Community Organization

Sociology 4350
Fall 2011 Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-2:20 pm, Room 348 Instructor: Dr. Jessica Crowe Office: Dallas 2 Room 323 Office hours: Tuesday1-2; 3:30-5; Wednesday 3-7; Thursday 1-2; 3:30-5 Phone: 972-338-1590 Email: Jessica.Crowe@unt.edu

Course Overview
This course applies basic sociological concepts and perspectives to issues of community organization. The course is designed to provide insights into how communities meet (or why they fail to meet) residents' needs. Communities are arenas of social interaction where most important relationships are structured by the presence of informal groups and formal organizations. Informal groups provide the building blocks of any community and play important roles in setting the norms and standards of accepted social behavior. Formal organizations (businesses, schools, government agencies) control significant human and financial resources which give them influence and power to shape the direction of change within a community. We must also pay attention to extra-local actors; few if any communities in the United States are unaffected by regional, state, national, or international pressures. Indeed, communities of all sizes and descriptions increasingly are being influenced by outside forces over which they have little or no control. For example, large corporations make investment decisions based on changing technologies or market conditions that are beyond local control. Similarly, state and federal agencies are continually setting standards for education, health care, or environmental management that affect local communities. And of course international trade relations affect the ability of people in certain communities to earn a living by foreclosing some opportunities opening others).
Learning Objectives/Outcomes:

1 2 3 4 5

At the end of this course, the student will explain how sociology contributes to understanding of community organization. compare and contrast basic theoretical orientations and middle range theories in studies of community summarize current research in community organization. summarize basic issues in community organization. suggest specific policy implications of research and theories in science, technology, and society.

Required Readings/Texts
Green, Gary and Anna Haines. 2008. AssetBuilding and Community Development. Second Edition. Los Angeles: Sage. 300 p.

Jacobs, Jane. 1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage Books. 458 p. Frumkin, Howard, Lawrence Frank, and Richard Jackson. 2004. Urban Sprawl and Public Health. Washington, DC: Island Press. 338 p.

Course Requirements
Each student is responsible for attending class, being prepared for class, and contributing to the activities in class. Discussion (10%): Each student will be expected to write 2 discussion questions one time during the semester on the days readings. A sign-up sheet will be handed out at the beginning of the semester. Discussion questions are to be submitted via turnitin at least 30 minutes before the start of class. Those submitted late will be reduced one letter grade for each day late. Movie Analysis (15%): Throughout the course several films will be shown during class. You will write one paper on one of the films, analyzing it and relating it to course material. The paper will be 2-4 pages in length. A handout will be made for each movie with potential questions that you may want to address in your paper. The paper should be written as a formal paper and not merely a write-up answering the questions on the handout. The handout is meant to provide some pointers that can address in your analysis of the film. The paper should first provide a brief summary of the film and the rest of the paper (majority) will be spent on connecting it to course material. Papers will be graded on clarity, organization, connection to course material, and logic of argument. Papers are due within one week of watching film through Turnitin. Because students will have several opportunities to analyze a film, no make-ups or late papers will be accepted. I highly recommend you analyze one of the first films in case something happens late in the term and you miss the later films. Plan ahead and dont wait until the last minute. Presentation and Paper (35%): Each student will be required to write 1 paper (15 to 20 pages in length) that evaluates a rural community or city neighborhood using various forms of data. It will be due at the end of the semester. I will hand out a separate handout that explains this paper in more detail. In addition to the final paper, students will be grouped with other students with communities in the same region and as a group will give a 15 minutein-class presentation of their work. This will take place at the end of the semester (see schedule). The breakdown of the grade is as follows: 25%final paper; 10%presentation. Note: This is a semester project so the research is expected to be of high quality and the presentation and paper are expected to be professional and well-organized.Papers should be submitted through Turnitin.

Service Learning/Short paper (10%): During the semester, you will volunteer for a community event, program, or organization for a minimum of 5 hours (can be done in one or multiple settings) and write a short paper (3-5 pages) about your experience and relating it to course material. The community may or may not be the one for your final paper.More information about the short paper will be presented in class. Papers should be submitted through Turnitin. Exams (30%):There will be two mid-terms and a final exam each worth 10% of your final grade. No curve will be used in grading exams. The final exam will be cumulative in the sense that knowledge and insights gained in this course should be cumulative. That said, the emphasis on the final exam will be on material covered since the midterm exam. Exam questions will be drawn from reading materials and from material covered in class. All exams will involve answering two essay questions from a set of four questions. This set of questions in turn will be drawn from a list of questions given to you at least 5 calendar days before the exam date. Distribution will take place via blackboard. Typically a list of 8-12 questions will be distributed. You are encouraged to work together in advance of the exam, sharing ideas on how to address particular questions. The exchange of insights and notes from readings and classroom discussions is a legitimate part of the learning experience for this course and will be useful in preparing for exams. However, I do not want you sharing complete answers before exams. If I suspect that this is taking place, I reserve the right to change the exam format as I see fit. During exams, you are individually responsible for writing your own answer and there will be no exchange of information between students. Cheating on exams will result in an F for the course. You will need to bring a green (or blue) book to class for each exam. Note on Make-up exams. I do not give make-up exams. For documented cases only (illness or injury that requires hospitalization; death in immediate family) I will simply average the scores of the other two exams to serve as your score for the missed exam. All other cases other than documented emergencies are unexcused and a make-up will not be given. Requests for make-ups that do not fit documented emergencies will simply be referred to this part of the syllabus. The final exam must be taken by everyone. In case of documented emergencies, an incomplete will be given.

Extra Credit: There are two opportunities for extra credit in class. The first opportunity is filling out the end of term course evaluation. If at least 80% of the class completes the course evaluation, everyone will receive extra credit equal to one letter grade on final exam. The second opportunity is actively participating and discussing course readings in class. For those who consistently participate in class and draw heavily from the readings in their participation, extra credit will be given at end of semester. Note: to receive this extra credit, one MUST draw heavily from the readings. I must be able to tell that you have read for the day and connecting the readings to discussion. Participation that does not connect to course readings is allowable, but will not result in extra credit. No other opportunities will be given and requests will be directed toward the syllabus.

Submitting Written Work

All work due on a particular day should be submitted through Turnitin on blackboard. Please familiarize yourself with blackboard ahead of due dates. Make sure that you submitted it correctly. Submission of papers is a two-step process. Late work will generally be penalized one letter grade for the first day that it is overdue, and an additional two letter grades for the second day that it is overdue [note: No work will be accepted after the second day it is overdue.] All written work should be a reasonable sized font (11 or 12 point) and double spaced. All work must be your own (i.e. no collaboration allowed). I will be happy to discuss any concerns or complaints about points awarded on written work or comments/editorial suggestions made on your papers. I have a set of standard expectations for evaluating written work and am looking for thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and insight when grading your assignments. Note: If you would like me to review your points on any paper, I ask that you put your questions or concerns in writing and attach them to your paper so that I can review the entire package before discussing them with you. When submitting your concerns in writing, you must in detail explain why your work is deserving of more points. Simply stating that you worked hard on it or that you did the assignment is not a valid argument. Caution: If you are arguing that your grade is not correct, after looking it over, I have the option to either raise or lower your grade where necessary (or keep it the same). This is not meant to deter valid arguments, just as a precaution measure to those who are merely wanting a higher grade but do not have a valid reason as to why they deserve one.

Classroom Policies
Academic Etiquette: You are required to arrive to class on time. Also, please do not leave early (or pack up to leave early). Arriving late and leaving early is very disruptive. In addition, any Community Organization 4350 Fall 2011 Page 4 of 8

talking while another member of the class is speaking (this includes me) will not be tolerated. On the Use of Email: In-person communication is almost always better than email communication. I therefore ask that you do the following: 1) Before sending an email, consider if you can instead ask a question in class or in my office. 2) before sending an email, proof read carefully to fix grammar and tone issues. Emails should reflect well on your professionalism; 3) Do not expect a rapid response. A number of days may go by before I get a chance to answer your email. On Cell Phones and Laptops: I keep track of students whose cell phones ring in class and this reduces a persons class participation score. I only allow the use of laptops in class with a documented accommodation request. Academic Integrity: No form of cheating will be tolerated in this class. Cheating includes copying another students work. If you cheat on any assignment (or if you help others to cheat), you will receive an F FOR THE COURSE. Refer to the Student Code of Conduct at http://www.unt.edu/csrr/student_conduct/index.html for complete provisions of this code.With that said, I encourage working together and sharing ideas, but when the writing begins, you must do it yourself. Bad Weather Policy: On those days that present sever weather and driving conditions, a decision may be made to close the campus. In case of inclement weather, call UNT Dallas Campuses main voicemail number (972) 780-3600 or search postings on the campus website www.unt.edu/dallas. Students are encouraged to update their Eagle Alert contact information, sot they will receive this information automatically. Diversity/Tolerance Policy: Students are encouraged to contribute their perspectives and insights to class discussions. However, offensive and inappropriate language (swearing) and remarks offensive to others of particular nationalities, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, religious groups, genders, or other ascribed statuses will not be tolerated. Disruptions which violate the Code of Student Conduct will be referred to the Center of Student Rights and Responsibilities as the instructor deems appropriate.

Keeping Track of Your Class Grade

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Grading
Course grades will be based on points alone and are as follows: A - Superior, a mark of excellence D Passing, but needs improvement A (90% or above) D (60 69.9%) B Outstanding, very good B (80-89.9%) C Good, average for most college students C (70 79.9%) F Below 60% is not a passing grade

Keep Track of Your Grade Using the Following Chart

Discussion (10%) Movie Analysis (15%) Final Paper and Presentation (35%) Exams (30% total)
(Three exams 10% each)

_________________

__________________ _________________ __________________

Service learning/short paper (10% total)

TOTAL Percent EARNED

___________________

All grades are entered into Blackboard. Merely add across all columns to compute your final grade. How to Recognize Plagiarism Community Organization 4350 Fall 2011 Page 6 of 8

IndianaUniversity: Understanding Plagiarism http://www.education.indiana.edu/~frick/plagiarism In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit when You use another persons ideas, opinions, or theories. You use facts, statistics, graphics, drawings, music, etc. or any other type of information that does not comprise common knowledge. You use quotations from another persons spoken or written word. You paraphrase another persons spoken or written word.

Recommendations Begin the writing process by stating your ideas; then go back to the authors original work. Use quotation marks and credit the source (author) when you copy exact wording. Use your own words (paraphrase) instead of copying directly when possible. Even when you paraphrase another authors writings, you must give credit to that author. If the form of citation and reference are not correct, the attribution to the original author is likely to be incomplete. Therefore, improper use of style can result in plagiarism. Get a style manual and use it. The figure below may help to guide your decisions.

Citing other Peoples Work

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From the American Sociological Association, 1996.American Sociological Association Style Guide.Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. Citations within the body of the paper If the authors name is in the text, follow it with the publication year: according to McIntyre (2002) If the authors name is not in the text but you are using her/his direct ideas, enclose the last name and publication year in parentheses: social theory is essential to research (Babbie 1995). Cite direct quotes in two ways. If the authors name is in the text, follow it with the publication year, and follow the quote with the page number where the quote was found: Starfield (1992) found that the most common measure of health status is life expectancy (p. 15). If the authors name is not in the text, follow the quote with the authors name, publication date, and page number: One study found that the most common measure of health status is life expectancy (Starfield 1992:15). Citations on the works cited page List all references in alphabetical order by authors last names. For multiple authorship, only the first authors name is inverted: Jones, Arthur B., Colin D. Smith, and Stacey Oliker For two or more listings by the same author(s), list in the order of the year of publication with the earliest year first. Use six hyphens and a period (------.) in place of the names for repeated authorship. Mechanic, David. 1989. ------. 1994. To cite books list author(s), date of publication, title, city and state or country where published, and name of publisher; underline or italicize the name of the book: Mason, Karen O. 1974. Womens Labor Force Participation and Fertility. New York: Ford Foundation. To cite articles from newspapers and magazines list author(s), date, name of article (in quotes), publication name (underlined or italicized), month and day of publication, and page numbers: Dobrzynski, Judith H. 1997. Divorce Executive Style, Revisited.New York Times, August 24, pp. C1, C6. To cite Internet sources: List author(s) (if known, last name first), date of document, title of document, site address, and date you last accessed the site: U.S. Census Bureau. June 28, 2005 (last revised.) American Community Survey: 2003 Data Profile: <http://www.census.gov.htm>. (Accessed August 7, 2005)

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