Professor: Jim Unnever (James D. Unnever, Ph.D., Duke 1980)
Course #: SOCY 350
Office: Young Hall 220 Office Phone: 831-5130
Office Hours: TTH 12:15-2:00, 6:15-7:15
Email address: junnever@runet.edu
Home Page: http://www.runet.edu/~junnever
Course Home Pages: http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/crimbuttons/crimgy.html and
http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/crimhtml.html

Exams

There are four exams. Each counts for 19 percent of your final grade. Each exam has two parts. The first part consists of approximately 40 multiple-choice questions that come from your assigned and required readings. This part counts for 30 of the 100 points for each test. The second part consists of one essay question that primarily comes from the class lectures. The essay question counts for the remaining 70 of the 100 points. I will post your essay questions on the web at least one class period before the test. From the essay questions, I select one question that you must answer in class without any notes or reference materials.
You must take the final at the hour and day it is scheduled. I give the final exam during finals week. It is not cumulative.

Ways to improve your exam grades

I have posted on the web study guides that accompany each of your exams. The study guides are posted on the web page that includes all of your web assignments (www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/assign.html). These study guides cover the material from the Winfree and Abadinsky textbook. Every multiple-choice question on your exam from the textbook has a corresponding study guide question. Consequently, if you thoroughly review the study guide you will be able to do quite well on the exam. I actively encourage you to form study groups to go over these study guides and the essay portion of your exam. However, you are completely responsible for your in-class answers. You can use these groups only to orally study the material from which the questions are drawn. This means that you cannot share any written material within these groups including your notes or any of your attempts to answer the essay or study guide questions. See your Student Handbook for the definition of what constitutes cheating. In addition to the above, I will hold study halls to go over any questions you may have on the assigned or required readings before each exam on an announced night. I also encourage you to come see me during my office hours if you have any questions relating to the class.

Essay Grades

The basis for your grade on your essays exams is as follows: A = Excellent: "I wish I'd written that." Is masterful in control of purpose and graceful in expression; content is insightful, reflecting depth of understanding and perception; organization enhances meaning; author regards audience as intelligent and discriminatory, has virtually no mechanical flaws. B = Good: Has clarity and coherence of the C paper, but also has depth of content; organization is logical and effective; displays independent thought, careful concern for expression, and has virtually no mechanical flaws. C = Adequate or Competent: Few, if any mechanical errors; is clear, coherent, and contains some originality, but not beyond the obvious. D = Below Expectations: Isn't sure what its' trying to do or say; confusion is evident; has serious weaknesses regarding clarity of purpose, organization, development of ideas, understanding of issues, use of cliches, inappropriate word choice, has numerous or significant mechanical and grammatical flaws. F = Unacceptable: Little attempt at an idea; has several of the problems in one or more areas listed for the D essay. Due to the number of students that I have in this course, I do not place individual comments, beyond checks and X's, on either your tests or quizzes. After we go over the tests and quizzes in class, if you have any further questions about your specific grade please see me during my office hours or make an appointment.

Quizzes

There also are quizzes. These are take home quizzes based on the articles either on reserve or on the World Wide Web. I have posted the quiz questions on the web (http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/quizzes.html). Due dates for the quizzes are given, in class, at least one class period before you must turn them in. You cannot make up these quizzes unless given permission to do so from me before its due date. You cannot make-up quizzes unless you have official documentation stating why you could not attend class for every day since I announced when the quiz was due. Turn your quiz in a day early if you know that you will miss a class when it is due. The maximum length of the quiz is two typed pages. I will not accept handwritten quizzes. I will return any handwritten quiz that is turned in with a 0 for a grade. All quizzes must be hand-delivered to me at the beginning of the class period the day they are due. I will not accept quizzes I find on my desk, in my mailbox, sent to me via e-mail, etc. I do not drop the lowest quiz grade.

Quiz grades consist of a 0 (you did not turn it in or you turned in something but it did not have anything to do with the right answer to the quiz), a 65 (this means that you barely, if at all, correctly answered the quiz question and more than likely you, at best, just read the abstract to the article and completely ignored the associated newspaper clippings); a 75 (this means you basically just answered the question with little to no elaboration--more than likely you read the article and, if available, the associated newspaper clippings just once; an 85 (this means you answered the question with some degree of confidence and gave examples from the article and, if available, the associated newspaper clippings to back up your argument--more than likely you read the article and/or newspaper articles more than once); and a 95 (this means you fully answered the question correctly and provided examples from the article and/or newspaper articles to support your argument--this requires that you read all of the material at least twice). When applicable, you must read the newspaper articles and use them to illustrate your answer in order to get a 75 on the quizzes. If you do not, the highest grade you can get is a 75. Your overall quiz grade average accounts for 19 percent of your final grade. Your quizzes are take-home assignments that you must complete by yourself. You will have cheated on this assignment if you work on the answer to your quizzes with another student. Remember these quizzes are meant to test you on how well you understand the assigned reading. They are not opinion papers. You must prove (e.g., using quotes, etc.) that you have read and understand every required article. The highest grade you will earn on a quiz is a 65 if you have not proven (e.g., using quotes, etc.) that you have read and understand every article that you are required to read. This web address contains an example of an A quiz (www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/aquiz.html).

Online Class Discussion

My teaching philosophy is that our learning is not limited to the physical confines of the classroom. I also believe that we can learn from one another by engaging in academic conversations. The use of digital technology now allows us to accomplish these aims. Throughout the semester, you are required to engage in online discussions with your peers by posting your thoughts on an electronic bulletin board. The bulletin board is located on the web page after you log in for the online components of your course. I will monitor the forums to assure that the use of the bulletin board is to further our understanding of sociology, class discussions and the assigned readings. Five percent of your grade is based on your quantitative and qualitative contributions to the online discussions. You will not earn any points unless you contribute to the class discussions. The number of points you earn will be based on how many of the postings you read and how many of the postings you made. It is relative. The more you contribute to the online class discussions the more points you will earn (0-5). You can earn up to five points and potentially lose 5. Students who read all of the postings and contribute sociologically informed thought-provoking postings would earn the most number of points. You must make ninety-five percent of your postings before the last two weeks of class in order to earn a grade.

Curving Grades

I curve grades in two ways. First, I curve each exam. The curve equals the number of points that the average exam grade falls below a 75. For example, if the average exam grade is a 72 everyone in the class will have 3 points added to their exam score (i.e., an 89 becomes a 92). Secondly, at the end of the semester, if no one has earned an A (a ninety or above) I will curve your grades so that the highest score in the class is a ninety-two. For example, if the highest cumulative grade is an 89 everyone in the class will have 3 points added on to their final cumulative score.

Bonus Points

You can also earn bonus points that I will add to your final cumulative score. You will earn 2 bonus points if your quiz average is above an 85.0. You will earn 1 bonus point if your quiz average is above a 75.0. The grade sheet I post on the web will keep a running total of the number of bonus points you have accumulated throughout the semester. Check your grades after we have each quiz to keep track of your quiz average and the number of bonus points that you have accumulated.



Getting to Know One Another

You need to complete an entry into the course guestbook by the end of the third week of the semester. The following is the web address for the guestbook: http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/comments2.html. To complete this assignment you must include your personality type and a short description of your personality type. The guestbook and personality test are on the web. Click on the online button located on your course home page and you will eventually find the link to the guestbook. I will deduct 100 points from your quiz average if you do not complete this assignment by the end of the third week of the semester. This includes a posting of your personality type. We will use our guestbook to get to know one another. In sum,

4 exams x 19 percent = 76 percent
the average of your quizzes = 19 percent
online class discussion = 5 percent
100 percent of your final grade.
Plus your bonus points and end curving of final grades

Format of the class

I do not lecture from the textbook. This class is not for you if you want a professor who gives highly structured notes, bases the class lecture on a chapter from the textbook, outlines the lecture on the blackboard and elaborates upon it in class, and gives a test that directly relates to the textbook, outline, class lecture. You will learn a lot and enjoy taking this course if you carefully listen to the class lectures and participate in the class discussions whether they take place in class or on the bulletin board. This class is not for you if you do not like being challenged to think and would rather not actively participate in the learning process. You are primarily responsible for what is in the textbook. Some of the required and assigned readings are not specifically gone over in class. I consider them to be in addition to the class lectures and discussions. I do not create my class lectures directly from the textbook. You are required to understand the textbook on your own. Therefore, you must bring up specific questions on the required and assigned readings in class. This also means that to do well in the class you must regularly attend. Roughly, 60 percent of the material on your exams is from class lectures and the other 40 percent is from your required and assigned readings.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is required. You can miss one exam. If you miss a test, for whatever reason, you can make up the multiple-choice section of that particular test on Tuesday of the last week at 5:00 pm. The multiple-choice section will count double and will account for your entire grade for that test. I do not curve your makeup exam. This is the only time you can make up an exam. You must take the final exam during the hour and day it is scheduled. It is not cumulative. Occasionally, I will schedule an exam or quiz the class period before a scheduled break or holiday. You are required to attend class on these days.
I occasionally will assign new material by sending you an email. You are responsible for these assignments. This means that you need to check your email throughout the week and over breaks.

Required Readings/Tentative Requirements for the Tests (What is on the test?)

First Test--Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice--all the chapters covered in class, Understanding Crime (Winfree and Abadinsky), Chapters 1 and 2, "Why Do White Americans Support the Death Penalty" "A Note on the Official Use of Statistics," "Pinto Madness," "Mitsubishi Madness," the Research Paper, and web assignments.

Second Test-- Understanding Crime (Winfree and Abadinsky) Chapters 3 and pages 204-216 in Chapter 7, "Intelligence and Delinquency," "The Meaning of the IQ Delinquency Relationship," "Eugenics," "Parental Management, ADHD, and Delinquent Involvement: Reassessing Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory," "Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children," and the web assignments.

Third Test-Criminal Violence: Criminal Justice, chapter 4, Understanding Crime (Winfree and Abadinsky) Chapters 4, 5, and 7, "Discipline and Deviance," "Preface to the American Edition," "Corporal Punishment and Adult Use of Violence," "Reply to Murray Strauss," "Questioning the Value of Punishment," A Developmental Perspective on Antisocial Behavior," "Why is "Bad" Parenting Criminogenic? A Test of Rival Theories," and the web assignments "Interesting Facts about the American Family," "Cycle of violence and child maltreatment data," "Breaking the Cycle of Violence," "Breaking the Cycle of Violence II."

Fourth Test- Criminal Violence: Criminal Justice, chapter 5, Understanding Crime (Winfree and Abadinsky) Chapter 6, 8, and 9, "Does Dropping Out of School Enhance Delinquent Involvement?", "Schooling and the Reproduction of Inequality," "Urban Black Violence" "The Production of Black Violence in Chicago," and "A Marxian Theory of Crime."

Ways to Improve the Quality of the Course

I have posted on the web a 24-hour completely anonymous suggestion box. It is located on the same page as your grades, reserve room, etc. Please use the suggestion box to offer constructive comments as to how I can enhance the quality of your learning experience. I will take them very seriously. This suggestion box is completely anonymous so feel free to be honest and direct with your comments. However, please note that I will completely ignore suggestions that are not constructive. I thank you for taking the time to make your suggestions. I also welcome you to visit me during my office hours.

Classroom Behavior

By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. I will not tolerate violations of academic integrity. I will conduct this class in strict observance of the Honor Code. Refer to your Student Handbook for details. If you are found cheating, I will immediately dismiss you from the class and you will receive an F for your final grade (see your Student Handbook for Radford University's definitions of what constitutes cheating). You must complete all take home assignment on your own. You cannot share your answers to take home assignments. This includes tests, quizzes and extra credit. The above means that you cannot discuss the answers to the tests--you can only discuss the material covered by the tests. In short, you must complete all take home assignments by yourself. If you have any questions concerning these restrictions, come see me before, not after, you engage in what Radford University defines as cheating. I have caught six people who cheated. I have taken students to the Judicial Board; do not become one of them!

I reserve the right to dismiss any student from this class with a grade of an F who violates the Honor Code and/or systematically engages in conduct that disrupts my ability to teach this course effectively. I will only give one warning to the student before I dismiss him or her.

My function as a professor is to create a healthy classroom atmosphere that enhances your critical ability to think about contemporary issues such as racism, sexism, and classism. My intent is to make everyone aware of the effects that these social forces have on the group being discriminated for and against. I discuss these issues in terms of group membership not in relation to you as an individual. If these discussions offend you, they more than likely have been personalized. That is not my intent. Remember that when I use the word "you" I am using it in its plural form not its singular form. If I am referring to you as an individual, I will call on you by your specific name. If you feel uncomfortable with our class discussions, please make an appointment to see me.

Note that my function as a professor is to present a diversity of analyses and to challenge you to think. At times, I will attempt to provoke you into reconsidering your position on specific topics. I am a "thought provocateur." Consequently, some of the theoretical analyses I present may challenge your value system. Please remain open-minded during these discussions. Remember that not everyone in the world shares the same opinions and analyses that we have as individuals. Also, remember that no one's opinions, including mine, are "right" or "wrong." It is OK to disagree. If you feel uncomfortable with our class discussions, please make an appointment to see me.

Note that I have the tendency, especially if I am "on a roll," to interrupt students when they are discussing the class lecture. If this happens to you, please do not become offended and give up trying to make your point. Persist to get your point across. I will try to slow down enough so you can be heard.

I do not allow tape recorders unless you are handicapped and have a note from a proper campus department.

If, for whatever reason, you need to leave a class early you must see me before the class begins. If I give you permission to leave before the class is over, then you must sit in the chair that is closest to the door. My general policy is that if you cannot attend the entire class; then do not come at all.

If you have questions concerning any of my policies, you must see me at the beginning of the course. If you do not see me at the beginning of the semester then I assume that you are clear about my policies and have agreed to abide by them. I will not respond to emails with spelling errors or with egregious grammatical errors. Please send text-formatted emails.

I do hereby resolve to uphold the Honor Code of Radford University by refraining from lying, from the stealing or unauthorized possession of property and from violating the Standards of Student Academic Integrity.

I have read and am agreeing to abide by the syllabus for CRIM, SOCY 350. To remain enrolled in this class, you must sign this agreement and return it to me by the end of the second week of the semester.

Signed,