I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Social Problems

2. Course Prefix & Number:
SOCL 2411

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

This course is an overview of current social problems using the sociological perspectives. Students will be able to articulate and apply their own ethical views and insights. The course analyzes how problems come to be defined, their ramifications and possible solutions. The course critically analyzes a range of social issues such as poverty and inequality, racism, sexism, family breakdown, crime and violence, and the environment among other emerging structural and systematic processes affecting the survival of peoples nationally and globally.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

St. Cloud State University, SOC 111 Social Problems, 3 credits
Minnesota State Moorhead, SOC 210 Social Problems, 3 credits
St. Cloud Technical and Community College, SOCL 1320 Social Problems, 3 credits

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 5 – History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Goal 9 – Ethical and Civic Responsibility

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Debate complex social problems, including origins, maintenance, and solutions.
Apply ethical principles in decision-making	Articulate and apply their own ethical views to social problems.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Cross culturally evaluate social problems and their solutions.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Identify what constitutes a social problem (MnTC Goal 5);
• Articulate the process by which social inequality affects individuals (MnTC Goal 5);
• Apply founding theoretical traditions and concepts in Sociology to specific social problems (MnTC Goal 5);
• Articulate how processes of stratification create and reproduce social hierarchies and inequalities in human society (MnTC Goal 9);
• Identify empirical patterns and effects of social inequality (MnTC Goal 5);
• Describe how cultural, social, political and economic changes affect social inequality (MnTC Goal 9);
• Articulate how social movements contribute to social change (MnTC Goal 9);
• Examine, articulate, and apply ethical viewpoints (MnTC Goal 9); and
• Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship (MnTC Goal 9).

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. The Study of Social Problems
• Elements of a social problem
• Dominant theoretical perspectives
• Research methods
2. Problems of Illness and Healthcare
• Global context
• Structured inequality and healthcare
• The US healthcare system
3. Drug and Alcohol Abuse
• Global context
• Societal consequences of drug and alcohol use
• Illicit drug policy, war on drugs
4. Crime and Deviance
• Global context
• Sociological theories on crime and deviance
• Societal consequences of crime
• Demographic patterns of crime
5. Family Problems
• Global context
• Family violence
• Divorce
• Teen and unmarried pregnancy and birth
6. Inequality: Poverty and Wealth
• Global context
• Sociological theories on poverty and wealth
• Demographic patterns of poverty and wealth
7. Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration
• The social construction of race
• Racial and ethnic diversity in the United States
• White privilege
• Prejudice and discrimination
8. Gender Inequality
• The social construction of gender
• Structured gender inequality in the United States and abroad
• Male privilege
9. Sexual Orientation
• Origins of sexual orientation: nurture and nature
• Structured inequality and sexual orientation
• Origins of jomophobia
• Prejudice and discrimination
10. Population and the Environment
• World population
• Consumerism
• Stabilizing world population
• Environmental issues

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions