Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Course Overview:

Our SOC 205 Social Change course:

• Examines social changes within and across societies.
• Explores the central questions, schools of thought, forms of research, and theoretical debates about social issues and how social institutions and systems are organized and change over time.
• Examines the many ways in which social contexts, historical events, institutional structures, and unequal relations of power shape society and how collective behavior can lead to social change over time.
• Develops skills needed to think critically about how and why societies change and how the causes and consequences of social change shape the world.

Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.

For detailed information, see the Course Content and Outcome Guide.

Required Books:

1) Introduction to Sociology 3e. 2023.

The book is available as an e-book, for free, via Openstax: https://openstax.org/details/books/introduction-sociology-3e

If you prefer, you can purchase a hard copy through the PCC Sylvania Online Bookstore

2) Gladwell, Malcolm. 2000. The Tipping Point, New York, NY: Little, Brown and Co.

New and used discounted copies are available through the PCC Sylvania Online Bookstore and other online sources.

Course Access:

More details, including the syllabus and assignment guidelines, will be available in our on-line course beginning the morning of the first day of the term. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, at kdsmith@pcc.edu.

The course is designated as a "remote" course, which means that we will combine both weekly Zoom course sessions and our on-line PCC Desire2Learn (D2L) course platform.  We will not be using any special technology beyond our D2L tools and standard word processing programs for assignments.  Students will need to:

• Be comfortable with our D2L Course page requirements to participate in discussions, submit assignments, and complete quizzes and exams.
• Use word processing tools for homework assignments and the term paper, in a Word or PDF format, that can be uploaded to our Assignments folder.
• Have access to internet computer tools that allow you to participate in Zoom classes.