Second mail

 Greetings once again! Professor B. here.

The point of this second message is to give you an idea of what you can expect in the course. Of course, you’re already aware that this will be a partially synchronous course. This means that there are scheduled Thursday lecture/discussion virtual meetings for the class each week. The College requires that I drop any students who do not show up on the first day of classes, so please be in (virtual) attendance on Thursday, January 6.

General Stuff

The class is called Introduction to Sociology, and it is just that. 

An 11-week course taught online is not sufficient to give you everything there is to learn about introductory sociology, because, as you will see, the field is so vast.

 (Go to https://www.asanet.org/communities-and- sections/sections to give yourself an idea of just how vast the field of sociology is.)

 You can expect that it will be several weeks before your understanding of Sociology begins to crystalize. Sociology is a complex discipline, and there are many parts of it that must be understood in order to understand it as a whole. I want to give you fair warning: This will not be a course in which you can expect to receive a top grade by simply memorizing the lectures and the readings, anticipating that regurgitating what you’ve remembered on exams will be sufficient. I am committed to your growth as a thinker: Even if you have a photographic memory, this will not help you to understand sociology. In order to earn a top grade, you will need to convince me that you understand what you are being taught. The opportunity to convince me continues throughout the course. You cannot convince me unless you are able to grasp the interrelationship between each of the many parts. Every requirement within the course is designed for you to convince me and for me to evaluate your understanding.

All knowledge that you receive in Sociology, in other words, should be approached from a cumulative perspective. For example, you should not think that you can forget what you learn about Durkheim, Marx, and Weber as soon as the first Midterm is over. In connection with this, a frequent question I am asked as the course progresses is, “What grade do I have right now in this course?” You need not ask it, because my answer is always going to be, “I don’t know.” My objective is for you to understand introductory Sociology at the end of the quarter. Two students whose understanding is equal at the end of the course, therefore, should have (roughly) equal grades (assuming they have also been equal in meeting the various course requirements). Just because it took one of these students a little longer to “get it” doesn’t mean that s/he deserves a lesser grade. In any case, at any given time before the end of the course, you should have a better idea of how you are doing than I do. You know whether or not you’re turning in √+ R/Rs, if your attendance has been stellar, if you are showing up on time to lectures and staying the entire class, if you are turning in your R/Rs on time, if you are participating in class and in your group, and so on.

Having said all that, I don’t want you to go into this thinking that learning Sociology will be “too hard.” I have had students who have finished my classes thinking this, but these are never the ones who have seriously committed themselves to learning and have adhered to the course expectations. Successful students tend not to needlessly burden themselves with preliminary fears and assumptions that stand in the way of their learning; they tend to understand that, if they

  

are learning Sociology, the grade they receive will reflect that (which is to say, they learn how to prioritize learning over grades); and they actually approach the course as if it’s a fun opportunity to learn a different way of thinking about the world, society, region, on down to the interpersonal relationships that they are a part of.

You will be at a disadvantage, however, if you are in one of two categories: (1) you are a poor writer (of English); and/or (2) you are too shy to speak in a group or in front of a (virtual) class. For the second problem, I offer this advice, based on my own experience as a shy individual: You just take a deep breath and jump right in there when a question or comment occurs to you. Each time you do it decreases the anxiety for the next time, until - before you know it - it's no longer an issue for you. For the first problem, I expect that this is something that you will commit to working on over the quarter. Investigate the writing resources available to you at De Anza and utilize them (and let me know you’re utilizing them). THERE IS NOTHING WRONG with coming in with either (or both) of these two disadvantages. There IS something wrong with failing to take the opportunity to overcome them. If you approach this course with an open mind, a commitment to learning, and some self-discipline, there’s no reason why you can’t succeed.

The Textbook

The textbook we will be using is Giddens Anthony, et al. Essentials of Sociology, 8th ed. The book is available in paperback form (I’ve ordered it for the De Anza bookstore) as well as in an eBook format. If you choose the eBook, you’ll have to investigate this on your own. What I do know is that the hardcopy version that I have has slightly different page numbers than the hardcopy version that you can purchase, and very different page numbers than the eBook. So I have indicated the appropriate sections of the book in your Canvas Modules.

I have read the textbook in a manner that I hope you will learn to do (if you haven’t already): critically. This means, among other things, that I do not accept everything that is written just because it is in the book. There will be times when what the book says will conflict with what I teach. I urge you, after hearing my reason(s) why I disagree with the book, to go with what I teach in those instances. One recurrent problem with your text is that it will frequently offer two definitions of the same concept, one in the text and one in a special box in the margins of the text. Too often, these two are not the same (sometimes they even contradict each other!). I will strive to make sure you are clear about the meaning of each concept.

Accessing the Course

You access Canvas courses by clicking on Canvas on the De Anza College Home Page (www.deanza.edu), or through your Portal, or in several other ways. When you do so you’ll see your Dashboard, a list of De Anza College Canvas courses that you have been enrolled in. You may not be able to see our course until Monday, January 3. You will then be able to click on our course, after which you will be taken to the course homepage. To the left of the text of the homepage will be two lists. The list closest to the text is Course Navigation (which includes Home, Syllabus, Modules, etc.). The list to the left of Course Navigation is Global Navigation (which includes Dashboard, Courses, Calendar, etc.).

 

Everything in the course is organized into 11 Modules (which you access by clicking on Modules in Course Navigation), which correspond to the 11 weeks of the course (excluding Finals Week). Each Module (excluding Module 1, corresponding to the first week of classes, Jan. 3 – 7) contains:

(1) entries for the readings and the R/Rs (see the course syllabus) that you are expected to complete that week BEFORE our Thursday online class meeting and the theme for that reading and R/R, (e.g., “Reading & R/R Wk 2, no.3 Theme: What is Sociology?”);

(2) pre-recorded lectures that you are also expected to view BEFORE our Thursday online class meeting but AFTER you have read the corresponding reading and submitted the associated R/R based on that reading, (e.g., “Pre-Recorded Lecture 2:3”);

(3) any reading that I have assigned that is not in your textbook, which will be designated by a Page entry (e.g., “Page: What Is Sociology?”); and

(4) The entry that contains the link to our Thursday online lecture meeting for that week (e.g., “Week 2 Lecture, Jan. 13”). You click on the link in this entry between 4:28 and 4:30 on Thursday, after which you will be sent to our Zoom lecture.

In Module 1, there will be informational entries as well as an Assignment and a Discussion that I want everyone to complete before our first meeting. Where appropriate, you will also have entries for instructions for taking the course exams.

That’s all I can think of in terms of giving you a heads-up, although I’m sure I left something out. Do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions (but read the syllabus first). There is no assigned reading before our first online lecture meeting, but there are tasks in Module 1 for you to complete before our first meeting, as well as information that you might find useful. Finally, I am a big fan of courtesy. One courtesy that I ask of you is that if, at any time after receiving this message through the end of the course, you decide to drop or withdraw from the course, that you do two things: (1) Do so officially in your Portal rather than just disappearing, and (2) Send me an email message that you are leaving the course, rather than just doing so without notifying me. Both would be much appreciated. Looking forward to “seeing” you Thursday 1/6 via Canvas!

Professor B.