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SOCY1001.06: Introductory Sociology Spring 2017 Syllabus Tuesday and Thursday: Noon – 1:15pm 117 Devlin Hall, Boston College Instructor: Monique Ouimette Department of Sociology 410B McGuinn Hall, Boston College [email protected] Office hours: Tuesday 2-4pm and by appointment Welcome to Introductory Sociology This course will introduce you to sociology as an approach to understanding the social world. One of the most powerful aspects of sociology is that it enables us to critically assess taken-for-granted assumptions that influence everyday life. Through sociological analysis, we can employ a variety of frameworks to explore and deepen our understandings of innumerable dimensions of human interactions and impacts. Some questions that we will explore over the course of the semester are: - In what ways are human actions and behaviors structured by institutions and organizations? To what extent are human actions and behaviors a result of individual agency? How do members of different groups make meaning and engage in the world? How can we empirically test assumptions about social phenomena? What are factors that contribute to inequality in a variety of contexts? How do power and privilege influence outcomes? We will address these questions through a number of topics including: the environment, education, health, consumption, class, race, ethnicity, and gender. Through this course, you will begin to develop your own sociological imagination (Mills, 1959) that will serve you into the future whether you choose to continue to study sociology or your academic pursuits take you on different paths. Please review this syllabus for class policies and the assignment schedule. Note that I reserve the option to modify the syllabus with ample written and verbal notice to students. Course Objectives Through participation in the course, you as a student will: Learn about a variety of sociological approaches to analyzing the social world. Challenge taken-for-granted assumptions as you explore topics from new perspectives. Start to develop your own sociological perspective. Build on your ability to discuss complex topics. Strengthen your critical thinking and analytical skills. Page 1 of 8 Course Norms Complete readings before class and be prepared to participate in class discussions and activities. Attend all classes. Email instructor prior to any absence from class. Be prepared to provide documentation for any absences. Computers and tablets may be used only for class purposes. No mobile phones are allowed to be used during class. Submit assignments on time. Contact the instructor in advance if you think that you might have trouble completing an assignment on time. Students are welcome to consult with the instructor about assignments, questions, and concerns throughout the semester. Discussion norms: Be respectful of others, monitor your air time, and ask clarifying questions. As a group, and as need be as determined by the instructor, we may add more norms during the semester. Contributions to the Core Introductory Sociology counts toward the social science requirements for the Boston College Core Curriculum and contributes to Core learning outcomes in the following ways: 1. Fundamental questions: Introductory sociology helps students to explore different perspectives and to grapple with issues and questions that are central to understanding the social world. Course readings, lectures, class discussions, and written assignments will all provide opportunities to explore fundamental questions. 2. Methods of inquiry and Disciplinary knowledge: Through course readings and lectures, students will learn about various approaches to studying the social world. In particular, students will learn how sociologists structure inquiry; collect and analyze data; and develop new knowledge. Through written assignments and in-class activities, students will have the opportunity to apply sociological methods and perspectives. 3. Breadth and diversity of human knowledge: Course materials include multiple perspectives and will shed light on diverse approaches that different groups use to construct knowledge and structure norms. Readings will also provide insight into the lived experiences of people from a variety of economic, cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. 4. Critical and analytic skills: Through course readings, class discussions, written assignments, and exams, students will strengthen their critical thinking and analytical skills. 5. Examine values and integrate principles into their lives: This course is designed to provide a number of opportunities for students to engage with material that is challenging and that contradicts common sense assumptions as well as, perhaps, students’ own personally held values. Through readings, lectures, class discussions, and written assignments, students will have many opportunities to assess their own values in light of the perspectives with which they engage in this course. This course will provide tools that students can use to reflect on social conditions and assess how they would like to engage with and contribute to the world around them. Page 2 of 8 Grading and Assignments Percent of Grade Due Date Class participation Sociological reflection paper 1 (2-3 pages) Midterm exam Sociological autobiography (6-8 pages) Sociological reflection paper 2 (2-3 pages) 15% 10% 20% 25% 10% Ongoing February 16 March 2 April 11 April 27 Final exam 20% May 12 Grades will be assigned as follows: A (94-100); A- (90-93); B+ (87-89); B (84-86); B- (80-83) C+ (77-79); C (74-76); C- (70-73); D+ (67-69); D (64-66); D- (60-63); F (0-59) The following is a brief description of each grading component. Each written assignment should be submitted in hard copy at the beginning of class on its due date. More details will be provided in class. Class participation (15%): Students are expected to attend all classes, to keep up with the readings for each class, and to actively engage in class discussions and small group activities. Readings listed next to the date of each class meeting should be read before that class meeting. Two exams (40%): The mid-term and final exams will be based on the readings, lectures, and class discussions. There will be an in-class review prior to each exam. Sociological autobiography (25%): Using concepts from the course, you will trace the social, cultural, and institutional influences on your own life. The paper should be 6-8 pages. More details will be provided in class. Two sociological reflection papers (20%): Each sociological reflection paper will be 2-3 pages and will be based on an exercise that you complete outside of class. More details will be provided in class. Academic Integrity All work that you submit must be your own. When quoting or paraphrasing another author’s idea in your work, always cite the author and the source in which you found the idea. Here is the address for the BC library guide on how and when to appropriately cite work: http://libguides.bc.edu/citation . If you plagiarize another person’s work or if you submit another person’s work as your own, you will receive a failing grade for the assignment and may be reported to your respective academic dean. For more information, review Boston College’s policy on Academic Integrity on the following webpage: http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/univcat/undergrad_catalog/policies_procedures.html#inte grity . Page 3 of 8 Accommodations The course is designed to be welcoming and inclusive. If you need accommodations for a documented learning disability, please contact Kathy Duggan at the Connors Family Learning Center (617-552-8093 or [email protected] ). If you need accommodations for another type of disability, please contact Paulette Durrett in the Disability Services Office (617-552-3470 or [email protected] ). Please speak with me within the first two weeks of class if you are requesting any accommodations. Readings The following text is required and is also available through BC Library Course Reserves: - Introduction to Sociology, 10th Edition (2016) by Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Applebaum and Deborah Carr, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. Readings from the textbook start with “Chapter” in the reading schedule. All other readings are available through course reserves. All articles are also available through the Boston College library electronic databases. If you need financial assistance to purchase books, contact the Montserrat Office, 36 College Road, [email protected] . Reading and Assignment Schedule Readings listed next to the date should be read before attending class that day. The first two weeks of class are a general introduction to sociology including methods. The rest of the semester focuses on topics in sociology. Tuesday January 17 Introductions and review of syllabus In-class: Short writing prompt Thursday January 19 Introduction to Sociology Chapter 1: What Is Sociology? Tuesday January 24 Introduction to Sociology Chapter 1: The Promise (pp. 3-24) in The Sociological Imagination C. Wright Mills Oxford University Press. 2000. Body Ritual among the Nacirema Horace Miner American Anthropologist, 58(3): 503-507. 1956. Thursday January 26 Chapter 2: Asking and Answering Sociological Questions Page 4 of 8 Tuesday January 31 Chapter 3: Culture and Society Thursday February 2 Class and Culture Watch the following: People Like Us-- Social Class in America. Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker, Directors San Francisco, California, USA : Kanopy Streaming 2014. Tuesday February 7 Chapter 8: Stratification, Class, and Inequality Thursday February 9 Poverty and inequality Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America Herbert J. Gans Politics & Society 22(3):269-283. 1994. These 8 Men Have as Much Money as Half The World Emily Peck The Huffington Post. January 15, 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/income-inequalityoxfam_us_58792e6ee4b0b3c7a7b13616 Tuesday February 14 Chapter 10: Gender Inequality Thursday February 16 Gender Selling Feminism, Consuming Femininity Amanda M. Gengler Contexts, vol. 10, 2: pp. 68-69. May 27, 2011. Tightening and Loosening Masculinity's (k)Nots: Masculinity in the Hearst Press during the Interwar Period Andrew P. Smiler, Gwen Kay, Benjamin Harris The Journal of Men’s Studies, vol. 16, 3: pp. 266-279. 2009. Sociological reflection paper 1 due at the beginning of class. Tuesday February 21 Chapter 11: Ethnicity and Race Page 5 of 8 Thursday February 23 Intersectionality and Privilege Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection Patricia Hill Collins Race, Sex & Class, 1 (1): 25-45. 1993. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41680038 White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack.(Reprint)(Essay) Peggy Mcintosh Best of Pact Press: A Collection of the Best Articles on Racial Identity Oakland, CA: Pact - An Adoption Alliance. Feb, 1998, p.28(5). Tuesday February 28 In-class review for midterm Thursday March 2 Midterm exam Tuesday March 7 Spring Break – no class Thursday March 9 Spring Break – no class Tuesday March 14 Chapter 16: Education Thursday March 16 Higher Education First-Generation Students Unite Laura Pappano New York Times. April 8, 2015 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/education/edlife/first-generation-studentsunite.html?_r=0 Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 58 (40). July 6, 2012 Read the following in the section on higher education's contributions to inequality: - Magnifying Social Inequality. Richard D. Kahlenberg. pB6 Social Life and Social Inequality. Laura Hamilton and Elizabeth Armstrong. pB7 The Great Sorting. Anthony P. Carnevale. pB8 Fading Glory Days. Richard Wolin. pB8 Growing Elitism.Thomas J. Espenshade. pB9-B9 The Role of Elite Institutions. William Julius Wilson. pB9 Page 6 of 8 Tuesday March 21 Chapter 19: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment Thursday March 23 Environment Poisoning the Planet: The Struggle for Environmental Justice David Naguib Pellow and Robert J. Brulle Contexts, vol. 6, 1: pp. 37-41. February 1, 2007. The Greenwashing of America Eric Krieg Contexts, vol. 7, 2: pp. 58-59. May 1, 2008. The Life and Death of the American Lawn Megan Garber The Atlantic. August 28, 2015 http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/08/the-american-lawn-aeulogy/402745/ Sod it: Californians turn back to grass lawns as drought shaming ebbs Rory Carroll The Guardian. November 2, 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/02/california-drought-lawns-grasssod Tuesday March 28 Chapter 18: The Sociology of the Body: Health, Illness, and Sexuality Thursday March 30 Body, Health, and Environment Environments, Bodies, and the Cultural Imaginary: Imagining Ecological Impairment Steve Kroll-Smith and Joshua Kelley Chapter 16, pp. 304-322 in Contesting Illness: Process and Practices, Edited by Pamela Moss and Katherine Teghtsoonian University of Toronto Press. 2008. Tuesday April 4 Chapter 7: Conformity, Deviance, and Crime Thursday April 6 Chapter 15: Families and Intimate Relationships Tuesday April 11 Sociological autobiography due at the beginning of class. Thursday April 13 Easter Weekend – No Class Page 7 of 8 Tuesday April 18 Chapter 14: Work and Economic Life Thursday April 20 Work and Economy Watch the following: Frontline: Two American families Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes, producers; Bill D. Moyers, reporter Arlington, VA : Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) 2013. Read the following: Privatization and Racial Inequality Vincent J. Roscigno and George Wilson Contexts, vol. 13, 1: pp. 72-74. February 18, 2014. Neoliberalism Johanna Bockman Contexts, vol. 12, 3: pp. 14-15. August 12, 2013. Tuesday April 25 Chapter 13: Government, Political Power, and Social Movements Thursday April 27 Social Movements How Social Movements Matter David S. Meyer Contexts, vol. 2, 4: pp. 30-35. Aug 1, 2003. Social Justice and the Next Upward Surge for Unions Judith Stepan-Norris Contexts, vol. 14, 2: pp. 46-51. May 25, 2015 Sociological reflection paper 2 due at the beginning of class. Tuesday May 2 Chapter 9: Global Inequality Thursday May 4 In-class review for final exam Course wrap-up Friday May 12 Final Exam: 12:30 – 2:30pm Page 8 of 8