SOCIOLOGY 518

Instructor:Dr. Lee D. M. Bidwell

Office Phone: 434-395-2699

Office:106D Wynne

Office Hours: MWRF 9:00-10:00 a.m.; and by appointment

Home Page: : http://www.longwood.edu/staff/LBidwell/index.htm

Course Meeting Dates: Feb. 4-5; Feb. 18-19; March 3-4; March 31-April 1

Class Meeting Times: Fridays 6:00-9:30 p.m.; Saturdays 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Course Description:[This course provides] "an examination of selected social problems facing the United States and how they affect the agencies of social service.Included will be an examination of causes of poverty, racism, sexism, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, environmental degradation, and unemployment" (1999-2000 Longwood University Graduate Catalog, p. 55).

Glassner, Barry.The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things.New York: Basic Books, 1999.

Seccombe, Karen."So You Think I Drive a Cadillac."Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

Wilson, William J.When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor.New York: Vintage Books, 1996.

·Identify and critique existing social policies designed to remedy social problems;

Course Requirements: Students are expected to read materials before class and participate in class discussions.Additionally, students will write several précis of reading assignments, give oral presentations about their assigned reading, and write a term paper on a selected social problem.

Attendance Policy: Consistent attendance and class participation is necessary for a successful graduate seminar.Students must attend all classes and arrive on time.

Disability Accommodations: Students who need accommodations based on a disability should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make necessary arrangements.

Inclement Weather Policy: If we experience more severe winter weather this season, you may tune into radio stations in Farmville, Richmond, Lynchburg, Crewe, South Boston, and Roanoke as well as TV stations in Lynchburg and Richmond to hear whether the university has closed.However, since there are few weekend classes, the administration may not officially close Longwood University should a weekend storm occur.Therefore, we should all use our good judgement in coming to class. Should a storm be forecast for a Friday night, I will try to contact each of you individually via e-mail or telephone to let you know if the class will meet.If you do not hear from me, assume class will be held.If a sudden storm occurs after class on Friday, I will post a message on my voice mail (434-395-2699) by 6:30 a.m. to let you know whether class will be held.If class is held and you personally cannot get to campus because of the weather, you will have an excused absence and will be given an assignment to make up for the "lost time."If we miss a Friday or Saturday class, we will make up the hours on April 8.

Grading:Students' written work will be assessed based upon the insight, thoughtfulness, and critical analysis demonstrated, as well as on organization and proficient use of the English language. Students also are expected to participate in class discussions, making thoughtful contributions on a regular basis and demonstrating that they have read and critically analyzed the assigned reading.The précis and class participation are each worth one-fourth of the final grade; the term paper is worth the other half of the class grade.

Précis:A précis is a concise summary of the essential components of an article.Each week students will select assignments to read and abstract for the following class period.Students will write a précis for every article/chapter that they read and make a copy for each class member and the instructor.

2.a summary of the research methods, literature, and/or logic used to arrive at and support the thesis;

3.assessment of the implications of the article/chapter (e.g., why is it important?).

Students are responsible for discussing the articles/chapters that they have abstracted.In the class discussion students must summarize and critically analyze the content of the article addressing such issues as whether the research methods used were appropriate and thorough, what questions were left unanswered, and whether the student agrees or disagrees with the thesis and why.

2.the abstract should not exceed one typed page--if possible (remember a précis is supposed to be "concise");

4.the full bibliographic citation of the article/chapter should precede your summary.

Teaching Philosophy:I believe that graduate courses should be an opportunity for faculty and students to teach and learn together.It is clearly my responsibility to provide the structure and organization for the course and to assist students in making analytical connections.However, I have much to learn from you, and we have much to learn together as a class.In our weekend course meetings, I want students to summarize and critique articles for the class, ask questions, draw conclusions, and make policy recommendations.Furthermore, students will have the freedom to discover articles that I have not put on the bibliography so that together we can construct an on-going up-to-date list of resources on the topics we will be covering.

Term paper:Students will write a 15-20-page term paper on a social problem of their choice.By the end of the first weekend of class, students should have selected a topic and received approval for that topic from the instructor.In this paper, students will explore the causes and prevalence of the problem, as well as social policies being used and or proposed to address the problem.Specifically, term papers must include the following information:

·an analysis of the causes and consequences of the social problem, drawn from scholarly sociological literature

·a description of the current policy or policies being employed to address the social problem, along with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the policy/policies

·a proposal for a better social policy to address the social problem, along with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed policy

A minimum of 20 sources must be cited in the paper.At least half of the sources used must be from scholarly journals.All information obtained from a web site must be documented as reliable.Any information obtained from a .com URL will not be considered scholarly unless it is accompanied with a bibliographic citation tracing the origin of the information.

Papers will be graded based on thorough scholarly content, demonstrated ability to analyze and synthesize arguments, organization, and writing style.Proofread your papers carefully, making sure that all sources cited in your paper are properly cited in the bibliography, and that spelling and grammar are correct.

Date	Time	Topic	Reading Assignment
Feb. 4	6:00-9:30	Introduction Defining Social Problems
Feb. 5	9:00-10:00 10:00-12:00 12:00-1:00 1:00-2:30 2:45-4:00	Continue with Definition Library Workshop Lunch Review Theoretical Perspectives on Social Problems Introducing "Social Capital"	Mills"The Promise"

Date	Time	Topic	Reading Assignment
Feb. 18	6:00-9:30	Social Capital	Assigned Articles
Feb. 19	9:00-12:00 12:00-1:00 1:00-4:00	Wilson Discussion Lunch Formulating Policy to Address Wilson's Concerns & Social Capital Issues	Wilson:When Work Disappears

Date	Time	Topic	Reading Assignment
March 3	6:00-9:30	History of Social Welfare Programs
March 4	9:00-12:00 12:00-1:00 1:00-2:30 2:45-4:00	Seccombe Discussion Lunch Policy Implications of Seccombe's Research Introduce "Social Construction" Position	Seccombe:"So You Think I Drive a Cadillac"

Date	Time	Topic	Reading Assignment
March 31	6:00-9:30	Social Construction of Social Problems	Assigned Articles
April 1	9:00-12:00 12:00-1:30 1:45-4:00	Glassner Discussion Class Lunch Policy Implications of Glassner Class Evaluations	Glassner:The Culture of Fear

Coleman, James S.Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.American Journal of Sociology 94 (1988): S95-S119.

Frank, Kenneth A., and Jeffrey Y. Yasumoto. Linking Action to Social Structure Within a System: Social Capital Within and Between Subgroups. The American Journal of Sociology 104 (1998): 642 (online).

McNeal, Ralph B., Jr. Parental Involvement as Social Capital: Differential Effectiveness on Science Achievement, Truancy, and Dropping Out. Social Forces 78 (1999): 117 (online).

Morrow, Virginia.Conceptualising Social Capital in Relation to the Well-Being ofChildren and Young People: A Critical Review. The Sociological Review, 47 (1999): 744 (online).

Norris, Pippa.Does television erode social capital? A reply to Putnam. PS:Political Science & Politics 29 (1996): 474 (online).

Teachman, Jay D., and Kathleen Paasch, & Karen Carver. Social capital and the Generation of Human Capital. Social Forces 75 (1997): 1343 (online).

Burstein, Paul and Marie Bricher. Problem Definition and Public Policy: Congressional Committees Confront Work, Family, and Gender, 1945-1990.Social Forces 76 (1997): 134 (online).

Emerson, Robert M.; Kerry O. Ferris; & Carol Brooks Gardner.On Being Stalked.Social Problems 45 (1998): 289 (online).

Fine, Gary Alan.Scandal, Social Conditions, and the Creation of Public Attention:

Fatty Arbuckle and the "Problem of Hollywood." Social Problems 44 (1997): 297 (online).

Solutions in Sweden and the United States. Social Problems 45 (1998): 488 (online).

Moynihan, Daniel Patrick. Data and Dogma in Public Policy. Journal of the American Statistical Association 94 (1999): 359 (online).

Chow, Julian and Claudia Coulton. Was There a Social Transformation of Urban Neighbourhoods in the 1980s? A Decade of Worsening Social Conditions in

Parker, Keith D; Barbara J. McMorris; Earl Smith; and Komanduri S. Murty. Fear of Crime and the Likelihood of Victimization: A Bi-Ethnic Comparison. The Journal of Social Psychology 133 (1993):723 (online).

Schwartz, Hillel.On the Origin of the Phrase 'Social Problems.' Social Problems 44 (1997):276 (online).

Wardell, Mark and Anna M. Zajicek. Social Problems: Pathways for Transcending Exclusive Sociology. Social Problems 42 (1995):301 (online).

Course Description	Required Texts	Course Objectives	Course Requirements
Attendance Policy	Disability Accommodations	Inclement Weather Policy	Grading
Precis	Teaching Philosophy	Term Paper	Week 1 Schedule
Week 2 Schedule	Week 3 Schedule	Week 4 Schedule	Bibliography