INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (AN/S 1301: 2)
Cape Breton University
Winter 2017, Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:15 pm (Room CC 263)
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Contact Information:
Professor: Tracey Harris
Office: CC 240; Office Phone: 563-1328; Email:
Office Hours: Monday 2:30-4:30 pm and Tuesday 9:00 am-noon
Required Texts: Conley, Dalton. (2015). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist 4th ed. New York: W. W. Norton.
Course Description & Goals: This course provides an introduction and overview to the discipline of sociology. We will examine social processes such as socialization, social change, conformity and deviance and social institutions and relations such as the economy and social movements. We will also examine social, economic, and environmental inequality within the local and global context. You will be encouraged through class readings, lectures, discussions, assignments, and tests to develop your critical thinking and reading skills, by examining many taken-for-granted assumptions about the social realms of human life.
Moodle: Course material will be posted to Moodle. To access please go to the CBU homepage and click on “current students” and then select “Moodle”. If you are unable to login to Moodle please phone or email the CBU Computer Helpdesk at 563-1123 ().Accommodating Students: Differently-abled students requiring special accommodation should contact me early in the course (by the second week of classes) to work out any specific needs that must be met to ensure that they have equitable access to the course and its materials. Please also contact the Jennifer Keeping Accessibility Centre at 902-563-1225 or see www.cbu.ca/jkac for available resources.
Course Requirements: The grade for this course will consist of three tests, one assignment, and a grade for attendance/participation. Please note: The test dates are tentative. That means that they may be earlier or later depending on how quickly we move through the material. I will give you at least two weeks’ notice if the test date is to be changed to an earlier date.
· Test #1 – in-class -- tentatively set for January 30th (worth 20 points)
· Test #2 – in-class – tentatively set for March 1st (worth 25 points)
· Test #3 – in-class -- tentatively set for March 27th (worth 30 points)
· Assignment – due through Moodle – tentatively set for April 3rd (20 points). Assignment criteria with be posted on Moodle within two weeks of the beginning of the course.
· Attendance & Participation -- Attendance is taken for each class. In order to receive full value for attendance/participation, besides attending class, it is required that you participate in assigned in-class group work and that you do not disrupt films and lectures with talking or disruptive activities such as texting or surfing the web (worth 5 points)
Supplementary Examinations and Extra-Credit Assignments: Please note that there will be no supplementary exams or “extra-credit” assignments offered in this course.
Missing a Test or Exam: As outlined in the Academic Calendar, “students should notify their instructor immediately if they must miss an examination due to medical or other serious reason” (p. 22). In the case of sickness, a doctor’s note must be presented and it must specifically indicate the date(s) that you were ill. If you miss a test or assignment due to serious illness or some other significant family or personal emergency, please notify me as soon as possible. Under certain conditions, a “make-up” or deferred assignment, test, or exam may be approved. These conditions include: a) you have a valid verifiable reason; b) you consult me prior to the quiz date (or, in the case of an emergency, as soon as possible thereafter). If you miss a quiz and do not contact me and/or provide the requested documentation, or if the corrected test has already been handed back to the class, then a grade of “0” will be assigned for the test.
Academic Dishonesty: “Plagiarism is the act of representing the intellectual work of others as one's own. Such misrepresentation is treated as a serious violation of academic standards and principles. When a student submits work for a course, it is assumed that the work is original, except where the student properly acknowledges the use of other sources. Of course, good scholarship often requires drawing on the work of others, but any borrowed material - including words, ideas, data, statistics, graphics and other intellectual matter, whether drawn from print, electronic, or other non-print sources - must be fully acknowledged according to the accepted practices of the relevant discipline.
The following policy applies equally to all forms of materials submitted in all courses. These materials include, but are not limited to, assignments, essays, compositions, theses, creative writing, reports, reviews, lab reports, projects, computer programs, experimental data, drawings, charts, plans, musical compositions and works of art. This policy applies without regard to the weight assigned to the item plagiarized within the course instructor's grading formula for the course.
Course instructors must report instances of plagiarism to the relevant dean who will then register the offence and any pertinent comments in the student's academic file. Access to this information will be restricted to persons occupying confidential positions in the CBU Deans' offices and the Office of the Registrar. On receiving a report of plagiarism, the dean will consult the student's academic file to ascertain the appropriate action to be taken. In all cases, a copy of the letter sent to the student will also be sent to the course instructor.
Cheating is the use, possession, receipt, or transmission of unauthorized information pertinent to the subject of any supervised test or examination during such test or examination, or an attempt to commit the same. Impersonation of a candidate at a test or examination is another form of cheating and both parties are considered to have committed an offence.
More serious academic offences, such as producing plagiarized essays or assignments for compensation, theft, distribution or unauthorized retention of examination papers, offering improper inducements in exchange for favourable academic consideration, unauthorized access to or tampering with academic records and forging letters of permission or other academic documents, will be reported to the appropriate school dean. The procedures and penalties that apply to plagiarism and cheating will also apply to these other forms of academic misconduct.” (Quoted Directly from Academic Calendar)
Inclement Weather:
“In the event of inclement weather, radio stations are notified of CBU campus closure. Campus closure means the campus is closed and there are no classes for the period of time indicated in the announcement. Morning, afternoon and evening classes may be cancelled separately depending on weather and campus parking conditions.
A campus closure announcement for afternoon classes refers to classes starting at 11:30 a.m. A campus closure announcement for evening classes refers to classes starting at 4:00 p.m. unless otherwise specified. If the campus will reopen, an announcement will be made so that students and employees can plan accordingly.
Every attempt is made to send cancellation notices to local radio stations at 7:00 a.m. for morning cancellations; 10:30 a.m. for afternoon cancellations; and 3:00 p.m. for evening cancellations.
Commissionaires will also be notified and a message regarding closure status will be recorded for access through the phone system. To reach this message, call the general CBU phone number at 539-5300 and press 9.” (Directly Quoted from CBU website)
Class Cancellation: If the class in which a test was to written is cancelled, the test will be written at the time of the next class
Academic Etiquette: Attendance is taken for each class. In order to receive value for attendance, it is also required that you participate in assigned in-class group work and do not disrupt films and lectures with talking, texting, or inattention. Please ensure that cell phones are turned off prior to class and if you must have your cell on because of extenuating circumstances, please notify me and ensure that your phone is turned to “vibrate” and take the call outside of class if it does signal during class.
Please note that Cape Breton University has the following policy on electronic devices being used in the classroom: “The usage of electronic devices in class, laboratory, clinical area and seminar settings can lead to distractions ofinstructors and students and is not allowed in the academic class, laboratory, clinical area and seminar environment unless specified by the instructor. Electronic devices include, but are not limited to, cell phones, portable radio and music devices, electronic translators and laptop computers. Students using electronic devices in contradiction to the wishes of the instructor may be asked to turn off, or remove the device or may be asked to leave the class, laboratory, clinical area or seminar (passed at the December 2008 meeting of CBU’s Senate).”
Classes and Readings:
It is your responsibility to catch-up on missed work. This includes lectures, films, and/or discussions. Class notes should be borrowed from a classmate and it’s a very good idea to consult with me to find out what topics were covered and what specifically was missed. Since tests consist of questions from both class (including lectures, handouts, PowerPoint, films, class discussions, and group work) and the readings, missing class may seriously impair your overall grade.
Consultation:
Students are encouraged to ask for clarification whenever necessary. I am available for consultation during regularly scheduled office hours and I check my email daily (Monday-Friday). If you cannot make my office hours, please email to arrange an alternate meeting time.
Films & Other Supplemental In-Class Material:
Several films will be shown throughout the class to highlight important concepts covered in the lectures and/or assigned readings. I will provide a handout (or question and answer sheet) to accompany each film, but students are advised to take notes as well. The films – like the lectures, readings, PowerPoint, handouts, and class discussions – will be a basis for test questions.
Reading List:
The list of specific readings is posted on Moodle and any changes related to it will be announced in class and via Moodle. Students are expected to keep up-to-date with the assigned readings and come to class prepared to participate in class discussions. From time to time, a film clip or video will be shown in class. These are intended to compliment the readings and lectures and are included as an integral part of the course content. In other words, they will be used for class discussion and test questions.
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