SOC 202 DE Syllabus, Part 2

Spring 2015

Frank Ha, PhD

Syllabus, Part 2. Course schedule

Required chapters in Think Social Problems are indicated by blue font.

Lecture notes are indicated by brown font

Exam dates are indicated by red font

Recommended readings are indicated by dark purple font

No class days are indicated by green font.

Here is a link to the semester calendar (opens in new window)

Week 1 (Wednesday, January 21)

• Introductions and overview of the course

Week 2 (Wednesday, January 28)

• Chapter 1: The Study of Social Problems
• Lecture: The Study of Social Problems (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Lecture: Theoretical Perspectives (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: "Sociological Marxism" (Michael Burawoy and Erik Olin Wright) (2002) (link)
• Lecture: Research Methods (PowerPoint, PDF version)

Week 3 (Wednesday, February 4)

• Chapter 2: Inequality: Poverty and Wealth
• Lecture: Poverty and Wealth (PowerPoint, Part 1, PDF version) (PowerPoint, Part 2, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: Unions, Norms, and the Rise in American Wage Inequality (link)
• Recommended reading: Being Poor, Black, and American (link) (PowerPoint -- recommended)
• Recommended reading: Tax Myths (link) (for PowerPoints, see Inequality slides)
• Chapter 17: Globalization and Inequality
• Lecture: Globalization and Inequality (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: Globalization and the Race to the Bottom (link)

Week 4 (Monday, February 9)

• Midterm 1

Week 5 (Wednesday, February 18)

• Chapter 15: Social Problems of Marriage and Family
• Lecture: Social Problems of Marriage and Family (PowerPoint, Part 1; PDF version) (PowerPoint, Part 2; PDF version) (PowerPoint, Part 3; PDF version)
• Recommended reading: Words of Love and Isolation (Iink)
• Recommended reading: Crazy About You: Reflections on the Meanings of Contemporary Teen Pop Music (link)
• Recommended reading: Misogyny in Rap Music (link)
• Recommended reading: Themes of Lust and Love in Popular Music Lyrics From 1971 to 2011 (link)
• Recommended reading: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF POPULAR THEMES AND SEXUALITY IN RAP AND REGGAE MUSIC (link)
• Recommended reading: Sex Without Strings, Relationships Without Rings: Today’s Young Singles Talk about Mating and Dating (link)
• Recommended reading: Who Wants To Marry A Soul Mate?: New Survey Findings on Young Adults’ Attitudes about Love and Marriage by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe (2001) (link)
• Recommended reading: Young Adult Attitudes About Relationships and Marriage: Times May Have Changed, But Expectations Remain High. By Mindy E. Scott, Ph.D., Erin Schelar, B.A., Jennifer Manlove, Ph.D., and Carol Cui, B.S. July 2009. (link)
• Recommended reading: Marriage & Family: What Does the Scandinavian Experience Tell Us? Comparison of family trends & child wellbeing in the US and Sweden. (p. 6-14 recommended) (link)
• Recommended reading: Who Needs Marriage? A Changing Institution. By Belinda Luscombe. Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. (link)
• Recommended reading: When Marriage Disappears: The New Middle America (link)
• Recommended reading: Divorce Rate: It's Not as High as You Think (link)

• Chapter 12: Sex and Social Problems Related to Sexuality
• Lecture: Sexual Orientation (Powerpoint, PDF version)
• Study guide: Prostitution and Pornography (Powerpoint)
• Study guide: Sexuality and Abortion (Powerpoint)
• Recommended reading: Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (pp. 2-8 -- recommended) (link)
• Recommended reading: The extent of sexual orientation discrimination in Topeka, Kansas (link)
• Recommended reading: Voting to Ban Same Sex Marriage: Interests, Values, and Communities, Rory McVeigh and Maria-Elena Diaz (December 2009) (link)

Week 6 (Wednesday, February 25)

• Chapter 9: Problems in Education
• Lecture: Problems in Education (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: Cultural Capital (recommended) (link)
• Recommending reading: “The 30 Million Word Gap" by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley (link)

Week 7 (Monday, March 2)

• Midterm 2

Week 8 (Wednesday, March 11)

• Chapter 3: Race and Immigration
• Lecture: Race and Ethnicity (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Study guide and discussion prompts: Immigration (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: Bobo, Lawrence D. and Camille Z. Charles. 2009. "Race in the American Mind: From the Moynihan Report to the Obama Candidacy." Annals, AAPSS 621: 243-259. (link) (PowerPoint)
• Chapter 4: Gender
• Lecture: Gender (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership: Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t (pp. 1-25 -- recommended) (link) (PowerPoint)
• Recommended reading: Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide. Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever (pp. 1-10 -- recommended) (link) (PowerPoint)
• Recommended reading: Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty? Shelley J. Correll, Stephen Benard, and In Paik (link) (PowerPoint)

Week 9 (Wednesday, March 18)

• Chapter 13: Crime
• Study guide and discussion prompts (PowerPoint, PDF version)

Week 10 (Monday, March 23)

• Midterm 3

Week 11 (Wednesday, April 1)

• Chapter 14: Criminal Justice
• Study guide and discussion prompts: (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Chapter 11: Drug and Alcohol Abuse
• Study guide and discussion prompts: (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended video: The freakonomics of McDonalds vs. drugs. Steven Levitt. (link)

Week 12

• Spring Break

Week 13 (Wednesday, April 15)

• Chapter 10: Physical and Mental Health Care
• Lecture: Physical health (PowerPoint, Part 1, PDF version, Part 1; PowerPoint, Part 2, PDF version, Part 2; PowerPoint, Part 3, PDF version)
• Lecture: Mental health (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended video: Exposing Weight Bias (link)

Week 14 (Monday, April 20)

• Midterm 4

Week 15 (Wednesday, April 29)

• Chapter 6: Media and Technology
• Study guide and discussion prompts: Technology (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Study guide and discussion prompts: Media (PowerPoint, PDF version)

Week 16 (Wednesday, May 6)

• Chapter 8: Politics
• Study guide and discussion prompts: Politics (PowerPoint, PDF version)
• Recommended reading: The Third Way Revisited. Anthony Giddens (recommended) (link)

Week 17 (Wednesday, May 13)

• Chapter 5: Aging: Social Problems of Growing Old
• Study guide and discussion prompts: Aging (PowerPoint, PDF version)

Week 18 (Monday, May 18)

• Final exam