Faculty Syllabus
SOCI-1301 Introduction to Sociology
Alan Turley
Credit Spring 2026
Section(s)
SOCI-1301-010 (18564)
LEC TuTh 12:00pm - 1:20pm RRC RRC2 2226.00
SOCI-1301-017 (18569)
LEC MW 1:30pm - 2:50pm EGN EGN1 1226
SOCI-1301-020 (33396)
LEC TuTh 3:00pm - 4:20pm RRC RRC1 1313.00
SOCI-1301-021 (18571)
LEC TuTh 12:00pm - 1:20pm RRC RRC2 2226.00
SOCI-1301-066 (18581)
LEC TuTh 1:30pm - 2:50pm RRC RRC8 8302.00
Course Requirements
SOC 1301: Introduction to Sociology
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Application of sociological analysis and concepts to American society.
COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Alan Turley
Semester/Meeting Time: SPR 2026
Office: Adjunct OFFICES
Office hours: by appointment
Phone: (512)
Email address: aturley@austincc.edu
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES MISSION STATEMENT
The Behavioral Sciences Dept at ACC provides students with academic and applications skills within the broad area of human services. Each discipline within the major provides students with in depth knowledge of the area. In addition, students are encouraged to evaluate realistically their calling and abilities as foundations for their future life’s work.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
Students will gain an awareness of what it means to be a social being and the consequences of our social nature for our individual lives.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe how our social nature affects the development of our personhood, our experience of daily life, and our broader life chances and experiences.
2. Articulate an understanding of the particular theoretical perspectives and research approaches utilized by the scientific discipline of sociology in studying our social nature.
2. Apply the theoretical perspectives of sociology to various social phenomena.
3. Analyze social problems using a sociological perspective.
4. Evaluate the responsibilities of the social creature whose life is connected to the lives of others.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
1. Reading and VIDEO lecture -- students take the initiative to collect and synthesize material from lectures and readings. You will have to find Alan Turley on YOUTUBE and register on my “channel” there. It keeps track of views and length of time you view… This is how you will view lectures and get most ATTEND points. Now there are several course lecture series on the channel. Find the one where I am standing in front of a white board, it will match our chapters.
2. Classroom discussion -- through interaction with other students and the professor online, students are able to reflect on information gained from lectures, readings, and outside experiences; listen and respond to differing opinions in your discussion forums; apply this information to their individual experiences.
3. Exams on line
4. Research Paper project or volunteering
TEXTBOOKS & OTHER REQUIRED LEARNING MATERIALS
OPENSTACKS
https://assets.openstax.org/oscms-prodcms/media/documents/IntroductiontoSociology3e-WEB_TZsroiv.pdf
COURSE MANAGEMENT
A. CLASS POLICIES
1) Course Help
It is important for students to be proactive throughout the course in terms of their learning and success. Students who have concerns about how they are doing in the course, do not understand something in the notes, or are unclear on an assignment should initiate contact with the instructor since it is not always possible for the instructor to know if a student is struggling.
2) Respect in the classroom
As behavioral sciences majors, students in this course are preparing to work with people in a multitude of professional settings where they will confront diverse co-workers, clients, and customers. The same is true in this course where we will be discussing many issues about which students will hold varied opinions. Just as in professional environments, in the virtual classroom, all students should demonstrate respect toward the instructor, guest lecturers, and other students in their participation and other classroom behaviors. Don’t make me ask you to leave.
3) Participation
Class participation is expected of all students, and an evaluation of the quality of your participation will be part of the final course grade. To actively participate in discussion, students need to attend class regularly by viewing lectures and responding to Professors prompts. Participation not only includes contributing to class discussions on a regular basis but the nature of that contribution. From time to time, I will assign participation exercises to be completed outside of class and turned in to me at the next class period or to be completed during class. Failure to complete these exercises will lower your participation grade.
- Attendance
Just as employers in behavioral sciences-related fields expect employees to be present on the job, regular attendance is also expected in this course and is important for success. Poor attendance will not only affect your overall performance in the course, but specifically, it will also impact your participation grade.
Academic Integrity
Students at ACC are expected to exhibit academic integrity in all of their work. All forms of academic dishonesty, such as cheating and plagiarism, are unacceptable. In other words, students should always do their own work. Plagiarism entails using the words or ideas of another person without giving him or her credit (e.g. not citing both the words or ideas of authors in papers); based on this understanding, it is also plagiarism to copy an author’s exact words without putting them in quotation marks. Students who engage in academic dishonesty will face serious consequences.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1) Readings
Students should read all assigned materials and be prepared to discuss them in class for the dates listed on the syllabus. Not all of the assigned reading material will be covered in class but may be covered on the exams.
2) Exams
Students will take five exams over material presented in the lectures and found in the reading assignments. The exams may cover material found in the readings but not discussed during lectures. The exams will be a combination of multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, and short answer questions. The dates for each exam are listed in the course outline. The last exam is a final exam; it will NOT be comprehensive. Last exam WILL NOT BE ALLOWED A MAKE-UP.
Students will only be allowed to make up an exam if they have a legitimate absence (illness, family emergency, school event) and let the instructor know before the exam is given, or in an emergency situation, ASAP; in some cases, documentation of an absence may be required before a make-up exam can be given. Students who know they will be absent in advance should also take the make-up exam in advance. All make-up exams may differ from in-class exams.
3) Attendance every lecture counts as points for the 10%. NO EXCUSES.
4) Participation is calculated by you viewing the entire recorded lecture and keep track of the “secret words” to write down for ATTEND verification.
5) PAPER
Research paper on a sociology subject of your choice will be turned in on JULY 30 you will send me a copy through email to be checked thru GPTZERO. 6 pages in length plus a bibliography (ASA style) that is not counted toward the page total.
Lateness Policy: no paper accepted after the due date
*On all assignments, papers, etc., if the printer failed to print, or if you do not have access to a computer in your home, plan ahead to make sure you can get to the computer lab in time. These excuses will not be accepted
**I will not accept any work past the last scheduled class day for the semester, unless you confront an emergency situation and have contacted me about that situation.
***If anyone is deemed to be abusive or derisive AT ALL by the instructor, that student will be asked to leave the class or discussion assignment immediately. This is not open to debate, and depending on the level of the incident, may be turned over to the Dean or Campus Security. This is part of your student code of conduct and I take this VERY seriously. By signing the syllabus agreement below, you are agreeing to participate by these rules.
****Arguing grades. When a real incident occurs where you feel the machine or instructor has made a legitimate error in grading, then politely bring it to my attention. Do not however engage in an all too common practice of arguing a grade with the idea of “Well I have nothing to lose if I waste the instructor’s time in a vain attempt to manipulate a few more points on an assignment.” This will not work or be tolerated.
C. EVALUATION & GRADING PROCEDURES
Your course grade will be computed in the following manner:
Participation and
ATTEND 100 14%
5 Exams (14% each) 500 72%
Paper 100 14%
Final grades are calculated using the following grading scheme:
A 90 -100
B 80 - 89
C 70 - 79
D 60 - 69
F 59 and below
A 630 B 560 C 490
Readings
SOC 1301: Introduction to Sociology
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Application of sociological analysis and concepts to American society.
COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Alan Turley
Semester/Meeting Time: SPR 2026
Office: Adjunct OFFICES
Office hours: by appointment
Phone: (512)
Email address: aturley@austincc.edu
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES MISSION STATEMENT
The Behavioral Sciences Dept at ACC provides students with academic and applications skills within the broad area of human services. Each discipline within the major provides students with in depth knowledge of the area. In addition, students are encouraged to evaluate realistically their calling and abilities as foundations for their future life’s work.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
Students will gain an awareness of what it means to be a social being and the consequences of our social nature for our individual lives.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe how our social nature affects the development of our personhood, our experience of daily life, and our broader life chances and experiences.
2. Articulate an understanding of the particular theoretical perspectives and research approaches utilized by the scientific discipline of sociology in studying our social nature.
2. Apply the theoretical perspectives of sociology to various social phenomena.
3. Analyze social problems using a sociological perspective.
4. Evaluate the responsibilities of the social creature whose life is connected to the lives of others.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
1. Reading and VIDEO lecture -- students take the initiative to collect and synthesize material from lectures and readings. You will have to find Alan Turley on YOUTUBE and register on my “channel” there. It keeps track of views and length of time you view… This is how you will view lectures and get most ATTEND points. Now there are several course lecture series on the channel. Find the one where I am standing in front of a white board, it will match our chapters.
2. Classroom discussion -- through interaction with other students and the professor online, students are able to reflect on information gained from lectures, readings, and outside experiences; listen and respond to differing opinions in your discussion forums; apply this information to their individual experiences.
3. Exams on line
4. Research Paper project or volunteering
TEXTBOOKS & OTHER REQUIRED LEARNING MATERIALS
OPENSTACKS
https://assets.openstax.org/oscms-prodcms/media/documents/IntroductiontoSociology3e-WEB_TZsroiv.pdf
Course Subjects
COURSE SCHEDULE [subject to change]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Introduction 1, Defining Sociology 2, Culture 3, Socialization EXAM #1
4, Social Structure 5, Socialization 6, Groups & Organizations EXAM #2
7, DEV/CRIME 8, Media SPRING BREAK
9, STRAT EXAM # 3
11, Race & Ethnicity 12, GENDER 14, MARR-FAM EXAM #4
15, Religion 16, ED 17, Govt 18
FINAL EXAM
|
JAN 21 JAN 26 CH 1 JAN 28 CH 2 FEB 2 CH 3 FEB 9
FEB 11 CH 4 FEB 16 CH 5 FEB 18 CH 6 FEB 25
MAR 2 CH 7 MAR 9 Ch 8
MAR 23 Ch 9 MAR 30 TEST 3
APR 1 CH 11 APR 13 APR 20 APR 27
APR 29 MAY 4 MAY 6 MAY 11
MAY 13
|
W M W M M
W M W W
M M
M M
W M M M
W M W M
W |
Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives
SOC 1301: Introduction to Sociology
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Application of sociological analysis and concepts to American society.
COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Alan Turley
Semester/Meeting Time: SPR 2026
Office: Adjunct OFFICES
Office hours: by appointment
Phone: (512)
Email address: aturley@austincc.edu
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES MISSION STATEMENT
The Behavioral Sciences Dept at ACC provides students with academic and applications skills within the broad area of human services. Each discipline within the major provides students with in depth knowledge of the area. In addition, students are encouraged to evaluate realistically their calling and abilities as foundations for their future life’s work.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
Students will gain an awareness of what it means to be a social being and the consequences of our social nature for our individual lives.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe how our social nature affects the development of our personhood, our experience of daily life, and our broader life chances and experiences.
2. Articulate an understanding of the particular theoretical perspectives and research approaches utilized by the scientific discipline of sociology in studying our social nature.
2. Apply the theoretical perspectives of sociology to various social phenomena.
3. Analyze social problems using a sociological perspective.
4. Evaluate the responsibilities of the social creature whose life is connected to the lives of others.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
1. Reading and VIDEO lecture -- students take the initiative to collect and synthesize material from lectures and readings. You will have to find Alan Turley on YOUTUBE and register on my “channel” there. It keeps track of views and length of time you view… This is how you will view lectures and get most ATTEND points. Now there are several course lecture series on the channel. Find the one where I am standing in front of a white board, it will match our chapters.
2. Classroom discussion -- through interaction with other students and the professor online, students are able to reflect on information gained from lectures, readings, and outside experiences; listen and respond to differing opinions in your discussion forums; apply this information to their individual experiences.
3. Exams on line
4. Research Paper project or volunteering
TEXTBOOKS & OTHER REQUIRED LEARNING MATERIALS
OPENSTACKS
https://assets.openstax.org/oscms-prodcms/media/documents/IntroductiontoSociology3e-WEB_TZsroiv.pdf
COURSE MANAGEMENT
A. CLASS POLICIES
1) Course Help
It is important for students to be proactive throughout the course in terms of their learning and success. Students who have concerns about how they are doing in the course, do not understand something in the notes, or are unclear on an assignment should initiate contact with the instructor since it is not always possible for the instructor to know if a student is struggling.
2) Respect in the classroom
As behavioral sciences majors, students in this course are preparing to work with people in a multitude of professional settings where they will confront diverse co-workers, clients, and customers. The same is true in this course where we will be discussing many issues about which students will hold varied opinions. Just as in professional environments, in the virtual classroom, all students should demonstrate respect toward the instructor, guest lecturers, and other students in their participation and other classroom behaviors. Don’t make me ask you to leave.
3) Participation
Class participation is expected of all students, and an evaluation of the quality of your participation will be part of the final course grade. To actively participate in discussion, students need to attend class regularly by viewing lectures and responding to Professors prompts. Participation not only includes contributing to class discussions on a regular basis but the nature of that contribution. From time to time, I will assign participation exercises to be completed outside of class and turned in to me at the next class period or to be completed during class. Failure to complete these exercises will lower your participation grade.
- Attendance
Just as employers in behavioral sciences-related fields expect employees to be present on the job, regular attendance is also expected in this course and is important for success. Poor attendance will not only affect your overall performance in the course, but specifically, it will also impact your participation grade.
Academic Integrity
Students at ACC are expected to exhibit academic integrity in all of their work. All forms of academic dishonesty, such as cheating and plagiarism, are unacceptable. In other words, students should always do their own work. Plagiarism entails using the words or ideas of another person without giving him or her credit (e.g. not citing both the words or ideas of authors in papers); based on this understanding, it is also plagiarism to copy an author’s exact words without putting them in quotation marks. Students who engage in academic dishonesty will face serious consequences.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1) Readings
Students should read all assigned materials and be prepared to discuss them in class for the dates listed on the syllabus. Not all of the assigned reading material will be covered in class but may be covered on the exams.
2) Exams
Students will take five exams over material presented in the lectures and found in the reading assignments. The exams may cover material found in the readings but not discussed during lectures. The exams will be a combination of multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, and short answer questions. The dates for each exam are listed in the course outline. The last exam is a final exam; it will NOT be comprehensive. Last exam WILL NOT BE ALLOWED A MAKE-UP.
Students will only be allowed to make up an exam if they have a legitimate absence (illness, family emergency, school event) and let the instructor know before the exam is given, or in an emergency situation, ASAP; in some cases, documentation of an absence may be required before a make-up exam can be given. Students who know they will be absent in advance should also take the make-up exam in advance. All make-up exams may differ from in-class exams.
3) Attendance every lecture counts as points for the 10%. NO EXCUSES.
4) Participation is calculated by you viewing the entire recorded lecture and keep track of the “secret words” to write down for ATTEND verification.
5) PAPER
Research paper on a sociology subject of your choice will be turned in on JULY 30 you will send me a copy through email to be checked thru GPTZERO. 6 pages in length plus a bibliography (ASA style) that is not counted toward the page total.
Lateness Policy: no paper accepted after the due date
*On all assignments, papers, etc., if the printer failed to print, or if you do not have access to a computer in your home, plan ahead to make sure you can get to the computer lab in time. These excuses will not be accepted
**I will not accept any work past the last scheduled class day for the semester, unless you confront an emergency situation and have contacted me about that situation.
***If anyone is deemed to be abusive or derisive AT ALL by the instructor, that student will be asked to leave the class or discussion assignment immediately. This is not open to debate, and depending on the level of the incident, may be turned over to the Dean or Campus Security. This is part of your student code of conduct and I take this VERY seriously. By signing the syllabus agreement below, you are agreeing to participate by these rules.
****Arguing grades. When a real incident occurs where you feel the machine or instructor has made a legitimate error in grading, then politely bring it to my attention. Do not however engage in an all too common practice of arguing a grade with the idea of “Well I have nothing to lose if I waste the instructor’s time in a vain attempt to manipulate a few more points on an assignment.” This will not work or be tolerated.
Office Hours
M T W Th 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM RRC
NOTEPublished: 01/23/2026 13:03:31