Sociology 211: Social Problems
Fall 2001
Dr. Scott Schaffer

Class Meetings: 211.03 - Tues/Thurs 230pm to 345pm; 211.04 - Tues/Thurs 4pm to 515pm - McComsey 114
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 1pm to 2pm, Susquehanna House 105

Phone: 717/872.3567 Fax: 717/872.3942     email: scott.schaffer@millersville.edu

Course Description:

This class is devoted to looking at the dark side of our social lives - the side we don't like to look at. This course asks you to look at what's wrong with the world and (y)our place in making it that way.

There are many social problems in the world, and we hear about them on CNN, read about them in the newspaper, and get them turned into guilt trips by our mothers for not eating our dinner. Starving children in Ethiopia; people with HIV/AIDS in southern Africa; crime and drug use in our cities - all of these issues seem huge and insurmountable. In this class, we'll look at these problems, the ideas about society that are reflected in these problems, and develop tools for understanding them better so we can begin to address them individually and as a society.

The first part of this course will focus on the wide variety of social problems around the world. The term 'social problem' is itself problematic; it implies a 'correct' way of living with others that is not working. And it is this implied 'socially correct' mode of life that we'll begin to explore by understanding these phenomena not just as social problems (drug use, crime, poverty, inequality), but also as sociological problems (conceptions of sanity and sobriety, conformity, wealth, and equality).

This will give us a framework for moving to the second part of the course ' understanding democracy. President George W. Bush recently said (as did Bill Clinton before him, and George Bush before him) that 'free trade will bring democracy to the world.' A statement like that is problematic for two reasons - what is democracy? And what does free trade have to do with it? The second section of the course will raise these questions and look at the relationship between democracy and capitalism, and will ask you to decide if American democracy is all it claims to be.

The third section of the course will look at the phenomenon known as globalization. We have all heard this term, but generally know very little of what it entails. Yet, this set of processes is happening, and generating great amounts of wealth in some places, widespread poverty in others, and widely televised (and occasionally brutally repressed) protests all over the world. If we are to understand our place in the world - and it is a place that is changing on a daily basis - then we need to understand how our society, and how we as members of society, are changing the world through the support of globalization.

In sum, this isn't going to be the most uplifting course. There are very few happy moments in a social problems course, and I will ask you not only to interrogate our society, but also to interrogate yourself and the things you do in the world. Ultimately, it will make you a better member of society.

Course Texts:

The following texts are required, and are available for purchase from the Marauder Bookstore, or online at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. We'll read them in the following order.

Robert Heiner (ed.), Social Problems and Social Solutions (abbreviated SPSS)
Ellen Meiksins Wood, Democracy Against Capitalism (abbreviated DAC)
Frank Lechner and John Boli (eds.), The Globalization Reader (abbreviated GR)

Course Assignments:

There are five types of assignments for this course. Successful and timely completion of all assignments is essential to your success in this course.

Papers: There will be three papers for this course - one at the end of each of the texts. These papers are cumulative, and will ask you engage in analysis and argumentation. The third of these papers will be a short research project, in which you will pursue independent research on some issue relating to our two main themes - democracy and globalization. Pay careful attention to the 'How to Write a Schaffer Paper' handout - it contains everything you need to know about writing for me.

Exams: There will be two short in-class exams. The first, a short concept identification exam, will be held when you submit the first paper on Thurs Oct 4/2001. This exam will cover the readings in the Social Problems and Social Solutions text. The second, a longer concept identification and short essay exam covering the readings in The Globalization Reader, will be held during the scheduled final exam time. While each exam is worth a pittance in terms of your final grade, there are two provisos: first, if you do not show up for the exam, your paper will not be graded; and second, the exams will cover different material than the papers do.

Discussion Groups: In the second class session, you will join a three-person discussion group, that will serve as both a site for discussing the weekly questions that are intended to guide you through the readings and as a moral support group for your journey through theory. The questions will be handed out in advance of each week's reading. You will be asked to develop consensual responses as a group to each of the questions presented on the discussion questions list and submit them the week after the readings. All group members must participate in the discussion and must sign the responses to verify their participation. Discussion question submissions will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis, so they're free grades. They will also help you prepare for the questions posed on the paper assignments.

Reading Journals: You will be asked to keep a journal throughout this course. How you use the journal in conjunction with the course is up to you; it is intended to provide you with another space in which you can deal with the issues that appear during the course. You will be asked to submit your journal twice during the semester - once with the second paper, and again with the final paper. I do read the journals, so you know. They will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis; you do at least an entry each week, you pass. You don't...

Class Participation: Your participation in this course is vital to your success. On some days, participation will simply be your attendance; on others, you'll be asked to submit prepared questions for address by the class; and on still others, you will need to engage the class in discussion on the materials and issues at hand for that day. In any case, this is not a class where slacking is healthy; the success of each and every class session rests in part on your contribution.

Note: I reserve the right to give a pop quiz at any time to ensure that you're keeping up with the readings. Any time I give a pop quiz, it will be graded on a letter grade basis, and the grade will be equivalent to two sets of discussion questions. There are no makeup quizzes; if you're absent on the day it happens, you receive a zero (0) for that quiz, save in the event of an excused and previously notified absence.

Grade Breakdown: Grades for this course will be letter grades with +/- modifiers, save for the discussion questions and journals, which are pass/fail (A or F). You cannot pass the course without submitting all paper assignments and the journals; even though their weight in your final grade appears minimal, your completion of them is necessary for you to do well on the papers and exams.

First Paper:                           15%
First Exam:                              5%
Second Paper:                       20%
Final Paper:                          30%
Final Exam:                             5%
Discussion Questions:         10%
Journals:                                  5%
Class Participation:             10%

Timeliness, Presentation, and Academic Dishonesty Policies:

Timeliness: As you know, the tempo of the semester system does not allow one to fall behind, and everything in this course builds to the final research paper. As such, you are requested and required to submit all assignments on the time and date announced. Except in the case of a severe, catastrophic, and well-documented misfortune that befalls you (such as your departure from this mortal coil), no late papers will be accepted; in the event of a catastrophe, you must contact me by phone or e-mail as early as possible. In no event will there be a makeup exam or pop quiz. Papers must be submitted to me in person at the time and date due, to the Sociology Department office prior to the deadline, or by e-mail to me before the deadline.  back to syllabus

Presentation: The research papers you will undertake in this course represent a significant portion of your time this quarter and are intended to get you to think about the nature of the society in which you find yourselves. The expectation is that you will pursue these assignments with vigor and a clear intent to do well in the development of your analytic and critical thinking skills. As such, you are required to proofread and spell- and grammar-check all work submitted during this course. There is no excuse for submitting shoddy work in a time when any decent word processing program can polish your work. Any paper submitted with copious errors will automatically lose one full letter grade and may be returned for correction; if the paper is not resubmitted after three days, you will receive a zero (0) for the work. With the second presentation foul, your paper will receive a zero (0), and any subsequent paper submitted in a sloppy manner will receive a zero (0) as well.

Academic Dishonesty: Absolutely NO form of academic dishonesty (defined as the use of prohibited materials during an examination, any kind of communication with another person other than the professor or an exam proctor during an examination, the representation of another's work as your own whether that work was purchased or freely offered) will be tolerated in this course. As it is contrary to both the mission of the university and to MU policies, any act of academic dishonesty will be met with an immediate failure on the exam or assignment at minimum, and referral to Student Affairs for judicial board proceedings at most. Just don't even think about it ' it robs us all of the learning experience.

Lecture and Reading Schedule: Please note that you are expected to have completed the readings listed for each class session on the day they are listed. While my lectures will touch on issues raised in the readings, you should not presume that they are a substitute for actually doing the readings or vice versa.

Discussion question assignments are linked to the Tuesday session for the week they cover.

T Aug 28:Introduction to the Course: Mechanics
Th Aug 30: Introduction to the Course: Themes and Issues

T Sep 4: SPSS pp. 1-28

Th Sep 6: SPSS pp. 29-46, 55-65, 88-93

T Sep 11: SPSS pp. 94-122
Th Sep 13: SPSS pp. 123-141

T Sep 18: Paper 1 handed out and discussed; SPSS pp. 142-184

Th Sep 20: SPSS pp. 185-244

T Sep 25: Midterm prep sheet handed out; SPSS pp. 245-264, 288-316
Th Sep 27: SPSS pp. 317-367

T Oct 2: Paper prep and exam review session ' no reading.

Th Oct 4: PAPER 1 DUE at the start of class; SPSS exam in class - bring large-size blue book.

T Oct 9: NO CLASS - Fall Recess.
Th Oct 11: DAC pp. 1-48

T Oct 16: Paper 2 handed out and discussed; DAC pp. 49-107

Th Oct 18: DAC pp. 108-181

T Oct 23: DAC pp. 181-237
Th Oct 25: DAC pp. 238-293

T Oct 30: Paper prep session - no reading.

Th Nov 1: PAPER 2 and Journals DUE at the start of class; Term project handed out and discussed; GR pp. 1-48

T Nov 6: GR pp. 49-108

Th Nov 8: GR pp. 109-144

T Nov 13: GR pp. 145-194
Th Nov 15: GR pp. 195-243

T Nov 20: GR pp. 243-282

Th Nov 22: NO CLASS - Thanksgiving Recess.

T Nov 27: GR pp. 283-318
Th Nov 29: GR pp. 319-370

T Dec 4: GR pp. 371-406

Th Dec 6: Closure discussion: How do we change the world? (no reading)

(211.03) F Dec 14, 1230pm to 230pm: FINAL PAPER Due and Cumulative Exam
(211.04) T Dec 11, 1015am to 1215am: FINAL PAPER Due and Cumulative Exam

Journal Assignment

The purpose of the journal is to help you do a number of things:

• Understand, in whatever way you do, the reading assignments in a deeper manner;
• Prepare for the paper assignments by taking notes on the readings, thinking about the issues at hand in the class, etc.;
• Further develop your awareness of the relevance of the theorists we read for understanding the social world in a deeper manner;
• And provide you with an opportunity to 'rant' back at me, this course, and anything that troubles you about the world around you.

Beyond this, what you do with the journal is up to you. You can use it for taking notes on the readings, musing about your life, discussing your responses to the course or to me - anything. It is, strictly speaking, your space, so please feel free to write what you want in whatever manner you want.

Over the years, I've found that the following usage works best for students in attaining all of the goals of this course:

1. Write in your journal on a daily basis - after each class session. This way, the ideas and issues discussed in class are fresh in your mind, and I've found that it's easier to integrate new ideas into your existing way of thinking if you try to work it out immediately after you've learned the stuff.

2. Keep in mind the goals of the course and the purpose of the journal. I'm not expecting this to be a 'Dear Diary' sort of experience for you (though discussing events and goings-on in your personal life is perfectly acceptable to me). Rather, the journal is designed to help you further your sociological and analytic abilities, and as such, writing up each day's entry to focus on that day's class material will help you retain it, understand it, and give you an opportunity to see how it relates to your everyday existence.

3. Don't fall behind. I'll know it. And since this is intended to help you deepen your understanding of social life, falling behind will have an impact on your work in other areas of the course, most especially the papers.

Evaluation: Your journals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Number and frequency of entries - and don't try to fake them all at the end of the course;
• Depth of the entries - are they just 'dear diary' types of things? or are they serious attempts at bridging the gap between the class materials and your daily existence?
• Germaneness - are the entries relevant to the issues being discussed in class and the readings?

As with most everything else, a sincere effort will ensure that you do well on this segment of the course assignments, which will end up benefiting you on your other assignments as well.

These journals will be collected twice - one with the second paper (on Mon Oct 22), and again during the final exam period - and each collection date counts as 50% of your journals grade. Failing to submit the first time will result in a 0 for that half, regardless of whether or not the entries appear on the second submission. No late journals will be accepted. back to syllabus

Discussion Group Assignment

The discussion questions are an integral part of this course. They serve a number of purposes:

• First, to provide you with a basis for understanding not just what each author says, but also why they see what they say, how they develop their argument, and how their ideas can be extended and translated into understanding other contexts;
• Second, to give you an opportunity to gain regular feedback on your burgeoning understanding of these materials over the course of the semester, both from me and from others in the class;
• Third, to participate in a fruitful exchange of ideas with your peers on a regular basis, so you end up getting a variety of perspectives on the issues being dealt with in the course;
• And finally, to build a support group that can help you with clarifying questions you might have, a group of proofreaders to ensure your work is the best and most polished it can be, and hopefully, some new friends.

In the second class session, we'll set up discussion groups of three people (four is acceptable). Your task during that session is to exchange phone numbers and email addresses and to figure out a time where you can meet to discuss the questions on a weekly basis. It doesn't matter to me if this meeting is on campus, off-campus, or by email or telephone (hence the three people ' three-way calling). You need to be sure to find a time that is generally acceptable to all of you; the written work you submit comes from the entire group, and all of you know how annoying it is to have a 'free rider' who does none of the work. Don't be that free rider.

You are to meet with your discussion group and discuss these questions during this week of readings, as well as any other questions or ideas that might surface. The group will collectively write up brief responses to each of these questions and submit them, as well as any questions that come up during your discussion. Each member of the group who was in attendance at the meeting will sign the responses (and print your name, so I know who's in the group) attesting to their participation. If a member of your group does not participate in that week's discussion, their name should not appear on the submitted work.

You should note that the questions are 'cumulative,' so that the last question in each set builds on all the questions that come before it. Hence, skipping questions or splitting the questions into blocks that one person prepares does not help you in the long run ' paper questions are more like the last question in each set than like any of the others.

Your written work is due on the first class meeting following the week for which the discussion questions are assigned; no late discussion questions will be accepted for credit under any circumstances.

Guidelines for submitting responses to discussion questions: You must follow these guidelines for the written work for this assignment.

• Ensure that all sets of discussion questions are typed. Handwritten responses are unacceptable and indicate that you're splitting questions;
• The questions must submitted in a unified set ' all the questions must be stapled and printed off the same computer and appear in the same font. You can elect to have one person each week type up your responses, but do not use this as a justification for splitting questions;
• You should note disparate responses by name; in other words, if someone disagreed with a statement the group comes to, put that response in and note who disagreed;
• Each group member's name and signature must appear below this statement:
  'Our signatures below attest that we fully participated in this week's discussion group.'

Disputes within groups: If a dispute occurs within a group - someone keeps skipping group and expecting credit, or some other kind of internal problem appears - the group members should take care of it collectively. If it cannot be resolved internally, it is expected that you will come to me to resolve the situation, though I prefer not to get involved in this way. We're all adults; we can manage our own affairs. back to syllabus

Paper Evaluation Guidelines

More information on these guidelines and examples of what I expect is available in the 'How to Write a Schaffer Paper' handout, which will be given out with the first paper assignment. These, though, are the overall guidelines in order of importance.

1. Strength and clarity of response to the paper topic's main question. Each paper assignment will ask you to respond directly to an argumentative question, and you should ensure that your paper contains a direct and clear response to this question.

2. Strength and cohesiveness of the argument. The papers you will write in this class are argument-based - it isn't enough to deliver a simple one-sentence statement that answers the question. Instead, you need to take the time to show me how it is you came to that response - the thought process you went through, the references you drew from in order to figure out your position, and how you put everything together. In algebra, it was called 'showing your steps'; here, it's just good argumentation.

3. Accuracy in presentation and understanding of materials. While most of this course is devoted to the development of your own perspective on these thinkers and the world, there are some minimum 'correct' and 'incorrect' understandings of what the authors said. You need to be sure that you accurately represent what each author says, that you accurately and adequately cite any reference to the original text(s), and that you explain any unorthodox presentation of the authors' works.

4. Presentation ' spelling, grammar, tone, and the actual submitted paper. As it's become ridiculously easy to ensure that your work is cleanly presented, you must ensure that your paper is spell- and grammar-checked prior to submitting it for evaluation. You should also endeavor to ensure that it's proofread, either by you, a discussion group member, or someone else - and this proofreading should be both for the technical matters and for clarity of argument. Otherwize, you're paper will appeer bad, even iff its the most briliant thing ever writen.

Deductions: The following are automatic deductions without appeal:

• Not reaching minimum page count: 1/3 letter grade per page the paper is short;
• Not utilizing minimum number of texts: 1/3 letter grade per text the paper is short;
• Not proofreading the paper: up to one full letter grade the first time, with revisions possible at my discretion; the second time, your paper will receive a zero (0);
• Not citing all references to original texts: 1/3 letter grade;
• Not including a bibliography when required by the assignment: one full letter grade.

Also, note that I grade on a letter grade with +/- additions, so there should be no dallying around with the math. back to syllabus