INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

 

SYG1000.264, CRN 17346

VIDEO DISTANCE LEARNING, Fall Term 2004

Edison College

Florida, USA

June 22, 2004 

If you wish a copy of these documents to print out more neatly than printing these web pages, you have two options. Either send e-mail to my Edison mail address requesting a text file, or open an Adobe pdf formatted document. You need The Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in your computer for the second option.

 

#1: Send request by e-mail to: rfulton@edison.edu

#2: Or, for the Adobe file:

For Adobe copy to print, click here:. . . . .

 

IMPORTANT Welcome Letter

follows below,

- OR -

Go Directly to the Course Syllabus

 

FROM: Dr. Robert F. Fulton, ECC Faculty Member for Introduction to Sociology, SYG1000.

If your are registered in the video checkout course for Introduction to Sociology, you are at the right place! You may be located anywhere within the areas served by Edison Community College and be enrolled in this course. This is NOT the Internet section for this course. This is the section which will use video tapes and you will come into an Edison Community College testing site for exams. For the Internet course syllabus, click here: Internet Sociology.

Welcome to the world of telecourse (distance) learning. You are among the many people pursuing this method of earning college credits. It is intended to allow persons who might have difficulty getting to a campus location regularly the opportunity to earn credits on a more flexible personal study schedule. You will need to travel to a location for exams, but the majority of your work should be able to be handled by mail and occasionally by phone.

**** If you still have questions that have not been answered after reading this Welcome Letter and attached Syllabus, I have arranged for an orientation meeting with me for all persons who are enrolled in this section. It will be at the Naples campus in conference room A-150 on Tuesday evening September 7, 2004 at 7:00 PM.  If this is not convenient for you, or this information was received too late, we can discuss unanswered issues by telephone. I have been careful in assembling this information packet and hope most questions will have been answered.

My physical location is in Naples on the Collier County Campus of Edison College. All of our campuses cooperate in providing testing sites and learning resource (library) materials, so my location and your location are connected by telephone and by campus services, and you may physically use whichever location has easiest access for you. This is one of the advantages of "distance learning".

You will need to:

  • Purchase (a) your textbook and (b) your study guide (see the accompanying syllabus) from the bookstore located at any of our campuses. You also need to:

 

  • Check out the Exploring Society collection of VCR cassettes which contains the entire 22 video programs from an ECC Learning Resources Center (library), and return the video set at the end of the term. You will also need to:

 

  • Have access to a VCR for viewing the cassettes, and:

 

  • Provide your instructor with FOUR stamped self-addressed letter-size envelopes (letter size = 4-1/8 x 9-1/2 inch). ONE ENVELOPE NEEDS DOUBLE STAMPS. Send them to my attention at my campus mailing address of: Dr. Robert Fulton, Edison Community College, 7007 Lely Cultural Parkway, Naples, FL 34113-8977.

Some STUDY TIPS that you might find helpful follow. The video programs, study guide, and text are each only one component of this course, and each is important. The study guide brings the textbook and the video presentations together. It also directs your attention to ideas, concepts, theories, and provides a framework or structure for understanding the materials. The first section of the study guide provides additional helpful information for you.

Before viewing each of the video lessons you should also read the conceptual tools' objectives and study questions in the study guide for that segment. The conceptual tool sections in the textbook are intended to provide you with helpful information and where to find the materials related to the video lessons. You may want to pursue some additional text reading on your own if you feel it would benefit your understanding of the materials.

Try to avoid studying for more than 20 minutes at a time. Take a short break and do something else for a while, then come back to it (do not read another book during your break). You need to give your mind some time to sort out and store what you have studied before you try to add more to your accumulated knowledge. It may sound impressive to tell someone that you "crammed" for two hours straight, but what you are really saying is that you just wasted an hour and a half of your valuable time. Try to spread it out. Just before bedtime is an excellent time to study and retain information.

You may find it useful to create your own "conceptual trees" to connect ideas with concepts, and concepts with theories or general subject areas. Also, the use of a high lighter and personal notes is highly recommended. When using a high lighter, some ideas to keep in mind are:

1. A highlighter is not a paintbrush. If you highlight as you read new material, your page will wind up looking like a painted page.

2. Read each paragraph BEFORE you touch highlighter to paper. Then, after reading each paragraph ask yourself: "what did this say, and what sentence or several words spread through the paragraph best say that"? THEN highlight only those words and move to the next paragraph.

You may also want to make notes to yourself on separate paper, rephrasing those "main ideas" in your OWN words as one brief statement for each paragraph. That will give you a concise study notebook to review for exams. If after reviewing your notes you do not remember or understand the ideas, you could easily go back to your text to refresh your memory. And your text is already highlighted, so this should be a quick and easy process.

There are many study aids (that require additional work to what is assigned), but there is no shortcut for putting in the TIME you need to study. If there was, someone would have discovered or invented it a long time ago. I would have used it myself. I would tell you about it here.

The regular classroom course has study guidelines for an ADDITIONAL two hours of STUDY for each hour in the classroom. The classroom sections of this course meet for three hours a week through an 18-week semester. Your video viewing is only one hour a week for 13 weeks. Some quick math reveals that obviously more work is required here than watching one hour of television each week.

And remember, all exam questions will come from your textbook. The videos are important, but the text is your major tool.

You receive the same credit for the course as students who take a classroom section. You can expect to do an equivalent amount of work. ONE difference is, you as a distance learning student are entirely in the driver's seat for your study and its related time and activity. Here are the REAL meanings behind some common statements:

1.      "I am too busy." = There is something else I would rather to do right now.

2.      "I do not have the time." = Something else is more important.

Some people try one distance learning course and decide they would rather always be in a classroom. Other people prefer the distance learning approach. Still others like to "mix it up" a bit, depending on their immediate needs and options. One thing is certain: no matter which method you use, you will need to put in the necessary time and effort. I am here to help you to be successful in any way that I can.

My office telephone number in Naples may be dialed direct and also has voice mail for messages. The number is 239-732-3729. If this is long distance you may call the campus closest to you during their regular hours, OR use the Edison 800 number: 800-749-2322, and ask for extension 3729. If you should have any immediate questions, you are encouraged to call at any time. If I am in class or otherwise not available, please leave a message telling me when and at what number you can be reached, and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Yours truly,

Dr. Robert F. Fulton  Edison College

Office Collier County Campus A142

 

 

Phone 239-732-3729 or Ext. 3729 through

800-749-2322 or campus switchboards

e-mail: rfulton@edison.edu

Web: Go to the Edison Home Page http://edison.edu/ then link to the Collier Campus

 

 


 

* * * * * * SYLLABUS FOLLOWS* * * * * * * *

IF THIS SYLLABUS APPEARS NOT FORMATTED IN A BALANCED MANNER, YOU MAY WANT TO TRY ANOTHER BROWSER. EVEN THE SAME PAGE MAY LOOK DIFFERENT WITH ANOTHER BROWSER. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD OTHER BROWSERS BY CLICKING: NEW BROWSER 

Robert F. Fulton, Edison College

Office at Collier County Campus A142

Phone 239-732-3729 or Ext 3729 through 800-749-2322 or campus switchboards

 

e-mail: rfulton@edison.edu

Web: Link through Faculty Web Pages from the ECC Home Page

Edison Home Page: http://edison.edu, then link to the Collier Campus

 

 

 

Return to Welcome Letter

Go to Grading Procedure

Assignment schedule is modified separately

Syllabus last modified on June 22, 2004

 

Last Update October 13, 2004

 

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

SYG1000.264, CRN 17346

SYLLABUS - (Video) DISTANCE LEARNING – Fall Term 2004

Edison College from the Naples, Florida Campus

 

  1. COURSE NUMBER and TITLE, CATALOG DESCRIPTION, CREDIT HOURS:

SYG 1000 - INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY . . . . . . 3 credits

Sociology is "a systematic study of human society with primary emphasis on social interaction, culture, socialization, social groups, social institutions, social causation, and social change." (ECC Catalogue)

 

  1. PREREQUISITES FOR THE COURSE: NONE

 

  1. GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION- Topics to be covered include:

·         Sociological approach: history, theory, methodology and applications

·         Sociological view of culture

·         Social structure and organization

·         Social interaction

·         Deviance and social control

·         Social institutions

·         Population and ecology

·         Social change

 

IV. COURSE OUTCOMES- At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to understand:

·         Society and social life

·         Social groups and social control

·         Social institutions

·         Social dynamics and social change

 

V. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STUDENTS:

Time and experiences have brought each of us to where we are today. Our own world belongs to us. But our world and our society are different today than they were in the past. Our society is also different from other societies in other places today. This introductory course is designed to familiarize the student with basic sociological concepts in a manner that is relevant to examining and understanding human behavior and society at micro and macro levels of analysis. (Dr. Fulton)

It is expected that assigned material will have been read and VCR assignments will have been watched in accordance with your assignment schedule. The text reading assignments correspond to the taped video schedule of subjects. Your study guide is independent of your text book; it is designed specifically for the video series, and brings together the videotape presentations and your textbook. You will be using the text, the study guide, and the videotape presentations. You are also required to take exams at the ECC testing site identified by you during the scheduled dates (see your assignment schedule for details).

The times scheduled for taking exams at the various ECC locations are available from the ECC Home Page and Distance Learning. You will need to coordinate your schedule to be available within the time-frame of the location you wish to use. They may vary on times and dates. The name and phone number of the proctor for each location is also provided.

A double-spaced, typewritten book analysis of three to five pages is also required, and should be received by the instructor not later than the date shown in your schedule. Word processing is encouraged. If the paper is done on a word processor, the margins should be reasonable and the font size should be no smaller than 10 nor larger than 12.

The Book Analysis will be your analysis of the story from a sociological perspective. It is NOT a "book report". A book report tells us who, what, where and how. This assignment is intended to explain why events happened, and describes things using sociological concepts and terms such as "norms", "roles", "social stratification", etc.

For example, Romeo and Juliet is ripe with family interactions, peer groups, deviance, religion, and politics which help us explain and understand what happened and why. The more sociological terms, theories, and concepts which are used, the better. Fiction and non-fiction literary works are acceptable, and the story line MUST involve interactions between people or groups of people. To use a story about an individual's solitary experience, e.g. The Old Man and the Sea would be at the psychological level for analysis and therefore not appropriate.

We also do not want to compare the culture of the USA with other cultures as a major point, for that is cultural anthropology. We want to look at social interactions within our own society. It is recommended that you use a book with which you are already familiar, and it is VERY helpful to use your textbook's Table of Contents as a guide for ideas of what areas you might incorporate as sociological concepts, ideas and theories.

Please do NOT BEGIN this assignment until we are well into the course term and you have some understanding of the sociological theories, institutions, and process, yet give yourself adequate time to write and submit the paper to meet the deadline in your assignment schedule. If you have any doubts please clear your book with the instructor. And please let me hear from you if you have any other questions after our term is underway. If you are using Internet access, you may read additional information with the HTML version of this syllabus and clicking HERE.

 

VI.: ATTENDANCE POLICY: In the absence of roll-call, it will be the course policy to assume that failure to take exams when scheduled indicates lack of completion of assigned materials by the student. In fairness to the students who completed their work when assigned, all exams and the book analysis submitted up to one week later than the due date shall lose 20% of what would have been their grade. Students should be familiar with ECC withdrawal policy as shown in the College Catalog. You should assume the responsibility for the initiation of "withdraw", etc. paperwork. You should not rely upon others to do your personal work if your circumstances no longer allow you to complete the assignments as scheduled and you need to withdraw from the course. Any course for which a student is registered following August 27, 2004 will count as an "attempt" for the calculation of subsequent tuition costs. Any course for which you are registered follwing October 27th will receive a letter grade; withdrawal will no longer be an option past that date.

 

VII. GRADING PROCEDURE: -or- Return to Top of Syllabus

Grading

First Exam

Second Exam

Third Exam

Fourth Exam

Book Analysis

Total Possible

Possible Points

100

100

100

100

100

500

FINAL GRADE

A = 90% +

B = 80 - 89%

C = 70 - 79%

D = 60 - 69%

F = < 60%

ACCUMULATED POINTS

= 455 - 500

= 400 - 454

= 350 - 399

= 300 - 349

= 299 or less

 

VIII. TEXTBOOK REQUIREMENTS:

Kornblum, W.(2004). Sociology in a Changing World (7th ed.). Belmont, CA. Wadsworth. (ISBN: 0-534-63666-7)

Penny, J. (2003). Telecourse Guide for Exploring Society, Introduction to Sociology (2nd ed.). Wadsworth. (0-534-63677-2)

 

IX. RESERVED MATERIALS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

    • Check out the video cassette series Exploring Society for the academic term. The tapes must be returned at the end of the term. You might consider returning them when you take your last exam.
    • Access to a VCR for taped lessons, and four self-addressed, stamped, LETTER SIZE (for folded 8-1/2 x 11 paper) envelopes provided to the instructor. ONE ENVELOPE SHOULD HAVE DOUBLE STAMPS.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL OR INTERESTING:

Study Guide (not required, but many students find a study guide helpful in addition to the textbook)

Good Internet Resources:

Good Internet Resources:

Electronic Journal of Sociology: http://www.sociology.org/

The publisher of your textbook and its WebTutor element on ECC's WebCT: http://sociology.wadsworth.com/

Excellent academic search engine: http://www.calvin.edu/library/searreso/articles/seararti.stm

Excellent University Resources: http://www.wcsu.ctstateu.edu/socialsci/socres.html

Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace - Trinity College: http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/index.html

Access to FL college library subscription resources: http://www3.ccla.lib.fl.us/electronicinfo. .This site requires the Borrower Identification Number found on your Florida College Library Card. You can obtain a student library card from our library. Consider the full text articles found at "Wilson Select", under "Social Science".

Edison Learning Resources (library) Home Page: http://edison.edu/resources/learning_resources.htm

MOST resources will be available in your textbook at the ends of chapters. Additional resources will be available on the WebCT site for this course.

Check the last few pages of each chapter in your text for ideas, links and sites for good information and browsing!

X. CLAST COMPETENCIES INVOLVED IN THE COURSE: This class requires your use of a variety of CLAST skills, including but not limited to: reading, listening, logical reasoning, and understanding of statistics and research. These are not tested separately but are essential skills for your practice and application to successfully complete this course and its exams. Please refer to the Edison Catalog for a listing of CLAST competencies. 

XI. CLASS SCHEDULE:

PLEASE GO TO THE END OF THIS SYLLABUS FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENTS

XII. ADDITIONAL: For your grievance process you should (1) talk with the instructor. If that produces unsatisfactory results, (2) talk with the Director of Student Services on the Collier County Campus, 732-3710. If that produces unsatisfactory results, (3) talk with the Campus President, 732-3720. The Edison catalog overrides the course syllabus should they differ. The syllabus is also subject to change by the instructor, and the student will be advised of any changes should they occur as soon as is practicable.

ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE (Subject to change) by: Dr. Robert Fulton

Go directly to Table of Dates and Assignments

Return to Top of Syllabus

Click here for current schedules and locations for Edison Testing Sites

EXAM LOCATIONS AND HOURS: YOU MUST make Dr. Fulton aware of the location at which you will be taking your exams, and if you make any changes to that location. Otherwise, there may not be an exam there for you to take. You could do that by phone message, or when you send your self-addressed stamped envelopes. (See Page One of the Introduction Letter.)

Testing times occasionally change to vary by location and day of the week. Please plan ahead carefully to be consistent with the times available at your chosen testing location during the testing periods for this course.

Arrive early enough to give yourself adequate time before closing. With the exception of make-up exams (see below), each exam is multiple choice with 25 questions and a time limit of 30 minutes.

All graded materials will be mailed back in the stamped, self-addressed letter sized envelopes which you have provided to Dr. Fulton.

ALL MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE ESSAY EXAMS.

YOU WILL NEED A PHOTO ID TO BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THE EXAMS. ALSO, ASK FOR DR. FULTON'S EXAM.

**NOTE Experience suggests you should try to avoid planning to take the exam on the last day it is scheduled, because if you should have an unexpected problem or delay, you will have missed the exam. Exams are returned to Dr. Fulton at the end of that last testing day. NO EXAMS MAY BE TAKEN ON A DATE OTHER THAN AS SHOWN ON THIS SCHEDULE WITHOUT PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS HAVING BEEN MADE WITH DR. FULTON.

Please see the (current) Testing Center Schedule for the weekdays, times, and phone numbers for the ECC testing sites. The STUDENT is responsible to coordinate their personal schedule with their individual chosen site's testing days and hours of operation. It is recommended that you NOT wait until the last hour of the last day to take your exam. You can also link to this information from the Edison College Home Page ( http://edison.edu ), then go to the drop-down menu under "Distance Learnig" and then "Testing Information".

IMPORTANT SITE TEST-TAKING INFORMATION:

  • You MUST provide a photo ID, such as a driver's license, student ID card, etc. NO TEST will be administered without an ID.
  • Please allow enough time to complete your exam BEFORE closing time at the testing site. You will be required to turn in your exam at closing time.
  • You are encouraged to take exams at your respective campus. If you need to take an exam at another campus, inform the instructor so test materials are available.
  • No appointment is necessary for exams as scheduled in your syllabus (check your syllabus for test dates). Arrive early during the site's testing hours.

 

Assignment Schedule Last Modified on October 13, 2004 (removed incorrect Exam 3 information)

VIDEO PROGRAM

& telecourse Guide

Fall Term 2004

All exam questions are taken from the W. Kornblum text

 These TEXT CHAPTER(S) correspond with video # in left column

 

Video Programs enhance and elaborate your understanding of the course materials.

Weeks Beginning on date:

 

Oct 3rd:

 

# of Video on Cassette:

 Book Chapters, assigned reading:

12. Gender

Chapter 5 (pp 132-136), Ch 14 (pp 393-420)

August 22, 2004:

.

Oct 10th:

 

 

Send stamped self-addressed envelopes to Dr. Fulton

Become familiar with text, study guide and videos

13. Race & Ethnicity

Chapter 13 (pp 356-389)

August 29, 2004:

 

 

 

1. Why Sociology?

2. Sociological Perspectives

Chapter 1 (pp 3-15, 20-23)

Chapter 1 (pp 16-22)

14. Age

Chapter 15 (pp 428-488)

3. Sociological Inquiry

4. Culture

Chapter 2 (pp 26-46)

Chapter 3 (pp 50-75)

 

 

5. Socialization

6. Social Interactions, relationships . . .

Chapter 5 (pp 109-137)

Chapter 4 (pp 81-85), & Ch 6 (pp 149-152, 155-157)

Oct 17th:

Book Analysis Due this week

EXAM #1 taken  Sep 9, 10 & 11th

Please coordinate with your test site; times may vary

Check the hours of your testing site.

BOOK ANALYSIS MUST BE IN MY HANDS NOT LATER THAN Oct 21st.

Do NOT use e-mail for this assignment

Sep 5th 

 

Oct 24th:

 

5. Socialization

6. Social Interactions, relationships . . .

Chapter 5 (pp 109-137)

Chapter 4 (pp 81-85), & Ch 6 (pp 149-152, 155-157)

15. Deviance & Social Control

Chapter 7 (pp 171-198)

 

 

16. Social Institutions: Religion, Family & Economics

Chapter 16 (pp 453-481), Ch 17 (pp 485-514), Ch 19 (pp 551-578)

Sep 12th:

(exam this week)

EXAM #3  taken on Oct 28, 29 & 30th

Please coordinate with your test site; times may vary.

7. Social Groups

Chapter 6 (pp 141-50, 152-55, 159-60)

Oct 31st:

 

8. Formal Organizations & Bureaucracies

Chapter 6 (pp 157-163)

17. Social Institutions: Politics & Education

Chapter 18 (pp 519-547), Ch 20 (583-608)

EXAM #2  taken Sep 23, 24, 25th  

Please coordinate with your test site; times may vary.

18. Health & Medicine

Chapter 21 (pp 613-634)

Sep 19 th:

 

Nov 7th:

 (Exam NEXT week)

9. Communities, Societies & Nations

Ch 4 (pp 86-102), Ch 6 (pp 146-147), Ch 9 (pp 247-51), Ch 20 (585-89)

19. Communications, Media & Technology

Chapter 21 (pp 618-624)

10. Social Stratification

Ch 11 (pp 293-319)

20. Population & Urbanization

Chapter 9 (pp 229-256)

Sep 26th:

 

Nov 14th:

(exam this week)

11. Social Class

Chapter 11 (pp 312-315), Ch 12 (pp 323-352)

21. Social Change

Chapter 10 (pp 261-287)

 

 

22. Social Action

Chapter 8 (pp 202-225)

 

 

 

EXAM #4  taken on Nov 18, 19 & 20th

Please coordinate with your test site; times may vary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to: Top of Syllabus

Return to: Welcome Letter

 

 

Link to: Edison College Testing Site Information

Return to: Assignment Schedule