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.

Texts:
Stark, Selections from Sociology , 7th edition, ITP Thompson (these are chapters specifically gathered together for my course, so you need to get them from the UMD bookstore),
MacLeod, Ain't No Makin' It, Westview, 3rd edition
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). The MacLeod book you could also order from Amazon.
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 can access the exam in advance, make a copy and have it available, so that you can highlight the parts of the readings that seem most relevant to putting together strong answers. . 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: There are several videos for course and there are copies on 2-hour reserve at the UMD library (you can get headphones at the reserve desk and watch them in the library; they are videotapes so most likely you don't own the technology to watch them anywhere else).The first two are also available as streaming video; the third one has a nonvideo option if you're not in Duluth; and the last one, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," can be rented from just about anywhere that carries dvd's or certainly from Netflix. .

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. (This applies at least through the 2010-2011 academic year; the Liberal Education is being revised and all courses will be reassessed next year, to apply to students starting in 2011-2012.

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.This course is also required for sociology majors or minors at UMD (and you need to average a GPA of 2.5 on three required courses, including this one.. (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.

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, 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

Students with disabilities:

It is the policy and practice of the University of Minnesota Duluth to create inclusive learning environments for all students, including students with disabilities.  If there are aspects of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or your ability to meet course requirements – such as time limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos – please notify the instructor as soon as possible.  You are also encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Resources to discuss and arrange reasonable accommodations.   Please call 218-726-6130 or visit the DR website at www.d.umn.edu/access for more information. 

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.