Soc 100 Introduction to Sociology Fall 2013 Instructor: Dr. Gonzalo Santos
Dr. Santos email: santos_class@csub.edu
Classroom: DDH-G102	Class Time: TuTh: 10:00 am - 12:05 pm
Offices: DDH-AA205 (GS); DDH-AA204 (T.A.) Office Hours: 11:20am - 1:00pm MWF	Phones: 654-2191 (GS); 654-2718 (T.A.)

Textbook: Joan Ferrante, 2013. Seeing Sociology: Core Modules, 1st. ed.. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning/Wadsworth. ISBN-13: 9781133963165.

Course content: This course is designed to introduce the field of Sociology to lower-division college students. Students learn why and how the systematic study of our contemporary, highly complex social world is important (in fact, urgently needed), possible, and rewarding. General areas of explorationn are divided into five parts: 1) The Sociological Perspective; 2) Self, Society, & Culture; 3) Deviance, Conformity, and Social Control; 4) Race, Class, Gender, & Inequalities; and 5) Social Organizations, Institutions, and Change. All these areas are broken down into modules and all of them will be studied at three level: the global/national level (mega), the institutional/group level (meso), and the local community/family/individual level (micro).

Classroom activities: The class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two-hour sessions. Attendance is mandatory. We will cover in ten weeks 5 parts divided into 50 learning modules from the textbook. Typically, Dr. Santos (or the Teaching Assistant (TBA) will lecture, using a PowerPoint presentation, followed by class discussions & perhaps some exercises. Occasionally, a video may be shown.

Blackboard Resources: The class has a Blackboard account set up, to which students will be added into by the first day of class (Sept. 16). In this site students will find the following resources & links:

The Course's Syllabus. Five Part Tests. The Course's Learning Objectives, module by module. Link to student site "COURSEMATE" for "Seeing Sociology, Core Modules."

Dr. Santos's PowerPoint lectures. Extra course materials. Extra credit assignment reports upload. Links to Dr. Santos's web site and email. Extra Course Materials folder

Part tests: The course does not have a midterm exam nor a final exam. Instead, students shall take FIVE multiple-choice tests for each of the five "parts" in the textbook, covering 50 learning modules. All tests are open to take at any time; however, each part test is due on the Sunday before midnight of the week in which it is assigned, and will be closed after that. Students that score too low on any given part test may re-take the test a second time, as long as it is taken before that particular test deadline. In that case, the final score will be the average of the two scores, so please plan ahead and study hard for the first test. See the testing schedule below.

The part tests shall be taken through BlackBoard, the campus computer testing service, accessible in the internet (see detailed instructions below). Students are free to test at anytime during the week in which a chapter is assigned, from Monday to Sunday midnight. In fact, students may take chapter tests ahead of the week it is assigned, but NOT fall behind. The tests are three hours long and consist of 60 randomly chosen, multiple-choice/truth-false questions. The tests must be taken IN ONE SITTING, after which the tests will be closed.

Instructions on Taking Chapter Tests at CSUB's BlackBoard:

To gain access: go to the CSUB BlackBoard site: click and bookmark the following URL address:

https://bb.csub.edu/

If you are doing it from an off campus computer, make sure your browser is properly configured (click on Blackboard support links and read how you can ensure your browser is properly configured). You will need to know your UserID and password.  Your UserID is the NetID that you got to access MyCSUB. Your initial password is the last five digits of your CSUB ID Number. Once logged on to Blackboard, you will be asked to change it immediately (if you have used Blackboard before you'll need to enter your old password). Choose an easy to remember, easy to type new password. We also suggest that you set up your login hint immediately - and write all these codes somewhere where you will not loose them, nor expose them to theft by others.
If you need help: If you don't know your UserID, or if you've changed your password and have forgotten it, contact the Help Desk in the library at (661) 654-2307, or simply go to the Library, Lower Level Room 1, during office hours. 
Be prepared! The maximum duration for each part test is 3 hours, after which the test closes. Each test has to be completed when it is taken in a single session- no pauses allowed. After each test deadline passes, access to each chapter test will be closed and no late testing will be possible. So make sure you have prepared well, chosen a day, time & place well, and have ample time and tranquility (with no distractions) to begin testing; take time to read carefully each question before you answer it - do not rush! (a common mistake). You may take the test with the open book, but exclusively on your own, please.
Save your answers every time. If you change your mind on a specific answer, don't forget to save it again! And don't forget to send your quiz/test to grade when you are done (lots of students forget this last step and their scores are not computed!).
Security precaution: If you are using a public computer always quit both the Blackboard site and the browser (Firefox, Safari, or Explorer, etc.) after you are done with testing  -- otherwise, someone may access your own Blackboard account and "try out" some tests! This is because your access codes stay active until you quit the browser. And remember, never share your testing access codes with anyone! A student of Dr. Santos was already suspended from the University for having stolen somebody else's tests.
Cheating Warning: Students are hereby formally forewarned that anybody caught cheating on the tests will automatically fail the course. Blackboard has a monitoring capability that automatically "flags" for instructors a variety of potential cheating cases and situations  -- including comparing student answers, times of testing, etc..

Other Credit: Ninety percent of the final grade will come from the average score on the five part tests. There are several ways students may obtain extra points:

1) Attendance: All students will receive 10 points for class attendance & participation, minus the number of times they were absent.

2) Extra Campus Activities: Occasionally, students will be encouraged to attend certain events on campus and write a one-page report on it, for extra credit.

Grading: The average of the eighteen chapter test scores will count for up to 90 points. Other credit will be added, and un-excused absences subtracted, and the final grade will be assigned according to the following table:

94-100 = A	87-89 = B+	77-79 = C+	65-69 = D
90-93 = A-	84-86 = B	74-76 = C	< 65 = F
	80-83 = B-	70-73 = C-

Schedule of Reading/Testing Assignments for "SOC 2012"

Tuesday	Thursday	Part Test due Sunday by midnight
Sept. 17	Sept. 19
INTRODUCTION TO CLASS	Part 1: Modules 1 to 3
Sept. 24	Sept. 26
Part 1: Modules 5 to 6	Part 2: Modules 1 to 3	PART ONE TEST: SEPT 29
Oct. 1	Oct. 3
Part 2: Modules 4 to 5	Part 2: Modules 6 to 7
Oct. 8	Oct. 10
Part 2: Modules 8 to 10	Part 3: Modules 1 to 3	PART TWO TEST: OCT 13
Oct. 15	Oct. 17
Part 3: Modules 4 to 6	Part 4: Modules 1 to 2	PART THREE TEST: 0CT 20
Oct. 22	Oct. 24
Part 4: Modules 3 to 5	Part 4: Modules 6 to 8
Oct. 29	Oct. 31
Part 4: Modules 9 to 11	Part 4: Modules 12 to 14
Nov. 5	Nov. 7
Part 4: Modules 15 to 16	Part 5: Modules 1 to 2	PART FOUR TEST: NOV. 10
Nov. 12	Nov. 4
Part 5: Modules 3 to 5	Part 5: Modules 6 to 8
Nov. 19	Nov. 21
Part 5: Modules 9 to 10	Part 5: Modules 11 to 12	PART FIVE TEST: NOV. 24