being human social science 101 syllabus

SPRING 2026

Instructor: Jason R. Suárez

Email: jsuarez@elcamino.edu

Office: BSSB 130

Phone: 310-660-3593 ext. 3769

Welcome. My name is Jason Suárez, and I am excited to be your instructor this semester in Social Sciences 101: Introduction to the Social Sciences. Your success is extremely important to me. As a result of this, I have to the best of my ability tried to author a course that is hopefully interesting, well structured, and insightful.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course introduces students to the fields of study that comprise the social sciences and their interrelationship. Students will be introduced to the basic theories and methods of social science disciplines and how their contributions facilitate our understanding of the social and cultural worlds humans inhabit and the problems experienced by contemporary societies. This course also exposes students to the concepts and techniques that are used in social science research and in career choices available to students pursuing a degree in the social science

COURSE MODALITY

This is an 8-week fully online course.  There are no required textbooks or materials for this course. All the reading content and materials will be provided to you via the Canvas course site.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Every course that is taught at a Community College has student learning outcomes (SLOs) and all instructors are required to review the courses SLOs with their students. First, let us define what an SLO is.

Learning Outcomes are the goals that describe how a student will be different because of a learning experience. More specifically, learning outcomes are the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and habits of mind that students take with them from a learning experience. – Lind Suskie (2009)

The SLOs for this course are:

  • Upon completing this course, students will be able to identify and apply the principles, methods,
    and theories associated with social sciences disciplines.
  • Upon completing this course, students will be able to identify and apply the basic principles and procedures of research methods in the social sciences.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Course objectives define the goals, content and purpose of the course. The course objectives for Social Sciences 101 are the following:

  1. Define social science and explain its relevance for the understanding of the formation of contemporary human society.
  2. Explain the historical origins of the social sciences.
  3. Identify the disciplines that constitute the social sciences and explain the career pathways associated with these disciplines.
  4. Explain social science research methods and how they aid social scientists in understanding the nature, growth, and functioning of humans and human society.
  5. Explain how the physical world has influenced human lifestyles.
  6. Identify the various theories and agents of socialization and how socialization occurs throughout a person’s life.
  7. Identify the factors that lead to the social construction of differences.
  8. Explain the role and function of culture on human progress and the evolution of societies.
  9. Explain how people and societies allocate resources.
  10. Explain the primary function of government and identify its relationship to society.

ASSESSMENT MEASURES

Assessment measures are used to determine what a student has learned during and after a course is completed. Student acquisition of knowledge in Social Sciences 101 will be assessed in four ways:

  1. Quizzes (25% of the grade): A series of quizzes on course content will be administered throughout the semester. The format of these are true/false statements.
  2. Discussion Board Posts (25% of the grade): Creating a community of learners through academic and social involvement in the classroom encourages students to be active participants in the learning process and promotes their persistence in the pursuit of their educational goals. To emphasize this aspect of your academic training, students will collaboratively address a variety of themes and concepts from the course.
  3. Career Major Portfolio (25%): This assignment will allow you an opportunity to refine your goals and reflect on your educational background.
  4. Capstone Self-Reflection Essay (25% of the grade): In this assignment, you will answer the central question of the course, but with a twist: What being human mean to you? To do this, you must draw on at least three different social science disciplines covered in this course (anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology) that has helped you better understand what being human means to you and how you see yourself wihin this context.

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

What to Expect from Me

  • I will create a course that facilitates your learning through content that is informative, meaningful, and relevant and provide a learning environment that promotes dialog and the exchange of ideas amongst you and your colleagues.
  • I will administer a variety of assessments that will indicate if course objectives and student learning outcomes are being met.
  • I will be regularly available to you and actively collaborate with you during this course to ensure your success.

What I Expect from You

  • You will be an active learner in this course by completing the course material assigned in a timely fashion and you will regularly engage your colleagues about the course’s content.
  • You will actively seek out my support if you have any questions about course content and assignments or encounter any challenges in this course.
  • You will contact me if any assignment or assessment due date established cannot be met.

COMMUNICATION AND OFFICE HOURS

There are three ways you can contact me this semester should you have any questions about the course.

  • First, you contact me via email (jsuarez@elcamino.edu) or Canvas. Your communication is extremely important to me so I will do my best to reply within 24 hours. To ensure that I see your message among my emails, please use the class name and number SOCSCi 101 in your subject line. Be sure to use your ECC email account when contacting me. I cannot address official course details with you if you use a personal email account.
  • Second, you can visit me during office hours. My office hours are posted on the Canvas home page for this course.
  • Third, you can schedule an appointment via email for a virtual or face-to-face office meeting.

For those enrolled in this course outside of the state of California please be aware of time zone differences.

CANVAS

Canvas is the Course Management System (CMS) used in this this online course and supported by the Distance Education Office at El Camino College. Make sure your Canvas login works. Do not panic if you do not see class content immediately as I will not publish it until the first day of class. Please be aware that having the correct Canvas username and password is what’s important at this point. The Distance Education Office has made the following tutorial available to you if you are new to Canvas.

Canvas Student Guide

STUDENT GRADE RECORD

All assignments are graded on the 100% scale. Please be sure to retain all materials returned. The following is the course grade distribution.

  • 90-100% A = 4.0
  • 80-89% B = 3.0
  • 70-79% C= 2.0
  • 60-69% D = 1.0
  • 59% and below F

PARTICIPATION

If you have become inactive in the course this means you have stopped attending Social Science 101 Online. Inactive means that you are missing assignment deadlines, or you are not logging into Canvas regularly. Keep in mind that your online presence and assignment completion are indicators of your attendance in this course. If you do not plan on completing the course, be sure to drop the class before the drop deadline. It is a student’s responsibility to do so if course completion is not intended.

ONLINE RULES OF CONDUCT

It is important to recognize that the online classroom is in fact a classroom, and certain behaviors are expected when you communicate with both your peers and your instructor. For general communication be
sure to implement the following guidelines:

  • Use your El Camino College email account.
  • Treat your instructor and classmates with respect in email or any other communication.
  • All college level communication should have correct spelling and grammar (this includes
    discussion boards).
  • Use standard fonts such as Ariel, Calibri or Times new Roman and use a size 10 or 12 pt. font
  • Avoid using the caps lock feature AS IT CAN BE INTERPRETTED AS YELLING.
  • Be careful with personal information (both yours and other’s).
  • Do not send confidential information via e-mail.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is of the utmost importance in this class. Presenting another person’s work as your own, what academics call “plagiarism,” is a serious breach of academic integrity regardless of your intentions or the severity of the case. This can include:

  • Turning in someone else’s work as your own.
  • Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit.
  • Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks.
  • Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation.
  • Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit.
  • Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work,
    whether you give credit or not.
  • Cutting and pasting directly from Artificial Intelligence without paraphrasing and citing the content. Note: Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E are gaining interest among students for brainstorming, problem-solving, and creative engagement. While they can support your work, they’re not a substitute for working directly with your instructor. If you plan to use AI tools for an assignment, please contact me ahead of the deadline so we can discuss what’s appropriate.

For more information see https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism and the Standards of Student Conduct (AP 5500). As noted in the Student Discipline and Due Process Procedures (AP 5520), students who engage in plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty may receive a failing grade for that piece of work and disciplinary action may be pursued.

STUDENT ONLINE READINESS

To succeed in an online course, students must be self-motivated and be able to work independently with minimum supervision. You must be able to manage your time effectively and stay on track with your coursework. It is critical that you log on frequently (at least 3–4 times a week) into Canvas and keep up with all required activities, assignments, and readings. Always feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the course and its content. How many hours a week do you need to commit to this course? This course is an 8-week condensed version of a 16-week course. To complete all the readings and activities you will need to commit at least 12 hours per week to this course. Because of the condensed schedule no late work will be accepted in this course. There is no excuse for missing deadlines as Canvas and the announcements I post will always remind what is due and when it is due.

STUDENT RESOURCES

Your success is the number one priority at El Camino College. College resources to help you succeed include computer loan programs, tutoring, student health, and services for designated groups, such as veterans and students with disabilities. Most if not all of these resources can be accessed virtually. For a comprehensive list of Academic Resources and Support Programs, visit: https://www.elcamino.edu/students/index.php

STUDENT SUCCESS ACT

State regulations may affect your eligibility for financial aid, your registration priority, and your ability to repeat classes.  For more information, consult with a counselor. After completing 15 units or prior to the end of the third semester, all students must declare a major and complete a comprehensive educational plan. Schedule an appointment to see a counselor for an up-to-date educational plan by visiting: https://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/co/appointments.asp

DISABILITY ACCOMIDATIONS

El Camino College is committed to providing educational accommodations for students with disabilities upon the timely request by the student to the instructor. A student with a disability, who would like to request an academic accommodation, is responsible for identifying herself/himself to the instructor and to
the Special Resources Center (SRC). The SRC coordinates all academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities at El Camino College. If you have or think you might have a disability that impacts your educational experience in this class, contact SRC to determine your eligibility for accommodations.

SRC is located in the Southeast Wing of the Student Services Center. Their contact information is
310-660-3295 or SRCinfo@elcamino.edu

If you have already registered with SRC, please submit your accommodation requests as soon as possible. This needs to be done each semester. If you have any questions or concerns about your accommodations, please make an appointment with a SRC Counselor.

Complete this process in a timely manner to allow adequate time to provide accommodations. Also, please inform the instructor if you need course adaptations or accommodation in the classroom because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with your instructor, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated.

TITLE IX REPORTING OBLIGATIONS

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination—including sexual violence—in educational programs and activities. We are committed to helping you attain your educational goals free of harassment and discrimination. You should know that faculty members have certain obligations under the federal law. If you reveal gender-based or sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking or intimate partner violence to any instructor, we are required by law to report the problem to the Office of Staff and Student Diversity. However, psychologists are not required to report your incident.  To speak confidentially with a psychologist, contact the Student Health Center for an appointment: 310.660.3643 orhttp://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/health-services. For more information, visit http://www.elcamino.edu/administration/hr/diversity/misconduct.asp

COURSE TOPICS

  • Week 1: The Puzzle of Being Human
    • What does it mean to be human?
    • Being Human and Human Nature
    • Overview of social sciences
    • Key concepts in the social sciences
    • Research in the Social Sciences
  • Week 2: Deep History: Providing Clues on how We became Human
    • What is “deep history”?
    • Human evolution and early hominins
    • The “cognitive revolution” (language, symbols, imagination)
    • Humans extensification across the globe
    • The advent of human complexity
  • Week 3: Becoming You: How Society Shapes Identity and Self
    • The Self and identity
    • Socialization (family, school, media, peers)
    • Identity formation (race, gender, class, sexuality)
    • Individual vs. society
  • Week 4: Culture Code: How We Learn to See the World
    • What is culture? Norms, values, symbols
    • Cultural relativism vs. ethnocentrism
    • Language and meaning (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
    • Subcultures and globalization
  • Week 5: Everyday Life: The Hidden Rules of Social Interaction
    • Social roles and status
    • Impression management (Goffman)
    • Group dynamics and conformity
    • Social influence and behavior
  • Week 6: Power, Privilege, and Inequality: Who Gets What and Why?
    • Social stratification (class, race, gender)
    • Systems of inequality
    • Power, privilege, and institutions
    • Debates about fairness and social justice
  • Week 7: The System Around Us: How Institutions Shape Our Lives
    • Institutions: family, education, religion, economy, government
    • How institutions shape behavior
    • Stability vs. change
    • Structure vs. agency
  • Week 8: Humans in Motion: Technology, Change, and the Future
    • Technology and social life (social media, AI)
    • Globalization and cultural exchange
    • Social movements and change
    • Environmental challenges