Imperial Valley Community College

Sociology 110: 10601

Marriage and The Family Fall 2011

Instructor: Alondo C. Campbell, PhD                  Class Schedule: MW 4:45—6:10 pm

Office Hours: MW: 3:00-4:30 pm                          Email: alondo.campbell@imperial.edu

Class Location: Bldg. 200 rm. 211                       Phone: (760) 355-6283

Rm. 1604A                                                                 http://faculty.imperial.edu/alondo.campbell

Required Texts

Lauer & Lauer, (2011) Marriage & Family The Quest for Intimacy. 8^th Ed. McGraw Hill

Course Description

Sociology 110 is an introductory course to marriage and the family. Major ideas and concepts include: the history of love and marriage, myths and hidden realities, sex roles, singlehood and pairing, communication and conflict resolution, separation and divorce, remarriage. Discussion topics include social theory, culture, socialization, social interaction and social structures, deviance, social class, racial, ethnic and gender stratification, and various social institutions, i.e. family, religion, and the economy.

Course Objectives

• Describe the historical cultural influences on love, marriage and the family.
• Recognize the cultural myths that influence the understanding of marriage and the family, as well as the hidden realities which distort what goes on inside families.
• Compare and contrast traditional and changing sex roles in terms of their impact on marital and familial behavior, and demonstrate awareness of the process of sex role learning.
• Develop critical thinking skills by applying the basic ideas of sociology to your own personal experiences and larger social events

Student Learning Outcomes

The student will be able to:

• describe the single’s subculture including cohabitation, the process of pairing, and the marriage market.
• Analyze verbal and non-verbal communication and conflict resolution within marriage.
• Identify the causes and processes of marital separation and divorce, as well as, children’s response to divorce.
• Define single parenthood, remarriage and the blended family, and the divorce subculture. interpret how a specific social concept is understood from a sociological perspective
• distinguish different major sociological theoretical perspectives which explain social behavior.

IVC’s Institutional Learning Outcomes

ILO1: Communication Skills, ILO2: Critical Thinking Skills, ILO3: Personal Responsibility

ILO4: Information Literacy, ILO5: Global Awareness

Student Grade Evaluation

Participation                                                                            100

Midterm Exam                                                                        100

Written Assignment Electronic Submission                             50

In Class                                                                                   150

Exercises         (5 @ 10 points)                         50

Quizzes           (5 @ 10 points)                         50

Presentation    (1 @ 50 points)                         50

Final Exam                                                                              100

Total Possible                                                                        500 points

The grade distribution is based on the following percentage points:

A         500 – 460        90%

B         459 – 400        80%                                        

C         399 – 350        70%

D         349 – 300        60%

F          under 299        59% or less

Participation: Participation includes active listening. I take notice of how attentive the class is when somebody has the floor.  It is as important to participate by respectful interaction such as volunteering your opinion. Students can earn participation points only in-class.  All students should have joined in class discussion by the end of the third week of the semester. Your participation should add value to the discussion and be on topic.  I will facilitate to prevent vocal students from dominating the airwaves.

Midterm Exam: There is one in-class midterm exam. The exam must be taken on the scheduled day it is administered in class. There are NO make-up exams without a compelling medical reason verified by a medical provider. Any make up exam is at the discretion of the instructor.

In-class Exercises:Includes video reaction papers and projects on current events. Penmanship is essential and must be legible. A project may be a reaction to an assigned reading, video clip, or group activity and often includes low-stakes writing.  Projects may include team assignments.

Quizzes: There are five quizzes; each covers the two chapters of the last two weeks unless otherwise announced. 

Presentations: Students will form groups, complete an outside of class project and present findings in class.

Final Exam: regularly assigned classroom. The format for the exam is the same as the Midterm.  There are no makeup exams without a documented verification of a compelling reason.

Incomplete Grade:Students seeking an “Incomplete” grade must consult with me no later than the week prior to finals.  Incompletes will only be considered for unforeseeable, emergency and justifiable reasons at the end of the term, and only upon agreement of conditions for completing coursework. 

Classroom Expectations and Behavior: The Students are responsible for knowing the material and announcements presented during lectures and recitations whether or not you attend class. Please arrange with another student for missed notes and announcements. Please do not disrupt other students’ ability to hear lectures (e.g., do not arrive late or leave early. prepared to take notes before lectures begin, do not read or talk during lecture, sit in a seat, do not begin packing your belongings before class ends).

Cell Phones and Pagers: Out of consideration for others, please turn your cell phones and pagers to the silent mode.  If they do not have a silent or vibratory mode, please turn them off. No texting is allowed while class is in session.  These items tend to distract the other students during class discussions and activities.

Use of laptop computers in-class:  This class does not require students to use their laptop computers in class.  Laptop computers may only be used in the classroom with the advanced permission of the instructor.

Attendance: You are required to attend class. Remember the student is responsible for obtaining all information and material when absent. The student is responsible for dropping the class. Although it is the instructor’s prerogative to drop students in the first two weeks for lack of attendance, the student alone is responsible for dropping.

Late arrival/early departure: Students are subjected to loss of participation points for arriving late or leaving early.

Students with Disabilities: Any student with a registered need for special educational accommodation should notify Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSP&S) or contact me as soon as possible. Visit or call DSP&S, Mel Wendrick Access Center, Rm 2117, (760)355-6312.                        

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic honesty is highly valued at Imperial Valley College. You must always submit work that represents your original words or ideas. If any words or ideas used in a class postings or assignment submission do not represent your original words or ideas, you must cite all relevant sources and make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source.

APA Format: American Psychological Association (APA) format is required for written assignments. This website is helpful http://owl.english.purdue.edu/.

Course Outline

NOTE: This course outline should be considered tentative since some minor changes may be made according to the needs of class. If a date or assignment needs to be changed, I will announce it in class before the date it is listed in the syllabus.