Sociology 101!
“When I talk of [any given]
field, I know very well that in this field I will find ‘particles’ (let me
pretend for a moment that we are dealing with a physical field) that are under
the sway of forces of attraction, of repulsion, and so on, as in a magnetic
field. Having said this, as soon as I speak of a field, my attention fastens on
the primacy of this system of objective relations over the particles
themselves. And we could say, following the formula of a famous German
physicist, that the individual, like the electron, is an Ausgeburt des Felds: he or she is, in a sense, an emanation of the field.”
“[When we talk about a structure
of feeling] we are talking about characteristic elements of impulse,
restraint, and tone; specifically affective elements of consciousness and
relationships; not feeling against thought, but thought as felt and feeling as
thought…specific internal relations, at once interlocking and in tension. Yet we are also defining a social experience
which is still in process, often indeed not recognized to be social, but taken
to be private, idiosyncratic, and even isolating…”
a)
Both describe the way
knowledge is produced
b)
Both are about the hard or
physical sciences
c)
Both describe how individual
lives are interwoven/interrelated to society
d)
Trick question, they have
nothing in common but some vowels
Overview
“The
best thing for being sad…is to learn something. That is the only thing that
never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie
awake at night listening to the disorder in your veins, you may miss your only
love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your
honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it
then—to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only
thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by,
never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing
for you. Look at what a lot of things there are to learn—pure science, the only
purity there is. You can learn astronomy in a lifetime, natural history in
three, literature in six. And then, when you have exhausted a million lifetimes
in biology and medicine and theocriticism and geography and history and
economics—why, you can start on sociology.”
-T.H. White (slightly
modified)
Sociology! As C. Wright Mills tells us, the most
important quality of the mind that you can develop is a sociological
imagination. The sociological
imagination requires us to engage in the study of an individual’s biography;
but to place that biography in the wider context of the history and tradition
of the society in which that individual lives.
Mills
suggests that a useful way of understanding this 'imagination' is to use the
'fruitful distinction' between on the one hand 'the personal troubles of milieu[1]'
and on the other, 'the public issues of social structure'. (Mills 1959: 14)
For
Mills the all too common misperception on the part of many individuals is that
they perceive their own biographies as just personal and private. Far too often
there is a failure to see their own biographies as being interwoven and
interrelated to the wider public and political 'stage' of society. Each week we will explore a different topic
from a sociological perspective, using the textbook as our the base, and
further exploring each area through essays from the reader, films and videos,
websites, songs, and whatever other material that Neil might feel
appropriate!
Student
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course each of you
should be able to:
1.Describe major sociological theories and concepts and apply them
to an analysis of the social world.
2.Explain scientific research methods and apply them to an analysis of the social world.
3.Present, listen to, and discuss sociological ideas in classroom and small group settings.
4.Produce written work according to social scientific standards.
2.Explain scientific research methods and apply them to an analysis of the social world.
3.Present, listen to, and discuss sociological ideas in classroom and small group settings.
4.Produce written work according to social scientific standards.
Course
Policies:
All tests and quizzes will be given in class on the day
assigned only. No exceptions! And while this is subject to review as
circumstances warrant, tests and quizzes are gonna happen on the Thursday of
the relevant week. Many of the test
questions will require you to apply the concepts and theories we’ve been
studying, and to that end I love to collect the raw materials for test
questions on the class website/blog
so you can get a sneak peek. The final is not cumulative.
Course
Requirements:
- Quizzes. There will be four quizzes, each worth 5% of your grade.
- Examinations. There will be four examinations, each worth 15% of your grade.
- Paper. You will be responsible for doing one short final paper, worth 20% of your grade.
Required
Materials:
- The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology by Stein & Ferris
- Readings For Sociology, edited by Garth Massey
- Additional internet readings as noted below
- Four long scantrons & four short scantrons
Course
Schedule:
Week 1 – August 28
& 30 – Sociological
Imagination
Question
of the week! The sociological imagination is a
QUALITY OF THE MIND. What does it help
you to do?
Radiohead
READINGS
·
C. Wright
Mills, “From The Sociological Imagination,” Chapter 2 (13-18)
·
Karl Marx
& Fred Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Chapter 2 (265-274)
·
Tom Ewing, “Poptimist #25”
Question of the week! Why do I think I
would look better with a tan?
READINGS
·
Chapter One cont.—Sociology's Family Tree: Theories and
Theorists
·
We're reading a pieced together cutting from Weber's
great work, but if you really need to, you can find most of the parts we're
reading here:
·
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/weber/protestant-ethic/ch05.htmmostly the
second half
Week 3 – September 11
& 13 – Research
Methods!
Question of the week! What’s the Heisenberg
Uncertainty Principle? How does it apply
to research methods?
READINGS
·
Chapter Two—Studying Social Life: Sociological Research
Methods (all of it!)
·
Joel Best, “Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and
Statistics” Chapter 6 (51-56)
·
Allan Brandt, “Racism & Research: The
Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study” Chapter
8 (64-78)
QUIZ #1
Week 4 - September 18 & 20 – Globalization
Question of the week! David
Harvey argued that increases in production created a need for parallel
increases in consumption, which were achieved through _______________
READINGS
l Benjamin
Barber, “Jihad vs McWorld,”
TEST #1
Week 5 – September 25
& 27 – Culture and Nature
(and
nature)
READINGS
·
Chapter Fifteen—Country and City: The Natural World and the
Social World (Urban Legends; 463-4, The Environment; 465-78)
·
Robert Glennon, “Size Does Count” chapter 35 (380-389)
·
Michael Pollan, “America's National Eating Disorder”
Chapter 12 (122-125)
Week 6 – October 2
& 4 – Social Groups (&week 5 cont.)
Question of the week! Historically, what has been the relationship between
religion and terrorism?
READINGS
·
Chapter Ten—The Macro-Micro Link in Social
Institutions: Politics,
Education & Religion (Who Rules America, The Media and the Political Process, What is
Education (ignore The Present andFuture of
Education), What is Religion)
Week 7 – October 9 & 11 – Deviance and Social Control
Question of the week! Why do teenage girls
shoplift? What theory can explain this
behavior?
READINGS
·
Chapter Six—Deviance and Conformity (all of it!)
·
William Chambliss, “The Saints and the
Roughnecks” Chapter 29 (314-327)
·
Clifford
Shearing & P. Stenning, “From the Panopticon to Disneyworld,” Chapter 32
(355-360)
QUIZ #2
Week 8 – October 16 & 18 – Politics and the Economy
Question of the week! According to Paul Krugman, an
economist at MIT, why do Americans find overseas sweatshops particularly
objectionable?
READINGS
·
Chapter Eleven—The Economy, Work and Working (The Nature of Industrial and Postindustrial Work, Individual and
Collective Resistance Strategies, Globalization, Economics, and Work)
·
Barbara Ehrenreich, “Nickled & Dimed”
Chapter 23 (245-264)
·
George
Ritzer, “The McDonalds System,” Chapter 42 (453-459)
TEST #2
Week 9 – October 23 & 25 – Class
Question of the week! What is the American
Dream? How does The American reinforce socioeconomic
barriers?
READINGS
·
Chapter Seven—Social Class: The Structure of Social
Inequality (Social Class in the United States, Theories
of Social Class, Defining Poverty, Inequality, Ideology, and the American
Dream)
·
Herbert
Gans, “The Uses of the Underclass in America,” Chapter 31 (339-354)
Week 10 – October 30
& November 1 Race and Ethnicity
Question
of the week! According to Mary Waters, why
might a black student get upset when a when white student asks questions about
their hair?
READINGS
·
Chapter Eight—Race and Ethnicity as Lived Experience (Defining Race and Ethnicity, Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race
in the United States, Race as an Interactional Accomplishment, Race in College Admissions)
·
Mary Waters,
“Optional Ethnicities” Chapter 22 (232-244)
·
Julie
Bettie, “Women Without Class: Chicas, Cholas, Trash, and the Presence/Absence
of Class Identity” Chapter 20 (212-225)
·
Stuart
Hall, “Old
and New Identities, Old and New Ethnicities” (focus on p.52-57)
·
Eula Biss “No-man’s-land: Fear, Racism, and the Historically Troubling
Attitude of American Pioneers”
Week 11 – November 6
& 8 – Gender
Question of the week! Question of the week! In 1913 Rebecca West said that
whenever she expressed sentiments that differentiated her from a doormat or a
prostitute she was called a:
READINGS
Chapter Nine—Constructing
Gender and Sexuality (What is
Sex, What is Gender, Essentialist and Constructionist Approaches to Gender
Identity, Gender Role Socialization, The Women’s Movement, Sexuality, “Hooking Up”, Homophobia)
Michael
Messner, “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities,” Chapter 14, (137-152)
Laura Kipnis, “How To Look At Pornography”
QUIZ #3
Week 12 – November 13
& 15 – Sociology of the Family and the Economy
Question of the week! According to Arlie Hochschild,
why are workers at the company she studied not resisting the “speed up,” or for
that matter, even complaining about it?
READINGS
Arlie
Hochschild, “The Emotional Geography of Work and Family Life” Chapter 41
(439-452).
TEST #3
Week 13 – November
20 – Recreation and Leisure (textual
poaching)
Question of the week! How do we interact
with celebrities?
Movie of the Week – “Darkon”
READINGS
Chapter Thirteen—Recreation and Leisure in Everyday Life
(all of it!)
"Quentin Tarantino's
Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture" By Henry
Jenkins (read
at least the first half, up until “Dude, We're Gonna Be Jedi”)
Diane Werts, “Fan
Fiction booms as modern folklore”
Week 14 - November 27 & 29 – Recreation and Leisure Cont.
Question of the week! The limitless choice we now enjoy
over the
information we get about our world has loosened our grip
on?
Readings
Chapter Three—Cultural Crossroads – starting
with the High, Low, and Popular Cultur,
Week 15 – December 4
& 6 – Wrap-up and Review!
Question of the week! How is a gummi bear like a steak?
Snack of the Week – Gummi
Candy, Bears, Worms, Sharks, & Brains
READINGS
Chapter Sixteen—Social Change: Looking Toward Tomorrow
(Just the text box on John Robbins and Diet for a New America)
Quiz #4
Final Exam - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11th, 2:00PM
Grading Summary:
Examinations: 60%
Quizzes 20%
Paper 20%
KEEP
TRACK OF YOUR GRADE!
Points
on quiz #1 = (multiple your percentage by .05) _________+
Points
on quiz #2 = (multiple your percentage by .05) _________+
Points
on quiz #3 = (multiple your percentage by .05) _________+
Points
on quiz #4 = (multiple your percentage by .05) _________+
Points
on exam #1 = (multiple your percentage by .15) _________+
Points
on exam #2 = (multiple your percentage by .15) _________+
Points
on exam #3 = (multiple your percentage by .15) _________+
Monday,
May 14, Final Exam (multiple your percentage by .15) _________+
Points
on Paper = (multiple your percentage by .20) _________ +
=_________
out of 100
Policy on Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism:
copying or initiating the language, ideas and/or thoughts of another author and
passing them off as one’s original work. (American College Dictionary, Random
House, 1964)
The
Department of Sociology will not accept or tolerate instances of academic
dishonesty or plagiarism among its students or faculty. Submitting others’ work as if it was yours,
presenting the words or ideas of others without full and appropriate citation,
and cheating on examinations are all instances of academic plagiarism and
fraud.
Students
who may be unsure as to whether or not their writing or other work may
constitute academic fraud should seek the advice of their professor prior to
formal submission or presentation.
Plagiarism and academic fraud are the most serious of offenses, but they
are easily avoided with a modicum of care and forethought.
Office of Disabled Students/ Programs
and Services
"Students
with disabilities who are requesting accommodations should use the following
SBCC procedure: contact the DSPS office
in SS160 (X2364), present documentation of disability for review by a
disabilities specialist, discuss options for support through DSPS, and present
a signed DSPS authorization for accommodation to your instructor."
Easter Eggs:
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