The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the increasingly acute and intense problems such as alcoholism, violence, drugs, crime, inequality, lifestyle preferences and environmental abuse within the context of social change. We will utilize various theoreticalsociological paradigms. This course will emphasize the subject areas below.

• Illness and the Health care Crisis.
• Alcohol and other Drugs.
• Crime and Violence.
• Family Problems.
• Problems of youth and Aging.
• Race and Ethnic Relations.
• Gender Inequality.
• Issues in Sexual Orientation.
• Poverty.
• Work and Unemployment.
• Problems in Education.
• Population and Urbanization.
• Science and Technology.
• Environmental Problems.
• Conflict, War, and Terrorism.

• To demonstrate an understanding of the varied social structural factors that facilitate and help perpetuate social problems.
• To understand and apply sociological perspectives to social problems.
• To familiarize students with adequate understanding of a scientific approach and applied research in the analysis of social problems and their solutions.
• To gain insight into problems and their solutions by studying them in societies and cultures that is different from our own (global perspective).
• To demonstrate the role of technology in society.
• To discuss policy issues in connection to contemporary debates on social problems.
• To separate myths from facts.
• To make a distinction between personal and social problems.
• To increase student's ability to analyze, interpret, and articulate facts and ideas orally and in writing.
• To assist students in understanding the dynamics of social change and how these process have shaped society and continue to influence society.

Students must be able to read and write at the college level. Students will be expected to write and express themselves in good grammatical, concise, and Standard English. Poor grammar will affect your participation in group discussion and the written homework assignments. Grades will be based on writing skills, presentation, thoroughness, and timeliness.

Exam #1 chapters 1-4

Exam #2 chapters 5-8

Exam #3 chapters 9-12

Exam #4 chapters 13-16

• Write a research paper.
• Complete written assignments.
• Take chapter exams.
• Participate in bulletin board group discussion.

All requirements are mandatory. The writing assignments and examinations will be used to compute your final course grade. The instructor will monitor bulletin board discussion. Participation in the bulletin board discussion should be a fun and rewarding exercise for everyone because we will be debating the most current and hot topics of the 21st century.

This is a distance learning course. To enroll in this course and be successful, students must have access to their own computer with graphic Web browser and will have to contract with an Internet provider service. Students must know how to navigate WebCT, use the assigned college or university e-mail address instead of personal e-mail address, address technical problems immediately, check and read e-mail everyday for bulletin board postings and general announcements. Students enrolled in this course must complete all requirements as outlined in the syllabus in order to receive a grade.

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:

 http://rodp.bkstr.com

See the RODP minimum requirements at: http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm

Microsoft Word is a mandatory requirement for this class. All students are required to use Microsoft Word for all written assignments.

Cheating on exams and assignments will result in a grade of "F" in the course. Cheating in this class means giving or receiving help on an exam, assignments, and plagiarizing papers.

Students will be required to take four examinations online, three written assignments, and a bulletin board discussion. Cheating on exams and assignments will result in a grade of "F" in the course.  Cheating in this class means giving or receiving help on an exam, or assignments and plagiarizing papers. Exams will only be reset without penalty if and only if there is an RODP systems failure.

Students will be required to participate in the bulletin board discussions as part of the overall grade for this course. The instructor will monitor the discussions in order to ensure fair use of the interactive aspect of the course. In addition, you will be receiving a fair amount of e-mail messages, and I will expect you to communicate with me weekly. Thus you are required to check the bulletin board frequently for announcements and postings of a new topic for discussion. All students must participate in threaded discussion postings. Please post questions relating to the course on the bulletin board frequently. This is a great way to receive a fast response from everyone.

The instructor will allow you ample time to complete your assignments. Further information on tardiness will be furnished by the instructor.

• Class participation in the bulletin board discussion is mandatory.

• Check the bulletin board and E-mail messages frequently.
• Students are required to communicate with other students during discussion.
• Learn how to navigate Webct.
• Keep abreast of bulletin board and e-mail announcements.
• Address technical problems immediately.
• Adhere to due dates for exams and assignments.
• Purchase textbooks for the course immediately.
• The instructor will only accept assignments, which are sent as Microsoft Word attachments.
• Be courteous to other students during class discussion.
• Use standard fonts and headings (preferably Times New Roman, point size 12).
• Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided.
• Try to maintain threads by using the "reply" button rather than starting a new topic.
• Be considerate and respectful of other classmates' opinions.
• Think before responding to a discussion.
• Introduce yourself to others in the discussion bulletin.
• Be on time in joining the discussion.
• E-mail me ahead of time should you experience any difficulty.

Library

The Tennessee Board of Regents Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program.

Web Resources

Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor

http://www.sssp1.org/

http://www.ucpress.edu/journals/sp/

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/jlsp/

http://www.law.columbia.edu/journals/cjlsp.htm

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/ss/socio/asastyle.html

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html

http://www.pop.psu.edu/ASR/asr.htm

http://college.nytimes.com/guests/directory/Social_Sciences/Sociology/

http://www.pop.psu.edu/ASR/asr.htm

http://www.asanet.org/student/student.html

http://www.asanet.org/pubs/pubs.html

FREE NEW YORK TIMES

Check out the New York Times for current events related to sociology

Below is the URL.

http://college.nytimes.com/guests/directory/Social_Sciences/Sociology/

Mandatory Bulletin Board Discussion of most current and hot topics of the 21st century. Read course ground rules before entering a discussion.

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor. Special accommodations will only be provided upon the receipt of a letter from the disability office and is not retroactive.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes by posting notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board. This is one more reason to check your E-mail and bulletin board frequently. The instructor will hold you liable to changes posted on the bulletin board.

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