Course Syllabus

Spring 2006

  • Professor: Linda Heuser
  • Office: Smullin 213
  • Office Phone: 503-370-6915
  • Email: lheuser@willamette.edu
  • Office Hours: Tuesdays,or by appointment

Course Description

As a capstone experience, the internship has two major goals: to facilitate the integration of knowledge gained during your study of sociology and to encourage the application of this knowledge as you seek to understand the structural arrangements and group dynamics in a particular social setting. The internship gives you an opportunity to work in a social service agency, government office, or local business for 12 hours per week over a 10 week period of time, to observe its day-to-day operations, and to develop interpersonal and occupational skills of potential value in future educational and career endeavors. A scholarly paper, based on a topic derived from your internship, completes the requirements for this Senior Year Experience course in sociology.

COURSE READINGS

1. Douglas Harper and Helene M. Lawson. 2003. The Cultural Study of Work. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

2. Other readings, as assigned.

COURSE STRUCTURE

This course has two parts:

  1. Weekly class attendance on Tuesdays from 1:50-3:20 p.m. in Smullin 129.
  2. The completion of 120 hours (12 hours per week for a 10 week period of time) at your internship site starting no later than the week of JANUARY 30 and ending on or before FRIDAY, APRIL 14.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  1. Internship Learning Contract. You will jointly fill out an internship contract with your on-site supervisor by no later than FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3. Make sure that you have three copies of the completed contract ready for the organizational meeting with your on-site supervisor, faculty advisor, and yourself.
  2. Organizational Meeting. You will arrange about a 30 minute meeting between you, your on-site supervisor, and me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and no later than FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10. This meeting will give everyone an opportunity to meet one another and discuss the specifics of the learning contract and internship requirements. I am available for a meeting with you and your on-site supervisor on:
    Tuesdays – any time before 1:00 p.m.
    Wednesdays – any time before 4:00 p.m.
  3. Log of Hours and Fieldnotes. The purposes of the log and fieldnotes are to keep track of your hours worked, to document your activities, to record your observations on the events and interactions that take place around you, and to reflect and sociologically analyze your observations. Use a three-ring binder to log your hours and record your fieldnotes every time you go to your internship site. More complete instructions will be forthcoming about taking and coding fieldnotes. Fieldnotes will be turned in on: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, TUESDAY, MARCH 21, AND MONDAY, MAY 8. Fieldnotes will also be given to your peer reviewer on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14.
  4. Thesis Statement. On TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, you will provide two copies (one for peer reviewer and one for me) of a statement, not to exceed one typed double-spaced page, that describes the thesis of your analytic paper and your intended sociological analysis of the observations and experiences at your internship site. More detailed instructions will be provided at a future date. I will be glad to meet with you before the thesis statement is due to discuss the intended focus of your analytic paper. We will schedule individual conferences after you have submitted this statement.
  5. Analytic Paper. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate your ability to apply your knowledge of sociology to an analysis of some aspect of your internship experience. Drawing upon examples and evidence from your fieldnotes, from materials taken from previous sociological courses, and from at least fifteen professional references, you will craft a sociological paper, similar to the articles appearing in The Cultural Study of Work, that identifies, explains, and analyzes common patterns and themes characterizing your observations and experiences. On TUESDAY, MARCH 21, you will turn in a typed and detailed outline of your paper. Two draft copies of this paper will be due for my review and for peer review on TUESDAY, APRIL 11. Comments of this draft will be returned to you by TUESDAY, APRIL 18 along with an interim grade. Individual conferences will also be scheduled. Extensive instructions for this approximately 15-20 page paper will be provided later in the semester. Sample papers have been put on library reserve at the Circulation Desk for your review. The final paper will be due in my office (Smullin 213) by 5:00 p.m. on MONDAY, MAY 8. Please arrange conferences with me to talk about your paper as the need arises.
  6. Class Discussion Leader. Each of you will sign up to lead a discussion of some of the articles appearing in The Cultural Study of Work. While more information will be forthcoming, the main objectives of this assignment are to give you experience in facilitating a group discussion, to draw out, for further consideration, the main ideas of the article, and to have your classmates relate these ideas to their own internship experiences. I will pass around a sign up sheet with articles and dates. These student-led discussions will begin on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7.
  7. Class Participation. Since this course will be run as a student-centered seminar, you are expected to come to class having read all assignments and prepared to take part in all class discussions. As part of class participation, you will sometimes be called upon to act as a peer reviewer offering comments about another student’s fieldnotes, thesis statement, analytic paper, etc.

GRADING

You will be graded on:

  • Fieldnotes and log 15%
  • Thesis statement, list of references, paper outline 10%
  • Final analytic paper 30%
  • Class discussion leader 10%
  • Class participation 10%
  • On-site supervisor evaluation 25%

SOME NOTES

  1. No credit will be given to assignments turned in late. Those assignments due in class should be turned in at the beginning of the period while the other ones due to me in my office have been given a final time by which I must receive them.
  2. You will receive each assignment well in advance of the due date, thereby allowing you sufficient time for its completion. As a result, no extensions will be given except in the case of a dire emergency. If you have a personal or family emergency, see me in person. If I am not in my office, contact me by phone. Voice messages or email do not constitute contact. You must speak to me directly to receive an extension.
  3. In this course, we will abide by the university plagiarism and cheating policy.

As defined in this policy, “Cheating is any form of intellectual dishonesty or misrepresentation of one’s knowledge. Plagiarism, a form of cheating, consists of representing someone else’s work as one’s own.”

COURSE CALENDAR

  • TU, 1/17: Course introduction
  • TU, 1/24: Becoming an intern and taking fieldnotes
    READING: Participant Observation and Fieldnotes, Emerson et al.
    (library reserve) and Sample of Fieldnotes
  • M, 1/30: WORK AT INTERNSHIP SITE SHOULD BE STARTED ON OR BEFORE M, 1/30
  • TU, 1/31: Class discussion - Linda
    READING: Articles 7 & 8, Harper and Lawson
  • F, 2/3: LEARNING CONTRACT COMPLETED WITH COPIES
    FOR ON-SITE SUPERVISOR AND FACULTY ADVISOR
  • TU, 2/7: Class discussion
    READING: Articles 1 & 22, Harper and Lawson
    FIELDNOTES SUBMITTED TO LINDA
  • F, 2/10: THREE-WAY ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS COMPLETED
    WITH ON-SITE SUPERVISOR, FACULTY ADVISOR, AND INTERN
  • TU, 2/14: Comments about fieldnotes
    Coding fieldnotes
    READING: Grounded Theory, Charmaz (library reserve)
    FIELDNOTES SUBMITTED TO PEER REVIEWER
  • TU, 2/21: Peer reviewer comments about fieldnotes READING: Articles 3 & 4, Harper and Lawson
  • TU, 2/28: Class discussion
    READING: Articles 5 & 6, Harper and Lawson;
    THESIS STATEMENT SUBMITTED TO LINDA & PEER
    REVIEWER (2 COPIES)
    FIELDNOTES SUBMITTED TO LINDA
  • TU, 3/7: Library instruction session
  • TU, 3/14: Writing the paper
    READING: Articles 18 & 19, Harper and Lawson
    LIST OF 15 REFERENCES FORMATTED USING ASA STYLE
  • TU, 3/21: Class discussion
    READING: Articles 10 & 11, Harper and Lawson;
    Writing About Research, Esterberg
    DETAILED OUTLINE OF PAPER DUE TO LINDA
    FIELDNOTES SUBMITTED TO LINDA
  • TU, 3/28: NO CLASS. SPRING VACATION
  • TU, 4/4: Class discussion
    READING: Articles 12 & 13, Harper and Lawson
  • TU, 4/11: In-class work day
    DRAFT OF PAPER SUBMITTED TO LINDA AND PEER
    REVIEWER (2 COPIES)
  • F, 4/14: WORK AT INTERNSHIP SITE SHOULD BE COMPLETED
    ON OR BEFORE F, 4/14
  • TU, 4/18: Peer reviewer comments about paper
    Class discussion
  • READING: Articles 2 & 14, Harper and Lawson
  • TU, 4/25: Class discussion - Linda
    READING: Article 17, Harper and Lawson
  • TU, 5/2: Oral paper presentations
  • M, 5/8: LOG, FIELDNOTES, ANALYTIC PAPER, INTERNSHIP EVALUATION DUE IN MY
    OFFICE (SMULLIN 213) BY 5:00 P.M.
Willamette University

Writing Center

Address
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6959

Back to Top