Sociology 110: Sociology of Marriages and Families
Fall 2008 - Ticket #42115
Mon/Wed 5:30-7:00pm  - SS 316

              

Final Group Project - due on Wednesday, December 17 at 6pm!

We Are California - Californians tell their immigration and migration stories
Sponsored by the CA Council for the Humanities

Family History Project Assignment

Exam #2 Study Guide - Exam is Monday, Nov. 3

Exam #1 Study Guide - Exam is Monday, Oct. 6

Family History Project:
Interview Reflection Homework - Due Wed. Oct. 8
Hints for Interviewing
Interview Guide

Homework

Course Scheudle/Readings

Required Materials for Course

Annual Editions: The Family 08/09, McGraw Hill Pub. ISBN# 978-0-07-339746-7

Rubin, Lillian. Families on the Fault Line. HarperCollins (1994) ISBN# 0-06092229-X

Trujillo, Nick, In Search of Naunny’s Grave: Age, Class, Gender and Ethnicity in an American Family.  AltaMira Press, 2004; 
(ISBN# 978-0759105006)  

Your books are also available on reserve in the library for 2 hour check out. 

Course Description
In this course we will explore the social aspects of marriages and families.  Relationships within this area include romantic, sexual, marriage, family or friendships.  We will examine relationships as social entities and constructs whose meanings have changed over time and from culture to culture. We will put current trends in historical and cultural contexts in order to understand families in today’s world.  We will assess the truths of commonly held myths of families as well as look at how social, political, and economic forces impact families.  Over the semester we will explore some of the many ways in which marriages, intimate relationships, and families are defined, produced and maintained. 

Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

·         Describe historical and contemporary trends in American families

·         Describe changing gender roles and their impact on families

·         Understand the changing roles of motherhood and fatherhood

·         Discuss factors related to family relationships and their satisfaction

·         Explain the relationship between economics and family life

·         Discuss violence in family, dating and marital relationships

·         Discuss current sociological theories and research on families and marriages

·         Explain common myths of family trends and the reality

Course Requirements

Your grade will be based on several components: 

Exams
The first part of your grade will be based on 2 exams. These exams will be in-class, short essay exams.  You will be given a study guide one week before the exam.  If you miss an exam, you will be able to make it up for a reduction in points. You must take the exam the same week of the exam. Please get in touch with me if you have to miss an exam. Once graded exams have been passed back, NO make up exams will be allowed.

Family History Project
You will be required to interview the oldest member of your family and then write up a history of their life. You will be required to interview this person two times over the semester. We will discuss how to do this in class and you will be given more details.  Check the syllabus for the exact due date.

 Final Family History Project – Group
On the last day of the semester, you will be turning in another analysis of your family history but with a group. This project will entail you and your group come up with an analysis of the commonalities and differences between all of your family histories. Later in the semester, I will be assigning you to a group as well as providing you with many more details. This project will be due on the day of the scheduled final exam.

 Written Assignments
You will also have homework assignments and/or in-class assignments. These will be worth 5 points each. The in-class activities/quizzes cannot be made up – you must be there to receive the points.  When you have an assignment that is to done at home, I will tell you in-class when they will be due.  If you have to miss a class, check the class web site for take home assignments. 

Discussion Boards Via TalonNet
This semester you will be required to participate in e-discussions with your classmates. There will be topics throughout the semester related to a reading or topic in the course I will give you due dates and details in class. By being officially registered in the class means you have access to this service. We will go over how to log on to make sure you understand it. You will be required to post at least one thoughtful comment for each topic (you can’t just say, “yea, me too”)

Emailed homework
Your homework assignments may be turned in via email to me (aholzgang@Cerritos.edu).  I must receive the email before class time for it to be on-time. Remember that there may be server problems and that it is your responsibility that I get it. I will send you a reply when I do receive it.  I will print out a copy of your emailed homework for you to pick up in class after I have recorded it. 

Whenever you send me any email, you must include in the subject line your first and last name, the class (either the ticket number or the day/time) and the homework assignment number.  If you do not have this information in your subject heading, I will not accept it.  Your assignment may be cut and pasted into the actual email or sent as a Word document attachment. Any other program must be sent in the email message (cut and paste it) or I won’t be able to access it. 

Reading Assignments
The readings are to be completed by the date listed on the syllabus. This way you will have done the readings and will be ready to discuss the issues in class. If you have to miss a class, please check with a classmate for the class notes.

 Academic Honesty
Honesty is expected of all students.  Students should consult the Cerritos College Catalog regarding official policy. For this class, cheating is unacceptable in any form.  If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, you will receive a zero on that assignment and possibly a failing grade in the class.

Attendance/Participation
A portion of your grade will be based on participation.  Your attendance and participation is expected for every class period. You are also expected to be on time and stay until class is dismissed.  I will be taking attendance each day.  There will be in-class exercises, assignments, and quizzes and you must be in class to complete them. There will be no make ups on those in-class assignments.  Excessive absences will impact your course grade – you must be in class to participate.  Participation will be in the form of coming to class prepared to discuss that day’s readings as well as turning in assignments in a timely manner.  According to Cerritos College policy, if you miss too many classes consecutively, you may be dropped from the class by the instructor. If there is a problem, please get in touch with me.

 Your final grade composition will be based on the following: 

                        2 essay exams @ 50 points each                              100 points

                        family history project                                                  100 points

                        two interviews @10 points each                                 20 points

                        two interview reflections @15 pts each                      30 points

                        final group projects                                                     100 points

                        TalonNet Discussions/class activities                         50 points

                                                Total                                                   400  points

Distribution of the course grades typically follows the following scale:

 Do’s and Don’ts for this class: 

A Note about Extra Credit

Generally, I do not believe in Extra Credit.  To succeed in this course you are asked to be diligent, committed, and serious about your regular assignments. If you put forth this effort on your class assignments you will not need extra credit.  There may be times when speakers are on campus or there are important events happening at Cerritos College. I will let you know if there are any such events and if so, which events you may attend and do a write-up to count as extra credit.

 **Any student who needs instructional accommodation due to a disability should see me as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Note:  This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to adapt to instructional and/or student needs.

 Course Schedule/Readings 

Homework

Due Monday, August 25. In no more than 2 pages, please write an answer to the following question:  Who or what defines family for you?

Interview #1 Reflection Homework Due Wednesday, October 8
Please write at least one page (typed, please) discussing some of the similarities and differences between your family member and those of your group members. What were these similarities based on? (race/ethnicity, class, age, gender, geography) What were the differences due to? (race/ethnicity, class, age, gender, geography). Did today's conversation with your group help you come up with new questions to ask your family member? What are excited to ask them for the next interview?

If you were not here the day the interviews were due and did not get in a group, please write about a page what surprised you about your interview, and what you want to ask more about on the next one.