Course Title
SOC 101: Principles of Sociology
Field experience in Guinea, West Africa
Credits
3 credit hours
Summer I semester, 2009, Section C70
CRN: 23148
Prerequisites
None
Instructor
The instructor in this course is Dr. Alan Barton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Community Development at Delta State University.
Description
Welcome to SOC 101! This course is taught Summer I 2009 in Conakry, Guinea in conjunction with the Delta State University Community Drumming Experience field course.
This course will introduce you to concepts in the discipline of sociology, which will help in understanding the people of Guinea and of similar countries. One of the key concepts in the course is globalization, the process of social change through which the human race is becoming integrated under a similar set of values and social structures. We will try to understand Guinea within a globalization framework. Another important concept is culture, which includes a society's beliefs, attitudes, language, symbols and values, as well as material elements such as food, clothing, art and music. As we study djembe drumming and West African dance, we will use these cultural elements as windows to help us interpret other aspects of Guniean culture.
Readings
The following books are required:
Witt, Jon. (2007). The Big Picture: A Sociology Primer. Boston: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-0-07-299053-9.
Stone, Ruth M. (2005). Music in West Africa: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-514500-7.
Course Goals
Students taking this course will:
- study a variety of sociological topics, concepts, and practices, using Jon Witt's The Big Picture as a guide
- apply the concepts found in the text to analyze our experiences and to better understand Guinean social life in a natural context
- communicate their observations in a journal and on a blog, and respond to questions and comments from others
- discuss their experiences periodically with other students participating in the field experience
Course Objectives
Students taking this course will:
- define sociology
- describe what culture means, using terms such as values, symbols and beliefs
- distinguish the material and nonmaterial aspects of culture
- provide examples of culture in practice, drawing on experience in Guinea
- describe various sociological paradigms, or approaches, including scientific sociology, interpretive sociology and reform sociology
- describe how sociologists conduct research, and the role of research in the production of sociological knowledge
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Examine social issues from various sociological perspectives, and from a social perspective
- Identify various social institutions, describe the functions of the institution and how it interacts with other social institutions, and illustrate how the institution is represented in various social contexts
- Define culture, name several elements of both material and non-material culture, and give examples of each drawing on their observations of Guinean culture
Department and College: SOC 101 is offered through the Division of Social Sciences and the Continuing Education program at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. This course is taught in Conakry, Guinea in conjunction with the Community Drumming Experience field trip during summer, 2009.
University Mission: Delta State University is a regional Carnegie Master's I university located in Cleveland, Mississippi. DSU serves as an educational and cultural center for the Mississippi Delta, emphasizing service to the Northern Delta counties through its main campus in Cleveland, its satellite campus centers in Clarksdale and Greenville, and its growing on-line education program.
The University offers undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs of study leading to baccalaureate and master's degrees in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and the School of Nursing, as well as a Doctorate in Education.
Emphasis is placed on excellence in instruction, followed by
service and research, in the creation of a community of
scholars. With special attention to small classes, a friendly
environment, and a broad liberal arts foundation, the University
encourages significant student-faculty interactions.
Delta State provides programs and services that promote
intellectual, cultural, ethical, physical, and social development.
Students from different cultural, socioeconomic, and ethnic
backgrounds will develop the ability to respect and evaluate
the thoughts of others; to develop, assess, and express their
own thoughts effectively; and to use the techniques of
research and performance associated with their disciplines.