LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Analyze inter-group dynamics and societal change using micro and macro sociological
perspectives.
Apply scientific principles and methods in investigating human social behavior.
Demonstrate an understanding of cultural patterns, social institutions, and social processes at
societal and global levels.
Identify and comprehend the social forces that affect their lives in a culturally diverse society
and in a global environment.
Use core sociological theories and concepts to explain past and present social phenomena.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

Chambliss, William and Diana Eglitis. 2014. Discover Sociology. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

ASSIGNMENTS FOR A TYPICAL WEEK

Eleven modules have typical components, which are as follows:

1. Reading assignments Do the chapter reading.
2. Quizzes Take chapter quizzes which measure your understanding of the material.
3. Discussion Board The Discussion Board is our platform for online discussions, which serve
a similar purpose as do face-to-face classroom discussions. Some topics of the Discussion board
involve watching films or reading articles. They constantly evolve. You need to budget your
time. You need to be attentive. Listen to (read) your classmates and respond to them. In fact,
online discussions have a special kind of intimacy, which you may like.

Develop a good weekly routine do the reading, take the quiz, and post your thoughts on the
Discussion Board early in the week! The sooner you establish the work routine, the more
successful you will be.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Your final course grade will be based on the following:

Two Exams - Midterm and Final (each exam is 20% of the grade) 40%
Three Writing Assignments (each paper is 10% of the grade) 30%
Participation in Discussion Board (2.5% each for the best 8 of 11 discussion modules) 20%
Quizzes (11 Quizzes each quiz is worth 1%. The lowest will be dropped) 10%
Total 100%

Grades for each assignment and exam will be posted in the section of MyGrades. Final
grades are based on total of all assignments.

Grading scheme:
A: 90 100
B: 80 89.9
C: 70 79.9
D: 60 69.9
F: 59.9 or lower

Borderline grades (89, 79, 69, 59) will be judged according to the level of active course
participation and may result in a higher grade.

Backing up your work

In this course you will complete most of your assignments on a computer. You are responsible
for ensuring the safety of your work by making regular backups (extra copies). It is a good idea
to have an automatic backup program in your computer.

Exams
The midterm exam and the final exam will be fully online. Each will cover half of the course
materials. This means that the final exam will not be cumulative. Specific dates for the
availability of the midterm and the final are listed in the Weekly Course Schedule found at the
end of this syllabus. You will have two hours to complete each exam. About half of each exam
will be multiple choice questions and the other half will be essay questions.

Academic Honesty and Student Conduct

All students are expected to comply with the Academic Regulations and the Code of Conduct as
it appears in the MC Student Handbook on the web at:
www.montgomerycollege.edu/departments/academicevp/Student_PandP.htm.

Academic honesty is expected at all times. Students are expected to produce their own work on
the Discussion Board, and papers must consist of a students own writing and ideas. Using the
words or ideas of others in papers without proper citations is considered plagiarism. Campus
Writing Centers are useful for technical assistance with writing. For further understanding of the

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concept of plagiarism, it is highly recommended that students take the following tutorial which is
found at the Montgomery College Librarys
website: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/plagiarismintro.htm.

According to the Code of Conduct, the minimum grade sanction imposed by a faculty
member is to award an F on the assignment or exam in which the dishonesty
occurred. The maximum grade sanction is to award an F for the course in which the
dishonesty occurred.

Writing Assignments

1. There are two writing assignments. All are short, 2-3 or 3-4 pages. Specific instructions
are given for each paper.

2. Papers must be original work done for this course and based on your individual
work. They may not be extensions of or edited versions of papers done from previous
classes or another class you are taking now.

3. The two papers will be due by midnight on the final day of the Paper Assignment
Module. Late papers will only be accepted with advanced permission of your instructor
and may have points deducted for lateness.

4. Each paper will be worth 10% of your grade. All papers will count for 30% of your
course grade.

Weekly Discussion Board Topics

1. Each week there will be two or three modules with several discussion questions based on
the weekly readings. Participation in the Discussion Board is worth 20% of your course
grade (2.5% each for your best 8 out of the 11 discussion board modules). Discussion
topics will be closed at midnight on Sunday at the end of each week. When topics are
closed you will have access to read them but you will not be able to make entries or to
respond to entries.

2. Weekly discussion board grades will be based on:

a. posting analytical initial thought on two or more different topics of the weekly
discussion topics. This posting will be the first half of your weekly grade.

b. responding to your classmates post in two or more different threads (topics).

The responses will be the second half of your weekly grade.

c. connecting the discussion topic with course materials. Try to apply

sociological concepts and theories to the topic you are discussing.

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 d. having additional substantive and meaningful postings (other than the required
postings) which will add to your weekly grade.

e. Read all the posts before posting your comments. You will not get any points by
repeating what someone else has already said. If you repeat, it will show that you
are not reading others posts.

f. Initial thoughts (your answer to the instructors topic question) are due at 11:59
pm on Friday so that everyone will have plenty of posts to respond to on
Saturday and Sunday. Try to post early in the week. Discussions evolve. If you
post early, sophistication is not a norm. You can get a discussion started even if
your thoughts are still muddy, which can be a great contribution to class. It is all
right to bring your questions to the discussion. We will try to answer your
questions collectively.

Quizzes

1. There will be a quiz for each chapter. The quiz will consist of 10 multiple choice
questions.

2. You will be able to check your answers and receive your score immediately following
each quiz.

3. Quizzes will help you prepare for the multiple choice sections of the exams.

4. There will be 11 quizzes. Each quiz is worth 1% of your grade. The lowest one will be
dropped at the end. Ten percent of your course grade is based on the quizzes.

5. If you get a low score on a weekly quiz, you may retake it as many times as you want
until Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. Blackboard will enter your highest score at the end of
the module period. You can spend as long as one hour for each attempt.

ORIENTATION TO BLACKBOARD

Blackboard is relatively easy to navigate. You will find links to course materials in each weeks
Learning Module in the COURSE CONTENT section and you can also use the Course Tools
menu for connection to the Discussion Board, syllabus, class mail, and Grade Center. For
additional information about how Blackboard operates, click on the MC RESOURCES on the
left. You will find a BLACKBOARD TUTORIALS section.

Technological Requirement: Important!!

It is required that students have reliable computer access for the entirety of this course. If you
are experiencing computer difficulties, you can use Montgomery College computer labs, but you
will be expected to keep up with the course deadlines. To locate hours for MC computer labs on

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all campuses, go to the main MC website http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/ and put computer
labs into the search area.

Technical Support

When you have technical questions, contact the MC Help Desk at 1- 240-567-7222. Blackboard
support is available 24/7.

Do not contact your instructor for technical help.

CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION

Online Privacy

This is to remind you that electronic communications are not private. In addition to your
instructor, technical staff, administrative personnel and some faculty members may occasionally
access this course.

Class Announcements - Important !!!

I will regularly post class announcements in the announcement section. You are expected to
check the announcements at least 3-4 times per week.

Email

For this course, use Blackboard email, not MC email unless it is an emergency. Use the Q & A
section on the discussion board to ask course related questions.

Q and A Section

When you have questions about assignments or other aspects of the course, please share them
with class by posting in the Q and A section which is located in the discussions area. I will
check this forum regularly and answer your questions.

Student Lounge

The student lounge is an informal area for student discussion and interaction. Your instructor
may occasionally visit, but it is primarily for you and your classmates.

Guidelines for Participating in an Online Discussion

You are expected to read all posted messages.

Respond to each other promptly.
Use the person's name when you reply to a message. It helps to keep all of us
oriented. It helps us maintain a clearer sense of who is speaking and who is being

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 spoken to. As we begin to associate names with tone and ideas, we come to know each
other better.
Change the subject line of the message when you want to introduce a new topic. The
value of this tip will become apparent as the number of messages grows.
Feel free to reinforce each other's ideas with comments such as "Good Point" or "I
agree" or "Thanks for the comments." Note, however, that these comments do not
count toward your weekly discussion board grade.
Avoid rude or angry comments.
The use of sexist, racist, or objectionable language is not acceptable.
Use emoticons to communicate humor, e.g. :-) ;-) :-0 :-/ :-(
When you are writing for an online discussion, it is important to edit your postings and
to check your spelling. Blackboard has an HTML editor which you can enable when
composing messages.
If you do not like using the HTML editor then I strongly encourage you to compose
your message in a word processor and then to copy and paste the text into the
discussion message. Expect to spend time editing and revising your messages until
they are clear. Composing your messages in a word processor first, will save you from
losing your hard work if your browser crashes before you click the submit button.
As a general rule, messages posted on the Discussion Board should be no more than
two screens in length. If your message is longer, consider revising it to be more
concise or separating your message into points and posting each point as a separate
message. Use your common sense.
Do not post internet links on the discussion board unless you have gained permission
from your instructor to do so. If you want to post a link, you should privately email
your instructor with the link and wait for approval from your instructor before posting
it.

IMPORTANT STUDENT INFORMATION LINK

In addition to course requirements and objectives that are in this syllabus, Montgomery College
has information on its web site (see link below) to assist you in having a successful experience
both inside and outside of the classroom. It is important that you read and understand this
information. The link below provides information and other resources to areas that pertain to the
following: student behavior (student code of conduct), student e-mail, the tobacco free policy,
withdraw and refund dates, disability support services, veteran services, how to access
information on delayed openings and closings, how to register for the Montgomery College alert
System, and finally, how closings and delays can impact your classes. If you have any questions
please bring them to your professor. As rules and regulations change they will be updated and
you will be able to access them through the link. If any student would like a written copy of these
policies and procedures, the professor would be happy to provide them. By registering for this
class and staying in this class, you are indicating that you acknowledge and accept these policies.

http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/mcsyllabus/

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 WEEKLY COURSE SCHEDULE

WEEK TOPIC ASSIGNMENT DEADLINES

Discover Sociology Chapter 1

MODULES Quiz #1
1 and 2 Discussion Board
Sunday,
November 1
October 26 -
11:59 p.m.
November 1 Culture Chapter 3
Quiz #2
Discussion Board

Socialization and Social Chapter 4

MODULES Interaction Quiz #3
Sunday,
3 and 4 Discussion Board
November 8
11:59 p.m.
November Writing Assignment #1 See the handout for
2-8 instructions

Discover Sociological Chapter 2

MODULES Research Quiz #4
5 and 6 Discussion Board
Sunday,
November 15
November
11:59 p.m.
9 - 15 Groups, Organizations, Chapter 5
and Bureaucracies Quiz #5
Discussion Board

MODULE 7 MIDTERM EXAM

on Modules 1 through 6 Midterm Exam
November Date:
16 - 22 You will need to have
two hours that are not Sunday,
interrupted. Once you November 22
begin the exam you will
not be able to restart it.

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 Writing Assignment #2 See the handout for
MODULES instructions
8 and 9 Sunday,
November 29
November Class and Inequality Chapter 7 11:59 p.m.
23 29 Quiz #6
Discussion Board

November 25 - 27

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Race and Ethnicity Chapter 8

MODULES Quiz #7
10, 11, and 12 Discussion Board

November 30
December 6 Gender and Society Chapter 9 Sunday,
Quiz #8 December 6
Discussion Board 11:59 p.m.

Education and Society Chapter 11

Quiz #9
Discussion Board

Writing Assignment #3 See the handout for

MODULES instructions
13, 14, and 15
Deviance and Social Chapter 6
December Control Quiz #10 Sunday,
7 - 13 Discussion Board December 13
11:59 p.m.

Social Change Chapter 18

and Social Movements Quiz #11
Discussion Board

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MODULE 16 FINAL EXAM
on Modules 9 through Final Exam
December 15 Date:
14 - 17
You will need to have Thursday,
two hours that are not December 17
interrupted. Once you
begin the exam you will
not be able to restart it.