Participation- 30% of your grade

This semester has 15 weeks. Each week counts for 1/15 of the in-class material. For each week that you miss, your attendance score drops by 1/15. Participation is both for individual and group and is described elsewhere in this Course Description. Your score for this category is your total attendance times your total participation.

2. Assignments - 45% of your grade

This will be a weekly feature for our class and includes in-class and out-of-class assignments. The assignments vary in effort for preparation and carry commensurate credit.

4. Midterm and Final Projects - 25% of your grade

The midterm and final projects are either assigned or co-created projects that help concretize the learning from the first and second halves of the semester, respectively. Group projects are possible, must be co-created with the instructor, and will be evaluated by the group (relative credit) and the instructor (total credit).

Grading Criteria

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

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

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.

Participation Expectations

Attendance Specifics:

• If you miss three classes, or its equivalent in classes, and lateness / early departures, you will not be able to pass the course.
• When you have received the equivalent of two absences, and time permitting, the instructor will make an effort to alert you and your advisor as to your circumstances. It is incumbent upon the student however, not the instructor, to be aware and make efforts to stay informed about attendance standing.

Positive Participation:

· Show evident attention and engagement with the full class about the topic being discussed (not side conversations, please).

· Contribute positively, voluntarily, regularly, and moderately during each class.

· Develop a thoughtful and inquisitive manner about the material and each other's contributions during class.

Classroom Comportment:

We will have one 15 minute break, approximately halfway through the class time. Use this as an opportunity to use the restroom, get a snack or drink, or to send or read email or text messages from your computer or phone.

Please do not send or read email or text messages while during class time. Also, please do not attend to other material online that is not part of the curriculum of the class or listen to media via earphones. This is a distraction to me and often your classmates. Of course, it is a break in your attention and participation also. Please note that these actions detract significantly from your active participation.

You may eat and drink during class time. The only restriction is you should not cause create distractions. Please be thoughtful and do not choose food that has loud wrappings or is loud to chew.

Please get up and leave the classroom if you need to use the restroom, need to take/make a critical phone call/text, etc. and we are not during break time. You do need to ask for permission for these activities.

During active class time, please do not have side conversations. This is also a distraction to me and your classmates. If you'd like to socialize or catch up with a classmate, please wait for a transition time between activities or leave the room to do so.

If you find you are drowsy during the course of our very long class, I encourage you to take a brief walk or to get a drink to help with your alertness. It is not acceptable behavior to "rest your head" or close your eyes during class time.

Correspondence Comportment:
Please note: All written work, including in class and out of class correspondence, should be thoughtfully made and express its content with a professional attitude. That is, you should explicitly attend to:

· function (e.g., what do I need and want to convey?)

· context (e.g., to whom and under what circumstances?)

· format (e.g., should this look like a letter, an essay, a research paper?)

· mechanics (e.g., have I checked the spelling and grammar?).

· means (e.g., is this neatly typed and submitted on time?)

Your attention (or lack of attention) to these details can affect your evaluation.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Late work might be accepted, on pre-arrangement with the instructor. "Pre-arrangement" includes both the email request by the student and the consent of the instructor. Students therefore must plan ahead and give the instructor at least 24hrs before the scheduled class time to respond.

If unplanned conflict in the last 24 hours prevents a student from receiving permission to submit an assignment late, the student needs to inform the instructor via email of this circumstance. In this case, the instructor will likely consent once a semester to this contingency.

Missing work: This will be represented by a zero score in the grading.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

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