ESSAY QUESTION & FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS:

ONLY SOCIOLOGY MAJORS AND LEGIT PEOPLE NO LIERS OR PLAGARISIM 

in total for the five essays its 15 pages of work

Welcome to this online course.  Online courses are conducted differently by each Professor, just as regular classroom/lecture courses are.  In this course, you will have to respond to FIVE ESSAY QUESTIONS (see below for the five questions).  No exams will be given.

Use your textbook, included related websites (FYIs) with each ESSAY QUESTION, and any related powerpoint presentations that may be posted on the course homepage to respond to all ESSAY QUESTIONS.  Responses should be thorough, include definitions, examples, and demonstrate clear understanding of conceptual objectives listed on the Syllabus.  Each response should be 3 typewritten pages in length and double spaced.   

SEE DUE DATES SECTION FOR ALL DUE DATES ON THE COURSE HOMEPAGE..

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS… It would be best if you prepare your ESSAY QUESTION responses via an MS Word document (or compatible), then copy and paste your responses directly into an email to me.  Also, please make sure before submitting your responses that you make a copy of each response for your records until the course is over and you receive your final grade.  Finally, DO NOT submit any work as an attachment – you must copy and paste all work.  Any late work will result in a significantly reduced grade or not be accepted, at my discretion. Thanks.

Thanks for your participation and I hope you have a good learning experience.

ESSAY QUESTIONS (SEE DUE DATES SECTION ON COURSE HOMEPAGE FOR EACH QUESTION DUE DATE):

I.  Please read chapters 1 AND chapters on Race and Social Stratification, as well as related fyi websites attached to the discussion question, and related PowerPoint Presentations on the Course Homepage (What is Sociology, Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology, and Major Sociology Theorists) to address the following question.  Be sure to use as many terms for your textbook and posted review sheets on the course homepage.

 (*give concrete examples and be sure to let me know you have read the material.  in addition to your textbook, use any other website information i may post with each discussion question.    i realize you do not have the benefit of my lectures for this online course, so it is up to you to ‘convince’ me you know the material.  We depend a lot on you for this type of course.  that is evident in the quality and quantity of your writing.  So, a bit of what is required from you is to summarize the readings.  Too little not good and too much not necessarily needed.  Some of what we do will require you give back information that you read and some of what we do allows you to give your opinions (that is called critical analysis, when you give opinion based on fact).  Also, remember all types of students who have diverse personal experiences take this course.  So, you never know who is reading your response and may be affected by what you have to say.  But, most importantly try to enjoy learning something you may not have known before!  dr. b. :))

What is sociology and the sociological perspective?  What do you see are some of the most important uses of sociology?  What is meant by the nature vs. nurture debate in the social sciences?  Describe and compare and contrast functional theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.  Who are the major contributors (theorists) to each theory?  Which theory is a macro level theory and which is a micro level theory?  What is a demographic variable?  Using race and social class as two major demographic variables, define each and explain the consequences of developing notions of race and social class.  Cite an example of how each theory can be used to understand some human behavior, issue, or social problem of your choice.

RELATED FYI WEBSITES:

SOCIOLOGY, SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION, SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Mills/

http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/theory.html

Nature vs. Nurture

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genome/debate.html

PBS Race: the Power of an Illusion

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm

Social Darwinism

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/darwin/nameof/index.html

Eugenics

http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/1796

ALSO:

SEE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS ON COURSE HOMEPAGE –

WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGY

MAJOR SOCIOLOGICAL THEORISTS

II. Please read chapter on research methods in sociology, as well as related posted FYI websites, and related  PowerPoint Presentation on Course Homepage to address the following question.  Be sure to use terms from your textbook and posted review sheets on the course homepage, as well as information gleamed from the posted FYI websites and powerpoint presentation.

Describe in detail each of the seven steps in the sociological research process: (describe what is involved in each step and give examples from major sociological studies cited in the related FYI websites).

1.     define the variables (dependent and independent variables; cause vs. correlation)

2.     write a hypothesis

3.     conduct literature review

4.     select a research design (observation, experiment, survey, case study, content analysis)

5.     collect the data (do the research)

6.     analyze the data

7.     draw conclusions (generalizations and inferences)

RELATED FYI’S:

Ethics in Research

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/ethics.php

Famous Sociological Studies:

Stanford Prison Experiment

http://www.prisonexp.org/

Black Like Me

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/john-howard-griffin-black-like-me/

Tally’s Corner

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/26/AR2011022603483.html

http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc251e.pdf

Tearoom Trade Study

http://web.missouri.edu/~bondesonw/Laud.html

AND SEE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON COURSE HOMEPAGE:

RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY

 III.             please read chapter on Culture, related posted fyi websites, and PowerPoint Presentation on Course Homepage on Culture to address the following question.  Discuss in detail the concepts of culture and cultural relativism.  What are the elements of culture?  Cultural types?  Is there an American culture?  A global culture? What evidence do we have regarding a global culture? Define each and support your answers with examples.

FYI’S:

Globalization of culture:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120522-one-world-order

Skinheads: Subculture or Counterculture?

http://www.adl.org/racist_skinheads/

AND SEE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON CULTURE ON COURSE HOMEPAGE

hi all, as you all know, a big part of our culture is fast food. Bundle.com lists and describes the top 10 cities with fast food restaurants.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/fast-food-cities-most-least-recession_n_903896.html#s315072&title=Cities_That_Spend

also, if you haven’t seen it already, i recommend Super Size Me, a study/documentary by Morgan Spurlock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9__23-zjhM

IV.            please read chapter on Socialization, related posted FYI websites, and PowerPoint Presentation on Course Homepage to address the following:  Discuss the concept of socialization.   What do you understand socialization to be?  What is resocialization?  Compare and contrast two of the five major socialization theories proposed by Freud, Mead, Erikson, Piaget and/or Kohlberg.

FYI’S:

Freud

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html

Mead

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/projects/centcat/centcats/fac/facch12_01.html

http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/george-herbert-mead-1863-1931

http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/mead3.htm

Erickson

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/erikson.html

Piaget

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html

Kohlberg

https://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/kohlberg01bk.htm

Genie – the wild child:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_jzHEq2ye0

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4804490&page=1

http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/misc/wild-child.html

10 cases of wild (feral) children:

http://listverse.com/2008/03/07/10-modern-cases-of-feral-children/

AND SEE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON COURSE HOMEPAGE:

SOCIALIZATION

V. Please read chapter on social structure, social interaction, communities, organizations, socieities, and related posted fyi’s, and related PowerPoint Presentation on Course Homepage to address the following: What is meant by the term “social structure”?  Describe the social structure of individuals, groups, and societies.  What types of groups are there?  Why are groups so important to people?  Some people would do anything in the context of a group or to belong to a group, including submit to mortification exercises.  What are they?  What has been the most important group thus far in your life?

(for individual social structure be sure to describe statuses, roles, and role conflicts; groups – hierarchy, norms, division of labor; and societies – describe preindustrial, industrial, and post-industrial societies.  Also, what did Durkheim and Tonneis say about simple and complex societies?)

Hazing http://www.stophazing.org/

Also: SEE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON COURSE HOMEPAGE:

SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

OR:

DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

Please read chapter on deviance and crime, as well as related fyi’s and powerpoint presentation on course homepage to address the following: How can we define deviance?  What are the functions of deviance?  Give examples.  Why do some people continue to behave deviantly considering the impact of socialization and the use of social controls in our society to prevent deviant behavior.  What is a social control?  What types of social controls are there?  Give examples.

FYI’S:

Outline of Biological and Psychological Theories of Deviance http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/biotheor.html

Sociological Theories of Deviance

http://www.valdosta.edu/~klowney/devtheories.htm

Prison Population Statistics:

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/

Also: SEE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON COURSE HOMEPAGE:

DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

DUE DATES

9/1 WELCOME

 9/19 QUESTION 1 DUE

 10/17 QUESTION 2 DUE

 11/14 QUESTION 3 DUE

 12/5 QUESTION 4 DUE

 12/19 QUESTION 5 DUE