Download Sociology 101 - College of the Holy Cross

Sociology 101
THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
College of the Holy Cross, Fall 2014
Section 01: T/R 8:00-9:15 AM, Stein 301
Professor: Ara Francis
Office: Beaven 211
Telephone Numbers: 508-793-2487 (campus office), 530-574-8736 (cell)
Email Address: [email protected]
Office Hours: M 9-11, T 10-11, W 12-2 & by prior appointment
Society provides us with warm, reasonably comfortable caves, in
which we can huddle with our fellows, beating on the drums that
drown out the howling hyenas of the surrounding darkness.
“Ecstasy” is the act of stepping outside the caves, alone, to face the
night.
– Peter Berger, Invitation to Sociology (1963: 150)
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course is an introduction to sociology, but you should think of it as an
intellectual expedition. Sociology leads us to consider some of life’s most
interesting questions. What does it mean to be human? Where does
morality come from? Is there such a thing as free will? In the context of
addressing these questions, we will touch upon the dominant perspectives
and methods that sociologists employ in their research. We also will
examine basic dynamics of social order, social control and inequality in the
contemporary United States. Our journey promises to cover interesting
terrain, and when all is said and done, we will have delved into substantive
topics ranging from this history of white bread to adolescent masculinity.
The ultimate goal of this course is for you to see sociology not just as a
collection of knowledge, but as a unique way of thinking about the world.
COURSE GOALS
By the end of this course, you should
• Know what sociology is and understand how it differs from other
academic disciplines.
• Be familiar with common methods of data collection and overarching
theoretical orientations to studying social life.
• Be able to think sociologically about race, gender, and other phenomena
that might otherwise seem natural, physical or psychological.
• Be familiar with multiple dimensions of social inequality in the
contemporary United States.
• Have considerable knowledge of the following three substantive topics:
the social history of white bread; the everyday construction and
regulation of masculinity; and marriage and childbearing among lowincome women in the contemporary United States.
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REQUIRED READING
Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective by Peter Berger
White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf by Aaron BobrowStrain
Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School by C.J. Pascoe
Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage by
Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas
In addition to the books listed above, I have posted a number of readings to
our Moodle page. These are designated by (M) in the schedule of topics and
readings below.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND SCORE BREAKDOWN
10%
20%
20%
20%
30%
Participation
Paper #1
Paper #2
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Engagement & Participation. I score your engagement and
participation out of 100 points, 75 of which are based on your active and
informed involvement during class. You can earn a high in-class score by
attending all sessions, completing and reflecting on the assigned readings,
making thoughtful contributions to discussion, and listening carefully to
peers’ questions and comments. You can earn the remaining 25 points in
these two ways:
Do a “beyond-the-lecture” assignment. There will be times during the
semester when someone has a question that I can’t answer or raises an
interesting topic that we do not have time to pursue as a class. When this
happens, I will provide you the opportunity to explore the question or idea
for participation credit. Such assignments earn up to 10 points and
typically require a little bit of research and a two-page report. When I
announce a “beyond-the-lecture” assignment in class, I will provide you with
all of the relevant details via group email and Moodle. Keep in mind, the
frequency of these assignments is related directly to the frequency of your
questions and comments during class.
Create your own assignment. Here I encourage you to pursue any project
that makes connections between the ideas we’re exploring and your life
outside of the classroom. You are welcome to critically analyze a personal
experience or a relevant song, film, blog post, etc. If you sing, dance, draw,
or paint, you can tap into your talent and produce something creative. You
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can interview someone about something you’ve learned in class and report
back on your conversation. You might even organize a sociologicallyrelevant event for your peers. These are just a few ideas. My only
stipulation is that you clearly link your project to something we’ve examined
in class. Such assignments earn up to 15 points, depending on their degree
of relevance and thoughtfulness.
Paper #1. The Social Construction of Material Reality.
As you will see from the schedule of topics below, the second segment of this
course examines how symbols mediate our relationship to the environment,
how culture is an integral component of human evolution, and how human
realities are socially constructed. During this time, we will also read Aaron
Bobrow-Strain’s White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf, a
nice illustration of how the meanings we attach to food are socially and
historically shaped. In this five-page essay, you will use the sociological
perspective to analyze a material object. I will provide you with further
details later in the semester.
Paper #2. History, Biography, and Inequality.
The fifth segment of our course examines stratification and inequality in the
contemporary United States. During this time, we will critically examine
sociological understandings of social class and consider how hierarchical
location shapes personal opportunity and experience. This five-page essay
requires you to examine your own social class background from a
sociological perspective. I will provide you with further details later in the
semester.
Exams.
The midterm and final examinations require you to define concepts (in a
sentence or two), address short-answer questions (in four to seven
sentences), and respond to essay questions (in two to three paragraphs).
Questions cover all course materials including lectures, readings, and
discussions. The final exam has a cumulative component.
OFFICE HOURS
Need guidance on an assignment? Feedback on a rough draft? Want to talk
about something that you saw in the news? Or are you just looking for a
cup of tea? Find all of these things and more during my office hours! In all
seriousness, mentoring you is one of my central priorities. Don’t think twice
about dropping by.
ATTENDANCE & PUNCTUALITY
Attendance is compulsory. More than a few absences will jeopardize your
participation score and make it difficult to earn passing grades on
assignments and exams. I also encourage you to be mindful of all starting
times, timelines and deadlines. Lectures and discussions begin promptly at
the start of class, and you should arrive to each meeting having completed
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all of that day’s assigned readings. I do not accept late work, schedule makeup exams, or accept electronic assignments except in cases of emergency. If
you experience an emergency that prevents you from meeting any of the
course requirements on time, notify me immediately in order to make
necessary arrangements.
NOTE: Thank you for reading the syllabus carefully. Send me an email with
the subject heading “I read the syllabus” so I know that you completed the
assignment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
I will sanction and report to your Class Dean all cases of plagiarism,
cheating, and collusion. According to Holy Cross’ policy on academic
honesty, these are defined as follows:
“Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas, data, illustrative material,
or statements of someone else, without full and proper acknowledgment,
and presenting them as one’s own.
“Cheating is the use of improper means or subterfuge to gain credit or
advantage. Forms of cheating include the use, attempted use, or improper
possession of unauthorized aids in any examination or other academic
exercise submitted for evaluation; the fabrication or falsification of data;
misrepresentation of academic or extracurricular credentials; and deceitful
performance on placement examinations. It is also cheating to submit the
same work for credit in more than one course, except as authorized in
advance by the course instructors.
“Collusion is assisting or attempting to assist another student in an act of
academic dishonesty.”
Please see the full policy for details (www.holycross.edu/catalog/academichonesty-policy.pdf). If you have any questions or concerns regarding
academic integrity, see me.
IMPORTANT DATES
R Oct. 9
R Oct. 23
R Dec. 4
TBA
Midterm exam
Paper #1 Due
Paper #2 Due
Final exam
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS
PART I: THE DISICIPLINE OF SOCIOLOGY
DATES
TOPICS
READINGS
4
R Sept. 4
Introductions and review of
the syllabus
No Reading Today!
Berger, Chapter 1
T Sept. 9
Sociology as a social science
(M) “Doing Social Research,”
by Lisa J. McIntyre
(M) “The Promise,” by C.
Wright Mills
R Sept. 11
(M) “Getting Past the Sound
Bites: How History and
Sociology Can Help Today’s
Families” by Stephanie
Coontz
Sociology as a way of
thinking
(M) “Responding to Chaos: A
Brief History of Sociology,” by
Lisa J. McIntyre
T Sept. 16
The Sociological Canon in
Historical Context
R Sept. 18
(M) Excerpt from The Division
of Labor in Society by Emile
Durkheim
(M) Excerpt from The
Communist Manifesto by Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels
(M) Excerpt from The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit
of Capitalism by Max Weber
Suggested fiction: Kristin Lavransdatter, a series of novels by the Nobel
Laureate Sigrid Undset, follows the life of a woman in 14th-century Norway.
If you like historical fiction, the books are a fun way to get a sense for the
pre-industrial Western communities that sociologists so often position in
contrast with modern and late-modern societies. Here you will get a flavor
for the rhythms of life in a subsistence economy, the central role of families
and households in the organization of social life, and a notably different
understanding of what we call “childhood.” The book might even move you
to re-read your lecture notes on Gemeinschaft and mechanical solidarity!
PART II: CULTURE & THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY
DATES
TOPICS
READINGS
5
White Bread, Intro & Ch. 1
T Sept. 23
(M) “Culture and Human
Nature,” by Clifford Geertz
R Sept. 25
Symbols, Culture &
The Social Construction of
Reality
(M) “Grammar, Identity, and
the Dark Side of the
Subjunctive” TED talk by
Phuc Tran (use Moodle link to
stream online)
White Bread, Chapters 2 & 3
T Sept. 30
Receive
Instructions
for Paper #1
White Bread, Ch. 4 & 5
Constructions and
Consequences:
Race in the Contemporary
United States
R Oct. 2
(M) “Understanding Racialethnic Disparities in Health:
Sociological Contributions” by
David R. Williams and
Michelle Sternthal
(M) “Discrimination in a LowWage Labor Market: A Field
Experiment”
T Oct. 7
Concluding Discussion &
Review
White bread, Ch. 6 &
Conclusion
R Oct. 9
Midterm Exam
Midterm Exam
T Oct. 14
R Oct. 16
Fall Break
Fall Break
Suggested film: Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary film Supersize Me is
a fun but incisive critique of the American fast food industry. It is also part
of the alternative food movement described by Bobrow-Strain. Spurlock’s
film is compelling, but, after reading White Bread, it would be interesting to
think about whether or not Supersize Me privileges the sensibilities of
middle-class whites.
PART III: SELF AND SOCIALIZATION
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DATES
T Oct. 21
R Oct. 23
Paper #1 Due
T Oct. 28
TOPICS
READINGS
The Social Nature of Self
Berger, Chapter 5
Socialization
(M) “Childhood Socialization
as a Recruitment Process,” by
Spencer Cahill
The Performance of Self in
Everyday Life
(M) Pp. 1-16, 22-30 and 7076 of The Presentation of Self
in Everyday Life, by Erving
Goffman
Suggested television: If you liked BBC’s The Office, you will no doubt
enjoy Extras, a television series about an aspiring actor played by Ricky
Gervais. Like The Office, this series’ humor is often premised on failed
presentations of self and the embarrassment of social order. If you’ve done
your reading for this class, it will be hard to watch without thinking of
Erving Goffman.
PART IV: SOCIAL ORDER & SOCIAL CONTROL
DATES
TOPICS
READINGS
R Oct. 30
Social Order and The
Multiple Dimensions of
Social Control
Berger, Chapter 4
Dude, You’re a Fag, Preface &
Ch. 1 & 2
T Nov. 4
R Nov. 6
Regulating Gender and
Sexuality
Dude, You’re a Fag,
Ch. 3 & 4
Dude, You’re a Fag,
Ch. 5 & 6
T Nov. 11
Suggested film: Boys Don’t Cry is a moving film about a teenager who
identifies and performs as a man but has a normatively female body. The
story ties in well with the material explored in this segment of the class,
particularly the intersection of masculinity, sexuality, and violent
aggression.
PART V: INEQUALITY AND STRATIFICATION
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DATES
TOPICS
READINGS
R Nov. 13
Stratification & Inequality in
the United States:
An Overview
(M) “Dimensions of Inequality
in the United States” by
Harold Kerbo
Receive
Instructions
for Paper #2
Promises I Can Keep,
Introduction & Ch. 1
Promises I Can Keep,
Ch. 2
T Nov. 18
R Nov. 20
T Nov. 25
Class and Social Structure
(M) “Nickel-and-Dimed: On
Not Getting By in America,”
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Promises I Can Keep,
Ch. 3 & 4
Class and culture
Concluding Discussion
Promises I Can Keep,
Ch. 6 & Conclusion
*Note: Ch. 5 is optional
R Nov. 27
Thanksgiving Holiday
Thanksgiving Holiday
Suggested film: The new documentary film Inequality for All explores
income inequality in the United States and is hosted by the economist and
political commentator Robert Reich. The filmmaker has a clear political
agenda and makes the argument that our growing income gap has negative
effects on the entire economy. Rent it and see what you think, given your
sociological introduction to stratification in this class.
PARTING THOUGHTS: AGENCY & SOCIAL CHANGE
DATES
TOPICS
READINGS
T Dec. 2
“Free Will,” Sociologically
Speaking?
Berger, Chapter 6
Guest Lecture: New Social
Movements and Ethical
Consumerism, Dr. Ellis
Paper #2 Due
Jones
R Dec. 4
8
(M) "Sociology and Social
Change: Creating a More Just
and Sustainable World" by
Brett Johnson, Ross Haenfler,
and Ellis Jones
T Dec. 9
The Sociological Perspective
in 3 Motifs
Berger, Chapter 2
R Dec. 11
Catch-up & Review
Catch-up & Review
TBA
Final Exam
Final Exam
Suggested fiction: Herman Melville’s classic novella Bartleby, the Scrivener
(1853) is a compelling story that dovetails nicely with Peter Berger’s
discussion of freedom and bad faith in Invitation to Sociology. The text is
short, so it’s probably worth reading the hard copy, but the story is also
available for free in a podcast posted on iTunes.
Please Note: Our schedule of topics and readings is subject to change
throughout the semester. No changes will be made without plenty of advance
notice.
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