INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY



CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Soc242.001 FALL 2009

Instructor: Jianjun Ji

Office: Schneider Hall 437

Department of Sociology

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Phone: (715) 836-3050

Fax: (715) 836-5071

Email: Jij@uwec.edu

Location: SSS 306

Class Hours: 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. MW

Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. MW or by appointment

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Course Description and Objectives

This course will introduce students to a new field in sociology, the study of social problems. The course is designed to have students walk through the basic concepts, theories, evidence and public policies associated with social problems. We will use historical and critical analyses to examine selected social problems as they exist at the local, national, and international levels. In this course students will learn about a variety of constructed social problems, such as: unequal wealth distribution, poverty, population change and its associated social issues, race/ethnic and gender inequality, crime and war on drugs, health care, family issues, terrorism and national security, and solutions to social problems. At the completion of this course, students will

1 know the major theoretical perspectives and be able to make arguments based on these perspectives

2 have an awareness of contemporary American social problems

3 have knowledge of social problems and conditions in both America and the global community. This will include, but not be limited to topics such as poverty, inequality, drugs, crime, the family, work, health care system, and terrorism

4 have the critical thinking skills to gather and analyze additional information in the field of social problems

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Liberal Education Learning Goals

1 Knowledge of Human Culture and the Natural World

2 Creative and Critical Thinking

3 Effective Communication

4 Individual and Social Responsibility

5 Respect for diversity among people.

The content of the course, particularly its class discussions, group projects, writing assignments, and term papers, address the above university learning outcomes.

Department of Sociology Program Goals

1 Ability to construct, evaluate and communicate empirically based arguments about the social world

2 A respect for ways of life and diverse viewpoints of others

3 Skills necessary to promote professional development and community engagement over their lifetimes.

To address the above goals, the following means and activities will be utilized and conducted including group projects and discussions, writing essays and papers, readings and presentations, power points and videos, quizzes and tests.

Rental Textbook

Social Problems. Eitzen D. Stanley; Zinn Maxine Baca; and Kelly Eitzen Smith, Pearson Education, Inc. 11th Edition, 2009

Attendance

UWEC requires that students have a regular attendance. Therefore absences are kept on records and will be used as part of a student’s performance for final grades. It is the policy of this class that students who could not make up the class must present an authorized evidence/written notice from a doctor, or a policeman, or a professor, or parents, or university activity team leader/authorized agency. Email notice of absence is not accepted. Un-notified absence will have point deduction from their final grades. Students who are late for class (20 minutes or more) or leave class earlier before the dismissal without the instructor’s prior permission will be taken as an absence. Absences will affect students’ final grade. Students who have 4 absences during the course cannot get an “A” grade and students who have 6 absences cannot get a “B” grade, regardless of their tests scores and assignments. Class attendance accounts for 10% of the final grade. Any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom accommodations, please contact the instructor and the Services for Students with Disabilities Office in Old Library 2136 at the beginning of the semester. For those students with substantial difficulties due to disability, absences will be excused. But they must contact the instructor by phone, email, or fax within two class meetings after missing a class.

Group Project and Readings

To encourage participation and involvement, students will be divided into 8 groups. Each group will be assigned one topic for a presentation in a format of power point. Failure to participate in the project will affect students’ final grade. The project accounts for 10% of the total grade. Selected contemporary readings in social problems are e- reserved in the school library and assigned specifically for each chapter.

Essay

There will be ten essays related to ten chapters of the teaching materials. Students must complete the essays in typed format, one-page in length, and submit it in time. The missing essays will affect students’ final grade. The ten essays account for 10% of the total grade.

Term Paper

Students will complete a term paper. The specific requirement for the paper should include but not be limited to the following: the topic must be or related to a social problem; define that social problem; explain why you consider it a social problem; explore how that problem was created; examine what factors are contributing to the problem; seek possible solutions to the problem. The paper must be completed following a chosen and consistent format, double spaced, having citations, providing subtitles, and references with at least 5 articles used as citations (these readings virtually serve as reading assignments). The paper must have 6 pages in length. The evaluation criteria on the term paper are based on two major categories: Quality and Quantity, which are already indicated in the above requirement. The paper accounts for 15% of the final grade.

Quiz

Quizzes are part of students’ chapter assignments. There will be ten quizzes selected from ten chapters of the textbook. Students will complete the quizzes in class. Missing a quiz would lead to 2.0 point deduction from students’ final grade. Ten quizzes account for 20% of the total grade.

Exams

There will be 3 exams for this course including the final. All exams cover 50% of the final grade. The content of the exams will come primarily from the lectures/power points of the textbook. Specifically, the first test will cover the first 4 chapters, 1, 2, 3, and 5 (including chapter 6); the second covers chapters 7, 8 (including chapter 9), 12, and 13; and the final covers chapters 14, 15, 17, 18, and 19. The types of tests will be multiple choice, true/false, essays, or a combination of them. No makeup exams will be offered if the instructor has not received a prior notice. The missed exams will be treated as “zero” for that exam.

Classroom Decorum

To promote a learning atmosphere in the classroom, students should refrain from any distractive behaviors during the class. Talking to seatmates is disrespectful to other students and strongly discouraged. Further, inappropriate behaviors such as sleeping, eating, listening to radios, talking on cell phones, reading a book or newspaper, doing homework, coming to class late or leaving early, will not be tolerated.

Academic Dishonesty

Students are expected do all their work independently. Any occurrence of academic misconduct such as plagiarism will be dealt with in accordance with the guidelines and procedures outlined in the academic misconduct policy at the university.

Syllabus

The syllabus serves like a “contract” between the instructor and the students. It is strongly recommended that students read the syllabus carefully and make plans and act upon it accordingly. The instructor reserves the right to make adjustments of the syllabus and to curve the final grade when necessary.

Assessment Weights Grading System

1 Project 5% A = 91 -100

2 Essay 10% A- = 88 - 90

3 Quiz 20% B+ = 85 - 87

4 Paper 15% B = 82 - 84

5 Test 1 15% B- = 79 - 81

6 Test 2 15% C+ = 76 – 78

7 Final 20% C = 72 – 75

____ C- = 69 - 71

Total 100 D+ = 66 – 68

D = 62 – 65

D- = 59 - 61

F = 58 or below

Formula for Final Grade Calculation

Final Grade = Test50% + Paper15% + Project10% + Essay10% + Quiz15% – Absence.

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Examination Schedule

10/5 Test 1 Class time Chapter 1, 2, 3, 5/6

11/4 Test 2 Class time Chapter 7, 8/9, 12, 13

12/18/Friday Final 3:00-4:50pm Chapter 14, 15, 17, 18, 19

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Class Schedule and Assignment

9/2-9 Chapter 1 Sociological Approach to Social Problems

Group projects Assigning presentation materials to groups

Essay1 List four methods on social problems research

and describe one of them in details

9/14-16 Chapter 2 Wealth and Power: The Bias of the System

Group 1 “Conventional wisdom tells us …” *E-reserves

Essay2 Outline the means corporations use to influence candidate selection

Quiz 1 Chapter 1

9/21-23 Chapter 3 World Population and Global Inequality

Group 2 “Boom, busts, and echoes”*

Quiz2 Chapter 3

9/28-30 Chapter 5 Problems of Demographic Changes

Group 3 “Credit cards: private troubles…”*

Essay3 List all demographic changes and describe one of them in details

Quiz3 Chapter 5

Essays 1-3 due (Three essays stapled together and submitted)

Term Paper Topic/Title due (P1)

10/5 Test 1 Chapter 1, 2, 3, 5 (Including some of chapter 6)

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10/7-12 Chapter 7 Poverty

Group 4 “Crime, fear in the streets”*

Essay4 Which theory do you consider best explains the cause of poverty, Innate Inferiority or Structural Theory, why or why not?

10/14-19 Chapter 8 Race and Gender Inequality

Group 5 “Culture matters…”*

Quiz4 Chapter 8

10/21-26 Chapter 12 Crime

Group 6 “How can we solve the problem of crime?”*

Essay5 List the major sources of crime data and explain why some of the sources are biased

Quiz5 Chapter 12

10/28-11/2 Chapter 13 Drugs

Group 7 “Key facts on television violence”*

Essay6 List major ideas you learn from watching the video-

“Thank you for Smoking”

Quiz6 Chapter 13

Essays 4-6 due

Term Paper Outlines and Reference/Articles due (P2)

11/4 Test 2 Chapter 7, 8, 12, 13 (including some of chapter 9)

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11/9-11 Chapter 14 Work and the Economy

Essay7 Describe one aspect of structural transformation and its negative impact on unemployment

Quiz7 Chapter 14

11/16-18 Chapter 15 Families

Group 8 “International trafficking of women and children”*

Essay8 List the negative impacts on children after their parental divorce

Quiz8 Chapter 15

11/23-25 Chapter 17 Health and Health Care Delivery

Essay9 List major points as argued by video SICKO

Quiz9 Chapter 17

11/30-12/2 Chapter 18 National Security

Essay10 List reasons why terrorists hate Americans. How do you think of these reasons?

Quiz10 Chapter 18

12/2 Term Paper due

12/7-9 Chapter 19 Solutions to Social Problems

Essays 7-10 due

12/18/Friday Final 3:00- 4:50pm (chapters 14, 15, 17, 18, and 19)

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Your Portfolios and the Goals of the Baccalaureate Degree

Our university measures GE course objectives in classes. Your term paper might be considered to be included in your portfolio. There are five goals of general education established by UWEC: Knowledge of Human Culture and the Natural World, Creative and Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Individual and Social Responsibility, and Respect for Diversity among People. Depending on your paper topic, some or all of these goals might apply.

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