-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
/
Copy pathintro.Rmd
102 lines (66 loc) · 9.17 KB
/
intro.Rmd
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
# (PART) Syllabus {-}
# Course Introduction
> The function of sociology, as of every science, is to reveal that which is hidden.
**Pierre Bourdieu (1996)**
</br>
This course will survey the field of sociology, stressing important ideas, methods, and results. We focus on health to illustrate the application of sociological ideas. The survey is designed to develop analytic thinking skills. Weekly readings from a text will be supplemented with articles and chapters illustrating topical issues and exercises on the skills and craft of the social sciences.
## Two Courses, One Goal
Students will quickly notice that this course has two numbers. SOC 1120-02 is the "regular" course section, and SOC 1120-H02 is the honors section. If you are a [University Honors](https://www.slu.edu/honors/index.php) student, you may enroll in SOC 1120-H02 if you wish to take this course for honors credit. Students in the honors section complete additional readings for three of the weeks, write several additional response papers, and give a presentation on a topic of their choice to the class. Additional details are include in the [honors supplement at the end of this document](/syllabus/honors-overview.html). Both courses have the same goal - to introduce students to the fundamentals of sociology through an emphasis on health and medicine.
## Course Objectives
By the *end* of the semester, you should be able to:
1. Describe the major theoretical traditions within sociology and the way that we use social theory, and apply these theories to current events.
2. Identify sociological contributions to a number of substantive areas, including urban sociology, crime and deviance, race, class, and gender.
3. Apply core sociological concepts by analyzing data and your own experiences to understand how they reflect fundamental social issues.
4. Integrate core sociological concepts into analyses of population health and health disparities using both fundamental cause theory and the social determinants of health perspective as well as other sociological concepts and data.
## Core Requirements - *New Core*
This course is part of the Saint Louis University Core, an integrated intellectual experience completed by all baccalaureate students, regardless of major, program, college, school or campus. The Core offers all SLU students the same unified approach to Jesuit education guided by SLU’s institutional mission and identity and our nine undergraduate [Core Student Learning Outcomes](https://www.slu.edu/provost/university-undergraduate-core/core-student-learning-outcomes.php) (SLOs).
### Identities in Context
**Identities in Context** is one of 19 Core Components. The University Core SLO(s) that this component is designed to intentionally advance are listed below.
#### University Core Student Learning Outcomes
The Core SLO(s) that this component is intentionally designed to advance are:
* SLO 5: Analyze how diverse identities influence their lives and the lives of others
#### Component-level Student Learning Outcomes
Students who complete this course will be able to:
* Examine interdependent / interrelational qualities of identity categories such as nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, race, class, ability, and sexual orientation
* Analyze how interdependent / interrelational identities are constructed through and shaped by relations of power
* Assess how other people’s social identities and biases shape and are shaped by their interactions within a social context
* Articulate how one’s own notions of identity and otherness are contingent on the social contexts in which they develop and which they in turn shape
### Ways of Thinking: Social and Behavioral Sciences
**Ways of Thinking: Social and Behavioral Sciences** is one of 19 Core Components. The University Core SLO(s) that this component is designed to intentionally advance are listed below.
#### University Core Student Learning Outcomes
The Core SLO(s) that this component is intentionally designed to advance are:
* SLO 2: Integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines to address complex questions
* SLO 3: Assess evidence and draw reasoned conclusions
#### Component-level Student Learning Outcomes
Students who complete this course will be able to:
* Understand a range of social or behavioral theories and principles
* Use these theories and principles to acquire knowledge about individual, cultural, political, economic, or social events/processes
* Describe competing paradigms of knowledge (from the dominant discipline or field)
* Draw reasoned conclusions through the use of evidence and theories
* Apply social and behavioral knowledge to better understand contemporary issues and challenges
## Core Requirements - *Old Core*
This course fulfills the College of Arts and Sciences core requirement for Cultural Diversity in the United States. The Cultural Diversity in the United States requirement is designed to help students gain a better understanding of the cultural groups in the United States and their interactions. Students who complete a Cultural Diversity course in this category will gain a substantial subset of the following skills:
1. Analyze and evaluate how various underrepresented social groups confront inequality and claim a just place in society.
2. Examine how conflict and cooperation between social groups shapes U.S. society and culture.
3. Identify how individual and institutional forms of discrimination impact leaders, communities and community building through the examination of such factors as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, economic class, age, physical and mental capability, and sexual orientation.
4. Evaluate how their personal life experiences and choices fit within the larger mosaic of U.S. society by confronting and critically analyzing their own values and assumptions about individuals and groups from different cultural contexts.
5. Understand how questions of diversity intersect with moral and political questions of justice and equality.
## Canvas
**<a href = "https://Canvas.slu.edu" target = "_blank">Canvas</a>** is a learning management system similar to Google Classroom and Blackboard. We will use Canvas this semester for accessing all course materials, including assignments, grades, quizzes, course meeting slides and notes, and other links. Announcements and communications about the course will also come through Canvas, so it is important to check our Canvas site regularly.
## Readings
There are two books required for this course. Each book has been selected to correspond with one or more of the course objectives. The books are:
1. Abraham, Laurie K. 2019. *Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America*. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN-13: 978-0226623702; List Price: $20.00; e-book versions available.
* I do not require students to buy physical copies of *Mama Might Be Better Off Dead.* You are free to select a means for accessing *Mama* that meets your budget and learning style.
2. Khan, Shamus, Patrick Sharkey, and Gwen Sharp, eds. *<a href = "https://www.sociologyexperiment.com" target = "_blank">A Sociology Experiment</a>*; e-book only.
* This is a unique "textbook" where you purchase it by chapter instead of buying the entire book. Each chapter is written by one or more leading sociologists in the fields that the chapter covers. Each chapter costs $1. If you have a concern about accessing this non-traditional resource, please let me know as soon as possible.
* I recommend purchasing all of the chapters at once rather than one at a time to reduce any associated credit card fees.
* Once you purchase a chapter, you will be able to download a `.pdf` copy of the text to keep.
* You will need to purchase the following Chapters:
* All of Part 1- "1 - A Sociology Experiment," "2 - Research Methods," and "3- Social Structure and the Individual"
* All of Part 2 - "4 - Social Class, Inequality, and Poverty," "5 - Culture," "6 - Gender and Sexuality," and "7 - Race and Ethnicity"
* From Part 3 - "12 - Urban Sociology" and "15 - Health and Illness"
```{block, type = "rmdwarning"}
Only *Mama Might Be Better Off Dead* is available through the bookstore! Use <a href = "https://www.sociologyexperiment.com" target = "_blank">this link</a> or the link below to access *<a href = "https://www.sociologyexperiment.com" target = "_blank">A Sociology Experiment</a>*! All chapters can be purchased through the text's website.
```
All readings are listed on the [**Reading List**](/syllabus/lecture-schedule.html) and should be completed before the course meeting on the week in which they are assigned (unless otherwise noted).
Many of the readings on the syllabus are peer reviewed journal articles that you'll be able to access through the library. Being "peer reviewed" means that they are written with an aim to contribute to scientific debates. Their primary audiences are typically health care providers, professors, and graduate students. They are therefore sometimes *difficult* to read. Give yourself time - I don't expect each student to fully understanding the intricacies of each article (especially the statistics included in some), but I do expect you to walk away with a general sense of the argument and evidence presented.