SA502 Course Syllabus
Welcome to SA502 - Graduate Sociological Theory
This is a four week intensive graduate theory course. We will cover a lot of material and this class will introduce you the theoretical foundations of Sociology. We will focus on the major theorist, concepts and ideas. This website is your major resource for the class. This site provides your weekly requirements at a glance. I provide information on lectures, assignments, and discussion requirements. The assignments in the class are designed to make you think, help you understand the theoretical perspectives or provide useful information you can apply to your professional development. Whenever possible I also provided additional optional information if you want to investigate the topics further.
We are going to start with a basic examination of theories and their components. All theories are made up of paradigms, concepts, ideas, and beliefs about methods. It is important to understand the basic foundations of theoretical thinking.
In addition to Sociology M.A. candidates many people in this class are in the Command College and the SOC/CJ M.A. program. This class is designed for students who don't necessarily have an extensive social theory background. So don't worry just jump right in.
The video above is a great illustration of the idea of "level of analysis" It shows how different things look when you change your perspective. The key to understanding theories is to remember that it is all about perspective.
Message From Dr. Squires
Hello everyone. I am looking forward to working with you this summer term. This class includes Sociology Masters students, Sociology/Criminal Justice Masters students, and Command College Masters students. You will get a lot from class even if you have not had any previous exposure to Sociological theories. So don't worry, you will be able to pick up the information. I have been teaching many years and I work hard to develop courses that foster deep learning and retention of information. Since this is such a short term we don't have time for big research papers or projects so you have a diverse set of small projects. (you will actually like doing them)
I am converting all of my courses to a more interactive web format because I gives us more class storage space than simply using canvas. This format allows me to give you a better view of course requirements. In terms of training, I am a Rural Sociologist and my areas of concentration are theory, social psychology, race relations and community development. I am also Visual Sociologist and this means that I have an interest in how people use and communicate through images or different types of media. I have scoured the super highway for some of the most informative videos on Sociological theories. I guarantee that the videos selected will help you retain or understand the course information.
How to Navigate the Website
This website provides an overview of your SA502 graduate theory course syllabus. The website contains general information on the readings, lectures, videos, assignments and discussion questions required weekly. I have tried to make this website as easy as possible to navigate. The main course content is organized by week. All the readings, videos and lectures are posted and clickable. This website supports your canvas class page. You will still have to post your assignments and discussions to the course canvas page. This website allows you to look at the entire weeks requirements at one time. This saves you some clicking time. I also add notes and misc information to each week's page, which would be very difficult to do in canvas.
Privacy: Remember this is a private course site and no information can be shared or posted without permission. Lectures and other course material are password protected. The course password is posted to the canvas announcements page. The passwords will not change during the course.
Thumbnails: This website contains thumbnail information on what is expected weekly. whenever possible I put links to the full instructions here on the website (In blue) All assignments and discussions have full descriptions posted to canvas in COURSE MODULES. Please read the full assignment and discussion question descriptions in Canvas.
Canvas: All assignments must still be submitted to canvas. All answers to discussion questions must be posted to the canvas discussion board. I will communicate with the class via Canvas ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Discussion Questions: The course discussion questions consist of a general question for you to answer and you have to respond to one other students post. You can ask questions of other students, suggest things for them to consider, or recommend readings or videos. Your responses to each other can be informal. Your discussion grade will be based on your answers to the general question.
Please open and read the Welcome, About and Class Resource pages before you open the weekly pages.
Website Page Descriptions
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Welcome = This is home portal and registration page/sign in page. This is a private website so you will have to use a password.
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About = This page contains information on class and university policies. This page also contains my contact information and office hours and course learning objectives..
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Class Resources- This pages contains direct links to your course textbook, as well as support reading materials and resources for the course
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Week #1 = This page introduces you to the major theories and ask you to consider the nature of social world, science and social reality. This week will also introduce your to feminist theory as an example of how one social issue can have multiple perspectives.
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Week #2 = This page will introduce you to the foundations of Functional Theory and Role Theory
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Week #3 = This page will introduce you to the foundations of Conflict Theory.
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Week #4 = This page will introduce you to Symbolic Interaction, Phenomenology and Rational Choice theory
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Final Exam = this page gives you some general information. full information is posted to canvas
Course Calendar - Due Dates
Summer 2024
Class runs from 5/29/2024 - 6/25/2024 - This is a 4 week class and I will have a live zoom session on Wednesday nights 5:30-8:00pm.
Week #1 5/29/2024
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All assignments and discussion questions given during week #1 must be posted by June 12th by midnight for full point consideration.
Week #2 Starts June 5th
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All assignments and discussion questions given during week #2 are due by June 19th by midnight for full consideration
Week #3 Starts June 12
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All assignments and discussion questions given during week #3 must be posted by June 26th by midnight for full point consideration.
Week #4 Starts June 19 at midnight -to the end of finals week
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All assignments given during week #4 must be posted by June 30th
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Week #5 Finals Week - (optional last session) Tuesday June 25th @5:30
June24th & 25. This is a 2 day grace period to get in any late or missing work for consideration (for reduced points). (All work must be posted by noon.)
June 26 - I will be grading, and reviewing any resubmits. I will submit your final grade as I get to it.
IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION
Classwork begins on May 29th and ends officially for this class on June 25th
Do not wait until the very last minute to post your work.
Course deadlines are firm, and the assignment will be considered late if posted after midnight. (Actually 11:59pm)
This is a 3 credit hour course. According to contemporary research a 3 credit hour class should require approximately 9 hours of study time per week. This class is designed to conform to this model. The work is reasonable and very doable.
Assignments must be posted to CANVAS.
I will communicate with you weekly through canvas Course Announcements.
Please check your biases at the door!
Avoid Logical Fallacies
It is very important to remember that this is a class and not a "social media" experience. It is important that you make sure to keep it academic, analytical and free from personal bias or just opinion when ever possible. When addressing discussion questions and writing your papers it is important to consider the work from a theoretical perspective. (as opposed to religious or political perspective) I want you to step outside of your personal beliefs and try to understand the perspective or the theorists in question. Check out the website below for more information on avoiding logical fallacies. I embedded the site so you can visit it directly from this page.
Download the presentation and then click play. You have to advance the slides manually. The videos in this presentation should also automatically play. Sorry for the typos in this presentation The computer is autocorrecting like a crazy person, but I decided to use this as a teachable moment. Spellchecking and proofreading everything before submitting is very important.
Arggh!
