Human Arrangements: Troubled Institutions and Social Inequality
LSTD 3333 Section 706
January 16, 23, 30, February 6, 13, 20, 27, March 6, 2007
Tuesdays
5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Location: Oklahoma City Community College
Room 2N3

Faculty Name and Contact Information
John M. Hockett
2017 Westbrooke Terrace
Norman, OK 73072
Office: (405) 325-9026
e-mail: jhockett@ou.edu

Course Description
This course provides learners with an introduction to social issues involving institutions and inequality. Specific topics addressed will include social problems as applied to individuals and society, troubled institutions, problems of inequality a applied to class, race, ethnicity, age and gender.

Course Objectives
During this course, students will:

• Examine problems in social institutions from a variety of perspectives
• Identify the five most important family issues today.
• Understand the debates about education in the United States today.
• Define globalization and understand the effects it has on economic systems around the world.
• Understand who runs the government, what threats to our civil liberties exist, and how government can be made more democratic.
• Describe the problems faced by the U.S. health care system.
• Explain why the gap between the rich and poor is growing.
• Describe the underclass.
• Understand the unique problems faced by each ethnic minority group in the U.S.
• Describe the differing theoretical perspectives on problems of the life cycle and aging.
• Discuss the problems faced by both the young and the elderly in society.
• Discuss the relationship between gender socialization and gender discrimination.

Required Textbooks and Materials

• Colemen, J.W. and Kerbo, H.K. (2002). Social Problems, 8th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN: 0-13-041373-9 and Study Guide, ISBN 0-13-092327-3.
• Finsterbusch, K. (2001). Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Social Issues, 12th Edition. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. ISBN: 0-07-241400-6

Book Ordering Information
Books for your class are available at the link listed below. You will need the Department (LSTD) and the course and section number. The course and section numbers are listed on the Spring 2007 ALC schedule posted on the CLS website. The course and section numbers are listed on individual syllabi, as well. Example: LSTD 1234 567

Online bookstore

Pre-Reading and Writing Assignments
READ Chapter One in the Coleman and Kerbo text. Read the Introduction in the Finsterbusch reader, Taking Sides, “Debating Social Issues.” Then, read Issue #1 in the Finsterbusch reader.

WRITE a two-page typewritten response paper to Issue #1 (“Is America in Moral Decline”) in the Finsterbusch reader. This response paper should clearly state your position, including a coherent and logical set of arguments and reasons. I want to know what YOU think and why you think it. This paper is YOUR response to the issue.

Instructional Methods
This course will use a combination of lecture and class discussion to explore the subject. Students are expected to be prepared for class discussions by reading all required materials prior to class time. A significant amount of the processing of the course’s material will occur during class, therefore, class attendance is a critical instructional component.

Grading Information
This class is letter graded. A standard grading scale will be used:

• 90-100 - A
• 80-89 - B
• 70-79 - C
• 60-69 - D
• 59-below - F

The course will have a total of 100 points. The points are divided over the following components:

Grading Rubric

• Pre-class writing assignment - 5 points
• Seven quizzes (five points per quiz) - 35 points
• Seven journal entries (five points per entry) - 35 points
• Research Paper (five to seven pages, minimum of fine references) - 10 points
• Final Examination - 15 points
• Total - 100 points
  

Class Sessions and Planned Activities
(Based on: Coleman Text: 9/E Edition; Finsterbusch Reader: 14th Edition)

January 16

• Read Chapter One:Sociology and Social Problems (Coleman)
• Read Issue #1 Is America in Moral Decline? (Finsterbusch)
• Journal Entry #1 (after class discussion)

January 23

• Read Chapter Two-Problems of the Family (Coleman)
• Read Issue #4-“Is the Decline of the Traditional
• Family a National Crisis?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #1 over reading materials
• Journal Entry #2 (after class discussion)

January 30

• Read Chapter Three- Problems of Education (Coleman)
• Read Issue #14—“Is Competition the Reform That Will Fix Education?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #2 over reading materials
• Journal Entry #3 (after class discussion)

February 6

• Read Chapter Four—Problems of the Economy (Coleman)
• Read Chapter Six—Health and Illness (Coleman)
• Read Issue #7—“Is Increasing Economic Inequality a Serious Problem?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #3 over reading materials
• Journal Entry #4 (after class discussion)

February 13

• Read Chapter Five—Problems of Government (Coleman)
• Read Issue #11—“Is Government Dominated by Big Business?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #4 over reading materials
• Journal Entry #5 (after class discussion)

February 20

• Read Chapter Seven—The Poor (Coleman)
• Read Issue #8—“Is the Underclass the Major Threat to American Ideals?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #5 over reading materials
• Journal Entry #6 (after class discussion)

February 27

• Read Chapter Eight—The Ethnic Minorities (Coleman)
• Read Issue #9—Has Affirmative Action Outlived its Usefulness?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #6 over reading materials
• Journal Entry #7 (after class discussion)

March 6

• Read Chapter Nine—The Old and the Young (Coleman)
• Read Chapter Ten—Women and Men (Coleman)
• Read Issue #10—“Are Boys and Men Disadvantaged Relative to Girls and Women?” (Finsterbusch)
• Quiz #7 over reading materials
• Research Paper due tonight
• Review and Wrap-up

Research Paper
Your research paper will be five to seven pages, typewritten, double spaced, one inch margins, using the APA style format. A minimum of five references are required. You may use both internet sources and non-internet sources in writing your paper. However, your sources need to be of good quality, verifiable, and consistent with parallel non-internet sources. Your research paper should address a critical social issue in one of the following areas:

• Family
• Health and Illness
• Education
• The poor
• Economy
• Ethnic Minorities
• Government
• Children and Aging
• Gender

You will write a persuasive paper. You must address two perspectives about the issue to demonstrate knowledge of the debates about the issue and then present a cohesive argument supporting one perspective supported by your reference materials. Your writing will be critiqued on the basis of its relevant and original insights, the connections made between the readings and course concepts, and the clarity and originality of ideas. Finally, your writing will be critiqued on the soundness of your arguments, claims, evidence (a function of quality sources/references), and the connections that are made. YOUR PAPER IS DUE ON TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2006.

Journal Entries
You will be required to write seven journal entries for this course. The only class that you will not write a journal entry for is the last class on March 6. Your journal entries should describe “aha” moments, significant concepts that have broad or significant meaning to you, your profession, or your life, and other observations about the class for that particular evening. Feel free to comment on the behavior and interaction among your classmates. Remember, if you identify specific classmates, confine your remarks to their behavior and refrain from questioning their interests or motives. Journal entries will not be shared with the class (or individual classmates) as a whole, so you have permission to be introspective and specific. Please use good grammar and construction when writing your journal entry. While this form of writing is of a more informal nature, it is still essential that good grammar and construction be present to avoid your thoughts and ideas from becoming confused, garbled, or not understood. There is no substitute for quality writing. It is an essential and transferable life skill. Note: Journal entries will be written at the end of the class (9:10 p.m.) and will not be accepted if you are not present or leave early on a particular class meeting night. You are reminded that class is scheduled until 9:30 p.m. each and every meeting night.

Quizzes
Quizzes will be given at the beginning of each class—with the exception of the first class meeting (January 16). Each quiz if worth five points and will consist of five questions. The quizzes will be designed in such a way that if you have read the material for that night’s class meeting, you should not have difficulty in scoring well on the quiz. Quizzes cannot be taken later or made-up. The quizzes will be given at 5:40 p.m., and will be over no later than 6:00 p.m. on each class meeting night where a quiz is scheduled. You are reminded that class begins at 5:30 p.m. each evening and that being timely is a good thing.

Completion Policy

The College of Liberal Studies expects students to complete all assignments to earn a grade in a given course.

Incomplete (“I”) Policy

For sufficiently extenuating circumstances a student may receive a grade of “I” and receive an extension to complete. To receive a grade of “I” the student must satisfactorily complete a minimum of one-half of the course work, have a legitimate reason for not being able to complete the work during the normal time frame, request from the instructor a desire to receive an Incomplete grade via submitting a request for an “I” and a plan to the instructor about how and when the work will be completed. If the student receives a grade of “I” the instructor will indicate to the student, and to the Office of Academic Records via the official OU grade sheet, what must be done to complete the course and set a time limit appropriate to the circumstances, however, the time allowed may not exceed one calendar year. If the course has an associated Web site and the Web site has changed before the student starts work on the Incomplete, the student will contact the faculty member and the faculty member will develop comparable assignments based on the current Web site. If books have changed in the course, the faculty member should be willing to develop assignments based on the books that the student has so the student will not have to buy new books. If by the end of the year, no change in grade has been submitted, the grade of “I” will become permanent on the student’s record. If the student wants to re-enroll in the course they may, and they will need to pay full tuition and fees for the enrollment. History tells us that the longer an Incomplete goes unfinished the less likely it will ever be completed at all. The College recommends that the student remedy their incomplete grade before the start of the next semester.

If you have submitted no work, or less than half of the course assignments, you should not expect to receive a grade of “I” You will receive either an “AW” or a failing grade. Students will make arrangements with the instructor to complete coursework. Work submitted within four weeks of the final course date will be accepted without negative consequences to the grade; work submitted to remove the “I” after four weeks will have consequences to be determined by the professor. Grades of “I” must be completed within one academic year.

The University of Oklahoma Student Academic Integrity
http://www.ou.edu/provost/pronew/content/integritymenu.html

1.1 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF HONESTY

Honesty is a fundamental precept in all academic activities, and those privileged to be members of a university community have a special obligation to observe the highest standards of honesty and a right to expect the same standards of all others. Academic misconduct in any form is inimical to the purposes and functions of the university and therefore is unacceptable and rigorously proscribed.

1.2 DEFINITIONS

1.2.1 Academic Misconduct. Any act that improperly affects the evaluation of a student's academic performance or achievement. The following terms illustrate but do not delimit or define academic misconduct.

1. Cheating: the use of unauthorized materials, methods, or information in any academic exercise, including improper collaboration;
2. Plagiarism: the representation of the words or ideas of another as one's own, including:
   1. direct quotation without both attribution and indication that material is being directly quoted, e.g. quotation marks;
   2. paraphrase without attribution;
   3. paraphrase with or without attribution where the wording of the original remains substantially intact and is represented as the author's own;
   4. expression in one's own words, but without attribution, of ideas, arguments, lines of reasoning, facts, processes, or other products of the intellect where such material is learned from the work of another and is not part of the general fund of common academic knowledge;
3. Fabrication: the falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise;
4. Fraud: the falsification, forgery, or misrepresentation of academic work, including the resubmission of work performed for one class for credit in another class without the informed permission of the second instructor; or the falsification, forgery or misrepresentations of other academic records or documents, including admissions materials and transcripts; or the communication of false or misleading statements to obtain academic advantage or to avoid academic penalty;
5. Destruction, misappropriation or unauthorized possession of university property or property of another;
6. Bribery or intimidation;
7. Assisting others in any act proscribed by this code; or
8. Attempting to engage in such acts.

Accommodation for Special Needs

The College of Liberal Studies is committed to making its activities as accessible as possible. The college and the university provide a range of special services for those with disabilities. Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent her or him from fully demonstrating her or his abilities should contact Frank Rodriquez , Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs, as soon as possible to discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and to facilitate this educational opportunity.

Liberal Studies General Policy

Liberal Studies’ policy is to order books in paperback, if available. Courses, dates and instructors are subject to change. Please check with the office. Students should retain a copy of any assignments that are mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to the instructor or the office for the course. The Disability Resource Center can also be found online at http://drc.ou.edu/.

Copyright Statement

Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on this Web site are copyright by the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents. Visit OU Public Affairs for more information and for the complete Terms of Use.

About the Instructor
A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, John graduated from Jenks High School and went on to earn both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He is interested in the area of human relations, specifically marriage and family systems and conflict theory. John currently serves in the capacity as Assistant Dean in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to his appointment at OU, he worked at the University of Oklahoma for approximately eleven years. John has been married to his wife, Angie, for twenty-one years. They have two active and beautiful children, Matthew John, 11, and Brennan Elizabeth, 7. In his spare time (hah!), John likes to play golf, fish, and hike with his family. John is also a consummate connoisseur of comedy.