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2026-27

Essential Objectives

Course Syllabus


Revision Date: 07-Sep-26
 

Fall 2026 | SOC-1010-VU01 - Introduction to Sociology


In Person Class

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

Location: Winooski
Credits: 3 (45 hours)
Day/Times: Tuesday, 11:45A - 02:30P
Semester Dates: 09-08-2026 to 12-15-2026
Last day to add this section: 09-15-2026
Last day to drop without a grade: 09-21-2026 - Refund Policy
Last day to withdraw (W grade): 11-09-2026 - Refund Policy
This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration

Faculty

Anna Kern
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


*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

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


Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.


Methods

This class will meet weekly. Typical activities of this course are:

  • Readings
  • Short reading quizzes
  • Mini-lectures (PowerPoint presentations and videos)
  • Data exploration
  • Discussion board posts

Evaluation Criteria

This course uses a total points system to calculate final grades.

  • Class Attendance / Participation - 180 points
  • Discussion Board (in-class) Assignments - 750points (50 points each)
  • Reading Quizzes - 70points (5 points each)

Total possible points in the course = 1000 points.

Coursework is comprised of four elements – readings, short quizzes, weekly (in-class) discussion board assignments, and a final research paper.

Readings: Each week there is a reading to introduce the week's topic and a reading "quiz" due before the start of class. Short reading quizzes are 5 questions (multiple choice, true/false) and you can refer to the reading while completing the quiz.

Assignments: Each week (in-class) we will complete a discussion board assignment that involves reading/watching/reviewing additional material and posting a short response / reflection / screenshot of the data you explored. These discussion board assignments are related to the week’s topic, but should give you enough flexibility to focus on some aspect related to your interests, academic major, work in other courses, and/or career goals.


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

What is Sociology? Applications and Origins

  

during class

  • Read: Puentes, Jennifer. n.d. "What Is Sociology?" "Examining Diversity" and "Levels of Analysis: Macro Level and Micro Level" Chapter 1.2-1.4 in Sociology in Everyday Life, by Matthew Gougherty and Jennifer Puentes. Open Oregon Educational Resources.https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/soceveryday1e/chapter/oo1-2/
  • Read; Theodore. 1984. “Rule Enforcement Without Visible Means: Christmas Gift Giving in Middletown.” American Journal of Sociology 89(6):1306–1323. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2779184
  • Read: Livingston, Jay. 2011. "The Fashion Report – Names Edition." Sociological Images, June 30. https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/06/30/the-fashion-report-–-names-edition/
  • REad: Anderson-Clark, T. N., Green, R. J., & Henley, T. B. (2008). “The relationship between first names and teacher expectations for achievement motivation.”Journal of Language and Social Psychology,27(1), 94-99.
  

during class

  • reading quiz (open-book, online)
  • data discussion board
 

2

Socialization and the Self

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz (open-book, online)

during class

  • data discussion board
    • Socialization content analysis – “Coming-of-age” films
 

3

The Sociological Imagination (+ Social Determinants of Health)

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz (open-book, online)

during class

 

4

Social, Cultural, and Institutional Norms (+ Protests)

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz (open-book, online)

during class

 

5

Subcultures & Religions

  

before class

during class

  • Baer, Drake. 2017. “Protests, Parties, and Sports Games All Fill The Same Human Need.” The Cut, January 23.
  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

 

6

Deviance and Social Control

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz (open-book, online)

during class

  • data discussion board
    • The Social Construction of Deviance – A content analysis of crime news coverage
    • Data sources: multiple online news outlets
 

7

Social Stratification – Social Class

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

  • data discussion board
    • Social Mobility?: US Economic Mobility by Community
    • Data source: Chetty, Raj, John N. Friedman, Nathaniel Hendren, Maggie R. Jones, and Sonya R. Porter. 2018.The Opportunity Atlas [dataset]. https://www.opportunityatlas.org
 

8

Social Stratification – Intersectional Social Identities

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

 

9

Social Institutions – Government and Global Migration (a.k.a politics and immigration)

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

  • data discussion board
 

10

Social Institutions - The Economy (and Inequality)

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz (open book, online)

during class

 

11

Social Science Research Methods

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz(open-book, online)

during class

  • data discussion board
    • Historical Analysis of the U.S. Census Questionnaire
    • Data source: US Census Bureau. Nd. “Decennial Census of Population and Housing Questionnaires & Instructions.” https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/technical-documentation/questionnaires.html
 

12

Population, Urbanization and the Environment

  

before class

  • Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang. 2021. "Chapter 20 Population, Urbanization, and the Environment."inIntroduction to Sociology 3e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
  • Read the all four sections:
    • Introduction
    • Demography and Population (20.1)
    • Urbanization (20.2)
    • The Environment and Society (20.3)
  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

  • data discussion board
    • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
    • Data source: https://www.ipcc.ch/synthesis-report/
 

13

Social Movements and Social Change

  

before class:

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

  • data discussion board
    • Social Movements Past, Present, Future
    • Data sources: New York Times Historical Database, Google News
 

14

Applied Sociology(a.k.a. Sociology in Action)

  

before class

during class

  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

  • data discussion board
    • Exploring Occupation and Employment Statistics
    • Data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. n.d. "Occupational Outlook Handbook."https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
 

15

Bonus Topic Week!! This week we follow up on something that came up over the course of the semester that we want to dig deeper into. We will vote on the topic, but here's what won last semester...

  

before class:

  • Peek, L., T. Wachtendorf and M.A. Myer. 2021."Sociology of Disasters"Pp 219-234 inHandbook of Environmental Sociologyedited by B. Schaefer Caniglia et al..

in class:

  

before class

  • reading quiz

during class

  • data discussion board
    • TBD
    • Data source: TBD
 

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

Full participation requires active and thoughtful engagement in class each week. The following habits and skills are important.

  • Attend class regularly, on-time and for the full session
  • Complete all of the week's reading and assignments before the start of class
  • Listen to others attentively and with an open mind
  • Positively contribute to class discussions and activities
  • Ask questions and seek help when you need it
  • Challenge yourself to do your best work

You'll have the opportunity to self-assess and receive instructor feedback on each of these areas at the mid-point and the end of the semester.



Missing & Late Work Policy

To keep us (all) on track, I’ve set up the reading quizzes and in-class discussion boards with due dates. I do not take off points for lateness (i.e. a certain % deduction each day the work is late). Instead, I consider consistently on-time work when I assign “Participation” points at the end of the semester. If you need to turn in work late for a reasonable reason, please send me an email (ajk08310@vsc.edu), so I can take that into account. And help you make any alternative arrangments or accommodations.


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/student-support/accessibility-services/
  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 30 - December 21, 2026