SYP3000:
SOCIETY AND
THE INDIVIDUAL
Spring
2007
Class:
Tuesdays 11:45-1:40 p.m. and Thursdays 12:50-1:40 p.m. in Turlington
2319
Instructor:
Monika
Ardelt, Ph.D.
Office:
3350
Turlington
Phone:
392-0251
ext. 247
E-mail:
Ardelt@soc.ufl.edu
Office
Hours: Tuesday
and Thursday 1:55-2:45 p.m., and by appointment
WWW:
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/ardelt/
Course Content
“Knowledge
is far more than the accumulation of isolated facts and figures. It
involves a
deeper understanding, an ability to ‘walk around’ facts and see them
from
different angles.”
(Joseph Lowman, 1985)
My major goal in this course is to help you
see reality from many (new) perspectives.
In particular, I would like you to take the perspective of a
stranger in
a strange land. We will learn how to
translate theories of social psychology, especially the theory of
symbolic
interactionism, into everyday life and, conversely, to interpret
situations of
everyday life according to theories of social psychology.
How do these theories help us to understand
the behavior of other people as well as our own behavior?
How do they explain why we (re)act in the way
we do?
We will examine the underlying structure that
lies behind our actions. Interaction
(even deviant behavior) does not happen just randomly but follows
specific
social rules and norms. Together we will
try to discover these social rules and norms in our everyday activities.
O’Brien,
Jodi. 2006. The Production of Reality. Essays and
Course packet
available at Orange &
Blue Textbooks (
Requirements
Attendance: Attendance of class is
required because non-attendance by several students at a time will
destroy the
dynamic of the class. You will be
allowed two
absences without any questions. After that, any unexcused absence will
result
in a half point reduction of your final grade.
Assignments: Almost every week, I will
give you a 2-page written assignment that you should submit to me via
WebCT
Vista before class on or before the designated due date. The
written assignments must be submitted either as a
Word document (*.doc) or saved and submitted as a rich text format
(*.rtf) file. Text should be double-spaced,
in either an 11-point or 12-point font Times New Roman (or similar),
and
contain a heading that identifies the student. Each 2-page assignment
is worth
2 points. To get full credit, you need to submit at least 45 lines
of text
that pertain to the assignment (names and headings do not count as
lines of
text). There are a total of 12 assignments. Six of the assignments
(or the
first 12 points you will earn) are required and will count as 12% of
your
grade. Six additional assignments are optional. You have the option
to
substitute five of the additional assignments (or up to 10 points above
your
initial 12 points) for 10% of the average grade of your three exams.
Except for
the first two assignments, I will not accept any late entries
regardless
of the excuse but you are allowed to drop one assignment and might
still earn
100 points in the class. If you submit all 12 written assignments, you
can earn
up to 2 extra credit points that will be added to your total score at
the end
of the class.
To submit your MS Word file or *.rtf file in
WebCT Vista, go to the University of Florida
e-Learning
Support Services home page at <http://lss.at.ufl.edu/> (bookmark
this page). “Log In,” using your Gatorlink username and password in the
boxes
under “WebCT Vista login.” If you do not have a Gatorlink ID or if you
cannot
remember your Gatorlink login information, go to the Gatorlink website
at <http://gatorlink.ufl.edu>
or to the
CIRCA Help Desk in CSE520D (phone: 392-HELP) for assistance.
Important: Before you log in to WebCT Vista for the
first time
on your computer, you should perform a browser and Java check to make
sure that
both are compatible with
After you have successfully logged in to
WebCT Vista, click on the link for our course. To view and submit an
assignment
in WebCT Vista, click on “Assignments” and then on the assignment link
of the
assignment that you want to submit. The Submission
screen
for that assignment appears.
Submitting an assignment involves two steps:
(1)
Upload
the file from your
computer to WebCT Vista:
·
To
locate the file, click on “Add Attachments” to open the “File Browser” window.
·
Click
on “Upload File” to open the “Upload File”
window.
·
Click
on “Browse” to open your computer’s browser.
·
Select
the file you want to upload by double-clicking on it (or click
on the file and then click “Open”).
·
You
are returned to the “Upload File” window. Click on “Save”.
·
You
are returned to the “File Browser” window. Make sure only the file
you want to upload is checked and click on “Add Selected”.
·
The
Submission screen for that assignment appears again. You will see a
hyperlink for your assignment file. You can click on the hyperlink to
make sure
that it is the correct file.
(2)
Submit
the file for grading.
·
Click
on “Submit”. A screen appears asking you “Are you sure you want
to submit this assignment?” Click on “OK”.
·
The
submission confirmation screen appears. Click on “Continue”.
If you want to revise and resubmit your
assignment before the due date, click on “Assignments” in the tool bar,
click
on the “Submitted” tab, and then on the “Take Submission Back to Inbox”
icon in
the “options” column. This will move the assignment back to the “Inbox”
and you
can click on the assignment and repeat the above steps to submit a
revised
version of your assignment. Before you do this, however, you should
click on
the “Remove” icon to remove the old version of your assignment first.
To view your submitted assignments, click on
“Assignments” in the tool bar and then click on the “Submitted” tab.
All
assignments you have submitted and resubmitted, and assignments for
which you
have missed the cutoff date will be listed. Once assignments are
graded,
however, they are moved to the “Graded” tab. To view your grades, click
on
“Assignments” in the toolbar and then on the “Graded” tab or click on
“My
Grades” in the toolbar.
Cheating: I define copying parts or
all of an assignment or exam from an author or another student or
allowing
another student to copy parts or all of your assignment or exam as
cheating.
WARNING: Students who are caught cheating in
this way will fail the class immediately!
Exams: There will be three exams,
two midterm exams on February 15 and March 08 and the final exam on May
3 (at 10
a.m.!). All exams will consist of multiple choice questions. The exams
will be
based on the readings as well as on material from class, including
class
discussions. The exams will not be comprehensive, that
is,
they will cover only material presented in class or in the readings
that were
not covered by the previous exam(s).
I do not plan to give any make-up exams. So
if you should encounter any difficulties, come and see me early!
Accommodations
for Students with Disabilities:
Students requesting classroom accommodation must
first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students
Office
will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this
documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.
Three Tips for Staying Awake in Class (and make class more interesting to you):
1. Ask questions.
2. If you feel yourself falling asleep, ask provocative questions. Challenge your professor.
3.
Read
the assigned material before class to do #1 and #2.
|
OPTION 1 |
OPTION 2 |
||
|
Requirements First Midterm Second Midterm Final Exam Six 2-page assignments (required) Additional (up to five) 2-page assignments |
% of Final Grade 22% 22% 34% 12% 10% |
Requirements First Midterm Second Midterm Final Exam Six 2-page assignments |
% of Final Grade 25.33% 25.33% 37.34% 12.00% |
Your
grade will be calculated according to the formula of either Option 1 or
Option
2, whichever results in a higher grade for you.
Plus
you can earn up to 2 extra credit points
under Option 1, which will be added
to your total score if you complete all twelve written assignments!
I will not grade on a curve, i.e. your grade
will depend on your absolute performance, not your performance compared
to
other students.
The points that you will earn can be
translated into letter-grades as follows:
|
90.0 - 100.0 = A |
70.0 - <77.5
= C |
A WORD OF
CAUTION:
Keep in mind that the
points you earn during the semester will determine your final grade.
Optional
assignments must be submitted by the due date and cannot be turned in
after the
end of the semester to improve your grade. Your actual total
points at
the end of the class will determine your grade. I will not
round up
points. Begging will be futile!
|
Tentative Class Schedule |
||
|
Date |
Topic |
|
|
01/09 – 01/11 |
What is real? |
O’Brien:
pp.1-12, |
|
01/16 – 01/18 |
Perspectives in social psychology |
O’Brien: pp.44-54,
57-62, (Reading 4) |
|
01/23 |
Wisdom and knowledge |
O’Brien: pp.54-57 |
|
01/25 – 02/06 |
Socialization and language |
O’Brien: pp.63-77, |
|
02/08 – 02/13 |
Cognitive structure and social
structure |
O’Brien:
pp.77-82, |
|
02/15 |
First Midterm! |
|
|
02/20 – 02/22 |
Naming as an interactional process |
O’Brien:
pp.127-130, |
|
02/27 – 03/01 |
Definition of the situation |
O’Brien:
pp.130-139, |
|
03/06 |
Self-concept and social identity |
O’Brien: pp.
235-249, |
|
03/08 |
Second Midterm! |
|
|
03/13 – 03/15 |
SPRING BREAK! |
|
|
03/20 – 03/22 |
A theory of reality |
O’Brien:
pp.333-345, |
|
03/27 – 03/29 |
Self-fulfilling prophecies |
O’Brien:
pp.345-347, |
|
04/03 – 04/12 |
Conflict in self-production |
O’Brien:
pp.425-441, |
|
04/17 – 04/24 |
Conflict in cultural production |
O’Brien:
pp.347-352, 441-443, |
|
05/03 |
Final Exam
(10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon) |
|