Sociology 380
Social Policy:
Drug Policy for the Millennium FS 2000
·
Instructor:
Robert O. Keel
·
E-mail: rok@umsl.edu
·
Offices: 610 SSB
Tower; 415 CCB
·
Phones: 516-6052
or 516-6538
·
Mr.
Keel's Homepage: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/
·
Sociology
Department Homepage: http://www.umsl.edu/~sociolog/
·
Office Hours SSB
Tower: TR 10:30-10:50 AM, 2-3:00 PM, and by appointment.
·
Office Hours 415
CCB: MWF 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, 1:00-2:00 PM, and by appointment.
Read this syllabus!
You are responsible
for understanding its contents. If you
have any questions, please contact the instructor.
·
Class
Homepage: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/380/soc380.html
·
Roksworld
(Online Tutor and class handouts):
o Register at http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/register.html
o Enter the site via http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/roksworld
·
CourseInfo
Class Pages: http://mygateway.umsl.edu Here you will find a link to the class
CourseInfo site, all class information, communication tools, assignments, and
grades. See information on page 5 for
logging onto and using the CourseInfo site
·
Class Room: 131 SSB
·
Class Hours: TR 3:00-4:15 PM
·
Readings and Class Schedule
Textbooks:
1. Goode,
Erich, Beyond
Politics and Reason: The Drug Legalization Debate, Contemporary
Social Issues Series, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1997.
2. Inciardi,
James, editor, The Drug Legalization Debate, 2nd
edition, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 1999.
3. Musto,
David F., The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control, 3rd
edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1999.
4.
Recommended, but not required: Lenson, David, On
Drugs, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1995.
5.
There will a variety of “Virtual
Handouts” (WWW sites, online essays, and cyber-reports to read and
explore) assigned as additional readings throughout the semester. Accessing
these handouts will require that you register with the “Roksworld” web site via
the class home page. See page 7 of this
syllabus. These handouts are accessible
via the class home page and the class CourseInfo web site.
Course Description:
This course is a study of the social reality of drug use,
and drug users within contemporary society. The focus of the course is on a
historical analysis of the social construction of drug use, drug users, abuse,
and addiction. We will be investigating the complex relationships between
individual and group behavior, and social structure in order to evaluate social
policy formulations for contemporary society.
Special attention will be given to the complex legal history surrounding
drug use, the link between drugs and crime, the impact of the medicalization of
human behavior, and varying perspectives, national and international on
"doing something about drugs."
Most specifically, we will be investigating the emerging ideas of “harm
reduction” as an alternative to the policies best characterized as a “war on
drugs and drug users.”
Course Objectives:
The basic
objective of this course is to provide a comprehensive survey of the
development of sociological theories and analyses of drug use, focusing on images
of drug use and the drug user as social constructs rather than as an
intrinsically pathological behavior or identity. An additional objective of
this course is to survey the current information and research on alternative
strategies for dealing with drug use. This will include an analysis of the
implications of these definitions and relationships for social policy and
social control (legislation, prevention and treatment). These issues will be
analyzed within the shifting legal and medical definitions that permeate the
discussion of drug use in modern society.
Class discussion
and independent research will focus on assessing and analyzing theories and
constructions of drug use and users, legal and medical definitions, treatment
modalities, and legal alternatives in order to develop a sociological
perspective on the implications our social policy on drugs.
Specifically, students will be expected to:
1. Articulate the variety of social,
individual and biochemical factors that impact definitions of drugs, as
well as how these factors influence a drug's effect.
2. Understand the process of the social
construction of drug use as a social problem.
3. Develop a familiarity with the various
biological, psychological and sociological theories that seek to explain drug
using behavior; including an analysis of their basic assumptions, limitations,
and implications for social policy.
4. Be familiar with trends, patterns, and
types of drug use in society.
5. Display knowledge of the various drugs,
both legal and illegal, used in American society, as well as the social reality
that surrounds their use.
6. Develop an analysis of the relationship
between drugs, crime and socio-cultural definitions of drug using
behavior.
7. Develop an analysis of the various
social responses to drug use, displaying an understanding of the emergence of
these responses being linked to particular cultural and social structural
shifts.
This class will
not meet face-to-face during every class period, so online participation will
be a significant part of your grade. Please
review the attached course schedule carefully.
During “online” sessions, students are expected to: post online essays,
critique the work of others, investigate relevant Internet resources, and
participate in the ongoing, online, class discussion.
To receive full credit for class
participation students must post at least 15 messages (questions or comments
related to class topics) via the CourseInfo Discussion Group Board over the
course of the semester. The first message must be posted within the first week
of the semester. At least two (2) of these messages must be critiques (1/2-1
page critical analyses of other student’s essays and www reports). Messages
will be evaluated for conceptual soundness and theoretical relevance.
Blackboard's
CourseInfo
This site provides you with access all course online resources, as well
as many other features such as: class
email, discussion forums, virtual chat, an address books, a calendar and task
list, and a variety of other internet resources.
To log on to the CourseInfo site, point your web browser to: http://mygateway.umsl.edu. This will
bring you to the log on page. Click
“log on” and enter your user ID and password.
For most students this will be your gateway ID and password. (You can check your gateway ID and password
via the www site: http://gatewayid.umsl.edu. You must access this page from a computer at
UM-St. Louis, or through UMSL Internet dial-up.)
After logging on to the CourseInfo system you will be brought to your
“My Gateway” page. From this page you
can access most of the features of the CourseInfo system, and all of your
classes at UM-St. Louis, as well as a variety of other campus based resources
(there’s a link here to the web based interface for your admiral email). The “Personal Tools” area will allow you to:
check announcements; make calendar, task list, and address book entries; search
for other users; and do course email.
Under the heading “Courses,” on the “My Gateway” page, click on our
class name, and you will access the class CourseInfo site. The first page displayed is
“Announcements.” Here you will see all
class related announcements, including the availability of online progress
evaluations, and other class related news.
The buttons on the left-hand side of the screen give you access to:
·
Course
Information: Syllabus, Grading Policies, etc.
·
Course
Documents: Lecture notes, Virtual Handouts, Study Guides, and a link to
“Roksworld” (see below for further explanation).
·
Staff
Information: Contact information for
your course instructor and teaching assistants.
·
Assignments:
Reading assignments, Critical Thinking Project, and Quizzes.
·
External Links:
A variety of class related www sites, including links to the roksworld
registration site, and other general Internet resources (the admiral email web
interface and campus library web pages).
·
Student Tools:
“Student Drop Box” for submitting written work (please use MS Word format),
“Check Your Grade” gives your access to your current class grades (progress
evaluation scores are automatically entered), your calendar, a class web page
editing utility—you can create a personal web page that the rest of the class
can access, and a student manual that will tell you more about the CourseInfo
system.
·
Communication:
Class email utility, access to student web pages, the class discussion board
for online participation, Group Pages (available to any group of students who
wish to work and study together online—see Mr. Keel to set up this utility), a
student roster, and the virtual chat program for synchronous online chat (I
don’t think we will be using this, but you never know!).
E-Mail:
We will be using email as a method of communication this semester. We have the email utility within CourseInfo,
and I have set up a mailing list that will allow me to send out important
announcements, and other information to the entire class. Your UM-St. Louis ADMIRAL account is the
email account we will be using for class purposes.
As a student at
UM-St. Louis you have access to the campus email system:
·
All students are assigned email accounts on ADMIRAL.
·
The following information is subject to change. Check with Campus Computing and the Technology
Support Center for the most current information on student email accounts (516-6034).
o
New Students (FS 2000) will use their "GatewayID"
(same as for dial-up and CourseInfo access) as their email account ID.
o
The password for your email account is your
GatewayID password (yyddsss: yy is the year of your birth, dd is the day of
your birth, ssss is the last four digits of your social security number).
o
Your E-Mail address is GatewayID@admiral.umsl.edu.
·
Returning Students will keep their old email accounts:
o
Sxxxxxx as a user ID (where xxxxxx is the last six
digits of your student number, some of you may still use a seven digit account
ID, check with Mr. Keel or the Technology Support Center if you are uncertain
about this).
o
The password for your email account is your social
security number (unless you have changed it already).
o
Your E-Mail address is Sxxxxxx@admiral.umsl.edu.
·
You may use this system to communicate with people both on
and off campus.
You
can access your E-mail (and other electronic resources) through a variety
of means at any of the Student
Computer Labs here on campus. The easiest way is through the World Wide Web. Simply enter http://admiral.umsl.edu
as the page you wish to open. You will
be prompted to enter your user ID and password. After logging on the system is simple to use. There is also an email program named Eudora
that is available for you to use. See the handout, “Using
Computers for Fun and Profit” which was distributed on the first day
of class for more information on using Eudora. This document also includes the
location and operating times of the campus computing labs: (http://www.umsl.edu/~webdev/ccomputing/Student_Resources/student_resources.html).
The CourseInfo
web site also provides you with the ability to email individual members of the
class (including the instructor) or to contact the entire class with questions,
relevant news, or other information.
Class related emails will count towards your final participation score.
PLEASE NOTE:
Students will
have to use their UM-St. Louis based Admiral email account for class related
email. If you wish to use a private
email account, you will have to set up your admiral account to have your class
email forwarded. To do this you must
apply for a “Unix Shell Account” (I have already set this up for all students
in my classes). You then need to create
what is called a “.forward” file and place it in your main Unix account
directory. The “.forward” file simply
contains the email address to which you want your email forwarded. See Mr. Keel, any of the computer lab
assistants, or contact the Technology Support Center at 516-6034 for more
information on email forwarding.
Campus Dial-up Internet Access:
·
If you have a computer and
modem, you can connect to the Internet from home via UM-St. Louis. Instruction for student dialup can be found
at: http://www.umsl.edu/~dialup/student_dialup.html.
·
Contact the Technology
Support Center for Dial-up assistance (516-6034) and visit http://gatewayid.umsl.edu/ for information
on the user name and password you will need to access UMSL Internet services
from home.
Throughout the course, I will make it a point to be
available, on demand, for students who require assistance in accessing their
accounts. Simply call me during my regular office hours and I will meet
you in one of the campus computer labs.
Roksworld
Roksworld is one
of my Internet sites that provides students with an “Online Interactive
Sociology Tutor” (This tutor enables students to explore concepts, theories,
and applications that are key elements of the course) and access to a variety
of “class room only handouts” (news articles and other essays).
To access
“Roksworld” students must first register.
A link to the registration site is found on the class home page, the
Course Documents and External Links area of the CourseInfo site, or directly by
http://www.umsl.ed/~keelr/register.html.
When you register for Roksworld you create
your own personal username and password for accessing the features of
Roksworld. Please make your life, and
mine, easier by using the same log on credentials for Roksworld that you use to
access the CourseInfo site.
Once you have
registered, you can access “Roksworld” via the class home page, the Course
Documents and External Links area of the CourseInfo site, or directly by
http://www.usml.edu/~keelr/roksworld.
Finally, to avoid
confusion please remember: There will be three sets of usernames and passwords
that you will need to use to have full access to this course.
Contact Mr. Keel
if you become too confused!
·
The username and password for
accessing the CourseInfo: Your gateway
ID and Password (this may vary for some students—please see Mr. Keel for the
latest information)
·
The username and password for
accessing the your UMSL email on admiral (for new students, as of FS 2000, this
will be your gateway ID and password, returning students will still use the old
admiral accounts and passwords).
·
The username and password you establish for accessing the
"roksworld" web site for using the online tutor, and accessing class
handouts.
·
These log on credentials are
case sensitive. Write them down and
keep them with you.
Class Conduct
Students are expected to complete all readings prior to the
scheduled class discussions (follow the schedule for the reading assignments
even if class discussion lags behind). Student participation in class
discussions of the reading materials is expected and encouraged. Students will
be called upon for their input on issues, readings and current events relevant
to the topics at hand.
This is an intensive course. Students are expected to
attend class regularly, come to class on time, and stay until the class is
dismissed. Attendance will be monitored. Late arrivals and early
departures demonstrate a lack of concern for the instructor and your
classmates. This is your class. You are
paying for it. It is your responsibility to arrange your schedule to allow you
to attend the class. Excessive disruptions, from whatever source or for
whatever reason, will not be tolerated
Texts should be brought to each class session.
Details and specific guidelines as to the nature of the
above requirements will be discussed during the first class meeting.
Grading:
Percentage distribution for the course requirements in
determining the final grade is as follows:
·
Tests (1-2): 30%
·
Essays: 25%
·
WWW Report: 25%
·
Online and In Class Participation: 20%
Attendance will
be monitored (Students
with consistent attendance will be eligible for additional credit, at the
discretion of the instructor. Students who show excessive absences or who
are disruptive may be penalized by having their semester grade lowered
incrementally (3 misses based on random monitoring: B- to C+, etc.)
Final grades will
be assigned based on the University of Missouri-St. Louis guidelines for
incremental grading.
A: 93-100;
A-:, 90-92; B+: 87-89; B: 83-86; B-: 80-82;
C+: 77-79; C: 73-76; C-: 70-72; D+: 67-69; D: 63-66;
D-: 60-62; F: 59 and Below
Individual
student grades will be available via the CourseInfo class website.
Extra
Credit: The idea of “extra”
credit is an oxymoron. There is only
credit! Besides the possibility of 1-2
points being awarded for consistent attendance and superior participation,
THERE IS NO EXTRA CREDIT in my classes.
If you are having difficulties with the course work, get help as early
in the semester as possible. Adding
more work will NOT help you, and if you cannot do the regular work adequately,
any additional work will not be to your benefit. More IS NOT (necessarily) better. Rather than worrying about doing more work—FOCUS on the regularly
assigned work and do it to the BEST of your abilities.
Delayed
Grade Policy: If a student
fails to take the final exam, and/or fails to submit the required critical
thinking project for the course, a Delayed Grade can be negotiated. Students MUST contact the instructor by 5:00pm on the day of the
final exam period to request a delayed grade.
If students DO NOT initiate the request for a delayed grade, a score of
ZERO (0) will be assigned for any uncompleted work.
Delayed grades MUST be made up by the end of the following semester
(Summer and Interim Semesters excluded).
Failure to make-up a delayed grade by the end of the following semester
will result in an F being recorded for the course grade. Delayed grades WILL NOT be extended past one
semester unless exceptional circumstances (as decided by the instructor) are
evident.
NOTE:
CONDUCT FOR WHICH STUDENTS ARE SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS FALLS
INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
1. Academic
dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, or sabotage. The Board of Curators
recognizes that academic honesty is essential for the intellectual life of the
University. Faculty members have a special obligation to expect high standards
of academic honesty in all student work. Students have a special obligation to
adhere to such standards. In all cases of academic dishonesty, the instructor
shall make an academic judgment about the student's grade on that work and in
that course. The instructor shall report the alleged academic dishonesty to the
Primary Administrative Officer.
a. The term
cheating includes but is not limited to: (i) use of any unauthorized assistance
in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; (ii) dependence upon the aid of
sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing
reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; (iii) acquisition
or possession without permission of tests or other academic material belonging
to a member of the University faculty or staff;(iv) knowingly providing any unauthorized
assistance to other student on quizzes, tests, or examinations.