Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Main campus in-person course *(Please note in-person attendance policy for this course.)
Contact Information
Required textbook
Name: Introduction to Sociology
Edition: 6th edition (2024)
ISBN: 978-1071875179 (pbk)
Author: George Ritzer & J. Michael Ryan
Publisher: Sage
In addition, there will be relevant excerpts, articles, & video clips assigned at different times during the course. Students will be given instructions on how to access these at the appropriate times.
Learning Objectives
- The student shall be able to explain how sociology differs from other social science disciplines.
- The student shall understand and correctly apply major theoretical perspectives in sociology, including functional, conflict, and interactionist perspectives.
- The student shall be able to understand sociological foundations and institutions as well as sociological inequities as roots for provoking social change.
Critical Thinking Skills Statement
SY130 is designed to support students in the development of critical thinking skills. Homework assignments are designed for students to seek out, gain awareness of, think critically of, and begin to analyze sociological issues and phenomena.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF TOPICS & READING & HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
*Subject to change during the semester. Adequate notice of changes will be given.
T 8/25 Course Introduction: Syllabus & Definitions of Sociology & the Social Sciences
R 8/27 Ch. 1: An Introduction to Sociology in the Global Age
T 9/1 Ch. 2: Thinking Sociologically - Early Sociologists
R 9/3 Ch. 2: Thinking Sociologically - Sociological Perspectives HW#1 Ch. 2: Thinking Sociologically – Early Sociologists & Sociological Perspectives DUE by end of day
T 9/8 Ch. 3: Researching the Social World – Research Methods
R 9/10 Ch. 3: Researching the Social World – Ethics & Other Research Issues
T 9/15 Ch. 4: Culture; RSVP for optional fieldtrip to Islamic Center on 10/3 for HW#3
R 9/17 Ch. 4: Culture; HW#2 Culture DUE by 11am (via Blackboard) PLUS in-class portion (Plan ahead: You might want to bring a cultural item from home or share a food specific to a particular culture. Submit HW via Blackboard AND be prepared to present your HW in class WITH YOUR CULTURAL ITEM.)
T 9/22 Ch. 5: Socialization & Interaction
R 9/24 Ch. 12: Religion
T 9/29 Ch. 12: Religion – Quakers (Class meeting will be held in the T. Canby Jones Meetinghouse in Boyd)
R 10/1 Ch. 7 Deviance & Crime; NOTE: Class assignments & possibly our class time will be connected to the Westheimer Peace Symposium next week.
Sat. 10/3 1-3:30pm Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati
Sun. 10/4 HW#3 Religion DUE by end of day (Plan ahead: a visit to a house of worship other than your own [& completion of assigned question set] may be used for HW#3.)
T 10/6 Westheimer Peace Symposium HW#4 ATTENDANCE to WESTHEIMER PEACE SYMPOSIUM (# of sessions & times TBA) (Plan ahead: You will need to attend this on-campus event for HW#4 credit.)
R 10/8 Ch. 7: Deviance & Crime; Westheimer debrief
T 10/13 IN-SERVICE DAY – NO WC CLASSES; HW#5 Ch.7 Deviance & Crime DUE by end of day
R 10/15 Ch. 9: Race & Ethnicity (No in-person SY130 class)
M 10/19 FALL BREAK - IMPORTANT NOTE: All prior assignments must be submitted by this time for credit. Only work that is complete & done according to instructions will be considered for credit.
T 10/20 Ch. 9: Race & Ethnicity (No in-person SY130 class)
R 10/22 Ch. 9: Race & Ethnicity (No in-person SY130 class) HW#6 Ch.9 Race & Ethnicity DUE by end of day
T 10/27 Ch. 10: Genders & Sexualities - RBG movie (Plan ahead: RBG run time 98 min.) LAST DAY TO DROP COURSE
R 10/29 Ch. 10: Genders & Sexualities HW#7 Ch.10 Genders & Sexualities DUE by end of day
T 11/3 Ch. 13: Politics
R 11/5 Ch. 13: Politics (Plan ahead: Bring newspaper articles about elections to class for discussion)
T 11/10 Ch. 11: Families - Sociological Perspectives
R 11/12 Ch. 11: Families - Defining Characteristics
T 11/17 Ch. 8: Social Stratification – Frontline’s Born Poor (1hr 24min)
R 11/19 Ch. 8: Social Stratification
T 11/24 Ch. 16: Social Change, Social Movements, & Collective Action
R 11/26 NO WC CLASSES - THANKSGIVING
Sun. 11/29 HW#8 (Service Learning HW) Income Inequalities & Poverty DUE by end of Thanksgiving weekend) (Plan ahead: You will have opportunities to do service work with people struggling with food & housing insecurity through Wilmington’s Sugartree Ministries & those struggling to provide Christmas gifts for their children through WC's Angel Tree project)
T 12/1 Ch. 16: Social Change, Social Movements, & Collective Action – Braver Angels
R 12/3 Ch. 16: Social Change, Social Movements, & Collective Action; HW#9 Ch.16 Social Movements & Braver Angels Due by end of day
T 12/8 In-Class Review for Final Exam
T 12/15 1-3pm SY130 In-Class Final Exam
In-Class Worksheets (50% of grade)
In-class worksheets corresponding to in-class material, including textbook chapters, will be given for a grade throughout the semester. Students who are absent from in-person class meetings are required to complete & submit make-up work independently or will receive a zero for that chapter worksheet assignment. Make-up assignments will be available through Blackboard & take up to 1.5 hours (the length of our class) to complete. In-class worksheets are to be handed in directly after class in person, & make-up assignments are to be submitted via Blackboard. Please note that completion of make-up worksheets is NOT equivalent to class attendance. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ASSIGNMENTS!!!!
Homework Assignments (40% of grade)
Assignments will be given on a regular basis in connection with assigned readings and other materials or as a tool for exploring certain sociological issues in greater depth & promoting experiential learning & classroom discussion. Homework assignments will be posted on Blackboard and should be completed on the due date indicated on the course schedule. Students who are absent from in-person class meetings are required to complete & submit the work independently or will receive a zero for the homework grade. All homework assignments will be submitted via Blackboard, but there are also in-class components to some assignments. These are noted on the syllabus. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL HOMEWORK & DO NOT SUBMIT GOOGLE DOCS LINKS in BLACKBOARD!!!
Final Exam (10% of grade)
A final exam will be given during the designated exam period for this course.
The grading criteria & scale will be as follows:
Grading Criteria (tentative weight of assignments)
In-Class Worksheets 50%
Homework 40%
Final Exam 10%
*Please note the attendance component of the grade explained in the "Instructor's Course Attendance Policy."
Grading Scale
94-100 A 90-93 A-
87-89 B+ 84-86 B 80-83 B-
77-79 C+ 74-76 C 70-73 C-
67-69 D+ 60-66 D
0-59 F
*(Please note that only C- or above counts toward an Applied Social Science major or Sociology minor.)
Instructor Course Policies
Attendance & Engagement
Attendance will be taken in every class. A student may have up to 3 unexcused absences without penalty. After that point, it is the responsibility of the student to supply the professor with documentation for excused absences. Please see the current Student Handbook for the college’s attendance policy as it pertains to excused absences. Unexcused absences in excess of the first 3 will result in 3 points per unexcused absence off of the final grade. It is the student’s responsibility to sign the attendance sheet during each class & to provide documentation for excused absences. Students who are absent from in-person class meetings FOR ANY REASON are required to make up the work independently or will receive a zero for the worksheet grade. Make-up assignments will be available through Blackboard & take up to 1.5 hours (the length of our class) to complete. In-class worksheets are to be handed in directly after class in person, & make-up assignments are to be submitted via Blackboard. No Zoom option is available for this course without formal accommodations through the Disabilities Services office.
Consistent tardiness or failure to follow classroom etiquette may also lead to an “unexcused absence.” Please also note the following points of classroom etiquette:
Classroom Etiquette
- Arrive on time & do not pack up early to leave
- Take notes & be engaged
- Offer your ideas and perspectives respectfully and listen to others to understand their ideas and perspectives
- Do not use cell phones or Smart watches for texting
- Do not use electronic music devices; no earbuds or headphones
- Do not use laptops or iPads for anything other than authorized note-taking and looking up information needed for immediate classroom discussions
- Do not “rest” with eyes closed
- Do not hold sidebar conversations
- Do not work on homework, other coursework, or any materials that are not being used for the current class meeting
Academic Integrity
Integrity and respect are Wilmington College Core Values, and honesty is our mutual responsibility. Students are responsible for following the Wilmington College’s rules relating to academic integrity & other conduct. Cheating (or helping a classmate to cheat), plagiarism, or the unauthorized use of AI* will result in a grade of 0% on the work in question, & the professor reserves the right to notify the Office of Academic Affairs. Please see the current Student Handbook for the college’s Academic Integrity policies as they pertain to examinations, plagiarism, classroom behavior, & the process for handling academic misconduct charges. Students are expected to behave with integrity & respect within the classroom & while carrying out any SY130 assignments. This is especially important as this class may host guest speakers from diverse cultures and attend various events outside of the classroom.
Generative Artificial Intelligence
You are not permitted to use generative AI tools for any work in this course. This includes the use of popular tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, GitHub Co-Pilot, as well as all other tools built on generative AI technologies. Due to the nature of this course, work can only be fairly and accurately evaluated if student writing has NOT been assisted by generative AI. Use of generative AI for assignments in this course will be considered a violation of the College’s academic integrity policies. Research and writing assignments in this course are designed to develop independent skills and critical thinking. Use of AI undermines that work, its purpose, and ultimately any benefit that it could provide towards students’ learning experience. Therefore, the use of any generative AI to help with any assignments will be considered cheating/plagiarism and will be graded and handled accordingly.
Communication
Communication outside the Classroom
Communication with students will sometimes take place via email, & messages will be sent to the students’ Wilmington College email address. It is the student’s responsibility to check emails regularly. Blackboard will be used in support of this course, and students are also responsible for accessing Blackboard on a regular basis. Students may choose to communicate with the professor via email or text messaging (texting between 7am & 10 pm only). Contact information is provided at the top of this syllabus. (Cell phone # will be provided separately.) When emailing, please include your name and the course & section number (SY130 M2) in all correspondence. Please include this information in any initial text message as well.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: FA26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |