State University of New York Buffalo State
Sociology 100: Introduction to Sociology
Spring Semester 2017 Syllabus

 

Dr. ZHANG Jie

zhangj@buffalostate.edu

Course Call No.:         2891
Class Place:                 Classroom Building C122
Class Time:                  4:30pm - 5:45pm, TR
Office Location:         Classroom Building B312
Office Phone:              878-6425
Office Hours:              2:00pm - 3:00pm TR or by appointment

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

This course is designed to introduce you to the field of sociology, which is defined as the scientific study of human society and social behavior. We shall review the insights of sociology through the concepts and principles used to understand daily life in society, with special attention to American social institutions and patterns of behavior. Although most areas will be covered, an emphasis will be put on human behavior and how human behavior is influenced by the social structure.  Towards the end of the course, you will be aware of many other aspects of the fascinating society which you did not notice, and you will be able to explain many other social phenomena with the major theories you will have acquired in the class. Specifically, we have the following expectations:

A.      Students will be able to define concepts fundamental to the study of sociology.

B.      Students will be able to explain the basics of sociological theory.

C.      Students will identify similarities and differences in the organization of comparative societies.

D.      Students will apply a sociological perspective to an analysis of social problems.

E.       Students will understand the relationship between human agency and social development.

F.       Students will understand the process of social change.

TEXTBOOK

Henslin, James M. 2014. Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach. 12th Edition. New York: Pearson.

In addition to the above textbook, some course related information such as study guides and this syllabus is available on the course's website http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/zhangj.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Reading the textbook is a must to earn a grade for this course. You are promised to have no busy work beyond reading this textbook, which are the only homework (besides writing a term paper and preparing for exams) you are required to do. I will occasionally check your reading the text by randomly picking up one or more of you to answer questions before I start to lecture. Your efforts in answering the questions are considered to be part of your participation of the class.

EXAMINATIONS

There will be four major exams, three during the course and one final. Each exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions, and will be given on the day indicated in the course schedule. The maximum score you may be able to make for each of the four exams is 50 points. The final is not comprehensive or accumulative and covers the material only from the third exam. You will be provided with a study guide on the courses’ website http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/zhangj prior to each exam.

No early exams are allowed for any reason. If you have to miss an exam, you need to provide me before the exam with some written document as your excuse. If you want to make up the missed exam, it may be available on the last day of classes. As the instructor, I reserve the right to refuse any make-ups not approved in advance and to give you a “0” for that test. In other cases, even if the make-up was approved in advance, the instructor reserves the right to reduce your score for that test by 10 to 15 points if your reasons and/or the documentation are not satisfactory.

TERM PAPER AND PRESENTATION

Each student is required to write a term paper on a subject given by the instructor during the course. The whole paper should be no longer than 2,500 words. More information about the format of the term paper is provided at the end of this syllabus. You may be given a chance to present your paper in class. Using at most five minutes, you will talk about the most interesting part of your paper in your own words. This presentation may be considered to be part of your participation.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

The relationship between the instructor and students is based on mutual respect. My job is to teach the course by making it as interesting as possible and help you earn a highest grade you deserve. Your duties as students include reading the textbook, attending classes, taking notes, participating in classroom discussion, writing a term paper, and taking exams. Classroom courtesy is expected of everyone in the class. Talking without permission from the instructor, reading newspapers or other materials, using cell phone and laptop for internet, doing homework, sleeping, packing up before the instructor dismisses the class, and etc. are not courteous behaviors in this class. Classroom behavior is considered to be part of your participation.

ATTENDANCE AND CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION

A good or perfect attendance record, productive participation, and courteous behaviors in classroom will help you improve your final grade. You are discouraged to miss classes. However, there are no points deducted from your final score if you have missed two or less classes in the semester. From the third class you have missed, each one will cost you three percent of your final score (final percentage). Coming late or leaving early is also discouraged. If you have committed to this class this semester, do not schedule anything, such as doctor’s appointment, academic advisement, etc. for the class time. Each coming late or each leaving early will be counted as ˝ missing. As for missing classes, you do not have to present to me any excuses. All students are treated equally. For these purposes, you are asked to sit through the semester at the same place you chose at beginning, and the class roll is taken in each class period.

GRADING
The final course grade will be based on 300 possible points:
Exam 1 = 50    Exam 2 = 50    Exam 3 = 50    Final = 50
Participation = 50    Term Paper = 50
Grades will be assigned using the following percentage scale:

 

 

A = 94 - 100

A- = 90 - 93

 

B+ = 87 - 89

B = 84 - 86

B- = 80 - 83

 

C+ = 77 - 79

C = 74 - 76

C- = 70 - 73

 

D+ = 65 - 69

D = 60 - 64

 

 

 

E = 0 - 59

 

If you score a certain percentage, you will be ensured to get a grade corresponding to that percentage. If you did not score a percentage you desired, you still have chance to improve your grade by showing me that you are working hard and making progress in the course.   NOTE:     The policies and schedule for this class are subject to change in accordance with circumstances that may change in the quarter.

COURSE SCHEDULE

DAY

Month

DATE

 

TOPIC

READ

 

 

 

 

Chapter

Tue

Jan

24

 

Introduction to the Course

Handouts

Thu

26

 

Theory and Methods of Sociology

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

31

 

Theoretical Perspectives

1

Thu

Feb

2

 

Theory and Research

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

7

 

Sociological Methods

5

Thu

 

9

 

Culture

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

14

 

Socialization: Nature and Nurture

3

Thu

 

16

 

EXAM #1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

21

 

Presidents’ Day (No Class)

Thu

23

 

Groups and Organizations

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

28

 

Bureaucracy and Human Relations Model

7

Thu

Mar

2

 

Criminology

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

7

 

Inequality

9

Thu

 

9

 

Stratification

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

14

 

Race and Ethnicity

12

Thu

 

16

 

EXAM #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

21

 

Spring Recess (No Class)

 

Thu

 

23

 

Spring Recess (No Class)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

28

 

Gender Inequality

11

Thu

30

 

Age and Age Inequality

13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

Apr

4

 

Economy and Politics

14, 15

Thu

 

6

 

Marriage and the Family

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

11

 

Education and Religion

17, 18

Thu

 

13

 

EXAM #3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

 

18

 

(Buffalo State China Week 2017)

 

Thu

 

20

 

Medicine and Health

19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

25

 

Population and Urbanization

20

Thu

27

 

 Collective Behavior and Social Movement

 21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue

May

2

 

 Social Change (Term Paper Due Today!)

 22

Thu

 

4

 

 Last day of Instruction: Term Paper Presentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thu

May

11

 

  Final Examination (5:40pm – 7:30pm)

 

 

 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TERM PAPER
Sociology 100: Introduction to Sociology

I.     Title Page: (5%)
        This page consists of the title of the paper, the writer's name, course number, section number, professor's name, and the date.

II.     Outline and thesis statement: (10%)
         The thesis statement is a paragraph consisting of one or two sentences pointing out the thesis of the paper. The outline of the paper follows immediately after the thesis statement. The two parts should appear on the same one page, with the title of the paper at top of it.

III.   First Page of the Text: (5%)
         The title of the paper should appear again on top of the first page of the text exactly as on the title page and outline page.

IV.    Text: (5%)
         The whole paper including the title page, outline page, the text, and references should be typed and on one side of the paper only. The text should be double-spaced.

V.     References: (10%)
         All authors you have cited should be given credit, first in the text by putting the last name followed by the publication year in parentheses, and then in a list of references that appears at the end of the paper. You can use any format in references as long as you keep consistent.

VI.     Page number: (5%)
          The page number should be put either at center bottom position or on the right upper corner of each page. No page number should be put on the title page or the outline page. If you decide to have the number on the right upper corner, the number on the first page is omitted.

VII.   Organization: (10%)
          The text of the paper should consist at least of three parts: (1) introduction, (2) body, and (3) conclusion. In the introduction, you tell what your study is, why your study is important, and the hypothesis statement. Then in the body part of the paper, you develop your analysis or argument with or without literature review, empirical evidence or your personal observations to test your hypothesis. The conclusion part should include a brief summary of the study, and send a signal of ending for the paper.

VIII.   Content: (50%)
           The content of the paper is both specified in the syllabus and discussed during the course.

NOTE:      Plagiarism will cause a failure of the course.