Introduction to Sociology

SOCI 1101
CRN 12420
Spring 2015
Instructor: Dr. Stacy Gorman Harmon
Email: sgorman1@gsu.edu (Email is the best way to contact me)
Class Schedule: Mondays & Wednesdays 12:00-1:15PM
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 9:30-10:30 am; Langdale Hall Room 1080-A
Classroom: Langdale Hall 529
Sociology Department Phone: 404-413-6500
Required Text:
Conley, Dalton. 2013. You May Ask Yourself 3rd Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
Inc.
Sternheimer, Karen. 2010. Everyday Sociology Reader. New York: W.W. Norton &Company,
Inc.
Course Description & Objectives:
This class will give you an introduction to the study of sociology. We will explore various
theories of the field as well as the types of methods that sociologists use in order to do research.
To better understand how society influences individuals and individuals influence society, we
will discuss various topics such as social inequality, gender, sexuality, race, and religion. The
course objectives below have been designed to help give you a foundation in sociology that is
expected to benefit you both in future sociology courses as well as in courses outside of the
discipline. It is my goal that you will learn to apply sociology to your everyday life by learning
to view issues through a sociological lens. It is also expected that this course will help you to
further develop your reading and writing skills and that this will serve you well throughout your
college career and beyond. The specific course objectives are that you will:

develop an awareness of sociological issues, theory, and research methods

have an understanding of the role socialization plays in society, as well as how norms,
values, and behaviors are socially constructed and vary across cultures
develop an increased awareness of social inequality and social structures that reinforce
inequality
be able to identify and apply sociological concepts to the outside world
develop your ability to read and comprehend main ideas in scholarly work and literature,
and demonstrate this comprehension through writing assignments designed to improve
your writing skills

Course Assignments and Grading Scale

Exams
60% (three exams, each contributing 20%)
In-class Writing Assignments
10% (10 assignments, grades averaged together for 10%)
Group Reading Assignments
30% (six assignments, each contributing 5%)
100%
Exams
Exams are used to test how well you have learned the course material. There will be four exams
in the form of multiple-choice questions. At the end of the semester, I will drop the lowest test
score. This means that you can choose not to take an exam, with the exception of the final exam.
If you miss the final exam, you will receive a zero and that grade will not be dropped.
Questions will cover material from the text and class lectures and discussions. You will need to
attend class in order to know the material on the tests! There are four exams which you must
attend class in order to take. I understand that emergencies happen; however, you need to
contact me BEFORE the scheduled exam if something arises. In case an emergency does
happen, you need to take your exam within one week of when the exam was scheduled. If you
do not contact me (either through phone or e-mail) before your exam, you will receive a zero. If
you schedule a make-up and do not come, you will also receive a zero. Make-up exams will
either be taken in the Testing Center on campus, the small conference room in the Sociology
Department, or in my office.
o Examples of extreme emergency: death in the family, car accident on way to exam, and
serious illness or injury. Other excusable absences include: court date/jury duty, religious
obligation, University-sponsored business (athletic, team participation, etc.). You must
provide documentation pertaining to your absence.
o Examples of non-extreme emergencies: routine doctor or dentist visit, forgetfulness,
oversleeping. (Not excusable absences for a test).
o As the instructor, I reserve the right to determine what counts as an emergency and
what counts as appropriate documentation so you should ask me before missing an
exam and not assume your illness, transportation issue, etc. constitutes an excused
absence.
In-Class Writing Assignments
I will be giving random, in-class writing assignments throughout the semester. The purpose of
these assignments is to encourage you to think about the material (readings, lectures, videos,
activities, etc.) and then express your thoughts in writing. These assignments are random
because they will not be announced in advanced, and so also acting as a way for me to assess
attendance and participation in class. For this reason, in-class writing assignments cannot be
made up. There will be twelve in class writing assignment, but only ten will count toward your
final grade. This then means that two will be dropped and should account for any absences you
might have. Overall, the writing assignments will be averaged for a total of 10% of your grade.
To receive full credit for an in-class writing assignment, you must respond to the question or
prompt as best you can and write for the full amount of time given. The content of your writing
assignment is not graded as being correct or incorrect, but you must respond to the
question/prompt given and not to another topic of your choice unless specifically asked to do so.
Writing assignments are graded on a 0 to 1 scale, 1 indicating that you have received full credit
for the assignment.

Reading Group Assignments

This semester, we will be using reading groups to guide our in-class discussions of the assigned
articles and book chapters. The reading group format requires that you do some preparation in
advanced beyond simply reading and understanding the material. On the day that a reading
group is scheduled to meet, you will need to be prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that
particular day. Unlike other reading group experiences you may have had, these group
discussions will be highly structured and require a written assignment that you will complete
before the group meets. Each assignment is different and specific to the role that you are
fulfilling for that particular group meeting date. See below for a more thorough description of
how reading groups will take place and the work required for each group role.
Reading group assignments will be turned in immediately after the reading group discussion has
ended. Papers should be typed, double space, and in 12 point Times New Roman font. You must
be present and have participated in the reading group to submit your work to be graded. If you
do not participate in the reading group, you cannot submit your work. There will be 8 reading
group meetings during the semester, and 6 of which you must participate in to earn full credit.
The two lowest of the 8 scores are dropped to account for any absences. I recommend that you
plan to participate in all 8 group meetings. Sometimes emergencies happen and you may need to
be absent, so do NOT plan in advanced to skip a reading group because you only need to
participate in 6 to receive full credit, as you may end up later needing a drop. Emailed reading
group assignments are not accepted; late reading group assignments are not accepted.
The grading scale used for this class, as used by the Sociology Department is:
97-100 A+
93-96 A
90-92 A87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C60-69 D
59 and below F
Classroom Policies
1. You are expected to come to class and come on time.
2. Please turn off your cell phones and other electronic devices, as they are disruptive to the
class.
3. Laptops are permitted, however it is expected that you are only using them to take notes.
If you are checking email or doing anything else unrelated to class and that either I or
other students find distracting, you will not be permitted to continue to use your laptop in
class.
4. This class will include discussion. Please come prepared to discuss assigned readings.
Also, it is important to remember that everyone has different opinions and different
experiences, so please be respectful to each other.

Office Hours and Email Contact

I will be holding office hours from 9:30 to 10:30am on Mondays and Wednesdays. If these hours
do not work for you, you can also schedule an appointment. Email is the best way to contact me.
Please send your emails to sgorman1@gsu.edu. Your subject line should include the words
SOCI 1101 so that I know the email is from you and will respond right away. If you do not
hear from me within 24 hours, you should assume I did not receive your email and please resend
it. If you call the Sociology department to get in touch with me, you can leave a message but
please understand that I will not get it right away. Again, email is the fastest and best way to
contact me. Be sure to use my GSU email address do not email me via Desire2Learn because I
do not receive emails there as quickly as I do through the GSU email system
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students who wish to request accommodations for a disability may do so by registering with the
Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office
of Disability Services, of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy
of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an accommodation is sought.
Academic Honesty Policy
Plagiarism is a serious offense which can involve submitting work that is not your own, failing to
cite your sources correctly, and improper use of quoting or paraphrasing of anothers work.
Often students who have plagiarized are not fully aware that they have done so, but this does not
mean that they are excused from the offense. Before your first essay is due, we will discuss how
to avoid plagiarizing unintentionally and also review proper citing, quoting, and paraphrasing of
others works. Violation of the Academic Honesty policy will result in an F on the assignment,
and possibly in the course and disciplinary action. All violations will be formally reported to the
Dean of Arts and Sciences.
The policy on Academic Honesty defines plagiarism as, presenting another person's work as
one's own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person
without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student's work as one's own.
Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the
quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else.
The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is plagiarism, as is
the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is
specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's
reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism. Any work, in whole or in part, taken from
the Internet or other computer-based resource without properly referencing the source (for
example, the URL) is considered plagiarism. A complete reference is required in order that all
parties may locate and view the original source. Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that
are unique to an individual discipline or course, examples of which should be provided in
advance by the faculty member. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use
of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly or creative indebtedness,
and the consequences of violating this responsibility.
You can find the full Academic Honesty Policy at: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfhb/sec409.html

Withdrawing from the course

The withdraw date for this course is March 3, 2015. If you plan to withdraw, it must be done by
this date in order to receive a W for the course. However, if you are failing the course at this
point and then withdraw, you will receive a WF. All students withdrawing after this date will
also receive a WF.
Religious Holidays
If you find that our class meets or has an exam or assignment due on a religious holiday that you
observe, please let me know by the second week of class.
Course Evaluations
Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at
Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course
evaluation.
Disclaimer
The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.

Course Schedule
Below is the reading, exam and essay schedule for the course. The letter C next to a reading
refers to pages from the Conley text, You May Ask Yourself. All other readings can be found in
your reader, Everyday Sociology Reader (ESR).
January 12
First day of class
January 14
Ch. 1 pp. 3-12 (C)
Thinking Sociologically and Doing Sociology, pp.1-2 (ESR)
The Promise, Mills, pp. 3-6 (ESR)
January 19
NO CLASS HOLIDAY
January 21
Ch. 1 pp. 12-29 (C)
Matching Research Methods to Research Questions, Prince Innis pp. 10-12 (ESR)
Where to Sit, Wright pp. 13-14 (ESR)
January 26
Ch. 1 pp. 29-39 (C)
Scary Numbers, Best pp. 15-22 (ESR)

January 28
Ch. 2 pp. 43-52 (C)
Culture, Consumption, and Media, pp. 25-26 (ESR)
Grocery Shopping, Ordering Whoppers, and Borat, Wright 57-58 (ESR)
February 2
Beauty Myths and Magazines, Sternheimer, pp. 40-42 (ESR)
The Visible Lifestyle, Schor pp. 31-37 (ESR)
Reading Group
February 4
Ch. 3 pp. 75-86; pp. 91-92; 103-113 (C)
Reality Life, Sternheimer pp. 38-39 (ESR)
February 9
EXAM 1

February 11
Ch. 4 pp. 117-130 (C)
Romantic Exchanges, Wright pp. 77-79 (ESR)
Reading Group
February 13
Ch. 4 pp. 132-145 (C)
Self and Interaction, pp. 47-48 (ESR)
Community, Organizations, and Social Groups, pp. 82-83 (ESR)
February 18
Ch. 5 pp. 153-157; 163-165 (C)
Civic Participation, Putnam pp. 89-98 (ESR)
Beyond Bowling Alone, Raskoff pp. 99-100 (ESR)
Reading Group (Only ESR readings)
February 23
Ch. 6 pp. 187-190; 195-197; 203-207 (C)
Bureaucracy: Resistance to Change and Adaptation, Prince Innis pp. 87-88 (ESR)
February 25
Ch. 6 pp. 211-219; 229-231 (C)
Crime and Deviance, pp. 105-106 (ESR)
Rehab, Labeling, and Deviance, Raskoff, pp. 128-130 (ESR)

March 2
Murder and Statistics, Sternheimer pp. 107-109 (ESR)
Broken Windows, Wilson and Kelling pp. 110-115 (ESR)
Beyond Broken Windows, Wright pp. 116-117 (ESR)
Reading Group
March 3
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW
March 4
EXAM 2
March 9
Ch. 7 pp. 250-256; 259-266 (C)
Stratification, pp. 133-134 (ESR)
March 11
Ch. 7 pp. 270-275 (C)
Class Consciousness, Sternheimer, pp. 154-156 (ESR)
Class Action in the Media, Kendall, pp. 157-167 (ESR)
Reading Group (Only ESR readings)
March 16
SPRING BREAK
March 18
SPRING BREAK
March 23
Ch. 9 pp. 325-334 (C)
Celebrating St. Patricks Day, Prince Inniss pp. 239-240 (ESR)
March 25
Ch. 9 pp. 339-350; 359-363 (C)
Black and White or Rainbow Colors, Prince Innis pp. 225-226 (ESR)
March 30
Ch. 9 pp. 365-371 (C)
Ch. 8 pp. 279-287 (C)
April 1
Ch. 8 pp. 288-298 (C)
April 6
EXAM 3
April 8

The Well-coiffed Man, Barber pp. 183-196 (ESR)

Backstage Out in Front: Impressions of Teen Pregnancy, Prince Innis pp. 199-201 (ESR)
Reading Group
April 13
Ch. 8 pp. 300-321 (C)
Language, Gender, and Power, Raskoff pp. 197-198 (ESR)
April 15
Ch. 12 pp. 451-464 (C)
Does Finger Size Reveal Sexual Orientation? Raskoff pp. 202-206 (ESR)
Reading Group
April 20
Ch. 12 pp. 464-482 (C)
April 22
The Overextended Family, Hochschild pp. 246-253 (ESR)
Who Cares for Americas Babies? Prince Inniss pp. 254-256 (ESR)
Reading Group
April 27
Hitting Them Hardest When Theyre Small, Kozol pp. 262-273
Generations X, Y, and Z: Are they changing America? Alwin, pp. 301-309 (ESR)
May 4
EXAM 4 @ 10:45