Syllabus Spring 08
920:210
Sociology of Medicine and Health Care

GENERAL

I encourage you to contact me for any course-related reason,
and I welcome the opportunity to get to know you.  You
can visit during office hours, arrange an appointment, see
me at the end of class, email me, or call me.  I am always
reachable by email or cell phone (you can
leave a voice mail message).  There is no printed syllabus -
you can get all course information from this website.

OFFICE HOURS

Monday & Thursday 1-3,
Lucy Stone Hall B204, Livingston Campus

REQUIRED BOOK

Medical Sociology, 10th edition
By William Cockerham
Published by Prentice Hall, 2007
Available at New Jersey Books, 108 Somerset Ave., CAC
You must buy the 10th edition of this book
to pass the course.

REQUIRED EXAMS

There are 3 required exams, which must be taken to pass
the course. Exams are multiple choice and are not
cumulative, and each exam is worth 1/3 of your final
course grade. Your final course grade is calculated by summing
scores on the three tests, and then using a curve to determine
the letter grade. The curve is quite generous - approximately
30% A's, 30% B's, and 30% C's, with the bottom 10% getting
D's and F's. About half of the questions on each exam will cover
material from the book and about half will cover lecture
material.  Please note that the book and lectures cover
different material, so you must study both.  You must bring
pencils to the exams - no pens will be allowed. No electronic
devices (cell phones, pda's, laptops, mp3 players, etc.) will be
allowed in exams. You must know your RU ID so you can write
it on the exam, because several people in the class will have
the same name.

No makeups will be given unless there are severe, extenuating
circumstances.  Personal holidays,
broken alarm clocks, weddings, jobs, exams in other courses,
and the Rutgers bus system are not acceptable reasons for
missing an exam.  If there are conflicts between exam days
and your personal schedule, you should withdraw from the
course.   Makeup exams will be essay tests that are more
difficult than the regular multiple choice exams - you will get a
better grade by taking the regular exams.  There will be no
opportunity for extra credit.

IMPORTANT POINTS

You are responsible for all material presented in both the
book and the lectures, whether or not you attend class.  If
you miss a class for any reason, it is your responsibility to get
the notes from a classmate, not from the instructor.  Attendance
is not taken, but you must attend class regularly to pass the
course because the exams cover material from class that is
not in the book.  Please turn off cell phones, pagers,
wireless devices, game players, and music players during
class.  Please do not surf the internet or read your email
during class - it is distracting to other students.  Please be on
time to class and please stay for the whole class (i.e. don't
walk out in the middle).  Finally, cheating will not be tolerated.
The University policy on Academic Integrity is available at this
website.

SCHEDULE

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