Sociology 1101: Introduction to Sociology
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Continuing Education INI Course

Timing of Lessons : You must submit an exercise or exam each week of the term in order to finish the course on time. A late exercise will receive a maximum score of 5/10 and a late exam will receive a maximum score of 50/100. You may certainly work ahead, and in fact, you can even complete the first two lessons and exercises before the course begins, because those two lessons are not password protected. The summer term begins the first week of the May session (beginning May 14 in 2007). Fall term begins at the same time as other fall classes.

Texts:
Stark, Selections from Sociology , 7th edition, ITP Thompson, 2004
MacLeod, Ain't No Makin' It, Westview, 3rd edition (this is coming out in the summer of 2008; be sure you don't order the wrong edition if you buy your books online). If you're taking the course somewhere away from Duluth, you can order the Stark text from UMD's bookstore by calling 866-726-8631(tollfree).
Internet readings

How to Read a Book:
Textbooks (Stark). This isn't a whole textbook, just my favorite chapters from a larger text. Still, a good place to start is the table of contents to get a good sense of what is included. In this course, since the exams are online, open-book and you can access them whenever you like, you should print out and read through the exam before you start reading the chapters. Then when you start each chapter, read the "conclusion" first so you get an idea of how the chapter is structured. Then go back and read the chapter, being sure to underline or highlight and finish by re-reading the conclusion. As you read, since you've got a copy of the exam, especially mark the materials you'll want to use in answering each quesiton. Pay attention to the tables and graphs, as they often contain some of the key evidence supporting the author's arguments.

Non-textbooks (MacLeod). Examine the table of contents; then read the preface and the afterward before starting on chapter 1. Again, as you read each chapter, highlight the most important materials, and make a special note of what you'll want to use to support your arguments for the exam questions. Pay special attention to the kind of evidence MacLeod gathers through his research. In social science, good arguments aren't worth much unless they're supported by research evidence.

Videos: Videos for this course are under revision in the summer of 2008. There will probably be three or four, and there'll be copies on 2-hour reserve at the UMD library (you can also get headphones at the reserve desk and watch them in the library). They'll also be available as streaming video (or in the case of "An Inconvenient Truth," from your local video store or library). To watch on streaming video, you'll need a broad band internet connection.

Liberal Education Program This course meets the requirements for Category 6, The Social Sciences, in UMD's Liberal Education Program. It also qualifies as a cultural diversity course. Each student must take one course emphasizing cultural diversity in the United States and one course that provides international perspectives.

Course Description:

This is a course that introduces the strategies sociologists use to study the pressures and expectations that grow out of our relationships with other people, with a particular emphasis on the causes and effects of social inequality. It fulfills category 6, The Social Sciences, in UMD's Liberal Education Program, as well as the requirement of a course that stressing cultural diversity in the United States. If you are a sociology or criminology major, you must complete this course with a minimum grade of C. It is also one of three courses that must be completed with a minimum grade of C by pre-Sociology majors in order to qualify for acceptance to the Sociology major, and one of four courses that must be completed with a minimum grade of C by pre-Criminology majors. (For other requirements, click on "Sociology" or "Criminology" on the Sociology-Anthropology home page .)

Introducing the instructor

Course Objectives: By the end of this course, you should be able:

1. To understand the basic concepts, language, and theories of sociology.
2. To become familiar with the strategies sociologists use to study human society.
3. To describe and explain major features of your own society, beginning with
the institutions that are closest to your own experience.
4. To understand the social dimensions of inequality and difference.
5. To decide whether you have an interest in further coursework in sociology and if
so, to have an excellent base for such coursework.

Web Crossing forum . DON'T BEGIN THIS TILL THE SECOND WEEK, AS THAT'S WHEN YOUR USERNAMES GET IMPORTED INTO WEBX. ALSO, IF YOU REGISTER AFTER THE SECOND WEEK, LET ME KNOW AS WE''LL HAVE TO IMPORT YOU SEPARATELY INTO WEBX. This course includes an internet discussion forum which you can log in by going to http://www.d.umn.edu/webx and using your UMD username and the password, "webx" Then click on "log-in." Then click on my name (Bruce Mork) and this class (Sociology 1101). Click on a week and then on one of the questions listed under that week. If other people have already responded to that question, read through at least some of their ideas. Then at the bottom, click on "Post Message." Type your ideas and at the bottom, click on "Post my message."

There is at least one question for each week, but you may also add a question of your own and respond to it. Each post will be graded as follows: 10--thoughtful and/or creative treatment of course ideas; 9--solid contribution, not just a rehash; 8--repetitive, not too interesting; 7&6--you don't want to know. Maximum of 5 postings for credit, no more than 1 per week. (if you post more than once in a week, I will give you the higher score). One way to enhance your posting is to relate your ideas to one of the other postings by members of this or previous classes. I see web forum primarily as a way for students to share ideas with each other. I will grade the webx postings when you have finished all the other course materials.

Grading: Your grade will be based on three exams, each covering about 1/3 of the course, along with the exercises you complete at the end of each lesson, and the messages you post to the Discussion Forum, as follows:

Grades will be calculated based on the percentage of total points, as follows: A, 93-100; A-, 90-92; B+, 87-89; B, 83-87; B-, 80-82; C+, 77-79; C, 73-77; C-, 70-72; D, 60-69; F, below 60

Academic Honesty : Honesty is one of the central values of academic life, and there is an extra element of trust inherent in the structure of this kind of an on-line course. It's okay (and indeed, expected) that you draw on the text, on my lesson comments, on the readings, as you carry out the coursework, including the exams. But be sure you give credit where credit is due. Whenever your ideas or your phrasing comes from somebody else's work, credit that person appropriately. Here is a link to a more general discussion of plagiarism . In instances of academic dishonesty, your grade will be reduced, up to and including an F for the course.