Welcome Letter Sociology 391-80/ASN 391-80, Population and Development in Asia Dr. Gabe Tiande Wang wangg@wpunj.edu 973-720-3410 (Fax) 973-720-3522 Welcome to Population and Development in Asia. This class is for undergraduate students who are interested in population, socioeconomic development, sociology, political science, culture, environment, and Asian studies. Students who are interested in Asia, especially in China and India will find this class very interesting and informative. Students may use this class to satisfy their Non-western and GE electives requirements. Asian Studies major students may use this class to satisfy their Asian Studies major electives requirements. Sociology students who have a concentration in General Sociology may also use this class to satisfy their concentration electives requirements. This course will provide the students with an overview of population and socio-economic development in Asia, mostly in China and India. We will start our discussions on the population in the world and in Asia first. Then we will focus on the population and socioeconomic development in China and India. Topics for class discussion will include culture, history, woman status, education, politics, religion, and societal conditions. Class discussions will also include comparisons between China and India, and their relevance to the United States. Expectations: This course will be taught fully online with no mandatory face-to-face meeting requirements. During the semester, you are expected to read the assigned reading materials and be prepared to participate in class discussions. The Study Questions provided by the instructor should help you understand the reading materials better. The Discussion Board will serve as a “classroom” and you are expected to join the discussion with other students in the “classroom” after reading the required materials. You can ask relevant questions in the discussion forum. When I read your postings in the Discussion Board, I will keep a record of your participation of the class discussions. Every day, Blackboard will keep track of your participation in the class discussion, which will help determine your class participation grade. There will be two online exams, one midterm and one final exam. The exams will cover reading materials, lecture notes, and class discussions. Each student is required to write a research paper on a population and/or development issue in Asia or in an Asian country and give a brief presentation on Blackboard. Readings Students are expected to buy one textbook for this class (Population and Development: the Indian Perspective by Alok Ranjan. The ISBN is 1-58112-844-4 and it can be purchased either from the university bookstore or online). Other reading materials, including book chapters, lecture notes, and electronically published papers, are available online. Grading Your final grade will be based on 100 possible points: Midterm Exam=25 Final Exam=25 Research Paper=20 Class participation=30 Grades will be assigned using the following percentage scale: A = 93-100 A- = 90-92 B+= 87-89 B = 83-86 B- = 80-82 C+ = 77-79 C = 73-76 C- = 70-72 D+= 65-69 D = 60-64 F = 0-59 How to Access Blackboard: To log on to Bb point your web browser to http://bb.wpunj.edu and click the Login button in the upper left. Then enter your username and password in the spaces provided and click login again -- you'll find your course Bb sites listed on the right. Some things to be aware of as you work with Blackboard: You probably won't find all your courses listed; the only ones that will appear are those that have been activated by the professor teaching the course. Professors who don't use Blackboard will not activate their courses. Your username is comprised of your lastname and firstinitial, usually appended with a numeral. If you don't know your WPUNJ system username password you can use the Username lookup link at http://bb.wpunj.edu , or go to it directly at: http://www.wpunj.edu/username If you are already logged in to the WPUNJ system through WPConnect you won't have to re-enter your username and password -- just click the first login button. Blackboard documentation can be found in two places: at Bb Home, http://bb.wpunj.edu, before one logs in, and in the Blackboard Support tab after one has logged on. You can always obtain Bb help by using the Problem Report form at http://bb.wpunj.edu , or by going to it directly at: https://liberty.wpunj.edu/bb/support-center/ . WPUNJ Student Email: To access WPUNJ Student Email point your web browser to http://wpconnect.wpunj.edu, enter your username and password, then select the Mail tab. If you are logging on for the first time you'll be asked to set your time zone and language. Blackboard courses will use student email; third-party email addresses will not work on Bb Good luck and have fun in the class!
