Social Problems Syllabus for 2025-2026
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Instructor Information

Course Information

AI Statement

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If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Enrollment Center, Suite 700. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
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As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Tutoring for Success applies to any student whose overall performance in the course falls below 75%. The instructor will create the task in the Student Engagement Portal (Watermark) to direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty- or SI-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. The tutoring service assigned, the due date for when the tutoring must be completed, and the amount of tutoring required are at the discretion of the instructor. Additionally, the task will alert the student’s success team. Students who do not fulfill the assigned tutoring task may be subject to program- and course-specific penalties that could result in a grade reduction and/or in not being allowed to progress in the course until the tutoring requirement has been satisfied.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

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Course

SOCI-1306-004 Social Problems

Prerequisites

Course Description

Application of sociological principles and theoretical perspectives to major social problems in contemporary society such as inequality, crime and violence, substance abuse, environmental issues, deviance or family problems.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Hybrid

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Students are required to read portion of two popular non-fiction, research-based texts over the course of Sociology 1306:

Desmond, Matthew. 2016. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. NY: Broadway Books.

Reeves, Richard V. 2022. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about it. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Both books present deep dives on social problems that are related to the broader problems that we will cover in class. Because of the 8-week course calendar, the assigned readings will not always align with the week’s lecture topics. The books, however, will provide students to scholars with different styles and analytical approaches and provide students with the opportunity to apply what they learned in class to research on hotly contested social problems.                       

Supplies

Laptop or personal computer. Internet Access. Assigned books. 

Student Performance

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Survey the field of sociology as it applies to the study of social problems, including topics such as poverty, the American education system, and economic gender inequality, as well as other contested issues.

Expose students to a variety of competing sociological perspectives on social problems, improving their critical thinking skills and developing their sociological imaginations.

Demonstrate how sociologists use theory to explain the causes, persistence, and possible solutions to social problems.

Demonstrate how sociologists use data to develop and improve theories about social problems.

Familiarize students with basic social scientific research methods through peer-reviewed research case studies.

Provide students with rudimentary skills for analyzing evidence and arguments about social problems.

Improve (or reinforce) students’ academic reading skills through engagement with scholarship and public writing on social problems.

Provide student with opportunities to develop their communication skills through brief, low-stakes intellectual conversations with a research-educator.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Panhandle Social Problem Investigation (Group Project). Over the course of the semester, students will collaboratively (in a small group) investigate the existence, causes, and consequences of a social problem that affects residents of Amarillo or the Panhandle region. Each week, students will present on a different aspect of the social problem such as its definition, pervasiveness, plausible causes, observable and potential consequences and more. These exercises will culminate in a final group project presentation at the end of the term. The instructor is OK if students use some AI assistance to produce their written work. However, the instructor requires that students consult primary data and fully comprehend the nature of the social problem and their report on it. During the first week of class, the instructor will provide a document explaining the project in more detail. The instructor will devote most Wednesday class periods to the Panhandle social problem investigation project.

Reading Quizzes. On most Mondays, students will complete a short reading quiz on the day’s assigned readings. These quizzes serve as an accountability structure to help students keep pace with the material, offer practice with short-answer questions like those on the midterm and final exams, and act as launching points for discussion. Quizzes are low-stakes and will not focus on highly specific details like dates or names. Instead, they will address key themes, examples from the texts, and occasional applications of course concepts. Students will be quizzed on at least two chapters from the week’s assigned reading. The reading schedule it listed below. The instructor will devote most Monday class periods to reading quizzes followed by a discussion of the week’s readings. The discussions are valuable because they provide students with an opportunity to share and reflect on the week’s readings and they provide students with insights about the core themes that will likely be addressed on the exams. Students will not receive credit on a reading quiz if they leave before the discussion (unless arranged with the instructor in advance).

Midterm and Final Exams. Students will complete both a midterm and a final exam during the 8-week term. Please check the course schedule (below) to ensure you are available on exam dates. If you anticipate a scheduling conflict, notify the instructor in advance to arrange an alternative time. In cases of illness or emergency, contact the instructor as soon as reasonable to request a reschedule. The instructor reserves the right to deny a makeup exam if a student has made little or no effort to engage in the course; in practice, students who keep up with reading quizzes, assignments, and participate in class activities are more likely to be granted an exception. Exams will consist of approximately two-thirds multiple-choice and one-third short-answer questions. For the short-answer section, students will choose from multiple prompts (e.g., respond to two out of four).

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Above all else, students are expected to be respectful and engaged. The instructor will talk more about codes of conduct on the first day of class and throughout the course. 

There is another student behavior that is highly encouraged: course feedback. This class is a work in progress. The instructor enjoys and appreciates receiving constructive criticism, and knowing how to advocate for yourself and others is a highly useful career skill. However, students will have access to an anonymous suggestion box (web link), but please be kind and constructive. 

Grading Criteria

Attendance

The instructor tracks in-person attendance per Amarillo College policy. Repeated absences will flag the college, prompting a counselor or success coach to contact the student. The instructor, however, does not grade attendance. But students must be in class to complete reading quizzes and receive credit for their weekly progress on the regional social problem project.

Calendar

Additional Information

Here's my lengthier description of Sociology 1306, for students who want more info: 

Homelessness. Drug addiction. Mass shootings. Government corruption. Workplace discrimination. These are examples of social problems, which are conditions or patterns of behavior that

1. conflict with a desired quality of life,

2. are caused, facilitated, or prolonged by factors operating at multiple levels of social life,

3. involve intergroup conflict, and

4. require collective action to resolve.

Social problems, in other words, are societal conditions that most people regard as harmful. They are shaped by both individual behavior and larger social forces, often politicized and contested, and resolvable only through collective effort.

Consider homeless encampments. Many view living in such conditions as undesirable (though some may reserve judgment toward those who call them home). Encampments emerge from both individual circumstances and broader political and economic forces. They are also contested, as policymakers, activists, and citizens debate their causes and the most effective responses. Yet addressing homelessness requires shared understanding and a collective commitment of resources. In this way, homeless encampments meet all four conditions of a social problem. We will return to these conditions and apply them to multiple issues throughout the course.

Because this is a sociology course, we will examine social problems through a sociological lens. At the macro level, we will analyze how social forces shape, sustain, or resolve these problems. At the micro level, we will consider how they emerge through everyday interactions and meaning making. Competing sociological theories will help us understand how different perspectives lead to different diagnoses and proposed solutions. We will also explore how certain conditions come to be defined as “problems” in the first place, a deeply contested and consequential process.

In SOC 1306, we will focus on three broad topics that align with the instructor’s expertise: poverty in America, the American “educational crisis,” and the gender gap in pay. Throughout the course, we will critically assess whether each qualifies as a social problem and analyze who benefits or loses when such issues are labeled as one.