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This page collects course logistics, weekly materials, assignment reminders, and the questions students ask most often. Check here before emailing.

Courses

Current and recent teaching.
Current

SOC 1005 · Intro Sociology (FMWA & PMWA)

Introductory sociology course covering core concepts, inequality, race and ethnicity, gender, deviance, and social institutions.

Spring 2026 · Baruch College

Archive

Past Teaching

SOC 1005 Intro Sociology, Fall 2023 & 2025, Spring 2024 & 2025.

Baruch College

Course Components and Grading

This section explains how your work will be evaluated over the semester.
Component Description Weight Notes
Attendance and Participation Regular attendance and participation are expected throughout the semester. 20 points Each student may miss up to 2 class meetings without penalty. For example, if the class meets 30 times, attendance will be calculated based on 28 meetings.
Student-Led Discussion Students sign up for one discussion slot and help lead class discussion with a short presentation. 10 points Sign-up sheet: 2 points
Presentation: 8 points
Presentation example
SocioCraft Project A semester-long project that asks students to connect sociological concepts to a creative and collaborative craft-based presentation. 20 points Proposal at the beginning of the semester: 5 points
Final showcase: 15 points
No separate written paper is required for the final showcase.
Midterm Exam In-class midterm exam covering course materials from the first half of the semester. 25 points Please review lecture slides and your notes. Some questions might come from your notes or examples I discussed and explained during class. No student-led discussion materials included.
Final Exam Final exam covering course materials assigned ONLY for the second half of the semester. 25 points Details will be announced later in the semester.

Weekly Schedule

Please check this section before emailing questions about readings, class topics, or course pacing.
Week & Date Main Concepts / Class Description All Required Readings
Week 1
01/26 (M)
Introduction to this course and syllabus review
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After class, please spend some time thinking about the SocioCraft project and signing up for the class activities.

Week 1
01/28 (W)
Lecture 1 - Introduction to Sociology
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· C. Wright Mills, excerpt from “The Promise,” in The Sociological Imagination

· Textbook Chapter 1

Week 2
02/02 (M)
Lecture 2 - Research Methods and Ethics
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· Textbook Chapter 2

· Get to know the Stanford Prison Experiment; think about why it is not ethical. Bring questions to class.

Week 2
02/04 (W)
Research Ethics (continued) and Craft Project Kickoff
Students will work in teams, with the help of peers and the instructor, to finish a SocioCraft on their own.
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· Research Ethics: review

· SocioCraft handouts to be distributed

Week 2
02/08 (Sun.)
Sign up for class-leading discussions and class activities, due at midnight
SECTION 1: Power and Authority & Culture, Norms, Socialization, and Social Interaction
Week 3
02/09 (M)
Lecture 3 - Introduction to Power
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· Textbook Chapter 17.1

· Massey, Articles 24 and 32

· Foucault, Michel. “Panopticism,” from Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

Week 3
02/11 (W)
Lecture 4 - Power in Action: Shaping Culture and Social Interaction
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· Textbook Chapters 3.1 & 3.2

· Massey, Article 10

· Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Introduction (pp. 1–9)

· Pierre Bourdieu, “The Forms of Capital”

Week 4
02/16 (M)
NO CLASS - COLLEGE CLOSED NO CLASS
Week 4
02/18 (W)
Class Activity 1 - Student-Led Discussion of Section 1
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· Materials to be distributed

· Students who signed up for this activity must take responsibility for the role play and prepare questions for their classmates. Students in the audience must engage in the activity by responding to the role play and decisions made based on our lectures and discussions.

Week 4
02/22 (Sun.)
SocioCraft Progress Submission (instructions to be distributed), due at midnight
SECTION 2: Social Structures and Inequality: Race, Gender, Relationships, Family
Week 5
02/23 (M)
Lecture 5 - Race, Ethnicity, Current Situation of Different Racial Groups, I
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· Textbook Chapters 11.1, 11.3

· A short video about W.E.B. Du Bois: The Power of Double Consciousness

· Massey, Articles 22 and 25

Week 5
02/25 (W)
Lecture 6 - Race, Ethnicity, Current Situation of Different Racial Groups, II
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· Tran, V. C. (2024). “Asian American Diversity and Growth.” Annual Review of Sociology, 50.

· Erik Love, “Second-Generation Muslim American Advocates and Strategic Racial Identity,” in Mehdi Bozorgmehr and Philip Kasinitz (eds.), Growing up Muslim in Europe and the United States (2018)

· Chapter 2, “Intergenerational Bequeathal of Dis/Advantage and the Immigrant Bargain,” from Robert Smith’s Dreams Achieved and Denied

Week 6
03/02 (M)
Lecture 7 - Gender, Sex, Sexuality, Intersectionality
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· Textbook Chapters 12.1 and 12.2

· Introduction: “Woman as Other” in The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

· Crenshaw, K. W. (2013). “Mapping the Margins,” in The Public Nature of Private Violence

Week 6
03/04 (W)
Lecture 8 - Relationships and Family
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· Textbook Chapter 14

· Massey, Articles 40 and 42

· Vidales, Guadalupe T. “Arrested Justice: The Multifaceted Plight of Immigrant Latinas Who Faced Domestic Violence.” Journal of Family Violence 25 (2010): 533–544.

Week 7
03/09 (M)
Class Activity 2 - Student-Led Discussion of Section 2
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· Materials to be distributed

· Students who signed up for this activity must take responsibility for reading the additional materials for class discussion. Students in the audience must engage in the activity by responding to the paper and answering presenters’ questions.

SECTION 3: Social Control and Resistance: Deviance, Social Control, and Social Movements
Week 7
03/11 (W)
Lecture 9 - Deviance, Social Control, and Power Elites
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· Textbook Chapters 7.1 and 7.2

· Chapter 3, “Rules for the Distinction of the Normal from the Pathological,” from The Rules of Sociological Method by Emile Durkheim

· The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills (1956)

Week 8
03/16 (M)
MIDTERM EXAM
Week 8
03/18 (W)
Lecture 10 - Social Control and Policing, and Race
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· Du Bois, W. E. B. (2013). “The Spawn of Slavery: The Convict-Lease System in the South.” In Race, Crime, and Justice

· Wacquant, L. (2017). “From Slavery to Mass Incarceration: Rethinking the ‘Race Question’ in the US.” In Race, Law and Society

Week 9
03/23 (M)
Lecture 11 - Social Movements and Social Change
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· Textbook Chapter 21

· “Social Movements as Politics,” from Social Movements, 1768–2004 by Charles Tilly

· Introduction: “The Art of Presence,” from Life as Politics by Asef Bayat

Week 9
03/25 (W)
Class Activity 3 - Student-Led Discussion of Section 3
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· Materials to be distributed

· Students who signed up for this activity must take responsibility for reading the additional materials for class discussion. Students in the audience must engage in the activity by responding to the paper and answering presenters’ questions.

Week 10
03/30 (M)
Midterm Review and SocioCraft Project Workshop
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· Midterm Review and in-class creation/presentation and peer feedback. No readings assigned.

Week 10
04/01 (W)
SPRING RECESS - NO CLASS NO CLASS
SECTION 4: Social Inequality and Stratification: Social Stratification, Poverty, and Inequality
Week 11
04/06 (M)
SPRING RECESS - NO CLASS NO CLASS
Week 11
04/08 (W)
SPRING RECESS - NO CLASS NO CLASS
Week 12
04/13 (M)
Lecture 12 - Social Stratification
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· Textbook Chapter 9

· Davis, K., & Moore, W. E. (2017). “Some Principles of Stratification.” In Kingsley Davis

Week 12
04/15 (W)
Lecture 13 - Poverty, Inequality in the U.S. and at the Global Level
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· Textbook Chapter 10

· Massey, Articles 15 and 30

Week 13
04/20 (M)
Lecture 14 - Poverty, Race, and Gender
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· Massey, Article 21

· “Work, Family, and Black Women’s Oppression,” from Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

· Chapters 2, 3, and 6 from Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Week 13
04/22 (W)
Class Activity 4 - “Who Gets What? A Role Play on Wealth and Survival” & Student Leading Discussion of Section 4
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· Materials to be distributed

· Students who signed up for this activity must take responsibility for the role play and prepare questions for their classmates. Students in the audience must engage in the activity by responding to the role play and decisions made based on our lectures and discussions.

SECTION 5: Global and Environmental Sociology: Migration, Population, Urbanization, Aging, and the Environment
Week 14
04/27 (M)
Lecture 15 - Immigration
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· Massey, D. S. (1999). “Why Does Immigration Occur?: A Theoretical Synthesis” (pp. 34–52)

· De Haas, Myths 7 and 8

· Gonzales, R. G. (2011). “Learning to Be Illegal: Undocumented Youth and Shifting Legal Contexts in the Transition to Adulthood.” American Sociological Review, 76(4), 602–619.

Week 14
04/29 (W)
Lecture 16 - Population and Aging
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· Textbook Chapters 13.1 and 20.1

· Lam, D. (2011). “How the World Survived the Population Bomb.” Demography, 48, 1231–1262.

· Mason, A., Lee, R., & NTA Network. (2022). “Six Ways Population Change Will Affect the Global Economy.” Population and Development Review, 48(1), 51–73.

Week 15
05/04 (M)
SocioCraft Showcase I: First-round Presentations
Week 15
05/06 (W)
Lecture 17 - Urbanization and Environment (ONLINE CLASS)
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· Textbook Chapters 20.2 and 20.3

· “Why Harlem Is Not a Ghetto,” from Naked City by Sharon Zukin

· “The Right to the City,” from Rebel Cities by David Harvey

Week 16
05/11 (M)
Class Activity 5 - Student Leading Discussion of Section 5
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· Students who signed up for this activity must take responsibility for reading the additional materials for class discussion. Students in the audience must engage in the activity by responding to the paper and answering presenters’ questions.

Week 16
05/13 (W)
SocioCraft Showcase II: Second-round Presentations
Week 17
05/18 (M)
CLASS DOES NOT MEET Final exam date TBD
Week 18
05/25 (M)
FINAL GRADE RELEASED

Materials

Assignment Instructions

  • SocioCraft: You must find a partner to work on this project with you at the beginning of the semester. You submit a proposal, get my feedback, conitune to revise the project, and present at the end of the semester. Instructions for the SocioCraft proposal submission will be attached to the assignment posted on Brightspace.
  • SocioCraft: For examples of previous hands-on crafts, please check here.
  • Student-Led Discussion: You must first fill out the sign-up sheet. Instructions and relevant materials for the Student-Led Discussion will be uploaded to Brightspace two weeks before the presentation date.
  • Exams: A review guide will be provided for both the midterm and the final exam.
  • All assignments that do not meet the submission requirements will not be graded and will receive a score of zero.

Policies

Email Policy

Please do not email questions already answered in the syllabus, on this page, or in the assignment prompt. Please do not email me on weekends.

Late Work Policy

Late submissions are accepted only for the SocioCraft proposal. A late proposal may receive a maximum of 80% of the total points (maximum 4 out of 5).

The Student-Led Discussion sign-up must be completed by the posted deadline. Late sign-ups will not receive credit (0 out of 2 points).

File Format

Unless otherwise stated, submit files in the exact format required in the instructions.

FAQ

This is where you can preempt the repetitive emails.

Do I need to complete all readings before class?

Yes. Readings provide important background for lectures and discussions. Completing the readings before class will help you better understand the material.

Where do I find the slides?

They are all on Brightspace, under Content.

Where do I find the assignment instructions?

They are on Brightspace, either under Content or under Assignments. Read the whole instruction page before emailing.

Where do I find the sign-up sheets?

They are ALL on Brightspace, under Content. Read the whole instruction page before emailing.

Can I submit a PDF if the instructions say Word?

No. Follow the required format exactly unless you have written permission in advance.

How should I know what I am going to prepare for the Student-Led Discussion?

Please check the presentation example shown above. You will receive the materials TWO WEEKS before the presentation day. However, for the role play, students should expect they receive the materials 1-2 HOURS before that day's class starts.

Can I submit work late?

Please refer to the Late Work Policy above.

I missed class. What should I do?

Check the attendance policy first. Then, check the weekly schedule, review the posted materials, and ask a classmate for notes. Email me for any additional requests.

When will grades be posted?

Grades are usually posted within one week after the assignment due date. The midterm may take slightly longer.

Will grades be curved?

Grades in this course are not curved. Your final grade will be based on the total points you earn throughout the semester.

Please focus on completing assignments and preparing for exams rather than relying on a curve.