COURSE CONTENT.  Macionis's Social Problems applies various theoretical paradigms, including social-conflict, structural-functional, and symbolic-interaction, to the issues and brings politics to life with conservative, liberal, and radical perspectives on all issues and solutions.  Within this broad perspective, it includes the following dimensions.

• Primary use of Social-constructionist perspective or paradigm.
• Enables students to investigate how members of society come to define certain issues as social problems and how they adopt policies and construct solutions.
• Draws students into the subject by adding new dimensions to political debates.
• A Defining Moment in every chapterHighlights one point or event in time that had a significant impact on the issue being discussed.
• Policy focus.
• Social diversity is highlightedFigures highlight race, gender, and class comparisons.
• Introduce students to the diversity of political perspectives surrounding race, class, age, and gender.
• Systematic program of critical thinkingCritical Thinking Questions.
• Presents students with different ways of thinking about issues, helping them develop critical thinking abilities.  

A Social Constructionist Approach.  Understanding how and why people come to define issues as "social problems" is the focus of Social Problems. Rather than simply presenting various "problems" and then offering "solutions," this text employs a social constructionist approach. This means, first, that we focus attention on how and why certain issues come to be defined as problems in the first place. Similarly, we examine why other issues (that might involve even more human suffering) are not defined as problems.  For instance, take the first case mentioned abovepoverty. US. society has always been accepting of considerable poverty within the population, primarily because our culture places such an emphasis on self-reliance. This emphasis means that we tend to see individuals as responsible for their own success or failure. Thus, poverty exists, but it is often defined as the result of personal deficiency rather than of flaws within society itself.

A social constructionist approach also helps explain the second example, involving gender. A century ago, women's social standing was much lower than it is todayindeed, across the country, the law did not permit women even to vote in elections. But, back then, few people thought women should be the social equals of men. In other words, inequality existed but it was not widely defined as a problem. Today, by contrast, US. culture offers much more support for gender equality, so most people now support the idea that women and mend should have the same rights and opportunities. And, consequently, we are more likely to define the inequalities that remain (even though they are much smaller) as a problem in need of a solution.  A second major contribution of the social-constructionist approach is that it points out the role politics plays in how people define problems and why they support various solutions to those problems. We begin in Chapter 1 by explaining the political spectrum ranging from radicals on the left to liberals, conservatives, and radicals on the right. Then, subsequent chapters apply the various political viewpoints to the particular issues at hand. In each case, as we might expect, what is defined as a problem from, say, a conservative point of view is very different from what is defined as a problem by liberals, or radicals on the left. Indeed, it often happens that one person's "problem" is another person's "solution."

Sociology and Social Problems.   Sociology has much to say about all the issues and controversies that make up today's political scene. This is not to say that readers of this text should expect to find definitive solutions to all the problems that face humankind. Sociology offers no magic bullets. But the discipline does provide important insights and information, without which no problems are likely to be solved. First, sociological research yields important facts. Any discussion of, say, poverty in the United States must include some basic data: How many poor people are there? What categories of the population are at greatest risk of poverty? Second, sociology offers theoretical analysis, guided by various theoretical paradigms, to explain how and why things happen the way they do. Throughout, this text makes use of the structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social-conflict paradigms-each of which offers useful insights about poverty and other topics. Third, sociology can serve as a guide for political analysis of the issues. What is the conservative view of poverty in the United States? How does a liberal perspective differ? What do radicals suggest to address poverty? In addition, we will explore which categories of people tend to view poverty (and other issues) from each of the political perspectives. And why.

GENERAL SOCIOLOGY OBJECTIVES:

·         Student retention and academic success.

·         Student Comfort in seeking instructor assistance and engaging in class participations.

·         Student Responsibility for meeting course deadlines and assignments.

·         Critical Thinking Skills as an indispensable component of Sociology.

·         Sociological Perspective: social science application of core concepts and research to everyday life.

·         Student Mastery of the scientific method and its application to the larger societys social relationships.

·         The Essay as the articulation of integrated Sociological knowledge to a larger audience.

·         Historical Contexts for concepts, research, class discussions and assignments.

·         Public Presentation of Sociological knowledge and research.

• Intellectual Analyses: less provincialism, parochialism, common sense, rote learning, and passive note-taking.  More critical thinking skills.

HTC CORE COMPETENCIES:

         Aesthetics

         Analysis/Problem-solving/Critical Thinking

         Appreciation of Diversity in a Context of Global & Historical Awareness

         Citizenship and Social responsibility

         Effective Communication

         Efficient Use of Technology

         Ethical Reasoning and Behavior

         Understanding and Applying Science

         Wellness

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1.  Method of Instruction: Interactive Lectures, Class Discussions, and Class Participation.  

2.  Attendance Policies: 

HOW MANY TIMES MAY I CUT (UNEXCUSED ABSENCES) THIS CLASS? FOUR times. 

3.  Excused Absences.  You must provide me with a timely written and acceptable reason on letterhead from the relevant professional (doctor, court administrator, insurance adjuster, etc.) clearly stating why you had to be elsewhere at the time of the class or exam or why you were too sick to attend.  Written excuses from family, spouse, employer, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents, and lawyers are not acceptable.  Remember: if you cannot satisfactorily document an absence that I will accept, the absence is a cut or unexcused absence.

4.  Death & Resurrection.  Any one close relative (parents, siblings, grandparents, spouse, children, first cousins, in-laws, uncle, niece, nephew, aunt) can die only once per semester.  You must provide me with written  proof that you are a close family relative of the deceased by providing me with an acceptable obituary memorial program(s) or similar written document with your name listed as one of the surviving family members.  Remember: if you cannot document an absence, that absence is not excused.

5.  Unexcused Absences:  I have heard so many bad excuses.  SUGGESTION:  Save your four permitted cuts for when you really need them.  If you cannot document an absence, the absence becomes an unexcused absence.

6.  Consistent Tardiness.  You will be counted absent if, in my opinion, you are consistently tardy (more than twice per month) come to class late and disrupt my lectures.  Understand that coming in late disrupts the class, including me.  I have to stop the lecture to see who it is.  A student who leaves during class and do not return to class will be counted absent.  Students who persistently come to class late may be dropped from the class by the instructor.

7.  Make Up Exams:  Only those students with acceptable excused absences may make up an exam and the exam must be made up within one week of the students return to the class.  All make up exams will be taken at the Testing Center during their normal operating hours.

8.  Incompletes:  Criteria used to assess a student request for a grade of Incomplete:

• A student has made semester-long positive progress.  The student has a realistic chance of passing with at least a C.
• The student makes the request before the final exam or I offer the Incomplete to the student.
• All previously assigned work has been completed on time. 
• No failing grade on more than one major exam (60% correct or above).
• Evaluation of all other academic factors that are relevant for me to make a determination.
• A documented and acceptable sudden major student or close family emergency or catastrophe.
  
  

9.  Cell Phones In Class:  Never have your cell phone on in my class.  I never want to hear cell phones going off in my class.  No exceptions.  One cell phone disruption will result in your being excused from class and counted absent.  Two cell phone interruptions will result in the student being dropped from the class.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES:

1.  Class Attendance Rewards:

• Students with NO unexcused absences or cuts during the semester earn 50 Extra Points of Credit.
• Students with ONE unexcused absence or cut during the semester earn 35 Extra Points of Credit.
• Students with TWO unexcused absences or cuts during the semester earn 25 Extra Points of Credit.

2.  Class Presentations of Articles or Books.  Students who volunteer for individual or group class presentations, time permitting, can earn up to 35 Extra Points per presentation of 30 minutes, depending on the amount of work required and how well the report is presented to the class and to me.  See the handout of Books that are Available for Reports.  I will consider your own favorite social science book or work not on my list.  Subject to my approval, you could make a presentation on that work.  See the handout for Presentations Grading Criteria.  Group presentations will be given priority over individual presentations.

3.  Four Optional Monthly Quizzes (January 30, February 27, March 18, April 8th worth a Total of 120 Extra Credit Points.  See the dates under Important Dates, below, for the four scheduled quizzes, which students may take for extra credit.  Each quiz consists of 30 Questions, each question worth one point, from Chapters 5, 10, 12, and 16: Age & Inequality, Physical & Mental Health, Work & the Workplace, and Population & Global Inequaltiy, respectively.

4.  Extra Credit Activities Deadline: Thursday, April 24, 2003.

5.  Instructor-Awarded Extra Credit:  I may reward a student with any number of extra credit points and/or exemption from the final exam or other assignments without loss of points or grade if, on the basis of consistently excellent performance, I conclude that the student has earned the extra credit and/or the exemption.

6.  Exemption from the Final Exam:  I may exempt a student from the Final Exam without penalty of loss of points or loss of grade.  Exemption from the final may include extra credit points to elevate a student to a higher grade or to enable a student to pass the course.  This will be used sparingly.  A student with an A average going into the Final Exam will be automatically Exempt from the Final Exam.  A student with a B, C, D, or F average going into the Final Exam may want to first meet with me and get a written agreement from me that clearly outlines what Final Exam score will have to be earned by the student in order to receive a higher or passing grade.  It is up to the student to initiate this meeting in a timely fashion.

7.  Curving Grades:  Class grades will not be curved.  Individual student grades may be curved depending on the semester-long academic performance of the student making the request. 

GRADES:

If necessary, we will adjust exam date(s) to reflect changed circumstances.  Students will have plenty of notice that an exam date has been changed.  This usually happens when class discussions take more time than I anticipated.  However, we will go with the class discussions even if it means adjusting the exam date(s).

1.  Mandatory Meeting with Me.  A student who makes a D or F grade on Exam One and/or Exam Two MUST schedule a meeting with me so we can assess what problems the student is having in the course, and so we can work together to ensure it does not happen again.  The meeting is not to chew anybody out, but to help the student do well in future assignments and exams.  Most such meetings last 20 minutes.  Such a meeting is mandatory to remain in class.  Failure to meet with Dr. Maldonado may lead to the student being dropped from class.

A = 450 to 500 Points  (90%--100%)

B = 400 to 449 Points  (80%---89%)

C = 350 to 399 Points  (70%---79%)

D = 300 to 349 Points  (60%---69%)

F = 299 or fewer Points.  (59% or lower)

MAJOR EXAMS:

·        Major Exam One has 40 Questions & one 50 Point Essay                                130 Points

·         Major Exam Two has 40 Questions & one 50 Point Essay                                   130 Points

·         Major Exam Three is comprised of 55 Questions                                                110 Points

·        Major Exam Four is Class Participation                                                         130 Points                                                                                                                           TOTAL   500 Points

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1.  Exam One & Exam Two count 130 Points each.  Each Exam consists of one 50-point Essay and 40 (Two Points/Question = 80 Points) Questions, totaling 130 Points.

2.  Exam Three does NOT REQUIRE an Essay Question, just 55 Questions.  See next entry, however.

3.  Exam Three Essay Option: You may elect to do a 50-point Optional Essay for Exam Three, in which case your Essay Score and your Questions Score will be combined into one score for Exam Three.  Potentially: Exam Three could total 160 Points (110 points for 55 Questions and one 50-point essay).

4.  Class Participation (Exam Four):  Class participation is the point equivalent of Major Exams One or Two (130 Points).  If you never utter a word in class, you will still receive 65 points.  I strongly encourage productive class participation that moves the class discussions forward and makes the classes more academically challenging and interesting.  The primary goal is to develop critical thinking skills in the exchange and debate of ideas and knowledge.  It is not about being right.  It is about making the effort and doing your best to think Sociologically.