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SOCI 3112-001 Contemporary Social Problems - Fall 2011Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 11:30am to 12:25pmMitchell 309
Instructor: Kendra Murphy, M.A.Office: Clement 309D Office Hours: MWF 10:15am to 11:15am TTH 10:00am to 11:00am And by appointmentPhone: 678-3778 E-mail: khmrphy1@elearnmail.memphis.edu khmrphy1@memphis.eduRequired Materials Kendall, Diana. 2010. Social Problems in a Diverse Society. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Course Description Sociological approaches to understanding contemporary social problems; magnitude, causes, consequences, and possible solutions to various problems such as poverty, racism, sexism, problems of aging, crime, and population.
Course ObjectivesUpon completion of this course, the student will:??? Have a clear understanding of what contemporary social problems are and how to understand them sociologically. ??? Understand the various approaches and vocabulary unique to the sociological study of social problems.??? Have a sociological imagination (The ability to move conceptually from the personal to the societal to the global level of awareness.)??? Understand the basic requirements of dispassionate analysis or critical thought ??? a thought process that is liberated from the constraints of the marketplace, the church, the political arena, etc.
Course Requirements There will be three exams and seven reaction papers which, in addition to participation, will determine your grade in this class. Exams are worth 100 points each and consist of 50 multiple choice and true/false questions. Exams are not cumulative. You will need to bring a blue 8x11 Scantron sheet and #2 pencil for each exam. Do not be late on the day of an exam. If even one student has finished the exam and left the classroom, you will not be allowed to take the exam. Make-up exams will only be given if arrangements are made with me before the exam time or in an emergency situation. Make up exams consist entirely of essays and must be completed within one week of the original test date. You will write reaction papers on seven chapters presented throughout the semester. Which topics you choose to write about will be up to you, but you must turn in at least two before the first exam, at least two before the second exam and at least two before the final exam. It is your choice as to which section you will write three papers on rather than two. However, at the end of the semester, you must have submitted a total of seven papers. Your actual opinion of the topic will not be part of the calculation of your grade. The grade will be based on critical, reflexive writing about the topic in question. Each paper can utilize textbook information, class discussion, application, creative analysis and must, above all, employ critical thinking. This is NOT a summary!Papers are to be no less than 2 pages, typed, double-spaced and in Courier New or Arial 12 point font with one-inch margins. Length requirements do not include the title page and references which are required. The papers should be in ASA format. The University has a writing center in Patterson Hall available for your use. I highly recommend that you take your papers there before you hand them in, as I expect each paper to have a minimum of grammatical and/or stylistic errors. Papers must be submitted via the Dropbox in eCourseware before the class period they are due. Papers that do not meet the requirements will receive a grade of "0." Papers turned in late will have a one letter grade deduction for each day they are late. Round 1 of papers is due September 28, Round 2 is due November 2 and Round 3 is due December 7.Various opportunities for extra credit will be presented throughout the semester. These include, but are not limited to, online discussion postings on eCourseware and attending a campus event which relates to class and doing a minimum one-page write up of the experience.
Grading Exam 1 100pts Exam 2 100pts Final Exam 100pts 7 Reaction Papers 175pts (25pts each) Participation 25pts Total 500pts
This is the standard grading scale for the Department of Sociology, which will be use for this course.
98-100% = A+ 88-89 = B+ 78-79 = C+ 68-69 = D+93-97 = A 83-87 = B 73-77 = C 60-67 = D90-92 = A- 80-82 = B- 70-72 = C- 59 and under = F
Course GuidelinesAttendance Attendance is compulsory for this course. Exams will cover not only material from assigned readings, but also information from lectures. Twenty points of your final grade will be based on attendance and participation. It is your responsibility to attend and to be on time. Students are allowed two unexcused absences. More than two will result in a one point deduction from the final raw score for each additional unexcused absence. To be considered excused, the absence must be cleared with the instructor before the class in question or a doctor's note must be brought to the next class. At the beginning of each class, you will be asked to write a short paragraph about the readings assigned for that class period or, if no readings were assigned, answer an opinion-based question. These will constitute your participation grade. As long as it is obvious from your paragraph that you did the assigned reading and have been thinking about the material, you will get one point. Paragraphs containing incorrect information or information not relevant to the chapter in question will receive no points. If you come to class late or are absent, you will not have the opportunity to make up these points. If you do not know the answer to the participation question, you must turn in a piece of paper with your name on it, so that you are not counted as absent.Classroom ConductSome topics that will be covered in this course are controversial and you may have very strong feelings about them. Calm, rational, evidence-based discussion is encouraged and respect for the beliefs and opinions of others must be shown at all times. If you are unable to comply with this, you will be asked to leave. Talking during lecture or while another classmate has the floor will not be tolerated. Remember, the goal of class discussion is not to find one ???true??? answer, but to try to understand all the different perspectives from which we can view the issues. Once class has begun, do not move around or exit the classroom until class is over. If you have an emergency situation for which you must leave the classroom, take all of your belongings with you and do not re-enter the classroom. Tardiness is disruptive to the class and will not be tolerated. Consistent tardiness will result in your grade being lowered. Two instances of being late to class will count as one unexcused absence. In addition to being in the class room on time and for the whole class period, you are expected to pay attention to lecture and participate in discussion. Do not read newspapers, books, magazines or any other material in class unless it pertains to what we are doing and do not sleep during class. Cellphones, beepers, pagers, blackberries, PDA's, laptop computers and other noisemaking devices are to be turned off during class. If you have an emergency situation for which you must have a cellphone turned on, please notify the instructor at the beginning of class, turn it to a silent or vibrate mode, and sit near one of the exits so that you may answer it in the hall with a minimal amount of disruption to the other students. If your cellphone, etc., rings during class or if you are text-messaging, you will receive one warning. After this warning, you will be asked to leave the classroom. If you engage in any of the behaviors identified by the University as disruptive, you will be asked to leave the classroom. Here is the University's list of disruptive classroom behaviors:http://saweb.memphis.edu/judicialaffairs/pdf/DisruptiveClassroomBehaviors.pdfAlso, here is a link to the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities:http://saweb.memphis.edu/judicialaffairs/pdf/CSRR.PDFAcademic Integrity Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses that will not be tolerated. They will be sanctioned according to university disciplinary codes. The University's definition of academic misconduct can be found here: http://saweb.memphis.edu/judicialaffairs/dishonesty/definitions.htmHere is a statement on plagiarism by sociologist Earl Babbie:http://www.csub.edu/ssric-trd/howto/plagiarism.htm When you have read the information at the previously listed links, you must go to eCourseware, download the plagiarism statement file, type your name where is says , save the file to your computer, then upload it to the Plagiarism statements Dropbox folder. No work will be accepted until this has been done.Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities must contact Student Disability Services in Wilder Tower 110 (678-2880) to make arrangements for having disability addressed in this course. Students with documented disabilities are responsible for making their needs known to the instructor and seeking available assistance in a timely manner so that she may best assist with student needs in the course.
Course OutlineThe course outline is meant to be a guideline and may be changed at the instructor's discretion.Week 1 - 8/29, 8/31, 9/2 - Syllabus and Studying Social Problems in the 21st Century Reading: Syllabus, Miner article, Kendall Ch.1
Week 2 - 9/7 and 9/19??? Wealth and Poverty Reading: Kendall Ch. 2
Week 3 - 9/12, 9/14 and 9/16 ??? Racial and Ethnic Inequality and Gender Inequality Reading: Kendall Ch. 3 & 4
Week 4 - 9/19, 9/21 and 9/23 ??? Gender Inequality and Inequality Based on Age Reading: Kendall Ch. 4 & 5
Week 5 - 9/26, 9/28 and 9/30??? Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation Reading: Kendall Ch. 6 & Study Guide Sept. 28 Response Papers Sept. 30 Exam 1
Week 6 - 10/3, 10/5 and 10/7 ??? Prostitution, Pornography and the Sex Industry and Alcohol and Drugs Reading: Kendall Ch. 7 & 8
Week 7 - 10/11, 10/12 and 10/14 ??? Alcohol and Drugs and Crime and the Criminal Justice System Reading: Kendall Ch. 8 & 9
Week 8 - 10/19 and 10/21 ??? Crime and the Criminal Justice System and Health Care Inequality Reading: Kendall Ch. 9 & 10
Week 9 - 10/24, 10/26 and 10/28 ??? Health Care Inequality and the Changing Family Reading: Kendall Ch. 10 & 11
Week 10 - 10/31, 11/2 and 11/4 ??? Problems in Education Reading: Kendall Ch. 12 & Study Guide Nov. 2 Response Papers Nov. 4 Exam 2
Week 11 - 11/7, 11/9 and 11/11 ??? Problems in Politics and Problems in the Media Reading: Kendall Ch. 13 & 14
Week 12 - 11/14, 11/16 and 11/18 ??? Problems in the Media and Global Inequality and the Environment Reading: Kendall Ch. 14 & 15
Week 13 - 11/21 and 11/23 ??? Global Inequality and the Environment and Urban Problems Reading: Kendall Ch. 15 & 16
Week 14 - 11/28, 11/30 and 12/2 ??? Urban Problems and War and Terrorism Reading: Kendall Ch. 16 & 17
Week 15 - 12/5 and 12/7 ??? Can Social Problems Be Solved? Reading: Kendall Ch. 18 & Study Guide Dec. 7 Response Papers
The Final Exam is scheduled for Monday, December 12 at 10:30am.
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