This
last discussion post is more open-ended than usual. As we move to the
end of the semester, I want you to think about this class and what you
learned in it. For your post, please discuss (using at least 10
sentences) the most important, most valuable, and/or most interesting
thing you’ve learned in Sociology 101 that you didn’t know before taking
the class; your answer must be different in significant ways from how
you answered DP4 (where I asked a similar question). You should also
respond to one other student post in your group; that response should do
more than just agree with the poster — it should add additional/new
thoughts or information to that post. Your post will
be graded on the basis of whether your own post and your response is
thoughtful about sociology, and whether your post is at least 10
sentences. I am looking forward to reading your posts!
Sociology 101
Introduction to Sociology
Spring 2024, section 001
Curtain 175, T, Th: 10-11:15
E-mail: [email protected]
Kent Redding
Student Drop-in hours:
T: 11:25-12:30 (in Bolton 756);
W:1-2:30 (Zoom only) and by appt.
Teaching Assistant: Viniane Zanetti Briel ([email protected]); student drop-in hours on Canvas
Teaching Assistant: Jessica Creasy ([email protected]); student drop-in hours posted on Canvas
BACKGROUND
Sociology helps us understand why people do what they do by examining the social settings in which people
live their lives. The primary goal of this course is to help you think sociologically — to think about the social
factors that shape people’s actions and beliefs — and to show you how such thinking is useful. Through
systematic examination, we will try to use sociology to make sense of people’s behavior and ideas.
The course is organized into three parts.
• First, we start with the question: Why do people do what they do? No doubt you already have some
answers to this question! We will work with those, while also developing the basic building blocks or
tools of a sociological perspective to answer this question. Sociology is fundamentally about patterns
(we’ll sometimes call them “structures”) of social relations and interaction and how these patterns
influence what people do and think. We introduce ideas and concepts that help analyze and explain
how behavioral patterns differ from person to person, from culture to culture, from one time to
another.
• Second, we ask the question: Who gets what? And why? Here we look at structures of inequality and
try to make sense of uneven distributions of valued resources among individuals, groups, and
societies. What are the social mechanisms that maintain or change those inequalities?
• Third, we ask the questions: Why do things change? And why do they sometimes stay the same? Our
focus here is on the great social institutions common to, yet different in, all societies, starting with
family and marriage and moving from there to religion, politics, and criminal justice. We also examine
sources of social change — such as social movements, population change, and globalization — that
shape and challenge inequalities and institutions.
This syllabus, along with additional required readings, lecture outlines, course grades, supplementary lecture
material, links to interesting resources for UWM students, information on career options for sociology majors,
and other items and information are posted on the course Canvas website (uwm.edu/canvas).
Sociology 101 meets UWM General Education Requirements (GER) for social science because it involves the
study of:
• interpersonal, and social-cultural factors associated with individual behavior, collective action, or
societal development.
• human collectivities, organizations, institutions, and cultures, their infrastructures and
interrelationships.
• capacities for and/or techniques of behavior adoption and change.
• methodologies for conducting inquiry into human behavior, collective action, societies, or cultures.
• alternative theoretical frameworks which attempt to explain social phenomena.
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Two key UWM GER learning goals for the course:
• to analyze the socio-cultural factors influencing human behavior and societal development
• to understand and be able to distinguish the concepts and theories of sociology to appreciate
alternative accounts of how social forces shape human behavior and belief
Student work that will address these learning goals: We address these goal in multiple ways, one of
which is through essay assignments that ask you to apply sociological concepts and theories to social
phenomena that interest you. Another way we address these learning goals is through multiple choice
examination questions. One such question may provide a scenario or set of facts and ask the student
to choose which theory best explains that social situation or which social factors likely affect that
behavior or development
Assessment Criteria: Student discussion posts, essay, and examination work will be assessed on the
basis of whether the student can properly apply the tools of sociology to explain a social phenomenon
and choose an exam response category which accurately represents a theory in the question.
REQUIRED MATERIALS AND READINGS
•
•
•
Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr Essentials of Sociology 8th edition, (hereafter, GDAC).
Norton InQuizitive (online tool free with the purchase of the GDAC e-book or new paper copy)
Additional required readings are posted on the course Canvas site.
GRADING
Lecture participation/Mentimeter
InQuizitive exercises (InQs)
Discussion posts (DPs)
3 (of 4) exams
Reflection Essay
12%
12%
12%
16% (each, 48% total)
16% (with opportunity for rewrite)
Lecture participation/Mentimeter (12%). This class has two lectures each week. You are required to do course
readings prior to each class for which they are assigned. In lectures we will use a free participation technology
(Mentimeter) to enhance student learning. This technology allows you to participate in and interact with the
lecture material using the browser on your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. We will also use the technology to
gauge your learning, to generate sociological data used in class, and to model and practice exam questions.
Students who consistently answer these questions perform better in the class as a whole.
You will use a smartphone, tablet, or laptop/netbook/notebook computer that you can bring to every lecture
as your participation device. In class you will need to use the QR code on the screen or go to menti.com to
answer questions. Use with UWMWiFi.
• We will test out this technology during the first four classes by using it and checking your scores on the
course Canvas site.
• On Feb. 6th we will start counting participation points toward your final grade
• At the end of the semester, students earning a 75% or better response rate for the questions asked in
class (hereafter, the “75% rule”) will earn all 12%. Anything less than 75% will earn points as follows:
65-74%: 7%; 50-64%: 4%; less than 50%: 0%.
• Each student must check the posted participation scores at least once a week for accuracy. Any
problems should be reported immediately to me.
• If you don’t attend class, you will get 0 participation points that day. The 75% rule allows you flexibility
to miss a few classes or forget your laptop/smartphone and still earn full participation credit.
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InQuizitive exercises (InQs – 12%). InQuizitive is an online, formative, adaptive quizzing tool with gaming
elements that works with your textbook. You access InQuizitive assignments via links on the home page of our
Canvas website. InQuizitive tasks are essentially pre-lecture assignments that will help you come prepared to
lectures. I use it to improve student understanding of important learning objectives in the course. Students
answer quiz questions based on how well they understand the content of the textbook, and the engaging and
game-like elements are designed to motivate you as you learn. There are 18 of these assignments,
corresponding to each chapter (or section of a chapter) you read. You will be required to complete these
before midnight on the Monday or Wednesday before each textbook reading is due for lecture. If you miss
the deadline, you will receive a 0 on that assignment. There are no makeup or late assignments allowed;
however, I will drop your 6 lowest scores from these assignments at the end of the semester so you must
complete at least 13 InQuizitive assignments. If you miss one or get a low score, you still can do well on this
portion (12%!) of your grade.
Discussion posts (DPs — 12%). Most weeks by or before Thursday I will post some discussion
questions/prompts. These questions ask you to engage with the material for that week and interact with your
peers. Each student will be placed in small groups of students on Canvas and your posts will be visible to only
those students in your group (and me and your TA); the goal is for you to talk about the course material for
that week and engage with your peers in a discussion of that material. Your posts should be completed by the
following Monday, 11:59pm. There will be 7 opportunities to create discussion posts but you need to
complete 5 to earn full credit.
Examinations. 48% of your grade will be based on your performance on three of the four examinations (16%
each). The first three exams (Feb. 22, April 4, May 8) test the material covered during those respective
sections of the course. The final exam (Thursday, May 16) covers the entire semester. If you take the first
three exams and are satisfied with the knowledge you have gained and the grade you have earned, you are not
required to take the final exam. If you miss any one of the first three exams, you must take the final.
All exams will allow you one of two options: take the exam in-class at the schedule 10am class time or online
via Canvas. Both will be open-note, open book, with 50 multiple choice questions. The online option will be
available 8am on the scheduled date of the exam through midnight the following day; once you start either
exam, you will have 75 minutes to finish.
Any student with a valid excuse will be allowed ONE makeup exam provided that the student contacts me
promptly. All makeup exams will take place online and must be completed within 3 days from the date of the
exam; if you don’t contact me by the regularly scheduled exam time and/or cannot complete the online
makeup exam within the 3 day period, the exam you miss will simply be the exam score that gets dropped.
Reflection essay assignment. You will write one 1000 word essay, which is due Tuesday, March 12. The essay
assignment is designed to have you apply concepts and ideas that we have recently covered to some familiar
social topic that you choose. You will use your new sociological knowledge to re-examine something you
already know about. That could be an experience, a job, a movie, TV show, music, food, etc. The assignment
on Canvas will give you a list of sociological concepts which you have just learned about and you will choose 4
of them to analyze your social topic or phenomenon. Your goal in this assignment should be to demonstrate:
a) your strong understanding of sociological concepts, b) your ability to apply them to an area of social life that
you know and care about, and c) your reflections upon that application – what do these tools help you see that
you did not or could not see before? The essay is worth 16 percent of your grade. You will have the option to
rewrite the essay, which you can turn in at any time until Thursday, April 25th. We will provide further
information on the essay assignment and rewrite on Canvas.
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Managing your time. Students should expect to spend an average of 10 hours per week completing tasks for
this course. Each week students should expect to spend 2.5 hours in lecture meetings, 3 hours reading, taking
notes on assigned course materials, and doing InQuizitive exercises and discussion posts, 1 hour reviewing
recent class meeting and reading material, and 3.5 hours writing reflection essay and/or preparing for exams.
These are averages; some weeks may involve more or less time depending on whether an exam or reflection
essay is scheduled.
Accessibility. The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee supports the right of all enrolled students to a full and
equal educational opportunity. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Wisconsin State Statute (36.12)
require that students with disabilities be reasonably accommodated in instruction and campus life. Reasonable
accommodations for students with disabilities is a shared faculty and student responsibility. Students are
expected to inform me of their need for instructional accommodations by the end of the third week of the
semester, or as soon as possible after a disability has been incurred or recognized. I will work either directly
with the you or in coordination with the Accessibility Resource Center to identify and provide reasonable
instructional accommodations. Disability information, including instructional accommodations as part of a
student’s educational record, is confidential and protected under FERPA.
COURSE SCHEDULE
SECTION I. WHY DO PEOPLE DO WHAT THEY DO? BUILDING A SOCIOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN
BEHAVIOR
DATE
TOPIC
ACTION ITEMS/DUE DATES (+=text; *=canvas reading)
Jan. 25
What is sociology (cont’d)? What are
the main explanations of why people
do what they do?
What are the main explanations of
why people do what they do?
1. Read +ch. 1: pp. 2-21 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete Discussion Post 1 (DP1) by 11:59pm Monday,
1/29.
1. Review ch. 1: pp. 2-21
2. Complete InQuizitive (using Canvas link) by 11:59pm
Monday (1/29)
1. Read +ch. 1: 21-39 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive (using Canvas link) by 11:59pm
Wednesday (1/31)
3. Complete DP2 by 11:59pm Monday, 2/5
1. Read +ch. 2: all and *Canvas article and
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
1. Read +ch. 3: all and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday
3. Complete DP3 by Monday, 2/12, 11:59pm
1. Read +ch. 5: 132-145 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
Jan. 23
Jan. 30
Feb. 1
Feb. 6
Feb. 8
Introduction: What is sociology?
Methods: How do we “do”
sociology? What are the key
methods for studying why people do
what they do?
What is culture? Why is it so
important to explaining people?
Socialization: How do people learn
culture?
Feb. 13
Groups, Categories, Networks, and
Identities
Feb. 15
Organizations
Feb. 20
Deviance: Why are people deviant?
Why do people not always conform?
1. No readings due
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
Read +ch. 5: 145-159
Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday
Complete DP4 by 11:59pm Monday, 2/19
Read +ch. 6: 160-173
Complete InQuizitive 11:59pm tonight
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Feb. 22
EXAM 1
(covers material from Jan. 23 to Feb. 20). This and all exams
will allow you one of two options: take the exam in-class at
10am Tuesday or online via Canvas. Both will be open-note,
open book, with 50 multiple choice questions. The online
option will be available 8am Feb. 22 to midnight Feb. 23.
Once you start either exam, you have 75 minutes to finish.
SECTION II: WHO GETS WHAT AND WHY? UNDERSTANDING INEQUALITY
Feb. 27
Stratification, Class, and Inequality
1. Read +ch. 7: all
(overview)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
Feb. 29
Stratification (class and social
1. Read *Canvas article(s)
mobility)
2. Complete DP5 by 11:59pm Monday, 3/4
March 5
Stratification (poverty)
1. Read *Canvas article(s)
March 7
Gender
March 28
Race and Ethnicity (racial inequality
and segregation)
April 2
Race and Ethnicity (immigration)
1. Read +ch. 9: all
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday (No DP
this week)
1. REFLECTION ESSAY 1 DUE 11:59pm, 3/12
2. Read *Canvas article(s)
1. Read *Canvas article(s) (No DP this week)
1. Have fun!
2. Chill….�
1. Read +ch. 10: all and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
1. Read *Canvas article(s)
2. *Listen to https://www.npr.org/transcripts/891177904
(make sure to listen to all 24 minutes or read transcript)
1. Read *Canvas article(s)
March 12
Gender (cont’d)
REFLECTION ESSAY DUE
Gender (cont’d)
SPRING BREAK, NO CLASS
April 4
EXAM 2
(covers material from Feb. 27-April 2; same rules as Exam 1)
March 14
March 19
and 21
March 26
Race and Ethnicity (overview)
SECTION III: WHY AND HOW DO PEOPLE, SOCIETY CHANGE? HOW AND WHY DO THEY STAY THE SAME?
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL CHANGE
April 9
Education
1. Read +ch. 12: 354-70 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
April 11
Intimate Relationships and Family
1. Read +ch. 11: all
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday
3. Complete DP6 by 11:59pm Monday, 4/15
April 16
Religion
1. Read +ch. 12: 371-389 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
April 18
Politics and Social Movements
1. Read +ch. 13: 386-404, +ch 16:505-13
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday
3. Complete DP7 by 11:59pm Monday, 4/22
April 23
Crime and Criminal Justice
1. Read +ch. 6: 156-169 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Monday
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April 25
Medicine
REFLECTION ESSAY REWRITE DUE
April 30
May 2
Population change and climate
change
Globalization and Social Change
May 7
May 8-9
Exam Review
EXAM 3
May 15-16 FINAL EXAMINATION
1. REFLECTION ESSAY REWRITE due Th, 4/25, 11:59pm
2. Read +Ch. 14: all
3. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday
1. Read +ch. 15: 479-495 and *Canvas article(s)
2. Complete InQuizitive due 11:59pm Monday
1. Read +ch. 16: all
2. Complete InQuizitive by 11:59pm Wednesday
LAST DAY OF CLASS, no readings due
(covers material from April 9-May 7; same rules as exam 1)
(cumulative, same rules as exams 1-3)
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BASIC SUGGESTIONS TO HELP YOU DO YOUR BEST IN SOC. 101
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Get a good night’s sleep throughout the semester; it will improve memory and recall abilities immensely.
If you run into any difficulties, ASK FOR HELP! Myself and the TAs are here to help you succeed – MAKE US DO OUR
JOBS by reaching out. We want you to succeed and to help you get there!
Keep up with the readings, doing them before the class for which they are due, and complete the InQuizitive
assignments and discussion posts
• For the chapters, read the brief summary on the first page and then the “conclusion” and “study outline” at the
end of the chapter BEFORE you read the chapter as a whole
• The important thing is not to understand every detail, but to have a basic understanding of the main topics
BEFORE you come to lecture. This will help you better understand and remember the lectures.
• The InQuizitive exercises are designed to motivate your reading and help strengthen your understanding of what
you have read. Persistence with these pays off – if you keep at each one you can earn 100% even if you struggle at
first.
• The Discussion Posts are designed to get you to think a bit deeper about what you are learning and interact with
and learn from your fellow students in a smaller group setting.
• Plan to spend roughly 9-10 hours per week on this course, including in-class and studying time.
On note taking
• Before lecture begins, write down the outline provided in the initial power point slide.
• Once the lecture begins, add notes to this outline, keeping your notes organized by each subtopic in the outline.
Also, make sure you write down participation questions and answers
• Writing is thinking and aids memory; taking notes and participating will help you remember the material
• Keep your notes organized together by date and topic in a notebook, folder, or binder
Regularly review your notes
• Once you leave class, your memory fades; keep the material fresh by taking 15-20 minutes 3-4 times each week to
review the lecture outlines and notes. Multiple short reviews per week will pay big dividends later.
• Regular reviews keep needed information in your memory (and keep it organized) so you won’t need to “cram.”
Cramming wastes time by loading information into big, disorganized piles in your brain; studying regularly helps
you retain and better organize the material for easy recall in an exam.
How to best use the study guide
• Download it off the web as soon as it is available (usually 7-10 days before each exam); fill it out within a few days
after it is posted (allowing you several days before the exam to study from it)
• First, try to answer all questions without using notes (this well help you figure out what you know and don’t
know). Mark those questions you can’t answer with a different color of pen or pencil
• On the second run through the questions, use your notes and readings to fill in the gaps in your knowledge; direct
any remaining unanswered questions to Prof. Redding or your TA
• Once you have answered the questions, study the guide by reviewing the questions and concepts without looking
at your notes/answers (make notecards or cover up the answers on the sheet as you try to answer them). Rereading your study guide answers will NOT help you remember; “examine” yourself to assess what you know and
don’t know.
• As a double check on your knowledge, mix up the order of the questions as you study them
• Study the guide in each of the days before the exam rather than “cram” the day before the exam
During the exam itself:
• Read the question carefully before looking at the answers; form an answer BEFORE you look at the options.
Choose the BEST answer (some may look good but be incorrect in some way)
• Eliminate as many options as possible; mark these off on the exam itself with your pencil
• Don’t skip around. Manage your time so you can take two looks at each question or, at least two looks at every
difficult question. That is, take an initial quick pass at each exam question, but leave time to take a second look in
the last 20 minutes of the exam. Also make time to take a few breaks where you close your eyes, take deep
breaths, and relax your mind for a minute.
• Leave no questions blank; guesses have a 20% or 25% chance of being correct
• Do NOT get stuck on particular questions; eliminate choices as possible and move on to the next question.
Sometimes, later questions provide information that may help answer an earlier question. Don’t be afraid to
change an answer but do so for a specific reason (you remember, find relevant information)
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