SOCI 102 Social Problems
The general objective of this course is to give students a broad overview of contemporary problems both in America and around the world. This course will analyze social problems, both internationally and here in the United States, using various sociological perspectives. Students will use the tools of sociology - its analytical insights, its theoretical frameworks, and its methods - to ask questions about what constitutes a social problem, when does a social condition become problematic, who are advocating which strategies for solutions or social change. The course will focus on three general classes of social problems: problems of social inequality and conflict, problems arising within specific social institutions (family life, education, crime, and health care), and problems arising from social change (environmental crises, population growth, and social upheaval). In each case, students will study what is known: (1) about the problem and recent trends therein, (2) its causes and consequences, and (3) individual and societal responses to the phenomenon.
Prerequisite
Eligible to enroll in
ENGL 121
Hours Weekly
3 hours weekly
Course Objectives
- Identify and organize information and ideas about a variety of social problems.
- Generate and explore ideas about the causes and consequences of a social problem, and consider alternative approaches to solving a social problem.
- Analyze and evaluate ideas about the causes and consequences of social problems.
- Apply sociological perspective to a critical analysis of a variety of social problems.
- Apply appropriate strategies of inquiry and exploration in order to find, evaluate, and use information ethically in the study of a social problem.
- Identify key concepts and theoretical perspectives essential to the development of a sociological analysis of the social problems underlying individual experience.
- Differentiate the major sociological research methods and correctly identify key components of the scientific model as it is used by sociologists to reason and evaluate with scientific evidence.
- Understand and explain how the social problems of the modern world arise from the social structural, cultural, and historical contexts of contemporary social life.
- Write clearly and effectively using appropriate, relevant, and properly attributed content that demonstrates the writer’s understanding of a social problem.
Course Objectives
- Identify and organize information and ideas about a variety of social problems.
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Research paper/project
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric
- Generate and explore ideas about the causes and consequences of a social problem, and consider alternative approaches to solving a social problem.
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Research paper/project
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric
- Analyze and evaluate ideas about the causes and consequences of social problems.
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Research paper/project
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric
- Apply sociological perspective to a critical analysis of a variety of social problems.
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Research paper/project
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric
- Apply appropriate strategies of inquiry and exploration in order to find, evaluate, and use information ethically in the study of a social problem.
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Quizzes/Writing assignments
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Rubric
- Identify key concepts and theoretical perspectives essential to the development of a sociological analysis of the social problems underlying individual experience.
This objective is a course Goal Only
Learning Activity Artifact
- Writing Assignments
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Quizzes/Writing assignments
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Rubric
- Differentiate the major sociological research methods and correctly identify key components of the scientific model as it is used by sociologists to reason and evaluate with scientific evidence.
This objective is a course Goal Only
Learning Activity Artifact
- Writing Assignments
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Quizzes/Writing assignments
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Other (please fill out box below)
- rubric
- Understand and explain how the social problems of the modern world arise from the social structural, cultural, and historical contexts of contemporary social life.
This objective is a course Goal Only
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Quizzes/Writing assignment
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Rubric
- Write clearly and effectively using appropriate, relevant, and properly attributed content that demonstrates the writer’s understanding of a social problem.
This objective is a course Goal Only
Learning Activity Artifact
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Quizzes/Writing assignments
Procedure for Assessing Student Learning
- Other (please fill out box below)
- Rubric