Course
Description

Nature of human society and factors affecting its development. Fundamental concepts of sociology: culture, personality, socialization, social organization, groups, institutions.

Methods of Course Instruction

This course is being taught completely via the internet.  All course handouts and assignments are provided through the Blackboard site for this course (Blackboard can be assessed through the “front door” to Ohio University).  Your interaction with me will be primarily through e-mail, although I will be available to talk by phone and/or regular correspondence.  All of your coursework will be submitted electronically through direct e-mail (taylorj2@ohio.edu) with the exception of quizzes and exams which will be taken directly on Blackboard.

This is a ten-week course.  You may work at your own pace; in the sense that you may work ahead, but there are strict posted deadlines for the submission of all assigned work.  
Methods of Course Instruction - All course content is presented on the World Wide Web; e-mail is used for submission of assignments, as well as for the instructor's evaluation and comments.

If nothing else, I want the students who take this class to leave with an improved ability to view the chaotic ballet of the outside world, through the inquiring lens of sociology. Specific Learning Outcomes include but are not limited to the following: 1) The sociological perspective, the theoretical foundations (Functionalism, Conflict and Symbolic Interactionism), and the contributions of major theorists to the development of these perspectives; 2) The ways in which sociologists gather, interpret, and evaluate data, including both quantitative and qualitative methodologies; 3) The components of culture and their impact on shaping human behavior and world views; and 4) The elements of social structure and the organization of society

The grade will consist of 4 online reading quizzes (multiple choice/T/F format), weekly discussion board postings, an online mid-term and final exam, and a brief annotated bibliography project on a pre-approved deviance-related topic of your choosing. The dates of the exams appear in the course schedule below. This means you will have to keep up with the readings every week. All assignments must be posted by midnight on Friday, for the week on which they are assigned.  You will be given specific windows for which to take the 2 exams and the quizzes.  

Materials

Required

Text(s)
Sociology A Brief Introduction (8th edition)
By: Schaefer, Richard T.      
Mcgraw-Hill Publishing

Additional or Optional Materials
Additional readings will be assigned in the form of pdf. articles that will be posted to the assignments section of blackboard (see class reading schedule).

Note: Books for the course are in stock at the Zane State/OUZ Campus Bookstore or College Book Store in Athens, (740) 594-3505. Click here for online ordering.

Exams
Requirements

2 exams (online mid-term and final exam) - No proctoring required

How are exams to be taken: books and notes

Dates of Exams
Mid-Term - Week 6
Final Exam - Week 10