Download SOCI 1100 Introduction to Sociology

BARTON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
I.
GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
Course Number:
SOCI 1100
Course Title:
Introduction to Sociology
Credit Hours:
3
Prerequisite:
None
Division and Discipline:
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Social Science/Sociology
Course Description:
The course is a study of human social environments.
Particular emphasis is given to the origin and nature of society and its institutions,
general principles of sociology, and the influence of culture on the individual.
Applications of these principles will be made to current social problems.
II.
CLASSROOM POLICY
Students and faculty of Barton County Community College constitute a special
community engaged in the process of education. The college assumes that its students
and faculty will demonstrate a code of personal honor that is based upon courtesy,
integrity, common sense, and respect for others both within and outside the classroom.
The College reserves the right to suspend a student for conduct that is detrimental to the
College’s educational endeavors as outlined in the College Catalog.
Plagiarism on any academic endeavors at Barton County Community College will not be
tolerated. Learn the rules of, and avoid instances of, intentional or unintentional
plagiarism.
Anyone seeking an accommodation under provisions of the Americans with Disabilities
Act should notify Student Support Services.
III.
COURSE AS VIEWED IN TOTAL CURRICULUM
A student will learn to recognize how the individual shapes society and is in turn molded
by it. Students will acquire knowledge of their society that will provide them a
foundation for the other curriculum and careers. The class is a survey course and will
provide the basics for more specialized study in sociology.
The learning outcomes and competencies detailed in this syllabus meet, or exceed the
learning outcomes and competencies specified by the Kansas Core Outcomes Project for
this course, as sanctioned by the Kansas Board of Regents.
IV.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING/COURSE OUTCOMES
Barton County Community College assesses student learning at several levels:
institutional, program, degree and classroom. The goal of these assessment activities is to
improve student learning. As a student in this course, you will participate in various
assessment activities. Results of these activities will be used to improve the content and
delivery of Barton’s instructional program
The major objective of this course is to familiarize the student with the field of sociology.
We will begin with an overview of sociology: its history, perspectives, methodology,
concepts, and theories that sociologists use to describe and analyze human societies. Our
study of these topics will provide a foundation for an exploration into important features
of social life and various ways that social structure/social forces affect the lives of groups
and individuals within a society.
Specific Course Objectives
1.
To develop or improve students' skills in analyzing sociological data and in drawing
informed conclusions about those data.
2.
To develop or improve students' skills in differentiating between good data and bad
data.
3.
To develop critical thinking skills that are necessary to assess arguments based on
social fact, myth, or analogy.
4.
To develop (through examinations, papers, and discussions) the clear persuasive
written and oral style that are the marks of an educated person.
5.
To help students gain basic factual knowledge of the society in which they
participate and create through their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
V.
COURSE COMPETENCIES
The learning outcomes and competencies detailed in this syllabus meet, or
exceed, the learning outcomes and competencies specified by the Kansas Core
Outcomes Project for this course, as sanctioned by the Kansas Board of Regents.
After completing this course, the student will be able to:
1.
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8.
Describe the historical context of the development of sociology.
Define sociology and compare it to other social science disciplines.
Compare social structure and social action.
Explain what sociologists mean by social structure.
Apply the sociological imagination to a specific situation.
Discuss the classical theories of Marx, Durkheim. Weber, and Simmel.
Compare and contrast conflict theory and functional theory.
Identify and describe the interactionist theories of exchange, role and status,
dramaturgical, and symbolic interactionism theories.
9. Explain the concepts of social categories, status, role, role expectation, role
strain, and role conflict.
10. Describe the scientific method including the research methods used - field
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research, survey research, and experiments - and identify ethical issues.
11. Identify independent and dependent variables and describe correlation,
causation, and spurious correlation.
12. Explain the concepts of norms/material culture (technologies) and
norms/non-material culture (ideologies), and cultural lag.
13. Describe norms - folkways & mores, values, and how they are related to a
culture and/or subculture.
14. Identify the relationship between culture, sub-culture, and ethnicity; and
define ethnocentrism.
15. Describe the interplay between language and culture.
16. Describe the process of socialization using social learning, and cognitive
learning perspectives and apply the ideas of George Mead and Jean Piaget.
17. Apply the ideas of social networks and social capital to specific situations.
18. Define deviance and social control and describe the major sociological
theories of crime - anomie/strain, labeling, differential association, cultural
transmission, and social control theory.
19. Discuss issues of social inequality - gender, race and ethnicity, social class,
age, and sexual orientation.
20. Identify local, national, and global dimensions of social stratification.
21. Compile a list of the major social institutions - family, economy,
politics, religion, education, and healthcare - describe how they are related.
22. Describe the Impact Religion, Politics, and Economics have on behavior.
23. Discuss USA healthcare system, epidemiology, life expectancy, infant
mortality rate, fee-for-service system, and development of managed care.
24. Define demography and explain the demographic transition and issues
surrounding world population, increasing urbanization, and environment.
25. Compare hunting and gathering, horticultural/pastoral, agricultural/agrarian,
industrial, and postindustrial societies and discuss impact on culture.
26. Describe how technological development changes culture and society.
27. Explain the dynamics of collective behavior and describe what sociologists
mean by the term social movement.
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XI.
INSTRUCTOR'S EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS IN CLASS
TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER REQUIRED MATERIALS
REFERENCES
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION AND EVALUATION
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
COURSE OUTLINE
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