Sociology 2180: Alcohol, Drugs, and Society Syllabus Spring 2018

rok

Teaching Professor Robert O. Keel

Important Notes (Please follow the links provided to access detailed information on the various course elements and resources):

Teaching Assistant

Books:

  1. Required, but DO NOT BUY:
    1. The cost of your eBook (Connect Plus [eBook]; Goode, Erich. 2015. Drugs in American Society-Connect Plus. ISBN: 1259935000/ 9781259935008 McGraw-Hill/9th edition) and the McGraw-Hill Connect access code will be automatically added to your tuition and fees for this class by the end of January. If you drop the class prior to Janauary 30, your account will be credited accordingly--DO NOT OPT OUT if you wish to stay in the class--you will need to have access to the digital text and LearnSmarts in order to successfully complete the course. You will be automatically registered with the "Connect" website. See the "AutoAccess FAQ" document for further information. Do not buy a textbook or digital access to Connect yourself.
    2. To access the eBook and the Connect LearnSmart tutorials:
      1. Go to our class site in Canvas.
      2. Click on "Modules" located in the left-hand navigation menu.
      3. in Module 1, Click on Module 1 Chapters, LearnSmarts, and Other Readings"
      4. Find the "Chapter 4. The Sociologist Looks at Drug Use" LearnSmart assignment--click it to access Mcgraw-Hill Connect.
      5. Click "Continue," then click "Register." Enter your email address to verify or create a Connect account. If there is no account registered for the email address, you will be prompted to create an account.
      6. After an account is verified or created, a screen will appear noting that there is no fee or access code required. You will now have full access to the ebook and the Connect LearnSmart tutorials.
      7. Alternatively, you can access the Connect LearnSmart tutorials via the "McGraw-Hill Education" link in the "Tools" area of our MyGateway site. click on "Go to MyConnect Section."
      8. Connect Tech Support can be reached at: 800-331-5094.
      9. Optional: a loose-leaf paper copy of the text is available for purchase at the UMSL bookstore (ISBN: 2810000208829) for an additional $23.45. You will still be charged for the "autoAccess" digital textbook and "Connect" website if you decide to purchase the paper copy. You will also be expected to complete the online tutorials (LearnSmart activities) via "Connect."
  2. There are a variety of other required and supplemental reading that are available online. See the Assignments, Readings and Course Schedule.
  3. There will a variety of WWW sites, online essays, and cyber-reports to read and explore--most are linked to from within the lecture notes. Historical "Virtual Handouts" are also available. Students may need to logon to "roksworld" (username: student, password: umsl) to access some of these documents.

Course Description:

Our focus is the social reality of drug use, and drug users, within contemporary society. This focus includes 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. Central concepts such as social learning, labeling, power, and inequality; as well as socio-cultural definitions of drugs, behavior, and the people who use drugs will be the tools of our analysis. 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 on "doing something about drugs."

Course Objectives, Learning Goals, Expectations and Class Conduct:

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 selected categories of drugs and the socially constructed reality that surrounds their use in contemporary society in order to understand a) the socio-cultural based definitions of drugs and b) the individual, group, and social structural dimensions of drug using behavior. 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.

Lectures, reading assignments, group discussion, and outside projects will be used to assess and critique theories and analyses of drug use and users, legal and medical definitions, and treatment modalities in order to develop a sociological perspective on drug use in society.

Specifically, students will be expected to:

  1. Articulate the variety of social, individual, and bio-chemical 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.
  8. Students are expected to consider each of these objectives, goals, and expectations when contributing to class discussions and in completing their written work. The understanding and application of the assigned readings and class discussion is a necessary part in earning a top grade in this course.

Assignments, Readings and Course Schedule

Course Requirements (click any requirement for details):

  1. Syllabus quiz: due by Friday, January 26, 5:00 PM. (10 points possible)
  2. Attendance/SOL (1 point per class session/1 SOL per week, 30 classes and 15 weeks, 45 points total). Introductory message (first SOL) due by 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, January 23.
    1. The live class is held in SSB 216 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30-1:45 PM, January 16-May 3.
    2. Please note: students whose schedules do not allow them to attend the live class sessions (face-to-face or via Zoom) simply need to follow the instructions for viewing the archived class recordings and post your "attendance message" for each class recording.
    3. Optional Online and In-Class Participation (not required, however up to 20 points possible)
  3. LearnSmart Tutorials (one per chapter, 16 chapters, 160 points total)
  4. Critical Thinking Project: (100 points possible)
  5. 4 Tests: (60-65 questions, 1 point per question, 245 points possible)
  6. Students who submit work past a due date are subject to penalties, point deductions, or not having their work accepted for grading.

Grading Policies (see especially: 72 hour rule, the academic integrity statement and Turnitin information, withdrawal, and extra-credit guidelines).

ANY STUDENT WHO HAS A DISABILITY WHICH WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO COMPLETE COURSE ASSIGNMENTS OR TESTS AS OUTLINED IN THIS SYLLABUS: PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ME IMMEDIATELY SO THAT I CAN EITHER ARRANGE FOR APPROPRIATE ASSISTANCE OR DESIGN AN ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE TO EVALUATE YOUR WORK. FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THE OFFICE OF DISABILITY ACCESS SERVICES IS LOCATED IN 144 MSC; PHONE: 516-6554.

IF ANY STUDENT HAS A RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE OR HOLIDAY THAT MIGHT AFFECT CLASS ATTENDANCE OR ASSIGNMENTS, PLEASE LET PROF. KEEL KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN DECIDE ON AN ALTERNATIVE, AS WELL AS APPROPRIATE TIME EXTENSION.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS RECOGNIZES, RESPECTS, AND WELCOMES SEXUALITY AND GENDER DIVERSITY. IF ANY STUDENT HAS A NAME OR PRONOUN PREFERENCE THAT DIFFERS FROM THE OFFICIAL RECORD, PLEASE LET PROF. KEEL KNOW SO THAT THE CLASS RECORD MIGHT REFLECT THAT PREFERENCE.

THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR TO ACCOMMODATE INSTRUCTIONAL AND/OR STUDENT NEEDS.

URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/180/180syllabus.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated: Saturday, December 30, 2017 10:12 AM

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