SOC 300, Sociological Theory

Transcription

1 Department of Sociology SOC 300, Sociological Theory Professor Cheryl Laz Spring 2011 OFFICE: 120 Bedford Street, Portland PHONE: (office, voice mail), (Sociology Main Office) OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday 12-1 pm; other days and times by appointment REQUIRED TEXTS Scott Appelrouth and Laura Desfor Edles Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory. (Text and Readings). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Several readings will also be available on Blackboard; please allocate money for printing. Also, I strongly recommend the use of Diana Hacker s A Writer s Reference (Boston: St. Martin s) for improving your writing. It is available in the bookstore, though I have not ordered copies specifically for this class. COURSE DESCRIPTION Social theory refers to efforts to understand and illuminate the nature of social life. As such, social theory is not only the domain of sociologists. Contributors to social theory include economists, philosophers, psychologists, historians, activists, dramatists, essayists, poets, and novelists. Moreover, ordinary folks like us also theorize about social life. Social theories are crucial for helping us as individuals make sense of our daily lives, and they are essential to social practices and institutions. With the long-term aim of helping us better understand our lives and the world we live in, we will study what professional social theorists, and in particular, sociological theorists, have to say about the social world. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Understand some of the main traditions in classical & contemporary sociological theory This course follows a rough historical outline in tracing some important developments in sociological theory over the past 150 years. We will begin with the "classical" and canonized European tradition and the theories of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. Their efforts to understand social life, modernity and social change have shaped the discipline of sociology and continue to engage sociologists today. As white, European men, however, there are elements of modernity especially dynamics of race and gender--that lie beyond their field of vision. Thus, we will read other theorists of the classical era Gilman and DuBois whose writings, until recently, have been excluded from the canon and from sociological theory texts and courses. Next, we will focus on micro sociology, symbolic interactionism, and the work of Mead, Goffman, and Berger and Luckmann. In the last part of the course, we will explore the theoretical insights of postmodernism and feminism. As Everett K. Wilson noted, however, "fifteen weeks (or as many years) is too short a time to master the history of social thought." Hence, a general understanding of the main traditions, concepts, and thinkers is only one of the course goals.

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3 2. Locate these traditions in historical, social and political context Our understanding of social theory will be enhanced if we understand it as the product of actual people responding to the issues, concerns, and ideas of their times. Hence another course goal is to appreciate the context within which ideas originate and find an audience 3. Use social theories to better understand ourselves, our experiences, our world On the premise that social theory is most interesting when it is applied to meaningful concerns, our thematic focus this semester will be on Wal-Mart. As the nation s largest employer and a global force to be reckoned with, Wal-Mart lends itself to sociological analysis from a variety of angles. I will provide you with a variety of readings related to Wal-Mart. I expect that you will also find material from your preferred news sources (local, regional, national, and international; print, broadcast, radio, TV, and online) and I invite you to alert me to things you think we might use in class and/or to use the communication function of Blackboard to share materials with classmates. 4. Participate in a critical, theoretical discourse Professional sociologists and theorists understand, use, and contribute to social theory by reading, thinking, writing and, ultimately, sharing their ideas with one another. Your modes of working and learning in this course are premised on this professional model. Specifically, you will learn about theory through reading and informal writing, discussions in small and large groups, and formal writing COURSE REQUIREMENTS Attendance. Three characteristics of this course make it imperative that you come to class regularly and fully prepared. First, this course is structured to be interactive. It will include discussion and respectful sharing of ideas (as well as respectful disagreements) and work in collaborative learning groups. Second, sociological theory often makes for difficult reading; it involves abstract thinking, specialized language, translations from German or French, and knowledge of social and intellectual history. The assigned readings are challenging and it will often take several passes to make sense of assigned material. Your understanding of the material will be greatly enhanced by your participation in learning groups and class discussion. Third, I will provide regular mini-lectures to help smooth the way (though you ought not to expect to "get" the material from lectures alone). If you cannot attend class on any given day, you should notify me before class begins (leave a voice message at or to my campus mail: cherlaz@usm.maine.edu) and follow up (to collect new assignments or pick up written work) when you return to campus. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate. Reading. The written texts are the core of this courses. The reading load will be fairly heavy and the reading itself often quite complex. Expect to read assignments more than once and to work hard at understanding the ideas. I will provide as many tools as I can to help you develop/improve your skills in reading comprehension and analysis. Writing, writing and more writing. Writing is a valuable tool for thinking and learning. Not surprisingly, then, this course will require a substantial amount of writing. A relatively small amount of the total will be formal writing in which you will polish ideas and show me what you've learned. Most of it will be informal writing designed to help you develop and consolidate your understanding of the material and to help you shape your own ideas. Try to begin viewing writing as a part of the

4 thinking process, rather than the outcome of that process.

5 COMPONENTS OF YOUR GRADE Your grade will be based on a total of 425 points, distributed as follows: A. Focus Questions (100 points) I will distribute focus questions for most of the readings. You will submit written responses to the questions for most class sessions. Focus questions are a learning activity aimed at getting you to use writing to better understand and use course material. In addition, they will often serve as a starting point for class discussion and/or small-group work. I will design questions aimed at developing (1) your comprehension of the basic concepts and ideas (2) your understanding of the social and historical context in which ideas emerged (3) your ability to identify the key contributions of the major theorists (4) your ability to analyze the relationships between and among theorists and ideas (5) your ability to apply theories to current events and issues, and to your own life View focus questions as opportunities to summarize and reflect on the course material, raise questions or concerns, express confusion or voice criticisms, draw out relationships between and among assigned readings, other courses, current events, etc. Do not be overly concerned about formal composition, revising, or producing polished prose; DO use this writing to seriously engage yourself with the course materials. Answers to focus questions will not be individually graded, but will be reviewed, recorded, and returned with (usually minimal) comment. At least one set of focus questions will be due for most class periods. These must be submitted at class time; late papers will be reviewed but will not earn full credit. Approximately 20 sets of focus questions will be assigned throughout the semester. Conscientious completion of a minimum of 15 sets of focus questions will earn you up to 100 points toward your final grade. B. Analysis/Application Essays (3 x 100 points) Social and sociological theories should be useful; they should help us to better understand ourselves and our world. Accordingly, you will write three essays in which you demonstrate an understanding of the relevant course material, and analyze and apply the work of various theorists. I will provide you with specific assignments during the semester. I have scheduled a writing workshop before each of the first two essays are due; these are REQUIRED. C. Preparation, Engagement and Attendance. The remaining 25 points will consist of my assessment of your involvement and participation in class activities. Attendance is crucial, but attendance alone will not earn you the full 25 points. Conversely, missing class once or twice will not necessarily doom this part of your grade. What is crucial when it comes to involvement and participation are (1) conscientious preparation for class (you did the reading, thought about the ideas, answered the focus questions), (2) willingness to participate as a collaborator in class discussion and/or group work (Note that collaborators do not talk all the time; they make it possible for groups to work together. Collaboration requires silence and reflection as well as conversation, and it requires compromise.), and (3) respect for the ideas of other people, even (especially) when you disagree. You can also expect these things from me.

6 BLACKBOARD This course has a Blackboard site which contains course materials including some required readings. Plan to access (and print) required readings at least one week in advance of their due dates. In addition, I will use the communication function to send s. Please ensure that the address in Blackboard is where you actually receive your mail. You should also plan to log in to Blackboard on a regular basis (at least weekly) to check for announcements. It is imperative that you check Blackboard for announcements in the event of a snow day or other cancellation. If you are unfamiliar with Blackboard or need a refresher, the quick guide will help you access materials, change your password, log in, change your address, etc. If you have not taken a USM or UMS course before, you will need to activate your account. Instructions are online. You can navigate from the USM website, Use a-z index to locate Blackboard. If you have trouble activating or logging in to Blackboard, please do NOT call me for help. Use the Blackboard help line, (HELP), or their address, techsupport@maine.edu. LATE POLICIES, AND A NOTE ON ACADEMIC HONESTY I expect you to submit hard copy of all written work--formal and INFORMAL in class at the scheduled times. Papers submitted for a grade will be accepted late only under exceptional circumstances and with prior arrangements. If you fail to get approval to submit a late paper, the paper will be penalized one grade for every day late (including non-class days and weekends). Under no circumstances will late papers be accepted after graded essays are returned and/or discussed in class. Please make every effort to type/word process assignments, but if the choice is handwritten or not at all, I ll take neat handwriting (in ink, on one side of the paper, with large margins). Finally, while I encourage you to share ideas with each other and to discuss issues and material outside of class, when it comes to written work, the final product must be your own. Plagiarism in any shape or form will not be tolerated. This includes "borrowing" without proper credit from friends and classmates as well as from other authors. Borrowing with credit, in contrast, is good professional practice. Definitions of plagiarism and guidelines for citations and referencing are in the department s "Guide to Referencing" (available in Course Documents in Blackboard) and in Hacker (section R3 and APA 2-4). You are expected to know and adhere to these guidelines, and to ask me (or other faculty) for clarification as necessary. MINIMUM GRADE REQUIREMENT It is your responsibility to be familiar with the minimum grade requirements in effect the year you declared your major. If you are a sociology major and declared your major after Fall 1993, the minimum requirement is C. If you have questions, see your advisor. ACADEMIC SUPPORT INFORMATION If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please see me as soon as possible. At any point in the semester, if you have difficulty with the course or feel you could be performing at a higher level, please meet with me. There are a number of academic support services available on campus including Academic Support Center (242 Luther Bonney, , for help with writing, time management, or general study skills), Office of Academic Support for Students with Disabilities (237 Luther Bonney, ), and the Counseling Center (106 Payson Smith, ).

7 COURSE SCHEDULE Any changes to schedule will be announced in class and posted to Blackboard. E&A indicates readings in Edles and Applerouth, Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory Blackboard indicates reading in Course Documents section of the website. ***Note that most readings have a corresponding set of focus questions due on the day specified. Week 1 Introduction: Social Theory and Modernity Lemert, "Introduction: Social Theory: Its Uses and Pleasures" (Blackboard) (1/20) E&A, Introduction (pp. 1-12) (1/20) Weeks 2-4 Karl Marx ( ) E&A, Introduction to Marx s life and ideas (pp ) (1/25) Marx, The German Ideology (E&A pp ) (1/25) Marx, Capital (E&A pp ) (1/27, 2/1) Fishman, The Wal-Mart You Don t Know (Course Materials in Blackboard) (2/1) Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844" (E&A pp ) (2/3) Marx, Manifesto of the Communist Party (E&A pp ) (2/8) Smith, Who Calls the Shots in the Global Economy (Course Materials in Blackboard) (2/8) Thursday, February 10: Writing workshop. Bring polished draft of Essay 1. Week 5 Emile Durkheim ( ) E&A, Introduction to Durkheim s life and ideas (pp ) (2/15) Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method (E&A pp ) (2/15) Durkheim, Division of Labour in Society (E&A pp ) (2/17) ESSAY 1 (revised) DUE Thursday, 2/17 Week 6: WINTER VACATION: FEBRUARY Week 7 Emile Durkheim Durkheim, excerpt from Suicide (E&A pp ) (3/1) Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (E&A Pp ) (3/3) Featherstone, Made in America: The Wal-Mart Culture and its Promises (BB) (3/3) Weeks 8-9 Max Weber ( ) E&A, Introduction to Weber s life and ideas (pp ) (3/8) Weber, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (E&A pp ) (3/8) Walton, Chapters 1-2 from Made in America (Blackboard) (3/8) Weber, Types of Legitimate Domination (E&A pp ) (3/10) Weber, "Bureaucracy" (E&A pp ) (3/15) Thursday, March 17: Writing Workshop. Bring polished draft of Essay 2. Week 10: SPRING VACATION: MARCH Week 11: Weber Weber, "Distrib of Power with the Political Community: Class, Status, and Party" (E&A pp ) (3/29) ESSAY 2 (revised) DUE Thursday, March 31

8 Week 12 Voices outside the Canon Georg Simmel (E&A pp ), The Stranger (recommended, but not required) (4/5) Charlotte Perkins Gilman (E&A pp ) (4/5) W.E.B. DuBois (E&A pp ) (4/7) Weeks Micro Sociology, Symbolic interactionism, and Dramaturgy George Herbert Mead, Self (E&A pp , ) (4/12) Ehrenreich, excerpt from Nickel and Dimed (Blackboard) (4/12) Erving Goffman, Intro (A&E pp ) (4/14) Goffman. "Deference and Demeanor (on Blackboard) (4/14) Berger and Luckmann, Social Construction of Reality (E&A pp ) (4/19, 4/21) Week 15 Feminist Theory D. Smith (A&E pp ) (4/26) Featherstone, An Exceptional Woman: (Non) Promotions at Wal-Mart (BB) (4/26) Collins (A&E pp ) (4/28) Butler (A&E pp ) (4/28) Week 16 Poststructuralism and Postmodernism Poststructural and Postmodern Theories (A&E pp ) (5/3) Foucault (A&E pp ) (5/3) Baudrillard (A&E pp ) (5/5) Final Essay Due during no later than Tuesday, May 10 at 3 pm in the Sociology Dept., 120 Bedford TOPIC AND DATES TUESDAY THURSDAY INTRODUCTION 1/18 and 1/20 MARX 1/25 and 1/27 MARX 2/1 and 2/3 MARX 2/8 and 2/10 DURKHEIM 2/15 and 2/17 WINTER VACATION 2/21--2/25 DURKHEIM 3/1 and 3/3 WEBER 3/8 and 3/10 WEBER 3/15 and 3/17 Welcome A&E pp Marx, German Ideology Marx, Capital Fishman (Blackboard) Marx, Communist Manifesto Smith (Blackboard) A&E pp Durkheim, Rules of Soc Meth No Class Durkheim, Suicide A&E pp Weber, Prot Ethic Walton (Blackboard) Weber, Bureaucracy Lemert (Blackboard) A&E pp Marx, Capital Marx, Econ & Phil ms Writing Workshop Essay 1 Due Durkheim, Division of Labor No Class Durkheim, Elem Forms Featherstone (Blackboard) Weber, Legit Domination Writing Workshop

9 SPRING VACATION 3/21-- 3/25 WEBER 3/29 and 3/31 VOICES OUTSIDE CANON 4/5 and 4/7 MICRO SOCIOLOGY 4/12 and 4/14 MICRO SOCIOLOGY 4/19 and 4/21 FEMINIST THEORY 4/26 and 4/28 POSTMODERNISM 5/3 and 5/5 No class Weber, Class Status Party A&E pp Gilman, Women and Econ Simmel, Stranger (recommend) A&E pp Mead, Self Ehrenreich (Blackboard) Berger & Luckmann, Social Construction of Reality Smith, A&E pp Featherstone (Blackboard) A&E pp Foucault, A&E No class Essay 2 Due A&E pp DuBois, Souls of Black Folk A&E pp Goffman, Deference & Demeanor (Blackboard) Berger & Luckmann ctd Collins, A&E pp Butler, A&E pp Baudrillard, A&E pp