Download SOCI 1520 Social Problems University of North Texas Fall 2016

SOCI 1520 Social Problems
University of North Texas
Fall 2016
Instructor:
Email:
Phone:
Office:
Office hours:
Dr. George Yancey
Blackboard messaging system
940-565-2179
Chilton 397F
TR: 12:30-2 or by appointment
Course Description
Key questions: What is a social problem? How does it affect my life? How does
sociology contribute to understanding and addressing social problems? This course will teach
you how sociology defines “social problems”. We will analyze how various cultures create,
understand, and solve social problems. Social problems and their solutions will be addressed
through the lenses of three major sociological theories. Real-world examples and current affairs
will be discussed as they relate to broader, historical sociological trends. Students will learn
about a range of social problems studied by sociologists, while exploring the social problems of
their choice in-depth. Finally, this course will equip students with the basic knowledge and skills
needed for higher-level sociology courses.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
 Have a basic knowledge of sociology and its major theoretical branches
 Relate to current real-world examples as social problems
 Notice the way that social structures influence one’s own life
 Identify and propose possible solutions to existing social problems
Course Material
Required Course Materials
One textbook is required for this course: Macionis, John J. 2015. Social Problems: Sixth
Edition. Pearson.
Recommended Course Materials
You are likely to encounter several sociological terms and concepts that are new to you
and require clarification. The following texts offer definitions and explanations of terms. Note
that these resources are free and not required.
The first optional resource is: George Ritzer and Michaeol Ryan’s The Concise
Encyclopedia of Sociology. It is available as a free e-book through the University of North Texas
library system. Simply search this book using the title below on UNT’s library search engines
and you will gain access to it. The library only permits one user to access the e-book at any one
time, so if you don’t gain access immediately, try again later.
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A second optional resource is a free online dictionary that contains definitions for terms
commonly used in the social sciences. The second resource is: Online Dictionary of the Social
Sciences. http://bitbucket.icaap.org.
Using Blackboard
This class is located entirely on Blackboard. All assignments will be turned in via
Blackboard, and the Blackboard messaging system will be used for all announcements, updates,
personal messages, and feedback. You will not be able to pass this class unless you check
Blackboard regularly.
One aspect about online classes is that the website goes down from time to time. That
happens with Blackboard as well. The crashing of Blackboard is not considered an acceptable
excuse for not turning in an assignment on time. The student has plenty of time to turn in
assignments early. I suggest that student turn in their assignments a day before it is due to make
sure that there are not problems with Blackboard. But if a student wants to wait until an hour
before an assignment is due to turn it in then he or she is running the risk that the Blackboard
will be down and the assignment will be late. In those circumstances the student will have to pay
the academic penalty for not planning in advance.
Major Assignments
Requirement
Discussion Forums
Annotated
Bibliography
Theory Project
Exam #1
Exam #2
Final Exam
Total
Percentage of
Total Grade
10%
10%
15%
20%
20%
25%
100%
Annotated Bibliography
The purpose of this paper is to allow the student to be exposed to social scientific
literature. The student may, or may not, use this project to gain material for the theory paper. In
other words, the student may choose to do the annotated bibliography and theory paper over the
same social problem but is under no obligation to do so. However, at the very least the student
will be at least somewhat knowledgeable about one of the social problems in our society.
The student is to select a social problem. This problem becomes the topic of the paper
and should be in the heading of the assignment. Failure to put the topic of the paper in the
heading will cost the student 10 points. The student will then locate six references related to that
topic. These citations are to be organized in a bibliography using a commonly accepted citation
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style. The same citation style must be used for all six references. Please do not use website
addresses or doi numbers in your references. Place the references in alphabetical order. After
each citation write a 2-3 sentence paragraph that briefly summarizes the reference. See the
example below.
Yancey, George A.
2002 "Who Interracially Dates: An Examination of the Characteristics of those who have
Interracially Dated." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 33(2): 179-190.
This article uses a national phone study to find the demographic and social characteristics of
people who have interracially dated. The author finds that men and those who have attended
interracial schools are more likely to have interracially dated. However, the region of the country
and SES does not appear to have a powerful impact upon who is likely to have interracially
dated.
Be sure to proof your work. Late paper will be penalized 10 points per day they are late.
Be sure to use only academic journal articles or academic books. Do not cite websites but the
original work the website is based upon. Turn in the assignment by October 14 at midnight.
Theory Paper
The general purpose of this project is to allow the student to explore one of the three
major sociological theories (Interactionism, Functionalism, Conflict) presented in class. The
student will use one of these theories to explore a significant contemporary social problem in our
world. At a later date I plan on uploading a video of one of my class lectures where I discuss all
three of these theories. I will announce when I put it up as I think it may help the students gain a
better understanding of these theories.
The student will pick one of the three sociological theories. The paper should identify
within the very first paragraph which theory the student has picked. The paper should then
provide a basic description of the theory. This description must be relatively complete and not
superficial. The paper should then define a social problem that is plaguing humankind. The
student should take care to define the problem well enough so that the instructor understands
what issue the student is addressing. Failure to adequately define the problem will result in a
paper that is confusing and that will suffer an academic penalty. Then the student will use the
chosen theory to explain why the social problem has arisen and how the proponents of that
theory would try to solve this social problem. Finally, the paper should conclude with a brief
summary of the arguments presented in the paper and any final assessments of the author.
The paper will be graded by how fairly the student is able to represent his/her specified
theory and how well the student is able to apply the theory to the social problem that he/she has
chosen to address. The organization in the previous paragraphs should be closely followed if the
student wants to maximize his/her grade. Unorganized papers will be penalized. The paper
should be proofread for grammatical errors. It should be written in 12 pt. type and doubled
spaced. Do not put a blank line in between paragraphs. The student should also take care not to
plagiarize from other sources and should include a bibliography for any sources that are cited in
the paper. The bibliography should be of an acceptable format and alphabetized.
I expect the paper to be between 3 and 6 pages. Papers shorter than 2 pages and longer than 7
pages will be docked several points. The paper is due on November 29 by midnight.
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Discussion forums
In lieu of in-person discussion, you will also be responsible for interacting with the rest of
the class. You are required to post at least 20 messages to the rest of the class during this course.
Each message is worth half of a percentage point of your grade up to 10 percent of your final
grade. There will be a discussion board for each chapter in your book. You can post and reply on
all or only few of the boards. But to gain full credit you must have at least 20 posts and replies in
total. All boards will be shut down after December 2.
Discussion Forum Etiquette
Social Problems is a class that deals with particularly sensitive topics, so students are
held to a high standard of online behavior. Any post that is rude or disrespectful to another
student will be deleted and not counted for credit. Furthermore, I will have an unpleasant
discussion with that student.
Respect the opinions and positions offered by your classmates. Your classmates are
likely to have different life experiences than you. You can acknowledge others’ points without
necessarily discrediting them or expressing your own views, critiques, or feedback. You may
write something like, “I see your point about….” Or “It is an interesting perspective which I have
yet to consider. My own take on this would be that….because…”
What happens in the forum, stays in the forum. You or your classmates may share
personal experiences as they relate to course subjects. Respect the privacy of the classroom by
not sharing this information with others.
Substantiate your arguments or counterarguments with facts and examples, rather than
simply stating opinions. Cite reference sources (preferably your book) whenever possible. Not
only is this polite, it will earn you a better grade.
Gently seek clarification about a classmate’s statement instead of becoming angry.
Often the statements that start arguments were simply misunderstood. Forum discussions are
especially prone to this problem because students don’t have the benefit of others’ body language
and tone of voice. Ask, “Correct me if I am wrong, but did you mean….” Or “I’m afraid I may
be misinterpreting your statement. Can you clarify?”
Take time off before responding if you notice you have emotional reactions to what
someone has posted. This helps you avoid the problem of writing reactively in response to the
other student.
Reread and edit your posts before hitting “submit”. It is always good practice to reread
your work for tone of voice, repetition, and for grammar and spelling.
Contact me instead of responding yourself if you find a classmate’s post offensive,
unkind, cuttingly sarcastic, or if it contains vulgarities.
Exams
The exams for the course will be multiple choice and true/false questions based on the
readings. The first two exams will be available on Blackboard during test days (October 3 and
November 7) from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. There are 50 question on the test. Students will have
50 minutes to complete the test. Exam 1 will cover chapters 1-7. Exam 2 will cover chapters 813.
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The final exam will be taken on December 12. It will consists of 100 questions and at
least a third of it will come from material covered for the first two exams. Therefore the final
exam is cumulative, but chapters 14-17 will be featured prominently on it. The students will be
given an hour and a half to finish the test. Thus, the final exam will open at 9:00 a.m. and close
at 3:00 p.m. to accommodate all of the students taking the test.
Students must take the test at either a testing center close to them or come on campus to
take the test at a computer lab that will be determined later. If the students choose the first option
then they have the responsibility to locate the lab and send the contact information to the TA.
She will contact the center and make sure that the personnel have the proper passwords so that
the test can be taken. You will find that most educational institutions have such testing centers
that you can gain access to for a fee. If you have a problem finding such a center or want to make
a unique arrangement then contact me through the blackboard messaging system. Please make
arrangement now to be available for the test and to find a testing center if necessary.
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