Course Syllabus

Welcome to SOC 456: Gender, Occupations, and Professions

Here are a few pointers for navigating this page:

• See the Assignments Summary (Schedule) below. This table lists assignments by due date.
  Note: This table is similar to the Agenda view on the Calendar.
• Click the Jump to Today link at the top of the page to jump directly to today's date on the Assignments Summary.

Overview

CATEGORY	INFORMATION
Credits	3
Prerequisites	WMNST 100 or 3 credits in Sociology
Delivery	Web (Canvas, https://psu.instructure.com)
Dates	See the Calendar.
Instructor	See the Orientation module under the Modules tab.

Description

Gender refers to the roles, responsibilities, attitudes and opportunities that society assigns to us because we are male or female. This course will examine the impact of gender as a variable on occupations and professions, primarily in the United States. Understanding the impact of gender on society and ourselves is critical to decision-making at all levels individual, organizational, and governmental hence this course.

The focus is not only on women; it is about differences in men's and women's experiences in the world of work.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. understand gender issues as they relate to the working world
2. apply a lens through which you can interpret your own work and life experiences
3. develop a personal understanding of gender issues as they relate to yourself in the working world 

Organization

This course is made up of 15 lessons. Each lesson is designed to make learning as smooth and easy as possible. For most lessons you will:

• read the online lesson content
• read a chapter of the text
• craft and submit 5 multiple choice questions related to the text
• take a short quiz
• participate in a reflective discussion

Additionally you will complete two field assignments [of your choosing] as background and preparation for the course research paper.

Online Learning and Attendance

This course has been developed to promote asynchronous learning. The instructor and students do NOT meet on a designated day and time each week. For each lesson, there is a timeframe to complete all activities and assignments, and you may work at your own pace within that timeframe. However, you must adhere to the due dates outlined on the Calendar. (Due dates can also be viewed under the Syllabus tab.) You should log into the course daily to check for updates, review lessons, and participate in activities.

Materials

Texts and Other Materials

There is one required text for this course: 

• *Gottfried, Heidi. 2013. Gender, Work, and Economy: Unpacking the Global Economy. Malden, MA: Polity Press. (ISBN: Paperback: 9780745647654; E-book: 9780745680521)

*E-Book Option: An online version of one or more of your texts is available at no cost as a Penn State Libraries E-Book, which is indicated by an asterisk (*). You can access the E-Book through the Library Resources link on the course navigation menu. Some E-Books will only be available online, while others will be available to download in full or in part. You may choose to use the E-Book as an alternative to purchasing a physical copy of the text. For questions or issues, you can contact the University Libraries Reserve Help (UL-RESERVESHELP@LISTS.PSU.EDU).

Library Services

Penn State Libraries provides a wide variety of services and resources. To learn how to take advantage, refer to the Online Student Library Guide (Links to an external site.) at http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/onlinestudentlibraryguide. This guide serves as your starting point for access to all that Penn State Libraries can offer you as an online student. Use this guide if you have questions on library services offered to you, how the library can help you, how to use the library, or what resources you can access via the library! The guide will connect you to important pages and resources within Penn State Libraries and save time from you searching for the information you need.

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Grading

Final letter grades will be assigned based on the scale below.

Scale

LETTER GRADE	MINIMUM PERCENT
A	95
A-	90
B+	88
B	82
B-	80
C+	78
C	70
D	60
F	0

Due Dates

All assignments are due by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the date indicated on the Calendar. (Due dates can be also be viewed under the Syllabus tab.) As a general rule, you will NOT be able to go back and make up missed assignments. It is your responsibility to keep up with your assignments. Students with an excused absence (e.g. hospitalization, jury duty, family emergency, or military service) may be asked to produce proper documentation in order to make up graded work. All make-up work is at the discretion of the instructor.

Please be aware that Canvas follows the Eastern Time (ET) time zone. Assignment due dates adhere to this time zone, and it is your responsibility to submit assignments accordingly. If you are outside of the ET time zone, you can set your Canvas account to sync to it. Refer to the Set a Time Zone article in the Canvas Guide (Links to an external site.) at https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-2891.

Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g. upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.

Notes

• To Do List: Some assignments may not appear in the To Do list under the Home tab. Use the Calendar or Syllabus to ensure that you are fully aware of assignment due dates.

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Assignments

Basic information about each assignment group is provided below. For detailed directions about an individual assignment, see the assignment information under the Modules tab.

ASSIGNMENT GROUP	PERCENTAGE
Multiple Choice Questions	25%
Lesson Quizzes	15%
Reflective Discussion Quesitons	25%
Fieldwork Activities	10%
Final Project/Research Paper	25%
Total	100%

Multiple Choice Questions

Value: 11 x 2.5%, 25% total
Weeks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 
*NOTE: In Summer there 10 assignments not 11

As members of “contemporary society,” each of you has important and interesting connections to make between your lives and our texts and discussions. Being able to ask questions is an important indicator of how well the material has been understood. Accordingly, for EACH text chapter, you will write 5 quality multiple-choice questions, noting the correct response, the page number on which you identified the question, and a brief justification of WHY this was the correct answer (or why the other responses were incorrect). Each question will have five responses, with only one answer correct.  *NOTE: Do NOT use “all of the above” or “none of the above” as a correct answer!

A rubric has been created for you as a guide as is available with the assignment. To view the rubric refer to the page 'About This Course' and read the section 'How to Create Your Multiple Choice Questions'  or Click on ‘Grades’ in left navigation; click on the lesson's ‘Submit Your Multiple Choice Questions’ assignment  and select the ‘Show Rubric’ link in the top right corner of the screen to display the rubric for the assignment.

A correctly formatted example is also provided below. A pre-formatted example will be provided you as a template for submitting your work - please refer to the 'About This Course Page' and see the section: How to Create Your Multiple Choice Questions. An essay quiz is being used to collect and grade your submitted questions.  Below is an example of a formatted quiz question:

Q: The Great He-cession was so dubbed because _____.
A. men began taking on more domestic duties
B. men moved to the suburbs for work
C. more men than women lost their jobs
D. More women moved into manufacturing
E. Senate sessions were predominately male
ANSWER: C
FEEDBACK: Page 1: The economy lost many manufacturing and construction jobs, jobs predominantly held by men, causing more men than women to lose their jobs and experience long bouts of unemployment. 

Multiple choice questions need to be submitted by 11:59 Tuesday evenings of the lesson week they are due.

Lesson Quizzes

Value: 11 x 1.36%, 15% total

The lesson quizzes will assess your comprehension of the assigned chapters. Quizzes will be comprised of the top "10 best” multiple choice questions students have submitted for the text chapters. [see the entry below on Extra Credit Opportunity].

Lesson quizzes should be available to you no later than 11:59 Thursday evenings of the lesson week they are due. 

Reflective Discussions

Value: 11 x 2.28%, 25% total

The weekly discussions provide the basis for your final project. Throughout the semester, you will post weekly contributions to share with your peers about issue pertaining to gender and work. Some of this information may be instructive to your final project, while other weeks’ work will add to your knowledge and understanding more generally. For each week’s discussion, you will post a reply to complete the discussion assignment no later than Thursday 11:59 PM of the assignment week;  then provide a quality response to at least two of your peer’s postings no later than  Sunday 11:59 PM of the assignment week.  Your learning will be assessed using the rubric attached to the assignment. All assignments will be evaluated for course related research content, as well as writing style, spelling, grammar and clarity.

Note: These weekly reflective discussions are set to 'post-first' meaning that you will not be able to see the postings of you classmates until you have contributed your initial post to the forum.

Field Work Activities

Value: 2 x 5% for 10% total

These fieldwork activities, outside of the standard course material of textbooks, online commentary, and readings, are to be completed in Lessons 6 and 10 and are expected to be @ 500 words [see Word Count Guide]. These field work activities [analysis papers], will be used to develop your final paper and help you to examine the course material in the context of the “real world” as presented through media. This field work and the resulting analysis papers are a first steps towards your final paper, for which you are investigating how media (art, music, television, movies, poetry) represents one of the issues discussed in this course. Use only one media form (e.g., music or movies, not music and movies) with multiple examples, consider a particular genre and time period. You are looking at forms of communication to examine the “real world” in order to look at the course themes and how they manifest themselves. [details accompany each field work assignment].

You will work with your peers to develop your ideas, as you comment on the postings of at least two peers. Again, a rubric is provided and attached to the assignment.

Final Project [Research Paper]

Value: 1 x 25 % total

Using the analysis papers you compiled from Field Work Activities I and II (in Lessons 6 and 10), write a 2,500-3,000 word research paper examining how media (art, music, television, movies, poetry) represent one of the issues discussed in this course. Use only one media form (e.g., music or movies, not music and movies) with multiple examples, considering a particular genre and time period. 

All final project work should: include the words of any songs, poems, and scans of art work used; examine the implications of your analysis for future research and/or application; cite your sources both parenthetically and in a bibliography using ASA citation style. If you have concerns or questions about doing this, please refer to the American Sociological Association (ASA) reference guide (http://www.asanet.org/documents/teaching/pdfs/Quick_Tips_for_ASA_Style.pdf) or contact your instructor.

Extra Credit Opportunity

Value - Up to 1 quiz point per week 
Weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14
NOTE: In Summer there are 10 assignments

Each week, 10 of the top (“best”) questions submitted will be used for the weekly quiz. If one or more of your questions is selected to be on the quiz, not only do you already have the answer, but you earn extra credit for the week!

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University Policies

Academic Integrity

According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity, an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.   

Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic sanctions, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes (see G-9: Academic Integrity).

Unless your instructor tells you otherwise:

• Always include an in-text citation that includes the author(s) last name(s) and the year the source was published at the end of any sentence or below any image that includes words, images, or ideas you found in a source, always included quoted text within quotation marks, and always include a reference for any source at the end of your paper (ask your instructor about the format you should use).
• All of your graded coursework must be created by you without help from anyone in the course or otherwise. If you have questions about this, you should ask your instructor before submitting work for evaluation.
• All course materials you receive or access are protected by copyright laws. You may use course materials and make copies for your own use, but unauthorized distribution and/or uploading of materials without the instructor’s express permission is strictly prohibited. Students who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials may be held in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct and/or liable under Federal and State laws.

Disability Access

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources website provides contact information for every Penn State campus at https://equity.psu.edu/offices/student-disability-resources/campus-offices. For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources website at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources.

In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation described at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/applying-for-services. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Counseling and Psychological Services

Penn State's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) office offers residential and distance-based Penn State students non-emergency mental health services in the form of case management, community resource referrals, supportive listening, care giver support, and much more.

Students may request assistance from CAPS regarding a variety of common mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, and stress. CAPS services are designed to enhance students' ability to fully benefit from the University environment and academic experience. Call CAPS at 814-863-0395 (8 am-5 pm, Monday-Friday EST) or submit an inquiry online at https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/form/caps-contact-form to schedule an appointment with a mental health advocate, who can help you address mental health concerns that may interfere with your academic progress or social development. This appointment will include a one-on-one session that can be conducted via telephone, teleconference (Skype, FaceTime, etc.), or locally at Penn State University Park. For more information on services provided through CAPS, please visit the Penn State CAPS website at http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/counseling/. Students enrolled at the World Campus are also encouraged to visit its Mental Health Services page at http://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/student-services/mental-health-services.

Reminder: These services are for non-emergencies only. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis situation, please call your local crisis center or 911.

Nondiscrimination

Penn State is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University's educational mission, and will not be tolerated. For further information, please visit the Affirmative Action Office website at https://affirmativeaction.psu.edu/.

Reporting a Bias Incident

Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage at http://equity.psu.edu/reportbias/.

TEACH Act

The materials on the course website are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course and may not be retained or further disseminated.

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University Emergency Procedure

In the event of a University-wide emergency, the course may be subject to changes. Exigent circumstances may require alternative delivery methods, class materials, and interactions with the instructor and/or classmates. In addition, there may be revisions to grading policies and the Calendar, including assignments and their due dates.

In the event of a University-wide emergency, please refer to the Canvas website at https://psu.instructure.com for specific information related to the course. For more general information about the emergency situation, please refer to the Penn State website at https://www.psu.edu or Penn State News website at https://news.psu.edu.

To register with PSUAlert, a service designed to alert the Penn State community when situations arise that affect the ability of a campus to function normally, please go to the PSU Alert website at https://psualert.psu.edu/. Subscribers can receive alerts by text message to cell phones, and also can elect to have alerts sent to an email address.

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Syllabus Subject to Change

The class will likely adhere to the information outlined in this Syllabus and the Calendar, but adjustments may be made based on what actually transpires during the semester. Remaining in the course after reading this Syllabus will signal that you accept the possibility of changes and responsibility for being aware of them.