SOC 225 - SOCIOLOGY OF THE FAMILY

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COURSE THEMES:

This course will investigate several interrelated sociological and psychological themes such as:

·        the interplay between individual, family and cultural values

·        societal conditions or influences that affect families

·        the dynamics of adult development and the life course of families

·        the shift in focus from viewing marriage as an institution to viewing   it as a relationship in which one expects to find companionship and intimacy

·        the personal decisions required in creating and maintaining marriages and

      families.

COURSE STRUCTURE:

This course is based upon a video series called “Portrait of a Family”.  There are 26 one-half hour videos, which cover a number of topics pertaining to the family, that you must watch.  These videos are located in the LRCs of each of the campuses and at each center.

The attached schedule will describe the videos and the days each of the videos must be viewed by.

  Since we will only meet once a week, it is very important that you come to class having viewed the assigned videos and read the assignments.  The reading assignments are located in the Portrait of A Family text.  It is also important that you bring your textbooks to class because we will refer to them quite often.

You will be given time in class to view the videos assigned for the following week.

GRADING:

Take Home Tests (2) - 40%                                100 - 90 % = A

Video Summaries      - 25%                                  89 - 80 % = B

Term Paper               - 25%                                  79 - 70 % = C

Attendance                - 10%                                  69 - 60 % = D

                                                                            59 -          = F

Tests:  There are two take-home tests.  Test one will cover programs 1-13 and test number 2 will cover programs 14-26.  I encourage you to work together on these tests.  I also suggest that you spend some time on these tests, there are some very difficult answers that will take effort to find.

Video Summaries:  You are required to write summaries of each of the videos. These summaries can include your own personal reaction to the videos, as well as include what you thought to be the highlights of the video.  Each of the summaries should be about ¾ of a page typed, double-spaced.  These videos should be viewed during the allotted class time.  You may, however, view them at other times.  These videos are located in the library, and may also be checked out for viewing at home.

  I have included a sample of how each video summary should be formatted.

Attendance:  This class is heavily based on class discussion, therefore attendance is very important.  If you miss three times or fewer you will get all of the points for attendance.  If you miss more than three times, then you will get a zero for attendance.  It is nearly impossible to get an A in the course if you do not get points for attendance.

Term Paper:  I have attached a guideline for the term paper.  If your grade on the term paper negatively affects your final grade for the course, then you have the option to rewrite the paper or correct it.  There is no guarantee that rewriting the term paper will result in a higher grade on the paper or for the course.

  Video Summaries - The week after the videos are discussed in class.

  VIDEO SUMMARY FORMAT – PLEASE SET UP ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS THIS WAY

Your name

Campus

Day/Time

Title of Video - # of Video

            Then you would type your summary in this space.  Be sure to use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.  Also make sure you use proper sentence structure as well as appropriate use of paragraphs.  Your summaries should be about ¾ of a page in length.