SYLLABUS

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Long Beach City College Spring 2021
Sociology 40 K. Phillips, M.A.
Online – 16 Week Course [email protected]
Ticket 34504
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Sociology of the Family

Enrollment:
This is an online, asynchronous course. Therefore, we do not have set days/times to meet. The course will be
available on February 7, 2021 at 5am. The course begins February 8, 2021. The course is from February 8,
2021 – June 9, 2021.

Text: Lamanna, M., Riedmann, A. and Stewart, S. 2018. Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making
Choices in a Diverse Society. 13th Edition. Cengage Learning, Boston, MA. ISBN: 978-1-337-10966-6.

You can download the text from the following website:

https://b-ok.cc/

Office Hours: Due to the stressful times and lack of face-to-face communication I am trying to be as assessable
as possible. If you would like to meet via zoom or phone just email me and we can arrange day/time that works
for you.

Basic Needs:
It can be challenging to do your best in class if you have trouble meeting basic needs like safe shelter, sleep, and
nutrition. If you have difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or lack a safe
and stable place to live, I urge you to contact the Basic Needs office at [email protected] and/or me. We are
here to help. Join the Basic Needs Canvas page for updates and information on food resources at
www.tinyurl.com/vikingvault. There might also be a food pantry in your community to help. You can search by
zipcode here: www.feedingamerica.org.

Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S):

Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S) is a program within Student Services at LBCC.  DSP&S
provides many support services that enable students with disability-related limitations to participate in the
college's programs and activities. DSP&S offers a wide range of services that compensate for students'
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limitations, such as note-taking assistance, interpretive services, test-taking assistance, and alternative media
formats at no cost to students.

While we offer special assistance to students with disabilities, we do not make academic requirements easier or
change the essential nature of a course or program.

If you require accommodations you need contact the DSP&S and go through the proper paperwork, informing
your instructor is great but you also should go through the department and process. If you do not do so, the
instructor may not be able to accommodate the student in a proper timeframe. 

Instructor Biography:
I graduated from UC, Irvine in 1993 with Bachelor's degrees in Cultural Anthropology and in Criminology. I
obtained my Master's degree in Sociology from CSU, Dominquez Hills. I have been teaching Sociology at two
and four-year colleges for over 23 years, beginning in 1997. Some of the courses I have taught are introduction
to sociology, social problems, marriage and family, criminology, human sexuality, classical theory,
contemporary theory, race and gender, and sociology of women.

I have also worked outside academia as a Jury Consultant, Local Evaluator, Safety Educator, and Health
Educator working in extremely diverse communities. She has worked on state-funded projects such as teaching
HIV/AIDS Awareness to incarcerated youth in California Youth Authority facilities. I taught correctional
officers how to recognize and properly address individuals with developmental disabilities, and worked for the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as a Safety Educator where she helped to update the
training material and developed the training strategies for other educators, as well as teaching children ages K-
12 on how to protect themselves from sexual predators.

Course Description:
This course will examine the micro and macro sociological forces that impact and shape contemporary family
life, especially in the U.S. Considering options, problems and challenges of each, the following will be covered:
mate selection, relationships, love, marriage, parenting, divorce, diversity, gender. and sexuality.

This course is an examination of the family as a social institution. Emphasis will be placed on relationships
between the family and other social institutions from American and cross-cultural perspectives. Theories of
family development in society as well as pertinent research will be studied. This course is designed to be an
introduction to the sociological concepts of marriage and family. We will examine these topics using
sociological theories such as social exchange theory and functional analysis. You should bring your sociological
imagination to class and not rely on personal experience or opinion. This course will cover diverse and
controversial topics such as: gender, love, mate selection, divorce, violence in relationships and parenting. This
course is not designed to be a how-to course; however, you may learn information that could help you in your
relationships in the future.

Course Objectives:
1. Analyze the family from historical, social, cultural, economic, political, religious, international and
interpersonal perspectives. 

2. Evaluate cross-cultural and cross-national attitudes and social policies affecting the family. 

3. Explore traditional and contemporary gender roles within the family. 

4. Identify the intersection among race, ethnicity, class, immigration status, age, class, gender and sexuality
within the family. 
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5. Interpret the role of sexuality, including diverse lifestyle choices, LGBTQ+ identities, and family planning,
in contemporary family life compared to historical family life. 

6. Identify the role of love and intimacy in modern family life.

7. Describe and explain the basic dimensions of social inequality and social change related to marriages and
families. 

Course Outcomes:
Apply sociological theories to family dynamics including mate selection, parenting styles, marriage, divorce,
sexuality, love, intimacy, family and/or unstructured relationships.
Course Materials:
I have added some lecture notes, articles and videos in your modules and files sections. I hope you use them.
They are not meant to take place of your textbook, but they are supplemental material to help you understand
the topics and theories of our course. I hope they also make you think about your world and the role you want to
play in it!

Contacting the instructor:

I will be returning emails typically within 24 hour of receiving them. I will regularly check emails every
day and return them the same day when possible.
Emails: Please keep in mind when emailing the instructor, that the language should be “business etiquette.”
Since we are not in the same room and/or face to face, there is a sense of anonymity, which can sometimes
breed inappropriate language and hostile messaging. Emails with inappropriate or hostile language will NOT be
returned. Please make sure you include your first and last name and what class you are in, in your
correspondence.

Please review your emails before sending them. Any inappropriate communication such as requesting grade
changes without cause, threats against the instructor for not doing so, or physical threats, will be forwarded to
the appropriate college departments.

Attendance: Attendance is important to any class. Although you do not get points for simply logging into the
course, you are required to spend at least 3-4 hours a week completing readings and assignments for this course.
You should log on at least 3 times a week. I will be posting announcements/emails weekly as needed.

Drop Policy:
It is your responsibility to drop this course if you decide to stop attending class. I will not be dropping students
from an online class once they have entered the course. If you do not do so, you may end up with an F as your
grade.

Course Requirements:
Your grade will be based on the following assignments: an introduction discussion, a facilitated class
discussion, 3 essays, and a final.

Merely forgetting to take turn in an essay or an exam will NOT be considered a valid reason for allowing a
make-up. I will only consider medical excuses or military deployments with written verification as to why you
could not complete the assignment within the time frame. You will be asked to provide written proof and either
scanned into your computer and emailed.
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The assignments that you will be graded on are:
Introduction Thread 5 points
Facilitating Class Discussion 75 points
Essay #1 50 points
Essay #2 50 points
Essay #3 50 points
Final Exam 75 points

There are 300 points in this class. There will be approximately 10-15 points worth of extra credit. Grades will
be based on the following mathematical breakdown:

300 – 270    A       

269 – 240   B       

239 – 210   C       

209 – 180   D       

179 & under F       

Plagiarism: The internet makes it easy to access vast amounts of information quickly. It also makes it easy to
plagiarize that information, both accidentally and intentionally. Just to remind you, plagiarism is the
presentation of someone else’s ideas or work as one’s own. An obvious form of plagiarism is intentionally
stealing someone else’s words. Using another person’s sentence, phrase, or even a word that a person coined
requires students to acknowledge the source of the sentence, phrase, or coined word. To acknowledge the
source, students can either use quotation marks or paraphrase the author. In both cases, students must cite the
source of the information properly.

If students have plagiarized work they have submitted, they will receive a 0 for that assignment.

**You are only responsible for the chapters and assignments listed on this syllabus only.