Hi Folks:

My name is Larry Stern and I will be your instructor for this course: Sociology 1301 – Introduction to Sociology. I am a Professor of Sociology and have been teaching at Collin for the past twenty-three years. My office is located at Collin’s Spring Creek Campus in J246. Please come by to say hello if you are ever on campus. During this semester, I will typically be there Monday and Wednesday from 11AM to 12PM and Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 until 2:15 and, of course, can make myself available if you'd like to set up an appointment for another time.

For those of you that will not be on campus – this is, after all, a distance-learning course – the best way to reach me is by email at lstern@collin.edu. If you would prefer to call, I can also be reached at 972-881-5608 Monday through Thursday between 12:00 and 1pm.

If interested, you can find out more about me (or my multiple selves) by clicking on "About Me." As you can see from the photo above, I'm a Yankee - born, raised and educated in New York - and a "damn Yankee," at that! And yes, these life experiences have molded and shaped me into the person I am today - just as your experiences have done the same for you. This is, in fact, one of the major propositions of sociology, as I hope you shall see. For the moment, however, I simply want to give you a hearty "welcome" and tell you a bit about the course.

So . . . hi folks, welcome to Introduction to Sociology!

Perhaps this cartoon overstates the point a bit, but actually, I don't think by much. I am certainly not the first to argue that a careful and systematic analysis of what's going on in the world might be helpful in dealing with the various social problems that crop up on a fairly regular basis. The problem, of course, most eloquently stated by Josh Billing, the pen name of humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818 - 1885), is that:

"It ain't ignorance that does the most damage, it's knowing so derned much that ain't so!"

Listening to what the various political pundits or "talking heads" on cable TV - on each extreme - are saying (or shouting at each other) surely bears witness to Billing's comment of 150 years ago.

But let's not despair. My goal this semester is to convince you that understanding and applying a sociological perspective will deepen your understanding of the world(s) you inhabit, be they private and local or public and operating on a broader societal and cultural plane. You will hopefully see that social forces will have a determinable affect on the probability or likelihood that you will choose to act or behave one way rather than another, embrace certain beliefs, values, attitudes, and ideas rather than others, and be successful in reaching your intended goals in life.

And, yes, you will see that life is incredibly complicated and messy. H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956), a noted journalist, editor and critic, had it right when he said:

"For every major problem in this nation, there is a simple solution - and it is wrong."

And, yes, you should also know that after studying both the history and the present shenanigans of human beings over the past thirty years I can tell you that I’m not particularly impressed. Sure, we humans are capable of kindness, understanding, compassion, and love and even act that way under specifiable circumstances. But there is still too much hate, finger-pointing, prejudice, discrimination, inequality, human rights violations and above all else, ignorance. This is not as pessimistic as it sounds. Ignorance can be overcome, and faulty beliefs can be altered. But I am convinced that understanding and applying a sociological perspective will aid you in making sense out of it all. And I take great comfort from this quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes, American Author & Physician, 1809 – 1894:

"Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions."

So, here are the "nuts and bolts" of the class.

One of the more frequent criticisms of online classes – or shall I say, complaints from students about online courses – is that they are much too impersonal. We’re all hovering out there in cyberspace and don’t get to interact in a meaningful way with our fellow learners. This certainly could be the case – and you might in fact choose to be a lone learner – but it doesn’t have to be so. I will do all I can to encourage the interchange of ideas amongst you and I, in fact, prefer to actually see who I’m dealing with. So when you have questions for me – as you inevitably will if you are thoroughly engaged in the materials I present – I’m going to suggest that we actually chat on either iChat, FaceTime, or Skype – for a few minutes or for however long it takes to clarify whatever issues you’d like to explore. In my view, much more can be gained through the “give-and-take” of face-to-face interaction – where each participant can provide immediate feedback – then in exchanging emails. (This, in fact is one of the more frequent criticisms of online classes – or shall I say, complaints from instructors about online courses – that they are constantly writing emails, often taking more time to write an extended answer to student questions that it would take to “talk” about it!). So, if you choose to do so, all we will need to do is to set up a mutually convenient time to chat, perhaps in the evening (or wee hours of the night) if that is most convenient for you.

But - and please keep this in mind - I will of course answer all emails as well, and in a timely manner – typically on the same day (unless you email me at 11:45PM – then it will be the next day before I see it!). Remember: You must use Cougarmail or Blackboard's email in this course. Do not use private email addresses.

So . . . what is expected of you? What are your obligations for this class? To think critically about what you will read, the web sites you will visit, the short videos you will watch, and the power point lectures that will ocasionally appear.

The syllabus for this class lists the textbook information and outlines all of the requirements for the course. As you will see, you will be required to complete ten out of fourteen multiple choice/true-false quizzes that cover definitions of basic sociological concepts and theories. These quizzes will be available for a four-day-window, opening on Thursday 12PM of the week the unit is covered and closing the following Monday at 11:59PM. Taken together, these ten quizzes will count for 25% of your final grade.

You will also complete seven (7) "summary-response papers." A number of topics will be listed for each of the fourteen (14) units covered in the course. Here, you will directly apply concepts and theories that have been covered in the assigned readings and/or other materials to your social life and/or contemporary events. Each paper will require roughly two-to-three pages (500 - 750 words) and will be submitted via the portal on Blackboard. Options can be accessed from the course calendar. You will choose six of the first thirteen assignments - assignment #14 is required of all students. These seven writing assignments, combined, will count as 50% of your final grade.

For your final exam, you will submit one larger take-home essay question. It has already been posted on the class calendar. I suggest that you look at it as soon as possible and keep it in mind as you go through the materials we cover this semester. You might even begin to complete parts of the exam as we cover the relevant materials and they are still fresh in your mind . . . This will count for 25% of your final grade.

Last, you will be "encouraged" to participate in online discussions. Sociologists like to engage in “spirited discussions” about the world – we like to argue (in a civilized and respectful manner). Although we will not have the opportunity to do so face-to-face (as is done on a daily basis in my on-site course), the next best thing is to engage one another in a discussion board embedded in Blackboard. This is a password-protected environment where the only ones taking part in and seeing the discussions are class members.

Each of you will be encouraged to be an active learner and take part in these give-and-take discussions. However, I fully understand that some students are uncomfortable speaking their mind in public and, moreover, that active learning can still be accomplished simply by monitoring and privately “thinking about” what classmates contribute. As a result, taking part in the opportunities I shall present to discuss various topics and issues is NOT mandatory – no specified percentage of your grade depends on it. However, as will be indicated in the section on grading, bonus points will be awarded for active participation. In fact, your active participation might raise your final grade by as much as a full letter grade – the number of points you receive depends, of course, on the extent of your participation and on your ability to discuss the issues in a “sociological” manner. What this means is that if, once all of your quizzes, summary-response papers and final exam scores are tabulated and you have “earned” a grade somewhere in the 80s, and you have engaged in online discussions in a substantive way, you could very well be “bumped up” to a final grade of “A.” If you choose not to engage in these discussions or do so only on a rare occasion, you won’t be penalized – you won’t have the grade you have earned from quizzes, summary-response papers and your final exam reduced in any way – you simply won’t get the added “bonus.”

I will post grades for quizzes and written assignments (see the syllabus for more information) in Blackboard as quickly as possible. Quiz scores will typically be posted the day after the exam closes, grades for writing assignments will likely take two to three days.

I mentioned Blackboard in the preceding paragraph – this is the basic web platform for the course. For those of you that are not familiar with it, Blackboard is basically an online environment – a password protected safe place – which allows us to interact with each other. But as you shall see, the majority of the course - class announcements and the listing of reading, discussion, and writing assignments - will be found on the calendar that can be accessed through my regular college web page. You will use Blackboard primarily for four things: (1) you will take quizzes that will be posted on Blackboard, (2) you will contribute to discussions on Blackboard, (3) you will submit all writing assignments on Blackboard, and (4) you will see your grades on Blackboard throughout the semester.

If this is the first course you are taking online, I suggest that you register for an orientation session offered by our eCollin Learning Center (eLC). You can also find various tutorials on the eLC site if you need help on how to post a comment on a discussion board, submit a writing assignment, or take an online quiz. If you have never used Blackboard, it might take you a while to get the hang of it. I think you will find the tutorials easy to follow and very helpful.

An important thing to remember about online courses is that they are not self-paced. You must complete each week’s assignments and submit work by the specified due dates.

To get some sense of my teaching philosophy and what I expect from you – your obligations and responsibilities – read my “Introductory Remarks.” Also included here is an outline of the topics and issues I think that we can profitably use to illustrate what sociology is and how sociologists go about their business. If there are topics and/or issues you would like to see included, please let me know and I will work them into our online discussions. Are there topics and/or issues not mentioned that you would like to be included? Are there topics and/or issues that you would rather not discuss? Once I read your suggestions I will, if necessary, amend the course outline.

What it all comes down to is this. Sociology is not simply knowing so-called “facts and figures” about society – how many homeless people there are, how many crimes are committed, how many divorces occur in a given year, how many people lack decent health care, and so on. Although sociologists are certainly attentive to these statistics, sociology is less an assemblage of facts and figures and more a “way of seeing” these things; a way of focusing on certain aspects of human conduct, raising certain questions and then relying on the systematic application of scientific methods – not individual, personalized, impressionistic accounts – to attain a deeper understanding of the world.

And it is quite likely that the application of the sociological perspectives and concepts you will encounter will lead you to “see” the world and your immediate surroundings differently and to  “notice” things that have thus far escaped your attention. Do not, however, jump to the conclusion that sociology is necessarily “subversive.” True, the application of a sociological perspective to something that you think you “already know and understand” might challenge your position and force you to reconcile the differences. But a sociological analysis might just as well lend added support to your previous understanding and, in fact, strengthen it considerably. This for you to decide.

The noted philosopher and historian of science, Herbert Butterfield (1900 - 1979) perhaps expressed this best:

"Of all the forms of mental activity the most difficult to induce, even in the minds of the young who may be presumed not to have lost their flexibility, is the art of handling the same bundle of data as before, but placing them in a new system of relations with one another by giving them a different framework, all of which virtually means putting on a different kind of thinking-cap for the moment."

I am really looking forward to getting to know you over the next few weeks and helping you attain a deeper understanding of both yourself and the world you inhabit.

Keep smiling,

Larry Stern

 

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