This web-based course depends on your active engagement with the assigned readings and participation in online discussions. Part of the reading assignment for each topic consists of PowerPoint presentations I use in the classroom version of this course. Although at least some of the PowerPoint presentations will be complemented by podcast recordings of my lectures, the course is designed to maximize students' interaction with each other as much as with the professor. If you are not prepared or able to put in the time necessary to complete the readings and engage in the online discussions built around them, you might want to consider taking the course using a traditional format. In other words, don't expect that this course will require less time or work than a face-to-face class.

The primary means of communication and discussion in this course will be through the JCCC Online (Blackboard) Discussion pages. We are also experimenting with the use of podcasts in our web courses, and there will be a limited number of those available during the course of the semester. I'll let you know about any of these developments through email, so it is extremely important that you check your MyJCCC email regularly. The best way to get a quicker response from me is to email me at my regular campus email address, sshafer@jccc.edu.

Our weekly discussions, when we do not have group projects assigned, will take place through a Blackboard discussion topic called The Question. This will get to be a fairly large topic as the semester progresses, so be sure you know how to navigate the discussion boards. If you haven't already attended a Distance Learning Orientation session, I highly recommend you do so.

More formal, graded discussions will also take place in the Blackboard discussion area. These are called Group Projects, and details on how these work are found below. Exams will also be given through Blackboard. You have a choice between writing an analytic, critical essay or taking the two exams (midterm and final). If you choose the Critical Essay option, you will submit that as an email attachment (WordPerfect, Word .doc format, .pdf, or .rtf formats only) to sshafer@jccc.edu.  The course is set up sequentially, so it is virtually impossible for you to work ahead, and falling behind is inadvisable.

Grades will be based on evaluation of your performance on five types of assignments:

1. The Question
2. Class Participation
3. Group Projects
4. Exams OR Critical Essay

1. The Question: In order to encourage critical reading and your timely completion of reading assignments, you are required to prepare a discussion question about the reading assignment and post it on The Question discussion topic in the middle of each week, except those weeks in which we have a group project or an exam scheduled. According to the Outline and Schedule, the weeks Questions are due will include weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14. To make the The Question topic more manageable, please be sure to give your messages a meaningful title in the following format: <yourname><topic>question. For example, if I were posting a question about the readings on racism, I would give my message the subject "Shafer's racism question."

Deadline for The Question is 8:00 am each Wednesday of the appropriate weeks. Of course, you can submit your question any time before that, but Questions posted after that time will be considered late. There are usually multiple articles assigned each week, but you only need to submit one question on one of the readings (your choice). The idea is that everyone should have a chance to participate in threaded discussions of the Questions during the week those readings are assigned. It is essential that you monitor the Blackboard discussions for this course at least twice a week. It is also essential that you participate in the discussions that take place there every week. Think of it as having class twice a week, and try to schedule your times on a regular basis. In the weeks in which Group Projects take place, your participation will be through the Blackboard discussion page topic for that specific Group Project.

The Question assignment is worth 100 points, or 25% of the course grade for the semester and your points will be based on the frequency and timeliness of your postings.  As a general guideline, you should, besides posting your own question, also reply to at least one other student's Question during the week, or at least once to replies to your questions. The idea is to have a virtual discussion. The discussion must be informed by the reading assignments. Everyone has a preconceived opinion about issues, but the goal of this class is to develop a sociological imagination and ability to analyze issues using theory and empirical evidence to inform your perspective. So you need to focus your discussions on what you are reading, not on what you saw on Dr. Phil or Judge Judy yesterday or on stereotypes about these or those people that you know have certain characteristics because you personally know a few cases. It is very helpful to the rest of us if you refer to specific page numbers in the reading assignments, so that we can also put forth our own interpretations and reflections

A question that is completely off-topic or plagiarized will receive no credit. Late questions are worth half credit.

With this assignment, you are responsible to ask some of the questions, and thereby initiate discussions about the assigned readings. In addition to giving you an incentive to actively complete the readings, this assignment gives you practice in the essential skill of asking good, critical questions. I do expect some questions about current issues in the news, but primarily when these might be relevant to the readings and topic for that week. I will try to stay out of the discussion, at least for the first few days of the week, so that you can have a chance first to try to address the questions yourselves. Questions raised in this assignment sometimes make their way into exams, so you have a chance to contribute to the writing of your own exams!

2. Class Participation: Your overall level of participation in the course, particularly in the listserv Questions discussion and the group projects will determine your class participation score. Blackboard tracks not only how often you post messages, but also how many of the other messages you read. I use those data in assessing your overall participation score, so make sure you read what your fellow students are writing as well as posting your own responses. Participation is worth a total of 100 points, or 25% of the course grade. Again, I am not evaluating the complete accuracy of your postings, but if they are excessively brief (only a sentence or a phrase), off topic, plagiarized, or if they show complete unawareness of materials you were assigned to read or view, you receive little or no credit for them.

3. Group Projects are directed group discussions conducted through the Blackboard Discussions page for this course. The two main goals of these projects are to reinforce your recall and understanding of facts and analysis presented in readings and PowerPoint notes (linked to course topics in the Outline and Schedule), and to develop your own critical thinking skills. These are problem solving exercises designed to cumulatively develop skills in the critical analysis of social problems. The group projects will help you develop a sociological perspective on these issues. They will also help you develop your ability to assess the way social problems are "framed" by those who have defined them as problems. Think of them not only as graded assignments but also as study guides, as they will prepare you with the skills you will need to gather and analyze information for the exams and the critical essay. The first five group projects focus on specific tasks in analysis of how social problems are framed, while the final one deals with analysis of solutions to social problems.

The links for each group project assignment will appear on the Blackboard Home Page for the course, but will be hidden until time for that assignment. The basic readings for the projects are shown in the course schedule and outline, but the specific tasks and questions, as well as any additional web links to study, will be given in that assignment page. Starting Sunday of a group project week, you will see a topic on the Discussions page for your group and that group project. Your group will be one of two or more small groups of five to ten members. It will appear as a "private" discussion topic in Blackboard. Actually, all the groups will be discussing the same topics and readings, but the discussion thread you see will only include the members of your group. By Friday of the week of a group project, each member of the group will be responsible for posting a summary of their responses and discussion of part of the project in a public summary discussion topic that the entire class will see. I will assign the specific summary topic in the description for that topic. Members of the class will then respond to these group summaries in a threaded discussion of the whole assignment. 4/5 of your grade for a group project will be based on your small group discussion; the other 1/5 will be based on your participation in the whole class summary discussion. Each group project is worth 20 points, for a total of 100 points (25% of the course grade) on the group projects. 

4. Exams: You will have a choice between completing a Midterm and a Final Exam or a Critical Essay for the final component of your grade. You must email me by September 27 your choice whether to take the Exams or do the Critical Essay. If you choose the exams, you must do both. Each exam is worth 50 points, so the total possible on the exams is 100 points . These are comprehensive exams based on the readings, recommended films, group projects, and PowerPoint lecture notes (linked through the course schedule and outline) in each half of the course. The exams are comprised of 10 multiple choice and two essay questions. They are scheduled for an entire week, and you can make as many attempts as you like. One of the essays on each exam is set up with a set of several essay questions, so each attempt will give you a different selection of essays. I will expect your answers to these essays to be original, so cutting and pasting from previous discussions of the topics will cost you points! Although the last attempt is usually the one you want to have graded, you will need to notify me by email if you want a different one graded.

Or Critical Essay: This is an analytical evaluation of a social problem issue which you choose. This may or may not be an issue we have discussed in class. Your analysis will be based on the methods developed in the group project exercises. You will need to let me know the social problem you wish to analyze for your Critical Essay by the end of Week 8 (October 11) if you wish to do the Critical Essay instead of the exams. The length of the essay should be equivalent to a 3-5 page paper. Details will be provided in an additional web page. The paper will be submitted as an email attachment to sshafer@jccc.edu, and is due by December 6.

CALENDAR

Because of quirks in the Blackboard calendar function, the calendar for this course appears in the Outline and Schedule page of this website. Refer to it for due dates and the schedule of readings and assignments. Reading assignments on the web are hyperlinked; you can click on them to go directly to the website. You are also responsible for the material in the PowerPoint presentations, which are hyperlinked in the Topic section of the Outline and Schedule.

THREE GUIDING VALUES: CIVILITY, COURTESY, AND HONEST EFFORT

As social values, these might very well be topics of discussion in this course. As social practices, they are essential to our success in making this course interesting, useful, and meaningful to each and every one of us. Class won't be all of those things for everybody every time, but social problems are by their nature controversial, so that if you try, you are bound to find something of interest, something useful, and some meaning in much, if not most of what we do.

We are most likely to achieve the goal of excited enlightenment (or even light excitement!) if everyone in class embraces these three values. We are here to share and cooperate, to help and enlighten each other, to work together to better understand our social world and our place in it. Mocking or making fun of others who are bold enough to write honestly may be easier to do in the anonymous-seeming realm of online discussion, but it is just as harmful as doing so in someone's face. We will be discussing controversial issues, and we come from different backgrounds and experiences, so it is essential that we think very carefully about what we write and how we write it, especially since we cannot read each others' faces and body language when we are online. It would be very helpful for you to read or re-read the web page on "netiquette" on the JCCC Distance Learning Orientation site: http://students.jccc.edu/dlorientation/Information/netiquette/netiquette00.html .

If we find the sociability of the team or other task-oriented group, if we give each other mutual respect as mature adults, and if each of us puts serious and consistent energy into the learning project, we will succeed in having an enlightening and enjoyable semester.

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM

Cheating and plagiarism are violations of social norms and of the three guiding values discussed above. They are also violations of the JCCC Student Code of Conduct,  Be sure to read section 4, Cheating and Plagiarism.

Because incidents of plagiarism are on the increase, I have developed a pretty good cheat detector, and the college has excellent resources to detect plagiarism as well, so the best plan is not to try it. Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing in this class will be subject to any or all of the following sanctions: a zero for that assignment; an immediate "F" for the course; referral to college authorities for further discipline, including possible expulsion. If you do not understand the academic standards regarding the use of someone else's ideas or words, please consult me, your Composition instructor, the Writing Center, or the Reference Librarians. I am not particular about citation styles, but you must always cite your sources, including author, title, publisher, and publication date at the very least. The closest thing to a citation standard in the field of sociology is the American Sociological Association Style Guide. I have some references available on writing sociology papers if you need additional help.

JCCC PROCEDURES FOR ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

"If you are a student with a disability, and if you will be requesting accommodations, it is your responsibility to contact Access Services (SC 292; ext. 3521). Access Services will recommend any appropriate accommodations to your instructor and his/her director. The instructor and director will identify for you which accommodations will be arranged."

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