| Syllabus

| Links

| Assignments

| Sociology 101

Sociology 101: Principles of Sociology
SYLLABUS


Professor: Rosanne Martorella, Ph.D.
Office: Science Building 359
Office Hours: Posted on the door
Phone: 973 - 720-2274
Fax: 201 - 595-3522
Email: romartin@frontier.wpunj.edu




Week 1| Week 2| Week 3| Week 4| Week 5| Week 6 & 7
Week 8| Week 9| Week 10| Week 11| Week 12| Week 13
Thanksgiving Weekend| Week 14| Week 15| Week 16


Week 1-Introduction
  1. General introduction to course requirements; Email; Listserv
  2. Introduction to the Sociological Perspective
  3. Extra Credit Assignments: Explore the Home Page of the Department and Course


Week 2-The Study of Self and Society
  1. Define the sociological perspective as the study of:
  2. interpersonal behavior
  3. group behavior
  4. structure of society
  5. social problems and social change
Read: Chapter 1, pages 1-26.



Week 3-Methods of Social Research
  1. Describe the scientific method
  2. Distinguish between common sense knowledge and systematic research
  3. Analyze the major steps of doing research
  4. Distinguish between the various quantitative and qualitative methods
Read: Chapter 2, pages 26-49.



Week 4-The Cultural Context of Social Behavior
  1. Discuss how groups maintain and/or change their culture
  2. Define and analyze the cultural universals, cultural variability, relativism, ethnocentricism, folkways,mores, laws, norms, and values
  3. Discuss value conflict
  4. Distinguish between norms and values (how are they measured?)
  5. Distinguish between culture, subcultures, and counter-cultures (Case Study of Music as a Subculture)
Read: Chapter 3, pages 50-71.

Discuss: Assignment #1 - Internet

Discuss: Extra Credit Assignment - Group Cluster



Week 5-Social Structure and Group Behavior
  1. Describe the nature of social structure
  2. Distinguish between ascribed and achieved social status
  3. Describe techniques of resolving conflict
  4. Analyze the formal organization of the Bureaucracy
Read: Chapter 4, pages 72-97.

Discuss: Class Assignment: The New York Times (Two Articles to Analyze)



Week 6 & 7-Socialization, Identity, and Resocialization
  1. Define and analyze the process of socialization
  2. Analyze such concepts as "the looking glass self," "taking the role of the other," and "the formation of self."
Read: Chapter 5, pages 98-120, and pages 172-176.

Film: Adolescence and Young Adulthood (#6, #2, #3, #7) Filmstrip



Week 8-Deviance, Crime and Social Control
  1. Explain the concept of deviance and why there are deviations from the norms of society
  2. Explain how the belief that deviants are mentally ill obscures a full understanding of deviant behavior
  3. Describe how the social political structure influences societal definitions of "normal" and deviant
  4. Discuss factors involved in deviant careers
Read: Chapter 6, pages 121-143.



Week 9-MIDTERM




Week 10-Social Stratification and Inequality
  1. Compare functional and conflict theories of stratification
  2. Define hierarchies of power, prestige, and property
  3. Discuss difficulties in measuring social class
  4. Identify causes and conditions of poverty in the U.S.
  5. Discuss the trend of downward mobility and impact of 90's economy
  6. Discuss the job market and the impact of global marketplace
Read: Chapter 9, pages 191-221.

Film: "Dividing the Dream" (25 min.) VC 3432 or "The Nature of Jobs"



Week 11-Racial, Ethnic, and Religious Minorities
  1. Identify four components of minority group status: gender, religion, ethnicity, and race
  2. Explain "institutional racism"; relative success of Asian-Americans
Read: Chapter 12, pages 246-273.



Week 12-Institutional Spheres: Marriage and the Family


  1. Contrast family structures in traditional and modern societies
  2. Describe process of mate selection in U.S. today, and gender role change
  3. Discuss causes for the relatively high divorce in US.
  4. Distinguish between Dual Career Couples and Traditional Couples
  5. Discuss the nature of dysfunctional families
  6. Discuss techniques for resolving interpersonal conflicts
Read: Chapter 12, pages 274-301.



Week 13-Rural, Urban, and Suburban Life
  1. Distinguish between rural, urban, and suburban forms of life
  2. Analyze the nature of the "new suburbia"
  3. Discuss the changes in demography and shifts of population in the United States
Read: Chapter 21, pages 497-521.



Week 14-Contemporary Issues: Population Trends/Baby Boom
  1. Understand why societies have different forms of social life
  2. Explain how migration, fertility, and mortality rates all influence the age structure
  3. Evaluate the characteristics and trends of the "baby boom" generation
Read: Chapter 20, pages 475-497. (population trends in the United States)



Week 15-Contemporary Issues: Poular Culture, Mass Media, and Sports
  1. Define high and popular culture
  2. Debate the positive and negative effects of mass culture
  3. Assess the influence of media on behavior
  4. Discuss the Sociology of the Arts as a field of study
  5. Patronage and Privitization of Culture and Public Policy
  6. Globalization and the Film Industry
  7. New York and Cultural Tourism




Week 16-Social Change: Collective Behavior and Social Movements
  1. Describe the various models used in the study of collective behavior
  2. Analyze the conditions under which a riot is likely
  3. Identify four major phases in the life course of social movements
Read: Chapter 19, pages 451-474. (social change) and Collective behavior: Chapter 23, pages 545-569.



FINAL


William Paterson