SOC-1B-79529 TTh FA20 Syllabus ADA.docx

CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES SYLLABUS 79529

MW 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM

Live Lecture Link

Password: 949386

Instructor: Antoniette Aizon, PhD, MAOB

Email: antoniette.aizon@scccd.edu

Office Phone: (559) 675-4802 – must leave a message with name, contact number and class you are in

Office Hours: MWF 9:30 – 10:30 and TTh 11:30 – 12:20 Via ConferZoom Password: 6754802

Office Location: R5A (currently not located on Campus)

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

This course will discuss contemporary social problems in society. The course reviews various explanation of causes, consequences and possible solutions for contemporary sociological issues using theoretical perspectives. The course applies critical thinking skills using inductive and deductive reasoning to analyze and discuss the issues while strengthening social awareness.

Advisories: Sociology 1A and English 1A or English 1AH

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

Great news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!

Social Problems: Continuity and Change, ISBN: 978-1-946135-23-0

Critical Thinking

You have several options to obtain the Social Problems: Continuity and Change book:

• View online (need connection to the internet)
• Download a PDF (does not use internet after you download the PDF File) Social Problems - Continuity and Change Textbook.pdf
• Order a print copy (Flatworld for $59.95 digital and hardcopy)

The online view is preferable due to the dynamic and seamless read.

You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended - the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

LEARNING GOALS

1. Identify, define and apply the elements of critical thinking.
2. Evaluate social problems from both a macro-sociological and a micro-sociological perspective, and discuss which perspective is most useful under different conditions.
3. Support a position regarding a social problem using a logical argument and evidence.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the major social problems concerning the United States.
2. Place local, regional, and national social problems in a global context.
3. Identify and distinguish between causes and consequences of social problems.
4. Analyze social problems using sociological approaches and concepts.
5. Analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative information about social problems.
6. Identify and evaluate policies that address social problems and assess the policies' impact on society.

COURSE ORGANIZATION AND REQUIREMENTS

Students will be required to complete weekly assignment write ups, an essay, debate, and final presentation. For ease of access, the course is organized in Modules, hit the Modules tab to help navigate this course.

Readings

Students are expected to have read the assigned chapter(s) prior to Tuesday of the week and complete the homework write up with the due date specified in the Modules tab or Assignments tab (Tuesday before 11:59 PM – PST). No late work will be accepted.

In Class Participation

Students are expected to attend class as designated by the schedule through the live lecture link provided. There will be in-class participation points that are awarded based on in-class activity or discussion. Points are awarded at random. Students who cannot make it to the live lecture will have an option to answer the discussion question posted for attendance / participation and earn points for missed participation.

Attendance

Attendance is taken in Discussions for that lecture day with the student hitting Reply and typing in the Word of the Day. If you are unable to attend the live lecture, you can still be counted as present and earn in class participation if taken that day by completing the topic essay question.

If you missed class, you are expected to complete the essay question posted for the meeting day discussion assignment in Canvas. Failure to post your short answer will result in being marked absent and no participation points if given that day. Not meeting the minimum word requirements and posting requirements will result in 0 participation points.

Discussion Posting Requirements (due Thursdays for Tuesday class or Saturday for Thursday class before 12 noon):

• Minimum of 250-words to 500-words (must have footnotes; word count is based on the body, excludes salutations, the paraphrasing the question, footnote references)
• Must provide scholarly in text citation (textbook, other scholarly/peer-reviewed sources found in the school's library database with a limiter of "scholarly / peer-reviewed" box checked, internet sources ending in .gov) – Minimum of 1 scholarly reference

Essay

The essay assignment is an argumentative essay based on critical thinking concepts of meaning and argument. Student must pick one of the 15 topics proposed. Further Directions on the essay is posted in Canvas.

In-Class Debate

The class will be divided into debate group and topic suggestions will be solicited in mid-September. The topic must be based on sociological concepts that affect our current society and the debate will be based on logic and value concepts in critical thinking. Further Directions on the Debate are posted in Canvas. Once the debate teams and topics are assigned, the debate groups will have their own discussion forum in Canvas to work collaboratively on the debate.

Points for the argumentative presentation is earned by participating / collaborating in the discussions and research for your topic (each member will anonymously provide participation rating) and covering the items being requested in the presentation; 75% will be based on the project itself and 15% will be based on the group’s evaluation.

Final Presentation Project

A group presentation will be your final and will be presented during Finals week. The class will be divided into groups and will require a Final Proposal to be submitted. The presentation will tie in all aspects of critical thinking with the solution being grounded in creativity. Details of the final presentation project and proposal are posted in Canvas.

Points for the argumentative presentation is earned by participating / collaborating in the discussions and research for your topic (each member will anonymously provide participation rating) and covering the items being requested in the presentation; 75% will be based on the project itself and 15% will be based on the group’s evaluation.

COURSE TIMELINE

Dates in red mean no school

Dates bold means something major due

Course Timeline

Week	T	Th	Content	Major Assignment Due
1	8/11/2020	8/13/2020	What is Critical Thinking
2	8/18/2020	8/20/2020	Chapter 1: Understanding Social Problems
3	8/25/2020	8/27/2020	Chapter 2: Poverty
4	9/1/2020	9/3/2020	Meaning and Argument Analysis
5	9/8/2020	9/10/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
6	9/15/2020	9/17/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics	Essay
7	9/22/2020	9/24/2020	Logic
8	9/29/2020	10/1/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
9	10/6/2020	10/8/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
10	10/13/2020	10/15/2020	Values
11	10/20/2020	10/22/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
12	10/27/2020	10/29/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics	Debate
13	11/3/2020	11/5/2020	Fallacies
14	11/10/2020	11/12/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
15	11/17/2020	11/19/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
16	11/24/2020	11/26/2020	Creativity
17	12/1/2020	12/3/2020	***Students will pick from the area of topics
18		12/10/2020	Final Presentation 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM

Topics to Pick From

Chapter 3: Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Chapter 4: Gender Inequality

Chapter 5: Sexual Orientation and Inequality

Chapter 6: Aging and Ageism

Chapter 7: Alcohol and Other Drugs

Chapter 8: Crime and Criminal Justice

Chapter 9: Sexual Behavior

Chapter 10: The Changing Family

Chapter 11: Schools and Education

Chapter 12: Work and the Economy

Chapter 13: Health and Health Care

Chapter 14: Urban and Rural Problems

Chapter 15: Population and the Environment

Chapter 16: War and Terrorism

POSSIBLE POINTS

Chapter Homework (chapters vary in points: total points = 100)

Participation – points will vary depending on the activity (total points = 150)

Essay – 75

Debate – 75 points

Final Project Presentation – 75 points

GRADING SCALE

Grading Scale

Letter Grade	Points
A	475 – 427.5
B	427 – 380
C	379.5 – 333
D	332.5 – 285
F	284.5 – Below

IMPORTANT DATES

Last Day to Drop with a refund: 8/21/2020

Last Day to Drop without a "W": 8/28/2020

Last Day to Drop with a "W": 10/9/2020

COURSE POLICY

The policy will NOT change for the purpose of improving a student’s grade or reducing a student’s workload during the semester. Students should contact the instructor to make special arrangements for course work due to disabilities, family emergencies, or health problems. Students need official verifiable documentation to make special arrangements for exams.

Incomplete - NO incomplete is given without a prior written agreement with the instructor.

Late Assignments - Late work is NOT accepted. In instances when a student fails to submit an assignment by the deadline, the student will earn a zero grade for that task.

Drop Policy

Students are absent if they fail to attend the live session or respond to a discussion post during for the scheduled meeting times. Students who do not attend or post during the first day of class and during the first week of class will be dropped from the course - NO EXCEPTIONS. After the first week of instruction, students are responsible for dropping themselves from the course. However, if you fail to attend more than 3 classes in a row or 6 classes in a 2-month period (did not respond with the word of the day or reply to the posting), you may be dropped from the course prior to the Withdrawal Date (Week 9).

Should the class be cancelled due to faculty, a notification will be posted on Canvas. It is the student's responsibility to check Canvas prior to the start of class to be alerted of any cancellation.

Email Protocol

When emailing your professor please observe the following protocols. Remember the context in which you are operating. You are not text messaging friends or chatting on Facebook. You are sending a professional communication to the person who is evaluating your work. 

• Preferred way of communication is through Canvas Inbox.
• Please observe common rules of spelling and punctuation. Use capital letters where appropriate and run spell check. Again, you are not text messaging friends or chatting on Facebook. Please do your best to communicate in a professional manner.
• I am available, via email, Monday -Friday and will generally respond to emails within 48 hours. 
• If you use your SCCCD email, please sign your email and use your full name and the class number in which you are registered. By using your school email, this would cut down any issues of phishing or your email being blocked by the spam filter. I will not respond to emails on the weekends or holidays.
• For technical assistance with Canvas call (559) 499-6070.

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is highly valued at SCCCD. A student must always submit work that represents his or her original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent the student's original words or ideas, the student must make clear the extent to which such sources were used using quotation marks or a freestanding indented block quotation followed by the appropriate citation in accordance with the APA manual (6^th edition).

Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hardcopy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source. Scholastic dishonesty is any act that violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentation of a student’s own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes:

1. Completing individual work, assignments, or exams for other students;
2. Having a tutor or friend complete a portion of your assignments;
3. Having a reviewer make extensive revisions to an assignment;
4. Copying work submitted by another student;
5. Plagiarizing, which means misrepresenting other’s work as the student’s own work;
6. Using information from online or other information services without proper citation;
7. Depriving another student of necessary course materials or resources;
8. Interfering with another student’s work; or
9. Cheating, lying, tampering, bribery, or theft related to coursework.

PLEASE NOTE: For any assignment or exam in which a student has cheated, plagiarized, or otherwise engaged in scholastic dishonesty the student will NOT receive points and reported for misconduct.

Classroom Conduct

The goal of this course is to provide an open dialogue between educator and students. It is in the utmost respect that students listen to other’s opinion, provide a healthy discussion but must not take any offense if other students or faculty have differing point of view. The purpose for an open exchange is to allow students to expand their critical thinking skills.

Rude, sarcastic, obscene, disruptive, or disrespectful language and behavior have a negative impact on everyone’s learning. Disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, receiving pager or cell phone calls during class, texting during class, leaving class early and coming to class late, doing assignments for other classes, reading unrelated course materials in class, engaging in personal conversations, and sleeping.

Other disruptive behavior such as threats, physical contact (touching) or violence, pranks, jokes, epithets, derogatory comments, vandalism, or verbal, graphic, or written conduct directed at an individual or individuals because of their race, ethnicity, gender, pregnancy, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or U.S. veteran status are NOT tolerated.

Even if actions are not directed at specific persons, a hostile environment may be created when the conduct is sufficiently severe, pervasive or persistent to unreasonably interfere with or limit the ability of an individual to work, study, or otherwise to participate in activities of Madera Center. Should any student officially enrolled for credit or audit in a class disrupt the instructor's ability to ensure a safe environment, control the class agenda, and/or deliver the approved curriculum, the instructor has the right to ask that the disruptive action to cease immediately. If the disruption continues, the instructor can pursue various forms of intervention, including suspension from class, use of student disciplinary regulations, and/or police intervention.

For additional information on code of conduct, please refer to Student Code of Conduct.

Students with Disabilities

If you have a verified need for an academic accommodation or materials in alternate media (e.g. Braille, large print, electronic text, ext.) per the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please contact your instructor as soon as possible. If you need additional services please contact the DSP&S office at (559) 675-4864.

Please submit your accommodation paperwork as soon as possible via email attachment to antoniette.aizon@scccd.edu.

This syllabus is intended to give you the student guidance in what may be covered during the semester and will be followed as closely as possible. However, as the professor, I reserve the right to modify, supplement and make changes as the course needs arise.

Have a wonderful semester and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Dr. Aizon