introduction to sociology syllabus

1. SOC 1013.003 (Q)
Introduction to Sociology
Fall, 2015
MW 10:00-11:15
MH 2.01.10
Instructor: Michael Miller Office Address: MS 4.02.26
Email: michael.miller@utsa.edu Office Hours: MW 8:00-9:45
Text and Assigned Materials
Introduction to Sociology 2e. OpenStax College, Connexions (2015).
https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/introduction-to-sociology-2e
All other learning materials will be made available online through this syllabus. In addition, ongoing contributions to
course content will be made by students and instructor over the semester through our Google+ Virtual Community.
Course Description and Learning Objectives
According to the Core Curriculum Committee:
SOC 1013 is an analytical examination of the fundamental concepts, methods, and theories of sociology, focusing on
the structures and processes of human group life. The course is designed to enhance quantitative reasoning and
critical thinking skills, requirements that will help students understand and evaluate data, assess risks and benefits,
and make informed decisions in all aspects of their lives. In addition, the course will promote better understanding of
social responsibility, and will enhance communication skills through an assignment aimed at expanding student
understanding of social issues and effectively translating such knowledge into written format.
Additionally, this section of SOC 1013 will combine conventional in-class teaching with supplemental instruction
derived through online content. Specifically, you will be required to devote significant out-of-class time to examining
media content linked to the course via this syllabus (see my approach to teaching with media at A System for Integrating
Online Multimedia into College Curriculum).
Important competencies that you should derive through successful completion of the course, include being able to
1. apply sociological concepts to human events, including your everyday experience.
2. understand social issues and social problems from diverse points of view.
3. understand how social location influences individual beliefs and actions.
4. apply critical-thinking and quantitative-analysis skills to diverse social issues and social problems.
Credit: 3 semester hours
The course meets the social science requirement as part of the core curriculum for UTSA.
Student Contributions
The course requires your active involvement. At the minimum, you are expected to attend class, read text assignments
and cover assigned Internet materials prior to class, and take examinations as specified. You are responsible for
adhering to all rules concerning conduct, including those relevant to scholastic dishonesty (see The Student Code of
Conduct). You are also expected to reflect the Roadrunner Creed in your behavior. To additionally facilitate your success,
consider the following suggestions:

2. 1. Do not be a “spectator.” Your success in the class will be proportional to your engagement. This is your class—
actively participate. Ask questions, discuss experiences, offer opinions... Get to know other students (exchange phone
numbers/email addresses). Talk about the course, share lecture notes, hold study sessions before exams...
2. Read / watch / listen to assigned text and Internet materials before the presentation date. It will be helpful to take
notes as you watch videos and listen to audios.
3. Should you have any concern or problem that is affecting, or may affect, your academic status or class involvement,
please communicate with me about it. If posted meeting times are inconvenient, you may arrange a conference at
another time. Support services, including registration assistance and adaptive equipment, are available to those with
documented disabilities through the Office of Disability Services.
Course Policies and Practices:
1. Course Management System. Blackboard Learn, available by virtue of enrollment in this class, is an important
resource which allows you to access the course syllabus, assigned materials, and course grades. (Let me know
immediately if you have any difficulties with this site.)
2. Student Survey. During the first week, please complete an online survey about yourself so that I might better meet
your learning needs.
3. Attendance. Regular attendance is crucial to success in the course. Should you arrive late, enter and take a seat
without disrupting others.
4. Technology Use. Cell phones should not be employed during class. Laptops and tablets may be employed for class
purposes only, and can only be used by those students sitting in first three rows of the classroom.
5. Note-taking. Presentation slides are regularly used in class to overview key ideas. Such slides will include images,
graphics, animations, and video. Understand that your note-taking effort should also be directed to what I am saying,
rather than solely the slides. Slides are not posted to Blackboard, nor will they be provided to students on request.
6. Class Ending. Please refrain from packing-up until the class is over. Class ends at 11:15—please let me know if I run
past that time.
7. Grade Reporting. Scantron grades and the Q assignment will be returned to you in class (no one else may pick these
up for you). Grades will also be made available to you on Blackboard (grades cannot be reported by telephone, fax, or
e-mail).
8. Drop Procedure. Should you decide to no longer attend, be sure to follow UTSA administrative requirements for
course withdrawal. The deadline to drop an individual class is October 20.
Participation in Google+ Community and Extra-Credit
IntroSoc/Fall2015 is the out-of-class center for sharing online media content relevant to our class. As a Google+
Community, our site is a private destination available only to those enrolled in our class. I am the site moderator, and
as such, will control access to membership, and monitor posts and comments contributed by members.
To participate in this community, you will need to do the following:
1. Generate a Gmail account (to create account, go to https://accounts.google.com/SignUp). If you already have
one, please create another for class purposes. The address for your account should be
lastname.firstname1013@gmail.com. (Example: my name is Michael Miller, therefore my gmail address for this class is
miller.michael1013@gmail.com.)
2. To request an invitation to join our Google+ Community, IntroSoc/Fall2015, please email your request from your
new gmail account to me at miller.michael1013@gmail.com under the following subject title: SOC 1013 - REQUEST TO
JOIN
3. I will then reply to your email by sending you an invitation to join.
4. Respond to my email by joining.
Once registered, you will then have the opportunity to participate in our Community, and also be able to enhance your
grade through extra-credit points by virtue of following this process:
1. Post an entry about a recent (within last 12 months) piece of Internet media content (documentary film, video clip,
image, slideshow, information graphic, interactive, etc.) relevant to course topics to our Google+

3. Virtual Community, IntroSoc/Fall2015. All posts must include the URL for the media, a summary describing the media
content, a specification of how it is relevant to particular sociological concepts, and an appropriate hashtag. If you are
interested in revising for extra-credit, then:
2. Contact me via e-mail (miller.michael1013@gmail.com) about your post, and ask me to provide relevant feedback
about it to you,
3. Revise the write-up by taking my comments and suggestions into consideration,
4. Submit your revised post to me via e-mail (miller.michael1013@gmail.com) for re-posting as an "Extra-Credit Awardee"
in our Google+ Community, and
5. Assuming that you have met my recommendations re revision, I will then re-post your piece as an "Extra-Credit
Awardee" in our Google+ Community. Each post that is accepted for re-posting as an "Extra-Credit Award Winner" will
add 1 point to your final average score for the course.
I will encourage students who submit a particularly good re-post to our Google+ Community to submit it as well to a
website with significant public visibility, The Sociological Cinema (TSC). The following extra-credit awardee posts in
recent classes have been published in TSC:
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/videos/snobby-white-chicks-and-social-stratification
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/videos/the-race-and-class-politics-of-gentrification
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/videos/news-censorship-and-the-koch-brothers
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/videos/prestige-in-pink
http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/videos/critiques-of-labels
Evaluation:
Exams. Three exams will be given over the semester. Each exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions, and will
account collectively for 90 percent of your final grade. You will need to provide a Scantron grading sheet (882) for
each exam. Should you miss an exam for a valid reason, you must submit a written request (paper copy) for a make-up
exam, including third-party documentation for your absence, at the time of your return to class. All make-up exams
will consist of essay-length questions, and will be administered after completion of Exam 3.
Q-Course Assignment. Given that SOC 1013 is a Q-course, you will be required to work with data. I will be posting an
assignment several weeks into the semester, and will provide ample time for you to develop your responses. Your
assignment submission should reflect your own efforts only, and will account for 10 percent of your final grade. (You
will also be required to complete a non-graded QLP pre-test and a non-graded QLP post-test.)
Grading Scale. Exams, assignments, and final average should be interpreted on the following basis:
A = > 89 B = 80 - 89 C = 70 - 79 D = 60 - 69 F = < 60
Course Schedule
Week 1
Aug 19
Topic: Course Orientation
Week 2
Aug 24
Topic: What Is Sociology?

4. Text Assignment: Chapter - 1
For Your Information:
Majoring in Sociology
http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/2009/11/everyday-sociology-talk-majoring-in-sociology.html
Aug 26
Topic: Thinking Sociologically
Reading Assignment:
What Is It About 20-Somethings?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html
From the writer's view, identify the main reasons why young adults, including most college students today, are taking so long to
assume adulthood. Which parts of this argument are consistent with your observations and experiences? Which are not?
Video Assignments:
Know Thine Enemy
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2007/10/16/opinion/1194817115663/op-ed-know-thine-enemy.html
In what important ways does this brief video suggest a sociological approach to understanding human behavior?
A Radical Experiment in Empathy
http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_richards_a_radical_experiment_in_empathy.html
Sam Richards suggests that empathy is perhaps the most important point to sociology. How does he propose we develop
empathy? If we do this, what does Richards assert will likely happen? Identify how what he has to say directly relates to the
Know Thine Enemy clip.
Week 3
Aug 31
Topic: Culture
Text Assignment: Chapter - 3
For Your Enjoyment:
George Carlin: Modern Man
http://youtu.be/hkCR-w3AYOE
Sept 2
Topic: Subcultures, Countercultures, and Perspectives on Culture
The Millennials Are Coming!
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3486473n%3fsource=search_video
If you are in this age category, how well does the video describe your behavior? To what extent do you believe that this
description is accurate about others you know of this generation?
Norm-Breaching
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/05/18/norm-breaching-social-responses-to-mild-deviance/
Andrew Hales violates common norms of civility to note the reactions of others.
Week 4
Sept 7
No Class: Labor Day Holiday
Sept 9
Topic: Sociological Knowledge & Research
Text Assignment: Chapter - 2
Video Assignment:
The Joy of Stats
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/the-joy-of-stats/
Why is the narrator, Hans Rosling, excited by statistics? What are statistics, according to him? When did their collection begin,
by whom, and for what purposes? What utility do statistics have today for us? Identify examples relating to their tremendous
current public value.

5. Week 5
Sept 14
Topic: Structure/Interaction: Status & Role
Text Assignment: Chapter - 4
Sept 16
Topic: Structure/Interaction: Status & Role (continued)
Video Assignments:
Interrogator Interview
http://youtu.be/bTeE1ykArBU
Conversation with Dr. Zimbardo
http://youtu.be/vAjJoorEaic
Watch Interrogator Interview and Conversation with Dr. Zimbardo in successive order. Why do decent people sometimes do
bad things? Compare and contrast Zimbardo's prison experiment with the case of Abu Ghraib. Consider the extent to which we
"become" our roles. How likely are we to identify with the roles we play, no matter how disagreeable they might personally
seem to us at first glance? While watching these videos, consider the following questions: 1. How did those (soldiers and
students) who served as guards generally come to behave? 2. For what purposes were prisoners subjected to abuses by
guards? 3. Why did the guards engage in such behavior? 4. Do you think that you could have personally resisted "becoming"
fully absorbed in either role? 5. What lessons about human behavior can we learn from these two video clips?
Cab Driver to Donate Kidney
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5304943n&tag=api
In your opinion, what is the most remarkable thing about this cab driver (other than volunteering to donate a kidney to a
customer)?
Week 6
Sept 21 Exam 1
Sept 23 Exam Review
Week 7
Sept 28
Topic: Socialization: Self and Society
Text Assignment: Chapter - 5
Video Assignment:
Twin Sisters Separated at Birth Unite
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/twin-sisters-separated-birth-reunite-22459609
Remarkable story of Korean-born identical twins early separated who discover each other as young adults via social media. To
what extent do you sense that the twins have identical personalities? If they should have significantly different personalities,
what possible factors might be relevant for producing such variation?
Sept 30
Topic: Developmental Socialization / Resocialization
Video Assignments:
Sidewalk
http://www.upworthy.com/what-its-like-for-some-women-to-move-through-life-in-4-minutes
Identify the behavioral changes occurring over the woman's life. List the possible reasons for such changes.
Lord's Children
http://video.pbs.org/video/1168586547/
Who are “child soldiers”—i.e., where are they from, how do they come to be, what are they forced to do, what impact does
becoming one have on them? How are they commonly treated by family members when they escape? Describe efforts to
resocialize them. Generally, how effective are such efforts?

6. Note: the video, KONY 2012 http://vimeo.com/37119711, went viral on the Internet earlier this year and has sparked a large-scale movement to
publicize the atrocities of the LRA and capture Kony (see http://invisiblechildren.com/), as well as a torrent of subsequent controversy (see, e.g.,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fatima-muneer/the-kony-2012-controversy_b_1503990.html).
For Your Information:
Growing Up Online
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/
digital_nation
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
Growing Up Online and its sequel, digital_nation, address many aspects of life in a plugged-in, hyper-connected, digital society. Identify the
major ways technology and the Internet have altered life over the past 20 years or so. To what extent are your observations and experiences
consistent with those made in the two documentaries?
Week 8
Oct 5
Topic: Social Organization and Group Dynamics
Text Assignment: Chapter - 6
Oct 7
Topic: Social Organization and Group Dynamics (continued)
Video Assignment:
Constructing Social Reality
http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.html
Scroll down to Program 20 – “Constructing Social Reality” and then click on the title. You may then need to register at the site to gain free access to streamed
videos. After retrieving video, enlarge viewing area by placing cursor on video image, right clicking, then > “zoom” > “full screen.”
What is social reality? How is it constructed? Do people have different “realities”? How is it possible that subjective realities
may become actual realities? Also be able to describe the following: Elliott’s “brown-eyed/blue-eyed” experiment, Rosenthal’s
“Pygmalion effect,” Aronson’s “jigsaw classroom,” and Cialdini’s strategies of influence.
Week 9
Oct 12
Topic: Interpersonal Influence: Compliance Tactics
Video Assignment:
Before You Enlist
http://youtu.be/ZFsaGv6cefw
Identify the compliance tactics recruiters employ to maneuver young men and women into volunteering for the U.S. military.
What does the video allege that recruiters never mention before they get them to sign on the dotted line?
For Your Information:
Hassan Cult Interviews (view all 3 parts)
http://youtu.be/CApMzIX46kw
http://youtu.be/d2kQii3WC9Y
http://youtu.be/kMZsjUWf9O0
Identify the manipulative procedures commonly used to recruit people into some organizations and groups. (For additional information, see
http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/articles/BITE.htm.)
Changing Minds
http://www.changingminds.org/
Bookmark and then take time to go through this compilation of principles, techniques, and tips devoted to helping one more effectively interact with others. For
example, learn to better detect lying by visiting http://www.changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/lying/detecting_lies.htm
Oct 14
Topic: Population / Urbanization
Text Assignment: Chapter - 20
Week 10
Oct 19
Topic: Population / Urbanization (continued)

7. Video Assignments:
Basic Population Concepts / Issues
http://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/videos/
This site provides flash video tutorials for concepts and issues that are critical to demography. Learn from the various videos
available on the site, but at minimum be sure you understand the following concepts:
population pyramid
http://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/videos/animation-population-pyramid/
births
http://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/videos/births-family-size/
length of life
http://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/videos/length-of-life/
World’s Toilet Crisis
http://www.boobootv.com/2010/06/28/the-world-toilet-crisis-documentary/
Identify the scope of the problem. Describe the public health implications of this problem. Are the proposed solutions to the
problem workable, in your opinion?
For Your Information:
Seven Billion
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion
This National Geographic website examines a variety of important demographic and ecological issues on a global basis.
Beyond Seven Billion
Great rich-media site provided by the Los Angeles Times, examining various population issues around the world.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/population/
Oct 20 Drop Deadline
Oct 21
Topic: Social Stratification and Inequality
Text Assignment: Chapter - 9
Video Assignment:
Income Inequality
http://youtu.be/LfgSEwjAeno
Comedian John Oliver makes astute, satirical observations about rising inequality in U.S.
Week 11
Oct 26
Topic: Social Class in the United States
Video Assignments:
Park Avenue: Money, Power, and The American Dream
http://video.pbs.org/video/2296684923/
Provides an excellent description of class contradictions in a society characterized by "a winner take all" norms and laws. As
described in the documentary, identify the ways that the rich have generated extreme inequality in our society by rigging the
game in their own favor.
For Your Information:
New York Times: Class Matters
http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2005/05/15/national/class/
This excellent website examines a host of class-relevant considerations, including how social class can be conceptualized, Americans’
perceptions of the class structure and their place in it, and relationships between class and education, family, and religion.
Oct 28 Exam 2
Week 12
Nov 2 Exam Review
Nov 4
Topic: Race / Ethnicity

8. Text Assignment: Chapter - 11
Week 13
Nov 9
Topic: Race / Ethnicity (continued)
Video Assignment:
Freedom Riders
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/watch
Who were the Freedom Riders? What was the purpose of their activities? What kinds of public reactions did they encounter?
Why were such reactions common? How successful were they in accomplishing their goals? Had you been alive during this era,
how likely would you have been to volunteer to become a Freedom Rider?
For Your Information:
Prom Night in Mississippi
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/prom_night_in_mississippi
Satchel: Confronting Racism One Fastball at a Time
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105037269
Massacre at Murambi
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/massacre_at_murambi
A Class Divided
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html
Nov 11
Topic: Family and Intimate Relationships
Text Assignment: Chapter - 14
Week 14
Nov 16
Topic: Family and Intimate Relationships (continued)
Video Assignments:
That Thing Called Love
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature2/multimedia.html
Jodi Cobb's discusses love in this informative interactive presentation. Identify the various types and stages of love, and note
important cross-cultural variations.
Child Brides: Stolen Lives
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/341/index.html
Identify the major ways early marriage negatively affects the lives of such youth, particularly girls.
For Your Information:
Friends with Benefits
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91427530
How to Break-Up with Your Girlfriend in 64 Easy Steps
http://youtu.be/Hfl9e53LX_U
Nov 18
Topic: Sex and Gender
Text Assignment: Chapter - 12
Week 15
Nov 23
Topic: Sex and Gender (continued)
Video Assignment:
Me, My Sex, and I
http://youtu.be/7ZRD1OdHBA4

9. Challenges the assumption that we are either male or female by examining intersex, perhaps one of our society's best kept
secrets. It is estimated that such sexual development outcomes are as common as the birth of twins.
Rewrite the Story
https://vimeo.com/86728310
What is meant by "limiting narratives"? How should such narratives be changed, according to the video?
Nov 25
Topic: Religion
Text Assignment: Chapter - 15
Video Assignment:
God in America
http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/
This six-part series examines the role of religion in American life over the last 400 years. View the final segment, Episode 6: Of
God and Caesar, which centers on religious developments since World War II, particularly focusing on the evangelical
movement and its effects on politics.
Week 16
Nov 30
Topic: Course Overview
Dec 2 Exam 3