SOCY 2401 TR9 Sociology of Children

Department of Sociology – Brooklyn College, CUNY

Instructor: Marcela F. González, PhD
Day and Time: T & TH 9:30 am to 10:45 am Room: Online
Office Hours: T 3 pm to 4 pm
Email: [email protected]

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Welcome! This course focuses on children, understood as those who are below 18 years old. In the class, we will explore childhood from a sociological, comparative, and public policy approach. We will analyze different topics that involve children’s experience, such as the reproduction of inequality at elementary schools; race and racism in the health system; transgender kids; welfare policies and child poverty; and immigration.

The dates for our Zoom meetings are in the syllabus, in the Course Schedule, and also in BB, in Course Materials. Check the dates and mark your calendars.

 

EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

1) Learning Outcomes

After this course, students will:

1. Be able to identify the causes and consequences of child poverty.
2. Be able to read and analyze texts that use qualitative methods and descriptive statistics.
3. Understand the importance of power, inequality, gender, stratification, race, and class, in children’s experience in society.
4. Be able to identify how race and racism shapes children’s experience in the health system.

2) Evaluation and Grading

• Blackboard Assignments 20%
• Group Presentations 20%
• Mid-term exam 30%
• Final exam 30%

Grading scale: A= 100-95; A-=94-90; B+: 89-87; B= 86-84; B-= 83-80; C+=79-77; C= 76-74; C-= 72-70; D+69-67; D= 66-64; D-= 63-60; F= less than 59.

3) Blackboard and In-class Assignments. Group Presentations. Mid-term and Final Exams

Participation in the class is crucial for the development of the class and for me to be able to evaluate your performance in the class.

Students divided in groups will prepare a group presentation. I will organize the groups and assign the dates and texts of the presentation the first week of class. Each group will be in charge of 1/2 group presentations in the semester. The group has to post the Power Point of the group presentation in Discussion Board, the date assigned for their presentation.

Additionally, students will complete weekly Blackboard assignments in Discussion Board. These assignments are due during the week that you have to read the text covered in the assignment. To get full points, students must complete 80 percent of the assignments posted in Discussion Board.

These assignments are low-stake assignments. You do not get a weekly grade because these are formative assignments. The Discussion Board aims to be interactive, participative, and a place in which students can engage with each other and create a shared learning environment.

You have to turn in a final paper of 10 pages the last day of class.

4) Reading Materials

The materials will be available in blackboard as PDFs files, in Course Materials and in our class’s webpage.

5) Class Etiquette

The class meets online. Please turn on your camera in our Zoom meetings so we can have a meaningful online class environment. You can use a Zoom background if you prefer it.

Unless exceptional circumstances occur, Group Presentations and participation in Discussion Board will be done during the time and dates assigned in the syllabus. There is not possibility to make-up these assignments.

7) Communication

The best way to reach me is by e-mail: [email protected] If you need to meet at another time, please ask me an appointment one week in advance.

8) Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is the presentation of anyone else’s work or words as one’s own. Plagiarism and cheating of any kind are not acceptable. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves the CUNY Academic Integrity policy available on the CUNY and Brooklyn College websites. The Brooklyn College Academic Integrity policy states that anyone who is found to have plagiarized or cheated on any assignment will fail the assignment and/or course and the violation will be reported.

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation can be found at www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.