Introduction to Sociology - SOC 2010

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  Intro to Sociology, Soc 2010
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a sociology course for undergraduate by Dinur Blum at California State University, Los Angeles. The open textbook provides easy to understand explanations, a reading and notetaking guide, a time management guide, and students can listen to the textbook as an audio book. My main motivation to adopt an open textbook was in finding ways of helping students save money and reduce some of the financial stress of attending college. Most student access the open textbook in online format – I paste the link to the book on our Canvas course page. 

Course Title and Number: Intro to Sociology, Soc 2010
Brief Description of course highlights:  From CSULA’s Course Catalog: Soc 2010 focuses on Social institutions, social interaction, and group behavior; social order and change.  Issues include inequality, globalization, pluralism, distribution of privilege and power, sources of cooperation and conflict, deviance and social control.  

The skills students develop through Soc 2010 are designed to help students thrive in their academic and future professional endeavors. Developing strong sociological imaginations and analytical skills allow students to empathize with people – both individually and in groups – by understanding the challenges others face in their lives may be different from (or similar to) challenges students have faced growing in their lives, and these challenges shape the decisions people make.

Many careers value the ability to work collaboratively (together) as well as individually, and the term project in this course allows students to develop groupwork skills. Further, careers want to know employees can think analytically and communicate effectively. Having to collect, analyze, and communicate (either through a paper, a presentation, or both) data in this course’s term project offers students invaluable experiences they can bring to their future career of choice. The content and skills developed in this course will help students not only earn grades, but also put them in a good position to fit in with and contribute to whatever workplace they choose to work with and work for.

Student population: Share demographics for students who take the class e.g. common majors, previous preparation, etc. Given this is an introductory course, both sociology majors and non-majors take Soc 2010 as it fulfills a GE requirement. There are no prerequisites for the course.   Many students in Soc 2010 take the course during their first two years of studying, though some take it later in their academic careers. In addition to students in the social sciences, specifically sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics or business, many nursing students choose to take Soc 2010 as a way to prepare for their future careers.

Learning or student outcomes:  By the end of Soc 2010, students will be able to:

1. Describe, develop, and discuss the "sociological imagination”, allowing for empathy and understanding that there are multiple ways to understanding and navigating the world
2. Differentiate among and apply the major theoretical perspectives in sociology, as well as working with specific concepts or ideas within these perspectives.
3. Define and apply basic sociological concepts, including social institutions, norms, sanctions, social locations, statuses, cultural diversity, and social change.
4. Analyze the role social forces play in shaping human behavior and life chances.
5. Describe and compare social science research methods, emphasizing identifying basic methodological approaches used in sociology concerning data collection, analysis and interpretation, as well as basic ethical considerations.
6. Communicate and present their own sociological research, working either individually or in small teams

Key challenges faced and how resolved: Finding quality sources that would be affordable and useful for students. Browsing OER sites after discussions with librarians and other faculty helped guide me to this textbook, and because it is regularly updated, I find the book helpful.

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: Introduction to Sociology 3e

Brief Description: Introduction to Sociology 3e aligns to the topics and objectives of many introductory sociology courses. It is arranged in a manner that provides foundational sociological theories and contexts, then progresses through various aspects of human and societal interactions. The new edition is focused on driving meaningful and memorable learning experiences related to critical thinking about society and culture. The text includes comprehensive coverage of core concepts, discussions and data relevant to a diverse audience, and features that draw learners into the discipline in powerful and personal ways. Overall, Introduction to Sociology 3e aims to center the course and discipline as crucial elements for understanding relationships, society, and civic engagement; the authors seek to lay the foundation for students to apply what they learn throughout their lives and careers.
Please provide a link to the resource: https://openstax.org/details/books/introduction-sociology-3e

Authors:
Tonja R. Conerly, San Jacinto College
Kathleen Holmes, Northern Essex Community College
Asha Lal Tamang, Minneapolis Community and Technical College & North
Hennepin Community College

Contributing Authors
Jennifer Hensley, Vincennes University
Jennifer L. Trost, University of St. Thomas
Pamela Alcasey, Central Texas College
Kate McGonigal, Fort Hays State University
Heather Griffiths, Fayetteville State University
Nathan Keirns, Zane State College
Eric Strayer, Hartnell College
Tommy Sadler, Union University
Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Georgia Perimeter College
Gail Scaramuzzo, Lackawanna College
Sally Vyain, Ivy Tech Community College
Jeff Bry, Minnesota State Community and Technical College at Moorhead
Faye Jones, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

Student access:  OpenStax; Link posted on Canvas
Supplemental resources: The book comes with a test bank (assessment bank), powerpoint slides, and various guides the instructor can use. Students have a reading and notetaking guide, a time management guide, and students can listen to the textbook as an audio book

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Most introductory textbooks in sociology cost $50 or more, with many books costing between $75-120 per copy.

License: Open License through OpenStax

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. I wanted to save students money and use a resource that is adaptable/updatable in content.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I consulted librarians on our campus (special thanks to Jayati Chaudhuri!) and faculty at different universities, as well as browsed OER sites.

Sharing Best Practices: There are relatively few available OER, especially for upper division courses. One suggestion I have is to think of the upper division courses you teach, and see if there are resources available for it – if not, create books – not as solo endeavors, but as chances to collaborate with people (whether you are on the same campus or different universities) – be and create the resource(s) our students need to thrive academically.  I wish I had known about OER and collaborative resources earlier, and not had them stigmatized when I was in graduate school – these resources are relatively recent, and had been treated as second class compared to traditional textbooks because of the power of tradition. OER is a flexible resource because it can be updated, which means we can create relevant resources after creating the basic book (and continue to update examples) and save our students money.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned. There are very few OER/Low-Cost materials available for upper division courses, which means there are ample opportunities for faculty to be a resource for students and create OER texts. For that to be realistic, there have to be pools of money (whether it’s credit for units taught or supplemental pay) for faculty to create these texts for students. 

Instructor Name:  Dr Dinur Blum
I am a lecturer in Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles.

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://undergradeasier.com/the-learning-made-easier-podcast
https://www.calstatela.edu/nss/sociology/faculty-and-staff 

Please describe the courses you teach.
Soc 2010: Introduction to Sociology: Social institutions, social interaction, and group behavior; social order and change.  Issues include inequality, globalization, pluralism, distribution of privilege and power, sources of cooperation and conflict, deviance and social control.  

Soc 3910: Qualitative Research Methods: Exploration of qualitative research epistemologies, research questions, and design; methods of data generation, analysis, and interpretation; issues of ethics, representation and qualitative sociological writing. Grade of C or better in this course satisfies the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement.

Soc 4120: Sociology Theory: Critical examination of significant sociological analytic perspectives in classical and contemporary sociological theory, with special emphasis in the development of Western social thought.

Soc 4260: Deviant Behavior: Basic theoretical orientations to social and personal disorganization resulting from role conflict, social conflict, normlessness, or alienation; individual and social deviance related to group processes and structures. 

Soc 4810: Sociology of Policing: Social role of the police; historical, political, and social contexts of policing.  Selected issues include police violence, police cultures, community policing, international policing, and cross-cultural comparisons of police behavior.  

Soc 4880: Sociology of Law: Sociological perspectives on the relationship between law, culture, politics, the economy, and community; creation of law and its impact on class, race, and gender relationships; impact of globalization on law.

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  My research areas are varied. Part of my research focuses on college student-athletes’ academic challenges and achievements, as well as challenges faced by faculty, staff, and students (athletes and non-athletes alike) in universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. I also research the social causes of mass shootings in the United States looking for solutions to this persistent social problem.