http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/courses/PRIMGRP.HTML

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

At Hesston College

For Assignment A.

Martin Luther King Web Page

After you access this web page, you will find a wide variety of sites for your assignment on Martin Luther King.  This is for item 2. in the assignment.

Choose two items within the following:  Published Documents; Popular Requests; or About King. That is two items between the three areas, not two for each area.  For your assignment, summarize each of the two items you chose in at least 300 words.


Soc 203 - Introduction to Sociology

Spring 2005 -  Online Readings

These readings are to be used in studying for Exam I.  Use the study guide in preparation for that exam. You don't have to hand-in any of this work.  I would suggest you don't wait until the night before the exam to study because there is always the chance that you won't have immediate acccess to the readings.

Jan 12 - What is sociology?
A Definition of Sociology
A Definition of Sociology
Study guide questions for reading
1. How does the author differentiate sociology from psychology?
   List the different components in the definition of sociology.
2. What is meant by internal and external workings?
3. How might the different theories in sociology be best described?
4. In the wake of what two events does sociology arrive?
5. When did sociology “get going”?
6. In what sense has the development of sociology been ethnocentric?
                

Sociology vs common sense.

Commsense.html

Common sense here refers to what most people in
believe to be true. Sociology suggests that often this common sense is wrong.
Take this online quiz regarding common sense.


Careers in sociology
Careers.html

Note in this site there are eighteen of these areas related to careers in sociology.
List and summarize any four of these areas.

                
Jan 14       The sociological perspective and sociological theories     

                   

Sociological theorists
Notice there are ten sociologists listed here. You are responsible for knowing the first eight listed. In addition, know the names of their “doctrines” or theories
.
Summarize in at least 150 words the ideas for each sociologist seen here.

The sociological imagination
This is an old but important, classic reading in sociology. Respond to these items.

1. In the second paragraph, what is meant by the "intricate connection"?

2. In the third paragraph, what history now effects all people?  Give an example of this from the years 2004 and 2005 (this is your opinion and is not to be found in the reading.)

Scroll down the page a bit and you will come to section 1.  In this section respond to the following items:

3. What does the sociological imagination allow its possessor to understand?

4. What is the first friut of this imagination?   Note in this paragraph that involves this question the reference to ones individual biography is located in history. A question for you not found in the reading:  how is your location in history influencing you in a different way that was true of your grandparents when they were young adults?

5. What does the sociological imagination enables us to grasp? How does the history of 2005 effect who you, personally, are? For example, how does information technology effect you?
6. Whatever the specific problems of the classic social analysts, what three sorts of questions should be asked (know the first question in the groupings of questions listed as 1, 2, and 3.
7. Under section 2, what perhaps is the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works?
8. What examples does the author give in terms of this distinction?

 

Jan 17  - Culture
Culture explained

Know the definitions of all the  terms in bold type.

Jan 19
Afro-Eurocentric

Know the differences between the Afro-centric and Euro-centric world views.
This is an example of two very different cultures in terms of how they view reality.  The one is a traditional African perspective the other is a European point of view.  The latter is also widely held in the United States.

Jan 21  
              
African-American Culture through Oral Tradition

In at least 200 words, what do you find interesting about this website?


Jan 24 - Socialization               
Key ideas in socialization
1. What is meant by socialization?
2. As seen in the second paragraph, what is the importance of culture in socialization?
3. It is said that "socialization is a long drawn-out process". Why is this the case?
4. In the section on historical and cultural differences in child-rearing beliefs, explain the ideas of
children are basically ‘little savages,
the ‘noble savage’,
‘blank slate’,
‘democratic’, and
socialization and religion.
5. What is new about parenting in the 21st century?
6. In the last paragraph, what is meant by the idea that children have the possibility to to ‘re-invent culture’.

Socialization with a look at Mennonites
1. Briefly explain the ideas of Charles Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Erik Erikson about socialization.
2. How or why might socialization of Mennonite children be different compared to other children?
3. Why might Mennonites have problems with resocialization?


Jan 26 - Socialization

Primary groups
Charles Horton Cooley, the author of the material in this site, was a major scholar in the area of socialization. While he was a very influential writer in sociology, note where you might disagree with him.

1. What do you see as the idea in the first paragraph?
2. List two examples of primary groups referred to in this article.
3. In what sense are primary groups, primary?
4. What do you think of the author's statement, "It is true, no doubt, that there are differences of race capacity, so great that a large part of mankind are possibly incapable of any high kind of social organization."?


Jan 28 - Exam I - covers all online reading study guide questions, lectures notes, videos seen in classs, and class discussion.     
              


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





IGNORE EVERYTHING BELOW THIS POINT!



Part D.  Social Institutions

The social institutions we will focus upon are religion, economics, the family, and politics.  

You will be given the directions for Exam IV in class on  Thursday, December 2.  You will work on this exam outside of class in groups of  two to four students per group.    

Your group will make a presentation to the class of the material you prepared outside of class.  This will be  Tuesday, December 14, 8:00-9:50 a.m.   All the students in a group will receive the same grade for this exam.

Based upon your choice and  what you do for the exam questions, the sites noted below for November 30 and December 7 may or may not be useful to you.  So there are no study guide questions presented with the sites.   When you prepare your exam make sure to "Regarding the Form of Your Written Work" as seen in the Introduction to Sociology syllabus.

Nov 30    The family

Various topics
This contains a wide variety of themes related to the family.  You should find this interesting.

 Marriage proposals
There are a variety of  ideas related to marriage proposals here.
http://www.grassrootspolicy.org/pdfs/Race%20and%20Government.pdf

Dec 7   The political institution

 The Power Elite
If you found this idea interesting when we discussed it in class, access this site for more details.

Race and government

Voting patterns in the U.S.
This is a good site if you are interested in voting patterns.


Various topics
There are a variety of topics here.  Some of these sites you will find helpful as soon as you access them.  Other sites you will have to search for a while.

Part C.  Social Inequality

Oct 19 - Race and Ethnicity  

Spirituals History

This is from Tony Brown's website.  Choose two of the individuals listed under "Honoring the Ancestors" and summarize their significance.
Summarize the following terms or phrases in at least 200 words each:

The Ancestors
Cultural Influences
Songs of  Resistance
Songs of Hope and Promise
Post Slavery
Modernism and the Loss of the Soul
A Return to Soul and Transcendence

Race and Racism in American Law

1. List the questions noted in the first paragraph.
2. As of 1997, about what percentage of the U.S. population were persons of color?  Note the percentage of the four types of
    persons listed here.
3. Scroll down about five paragraphs.  Why according to the authors is important to focus on the idea of "whiteness"?               
4. Go down a few more paragraphs and list and briefly explain the critical questions that are underlined and capitalized.

Not Separate but Not Equal: Education in the United States
1.    In the first two pages of this site, what is the basic point about the education in the United States and world conferences?
2.    Explain what  CAT, CERD, and ICCPR are intended to do regarding education in the United States.

Go to part B. United States' "Deficiencies Under International Treaties". Respond to the following items.
1.    What are four areas that illustrate institutionalized racism in United States education?
2.    List and summarize the three areas in the education system that have discriminatory effects in the United States.

Go to part C. How to Begin Eradication Racial Discrimination
1.    What is the problem with attemptiing to eliminate racial in the United States.
2.     List and explain the five ways in which the United States can begin to attain the international standards they have agreed to
        in various ways.

Education and the Myth of Black Anti-Intellectualism
This site might be temporarily out of order thus you are not responsible for it.

http://academic.udayton.edu/race/04needs/educate01.htm.

1.      Define the term Drapetomania.
2.      How has the subordination of persons of color regularly been rationnalized in the United States? Give specific examples.
3.      Rather than DNA arguements, what cultural arguments are used to explain negative views of Black people?
4.      As seen in this website, what are two examples used to explain that Blacks are just as concerned about education as    
         White people are?
5.      Near the end of the article, there is reference to "tracking" in education.  What is "tracking"?  How is this related to Black          students?
6.       In the next to the last paragraph, what is said about getting good grasdes is "acting white"?


Oct 26 -  Age and Gender

Positively Aging is an interdisciplinary curriculum intended for middle school and high school programs with the goal of introducing gerontology concepts into mainstream coursework.  Gerontology is being introduced at this level of education because of the growing number of older people in our society.  Your only responsibility for this site is know two ideas seen in this material. You choose these two ideas.

Social Gerontology and the Aging Revolution
1.    What is said in the last sentence in the quote as stated by Simone de Beauvoir at the beginning of this webpage?
2.    If we were able to bring someone back from Shakespeare's time what would be striking to them?
        Don't worry about the websites from the Census Bureau and the rate of population growth near the beginning of this site.
3.    As seen in the third paragraph, how profound is the demographic revolution related to age?
4.    Go down past the "Outline of Page" to "General References". As seen in the first paragraph what factors shape the aging
       individual's life?   Don't worry about all the websites listed at this point.

Sociology of Aging

1.   What are the parallels between elderly and minority statuses?
2.   Explain why reference is made to the severity of a Chicago heat wave and social rot?
3.   What is lost in age-segragation?
 
Social Psychology of Aging

1.  What does David Hackett Fischer, in Growing Old in America, describe about old age at the close of the eighteenth century      in the United States?
2.  At the close of the eighteenth century, what new connotations were applied to old labels?
3.  In the section on STEREOTYPES OF OLDER AMERICANS, it is noted that the American public holds a fairly consistent     image of  what it's like to be old and what the typical older person is like.  Why is this consistency is significant?
4.  Since the mid-1980s, there is evidence that the "poor old Dear" stereotype of older persons is being replaced by what term? 5.  The website suggests in one sub-heading, YOU ARE BUT THE ROLES YOU PLAY.  What is meant by this in terms of
     being older?
6.  In the section WHERE ARE OUR ELDERLY ROLE MODELS? a rough typology of admired older individuals is listed.  
      List and briefly explain these categories.
7.  What are rites of passage?  What do they help people to do?    What occurs when people are between roles or in some way       outside of them?
8.  As Mary Douglas wrote in Purity and Danger, "It seems that if a person has no place in the social system and is therefore a
     marginal being, all precaution against danger must come from others" (1966:117). What does this condition calls for?
9. What is it that only the old can provide the young?
10.In  THE DOUBLE- AND TRIPLE-JEOPARDY HYPOTHESIS: THE BEARING OF GENDER AND RACE the                interaction of what three items are brought together?

Work Time and Gender Inequalities
1.    As seen in the first line of this article, what does this entry address?
2.     Is the writer of this article optimistic or pessemistic about the wage inequality between males and females?  Explain.
3.     What is perhaps the most ominous evidence regarding gender wage inequality?
4.     What do a number of recent studies reveal about career success and motherhood?
5.      Desribe the crux of the author's arguement.
6.      Compare the United States at the end of the Second World War and today in terms of shortest and longest working
         hours.
7.      What does Joan Williams call for in reconstructive feminism?


Part D.  Social Institutions

The social institutions include religion, economics, politics, the family, and education.  We will be studying them over the next month.  The dates we study these in class may not correspond with what is on the syllabus but that is not a problem.

Nov. 2 - Religion

Sociology of Religion
1. In your opinion, why is religion found in all societies?
2. What are some of the questions that religion answers?
3. In his book on religion, what does Emile Durkheim say are the different components of religion?
4. Briefly explain how the following sociologists explain religion: Karl Marx, Max Weber, Peter Berger, and Robert Bellah.
  Remove Item
 
 
Define Basic Terms in Religion
Know the definition of all the terms in this site.

Know the membership numbers of the following - don't access this as a site because it is the same as the previous site! 
Last modified 6 September 2002.
(Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering the groups, not providing a definitive number. This list is sociological/statistical in perspective.)
  1. Christianity: 2 billion
  2. Islam: 1.3 billion
  3. Hinduism: 900 million
  4. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 850 million
  5. Buddhism: 360 million
If you are interested in looking in detail at any of the items 1 through 5 just click on that item.  But you don't have to do this.

Religious resources

Choose one subject seen on this webpage.   In at least 250 words, summarize this site.  What did you learn from this material?

Cults
- you are not responsible for anything in this site.


Nov 9 - Economics

Overview of Economics

1.    What was the significance of the agricultural revolution?                                                                                                       2     What were the five revolutionary changes mid-eighteenth century England introduced to Western societies?
3.    What is the postindustrial economy based upon?
4.     List and briefly explain the three Sectors of the Economy in the information revolution.                                                      5.     Name and describe the four main consequences of the global economy.
6.     State three features of capitalism.
7.     How does socialism differ from capitalism?
8.     What is Democratic Socialism and State Capitalism?
9.     What are the relative advantages of capitalism and socialism?
10.   How has the workplace changed in the postindustrial economy?
11.   As seen in the section on "Technology and Work" what are four ways in which computers are changing work?
12.    Define the term corporations.
13.    Define the term conglormerates.
14.    Know the meaning of the terms seen in "Key Concepts in Economics".  Some of these terms have already been noted in          the above items.



IGNORE ANY MATERIAL BELOW THIS POINT!!















               


Key ideas in socialization (http://www.open2.net/childofourtime/tv_pages/art_socialization_1.htm)
1. What is meant by socialization?
2. As seen in the second paragraph, what is the importance of culture in socialization?
3. It is said that "socialization is a long drawn-out process". Why is this the case?
4. In the section on historical and cultural differences in child-rearing beliefs, explain the ideas of
children are basically ‘little savages,
the ‘noble savage’,
‘blank slate’,
‘democratic’, and
socialization and religion.
5. What is new about parenting in the 21st century?
6. In the last paragraph, what is meant by the idea that children have the possibility to to ‘re-invent culture’.

Socialization with a look at Mennonites (http://www.mhsc.ca/index.asp?content=http://www.mhsc.ca/encyclopedia/contents/S655ME.html)
1. Briefly explain the ideas of Charles Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Erik Erikson about socialization.
2. How or why might socialization of Mennonite children be different compared to other children?
3. Why might Mennonites have problems with resocialization?

Primary groups (http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/courses/PRIMGRP.HTML)
Charles Horton Cooley, the author of the material in this site, was a major scholar in the area of socialization. While he was a very influential writer in sociology, note where you might disagree with him.

1. What do you see as the idea in the first paragraph?
2. List two examples of primary groups referred to in this article.
3. In what sense are primary groups, primary?
4. What do you think of the author's statement, "It is true, no doubt, that there are differences of race capacity, so great that a large part of mankind are possibly incapable of any high kind of social organization."?


S
ept 23       Social structure


Social Structure in Ancient Egypt (http://www.beyondbooks.com/wcu81/3b.asp)
Social structure has many different parts including roles, statuses, norms, laws, culture, groups, and social institutions.

1. List the different parts of the social structure in Egypt as seeen in the pyramid.
2. Describe these levels of the social structure as seen in the pyramid.
3. List two questions you have about Egyptian social structure.

Examples of social structure (http://www.kun.nl/cps/keys/soc.html)

1. List the different aspects of social structure as seen in blue in this web page.
2. Access the different blue terms and give two examples of this element of social structure.
For example, under age groups there are adolescents and adults.

.
Sept 30 - Social groups
   

Social Groups://www.usi.edu/libarts/socio/chapter/groups/test.html#Charachteristics
Know all the material bolded in blue.  Don't worry about the hyperlinks.  Most of them are inactive.  In any case, you are not responsible for any of the hyperlinked sites.

Support groupshttp://search.netscape.com/ns/browse?source=NCSPResults&id=376
This site lists a wide variety of support groups.  Find the site of any two such groups.  You might have to access two or three webpages until you come to a page with much detail about the groups.  Summarize the two groups you choose and state what you find interesting about these groups.

Oct 7 - Deviance

There are various sociological theories about deviance as seen below.  Test questions based upon these readings and other sites listed below will be given in class on Thursday, October 7.   Don't access these lines underlined in black. If you do, you just find the same sites listed below in blue or maroon.

Definition://www.ryoung001.homestead.com/Deviance_Def.html

Straintheory://www.hewett.norfolk.sch.uk/curric/soc/crime/mert_str.htm

DifferentialAssociation://www.skidmore.edu/academics/english/courses/en205d/student7/association.html

Labelingtheory://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/becker.htm

Conflictheory://www.ryoung001.homestead.com/Deviance_Conflict.html


Ku Klux Klan://www.k-k-k.com/
MartinLutherKing://www.k-k-k.com/king.htm


FatherDivne://
www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_miller.htm

Don't worry about any of the material below the blue

___________________________________________________________________________
Aug 24

http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/views.html
Know the differences between the Afro-centric and Euro-centric world views.

http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/sociosite/topics/sociologists.html

This site represents many different theorists in sociology.   Access any four theorists and be able to note their names of summarize their theory in at least 200 words.  You may have to do a little searching to get to the theories.


Aug 26        The sociological perspective - 
What is sociology?

A Definition of Sociology
http://www.sociologyonline.co.uk/soc_essays/Define.htm
Study guide questions for reading
1. How does the author differentiate sociology from psychology?
   List the different components in the definition of sociology.
2. What is meant by internal and external workings?
3. How might the different theories in sociology be best described?
4. In the wake of what two events does sociology arrive?
5. When did sociology “get going”?
6. In what sense has the development of sociology been ethnocentric?
                                                      
The sociological imagination

http://www.lclark.edu/~goldman/socimagination.html

You will do your first written assignment for this course based on this site. See your syllabus pages 6 and 7 for the assignment.

Aug 31        The African Way of Life
African American Culture through Oral Tradition 

http://www.gwu.edu/~e73afram/ag-am-mp.html 

In at least 200 words, what do you find interesting about this site?

Sept 2        Culture - this may not be discussed in class until Sept 9      
http://www.historyshack.com/Sociology/Culture%20Defintions.htm

Know the definitions of all the  terms in bold type.

Sept 7        The slave trade and new world - "The Terrible Transformation"

As will be seen in class on Thursday, we are studying culture and socialization this week in sociology.   Your readings, taken from "Africans in America", have to do with the culture and socialization of slavery in the American colonies and later the United States.  This material goes along with the video Tony will show in class.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p260.html

1.  Based on this reading, what was Elmina Castle?
2.  In your opinion, what do you think it was like to live there?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3.html
1. What is unique about Anthony Johnson?
2.  Why or how did indentured servants make a problem of the American colonists?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html
1.  What was the Middle Passage?
2.  What do the pictures in this site describe.
3.  How do you think it must have felt to be a captive  in the Middle Passage?
 
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p276.html
1.  Who was Olaudah Equiano?   What was his life like before he was captured?
2.  As it was for all slaves, the Middle Passage  for Equiano was a long, arduous nightmare.  Describe his explanation of this trip      as seen in his autobiography.
3.  How did Olauday Equiano become free?  What happened to him went he went to England?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr5.html
1.   According to Olaudah Equiano, what happens to people when you make them slaves?
2.   What kind of laws did Carolina authorities developed laws to keep the African American population under control?
3.   Briefly note the different attitudes white people had toward slavery.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h305.html
1.  What does this picture show?
2.   What did the author of the article that goes along with this picture say in his article?

Sept 9        Socialization     
              
http://www.open2.net/childofourtime/tv_pages/art_socialization_1.htm  
Since I didn't talk about socialization in class the material from this website will not be on Exam I.


Sept 14 - Exam I - this covers all the lectures and videos seen in class along with all of the above readings.  For the online readings, questions will be taken from the study guide questions seen above.

The following is the web version of your hardcopy syllabus although it doesn't contain the assignments seen in the hardcopy.   At this point, it isn't part of the readings so you don't need to be concerned about it.




COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor:          Dwight E. Roth
Class Time:            T-Th - 10:00-11:15
Class Location:           K160
Office Phone:             8326
Office:                         Kropf #107
Email:          dwightr@hesston.edu
Home phone:              327-4537

IGNORE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL!

HESSTON COLLEGE MISSION STATEMENT

Hesston College educates and nurtures each student within Christ-centered community, integrating thought, life, and faith for service to others in the church and the world.


OUTCOMES

Hesston College strives to help each student become:

In this course there is special focus on the first three items.


Before you see the syllabus for this course I would like to present a number of quotes which speak to my philosophy of education.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you my Lord and my Redeemer always."
            the Psalms

"In the skin of our fingers we see the trail of the wind. It shows us where the wind blew when our ancestors were created."
            an old man in The Primal Man by Jamake Highwater

"Education consists more of difficult questions than it does of easy answers."
            anonymous

"Truth is the shattered mirror, strewn in a million bits, while each believes their little bit the whole to own."
            anonymous

"For sociology at century's end, a key priority is to transcend the parochialism of the past to focus on those processes that are so rapidly transforming the world. From the diffusion of institutional forms to international migration, from the revolution in communications technologies to the challenges posed by earth's habit, the time seems right to take a broad look at what has changed and what we have learned about it."
            from a description of the 1999 annual convention of the American Sociological Association

"As education in the 21st century develops...."Textbooks will give way to computers. Educators will become free agents sharing their knowledge worldwide via the Internet. Education will be offered globally to people in virtual classrooms with no clocks, no schedules, and no age restrictions."
            Joe Perkins in Modern Maturity May-June 1999:81

"....the institution of higher education is undergoing radical shifts. College and universities of the (21st) century will look substantially different from their current profiles...(And) these shifts reflect not only changes in theories of learning but large changes in society that have already begun to transform higher education and its teaching tasks."
            Bernice Pescosolido and Ronald Aminzade (eds.)
                The Social Worlds of Higher Education in the  21st Century

"For we are the stars. For we sing. For we sing with our light."
            from "Song of the Stars" Passamaquoddy in The Way of the Earth


The content seen in this syllabus include:


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Examination of the sociological perspective, culture, socialization, social groups and social control, social diversity, social inequality, and social institutions.
 


OBJECTIVES


METHODS


REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION -- GUIDE TO GRADES

          If you plan to take the final exam before the assigned date you will need to obtain an early permission form from the
          Dean's Office and pay a fee for this.

REGARDING THE FORM OF YOUR WRITTEN WORK




ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent them from fully demonstrating their abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible to discuss any accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate equal educational opportunity.


ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Hesston College students are expected to adhere to the ideal of academic integrity in all academic work. Academic honesty, respect for the work of others, and respect for the learning environment are considered unbreakable standards in this college setting.

Lack of academic integrity includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, misuse of library privileges, and inappropriate conduct within the learning environment.

Plagiarism is defined as presenting the work of someone else as one's own. Cheating is defined as giving or receiving unauthorized assistance with assignments or examinations. Misuse of library privileges includes damaging materials, taking material from the library without checking them out and keeping materials past the date for their return, or in other ways, disregarding the rights of other students in the library. Inappropriate conduct within the learning environment refers to behavior in the classroom or laboratory which is disrespectful of the opinion, creations, and safety of other students.

Students who fail to maintain the standard of academic integrity are subject to disciplinary action that include loss of credit in the course involved or dismissal from college. Each incident will be reported to the Academic Development Committee. The disciplinary action is determined by the instructor(s) involved and/or the Academic Development Committee. Students may appeal to the Student Policies committee for review of the decision.

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