Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1502) at UoPeople

I took Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1502) at the UoPeople in the last term. I have studied Sociology before in my previous degree. I vividly remember I took it along with 5 other courses at my previous university in the very first semester. Total nostalgia and fun times!

The course at my previous school was taught through practical videos and movies on social interactions to help students learn Sociology as the subject is not an easy one to comprehend through readings. In contrast, the class is taught through readings at the UoPeople. The UoPeople might provide you with videos here and there. But they aren’t clear to understand specifically sociological theories.

My class had nearly 40 students, but many dropped out. There were only 23 students by the end of the course. The reasons were that the class isn’t easy, and the course instructor was quite strict in grading Learning journals, which are worth 20% of the final grade. My instructor was from India. She had a Ph.D. in Sociology. Nonetheless, she was the harshest instructor I came across at the UoPeople. She gave me the lowest grade I’ve ever received at the school. I had seriously thought about withdrawing from the class. However, I changed my decision after talking to some of the professors from different schools. I’m a very persistent, consistent, and structured person, and I don’t easily give up on things. I devised a plan of attack to counter her unfair grading, and it worked. I’ll talk about it on My Ratings of Instructors at UoPeople page.

The Discussion Assignments and Written Assignments are worth 5% each or 10% in total of the course. You’ve to write 5 Written Assignments and 7 Discussion Posts in the class. You get a colorful textbook assigned to you, which was very decent. Nonetheless, you’ve to do tons of readings each week. You’ve to read 2-3 three chapters consistently each week. The Discussion Assignment and Written Assignment require a fair amount of critical thinking and research. The first Written Assignment was a bit challenging as well.

The Learning Journals are worth 20% of the course. You’ve to write 8 Learning Journals in the class. You’ve to do an insane amount of readings to write Learning Journals. The LJs have their own readings. You have to reflect on whatever you learn from the chapters each week and then connect those concepts with the sociologist theories. The Learning Journals are the trickiest part of the class and would put off many students to drop the course, especially if you’ve got the same instructor as mine, who was extremely strict.

There are two Graded Quizzes in the course worth 15% each or 30% in total. The Final Exam is a whopping 40% of the class. Each Graded Quiz had 35 questions which you had to finish in 45 minutes. The Final Exam had 63 questions and you get 90 minutes to complete it. The Graded Quizzes and the Final Exam were composed of questions like various sociological theories, key definitions, hypothetical scenarios, historical questions, and so on. For example, you might be tested on which sociologists presented what theories.

The Self-Graded Quiz and the Final Review Quiz are somewhat instrumental in helping you prepare for the Graded Quizzes and the Final. However, you should make legible notes if you wish to do well in the course. I had an advantage because I had studied the subject before, which is why I ended up with an A in the class.

Final thoughts, the course isn’t an easy one. I firmly believe that Sociology is a subject that can be best understood with videos with practical examples. I particularly feel that you might find various sociological works of Max Weber, Georg Simmel, Thorstein Veblen, George Herbert Mead, Jacques Ellul, Émile Durkheim, Lewis Mumford, and Gustave Le Bon a bit difficult without real-life examples and interactions of people. I might still have a DVD that came with my textbook at the time I took the previous class somewhere, which taught sociological theories with practical examples and social interactions. I'll mention the book's name if I find it to help ease the painful experience you'll go through in the LJs of this class.