History and Development of Sociological Theory Soc 349 Fall 2003 MWF: 12pm-12:50pm 101 Baldy Christina Weber 407 Park Hall 645-2417x407 cdweber@acsu.buffalo.edu Office Hours: Mondays 10am-11am & Wednesdays 5pm-6pm Course Description: This course will introduce you to the foundations of sociological theory. By focusing on the very inception of sociology and the ideas and concepts that helped shape its beginnings, you will begin to understand the early concerns of the discipline and how they have gone on the shape current sociological thought. In addition, this course will help you begin to critically think about the connections between the theories and ideas being introduced and their relevance and importance to both the world around us and our lived experiences. Required Texts: Charles Lemert: Social Things Chuck Pahluniak-- Fight Club [all available at Talking Leaves-- 3158 Main St., 837-8554, near South Campus] $Course Reader [available at Queen City Imaging-- 3100 Main St. 832-8100, a block south of Talking Leaves] IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU BRING REQUIRED READINGS TO EACH CLASS!! Course Requirements: Your final grade will be determined by a point system based on several sources: Writings/Discussions 110pts. Paper 150pts. 4 Exams 300pts. Total 560pts. Grade Breakdown 525-560= A 430-449= C+ 500-524= A- 405-429= C 485-499= B+ 390-404- C- 470-484= B 365-389= D+ 450-469= B- 335-364= D 334 & Below= F Writings/Discussions Every Friday we will break down into discussion groups to go over the week=s material in greater depth and detail. Some weeks you have in-class writings and other weeks a discussion sheet to work through with your group. Each is worth 10 points and there will be a total of 11 for a total of 110 points. Paper You will be required to write a paper on the novel Fight Club, which we will be reading in class. Details 1
about the paper will be given out later in the semester. Dates are listed in the Course Outline below. The paper is worth 150 points-- 50 points for the first draft, 100 points for the final draft. Exams There will be 4 essay exams, worth 75 points each. Dates for the exams are listed in the Course Outline below. Rules of Conduct: Please be aware of the student code of conduct as outlined below: Plagiarism: As defined by The University at Buffalo's Student Conduct Rules: "Plagiarism includes (but is not limited to) the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, or the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency." As defined by The Indiana University Academic Handbook: "Honesty requires that any IDEAS or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged. Offering the work of someone else as one's own is plagiarism. The LANGUAGE OR IDEAS thus taken from another may range from isolated formulas, sentences, or paragraphs, to entire articles copied from books, periodicals, speeches, or the writings of other students. The offering of materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgement is also considered plagiarism. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas or materials taken from another source is guilty of plagiarism." (capitalization added for emphasis) Plagiarism on ANY assignment is an EXTREMELY serious breach of The University at Buffalo's Student Conduct Rules and will not be tolerated. Student suspected of plagiarism will be subject to the procedures outlined in The University at Buffalo's Student Conduct Rules. Cheating: According to the The University at Buffalo's Student Conduct Rules, cheating includes (but is not limited to): the use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; the dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; and the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the University faculty or staff. In this course, students must be sure that problem sets and projects, both in written and electronic form, are exclusively their own work. Students suspected of cheating will be subject to the procedures outlined in The University at Buffalo's Student Conduct Rules. Your instructors will go to great lengths to ensure that every class member turns in their own work. PLEASE NOTE: CHEATING MAY RESULT IN THE REMOVAL OF A STUDENT FROM THE COURSE OR A GRADE OF "F" FOR THE SEMESTER. Course Outline: I. Introduction to Sociological and Social Theory WEEK ONE: Conceptualizing Social Theory August 25th: Introduction to Class and Concepts August 27th: Imagining Society and Sociology Lemert: Introduction, Chapter 1 and Chapter 9 [pgs. 136-139 & 146-155] in Social Things 2
August 29th: Mills: >Sociological Imagination= from Social Theory WEEK TWO: Contextualizing Society September 1st: Labor Day Holiday-- NO CLASS September 3rd: Beginnings-- The Historical Scene Lemert: Introductions from Social Theory September 5th: Durkheim=s Society & Sociology Adams & Sydie: ASociety as Sui Generis: Durkheim@ from Sociological Theory Durkheim: selection from The Rules of Sociological Method selection from The Elementary Forms of Religious Life WEEK THREE: Morality and the Division of Labor September 8th: Durkheim: selections from 1st and 2nd edition prefaces of The Division of Labor September 10th: Durkheim: selections from Intro and Chapter 1 from The Division of Labor September 12th: Discussion 1 WEEK FOUR: Anomie and Suicide September 15th: Durkheim: Pages 246-258 from Suicide Schnitzler: >Lieutenant Gustl= Society First?: Gender, Race and the Power of Personal Courage September 17th: Lemert: Chapter 2 & Chapter 3 [pgs. 35-39] in Social Things September 19th: W.E.B. DuBois, Charlotte Gilman Perkins, and Anna Julia Cooper from Social Theory Durkheim: Footnote from Suicide WEEK FIVE: September 22nd: No new Readings: Discussion 2 and Review September 24th: EXAM #1 II. The New World Order: Social Structures in the Sociological Imagination Valuing Society, Valuing Ourselves:Marx and Economic Social Structures September 26th: Beginnings-- The Historical Scene Adams & Sydie: ARadical Anticapitalism: Marx and Engels@ from Sociological Theory Marx: pgs. 133-134& AThe German Ideology@ pgs. 146-150 from The Mark & Engels Reader WEEK SIX: Early Marx-- Historical Materialism September 29th: Marx: AThe German Ideology@ pgs. 154-163 from The Mark & Engels Reader October 1st: 3
Marx: AThe German Ideology@ pgs. 163-175 from The Mark & Engels Reader October 3rd: Marx: AThe German Ideology@ pgs. 176-186 & 198-200 & 218-220 from The Mark & Engels Reader Discussion 3 WEEK SEVEN: Estranged Labor and Class Struggle October 6th:Yom Kippur Holiday: NO CLASS October 8th: Marx: AEstranged Labor@ pgs. 66-81 from The Mark & Engels Reader Georg Perec: Part I and Epilogue from Things: A Story of the Sixties October 10th: Discussion 4 Clips from Charlie Chaplin=s >Modern Times= WEEK EIGHT:Values & Commodities October 13th:Values and Commodites, Thinking about Social Equality Marx: pgs. 292-293 & 308-329 from The Mark & Engels Reader Kurt Vonnegut: >Harrison Bergeron= from Welcome to the Monkey House October 15th: Discussion 5 & Review October 17th: NO CLASS [EXTRA TIME TO STUDY!] Societal Transformation, Societal Trappings:Weber and Cultural Social Structures WEEK NINE: October 20th: EXAM #2 October 22nd: Beginnings-- The Historical Scene Lemert: Chapter 5 in Social Things Pampel: AA Prophet of Doom@ from Sociological Lives & Ideas October 24th:Social Action and the Discipline of Society Weber: selections from >Definition of Sociology and Social Action= Lemert: Chapter 3 [pgs. 43-46] in Social Things Weber: selections from >Discipline= from Economy & Society pgs. 253-264 WEEK TEN: The Protestant Ethic and the Bureaucratic Iron Cage October 27th: Weber: selections from The Protestant Ethic pgs. 47-59 & 156-183 October 29th: Weber: AThe Bureaucratic Machine & AWhat is Politics?@ from Social Theory Franz Kafka: >ABefore the Law@ October 31st: Discussion 6 & Review Clips from Terry Gilliam=s >Brazil= WEEK ELEVEN: November 3rd: EXAM #3 4
Society and the Estranged Self: Georg Simmel=s Form & Content November 5th: Beginnings-- The Historical Scene Donald Levine: selections from Intro from On Individuality & Social Forms [to be handed-out] Simmel: AThe Metropolis and Mental Life@ from On Individuality & Social Forms November 7th:Individuality & S ocial Structure Simmel: AThe Stranger@ from On Individuality & Social Forms Discussion 7 **Should Start Reading Fight Club!** WEEK TWELVE: November 10th: Simmel: AFreedom and the Individual@ from On Individuality & Social Forms ASocial Forms and Inner Needs@ November 12th: Jorge Arditi: ASimmel=s Theory of Alienation and the Decline of the Nonrational@ November 14th: Discussion 8 III. Questioning the New World Order: Using Sociological Theory WEEK THIRTEEN: November 17th:Putting Some of it Together Lemert: Chapter 8 in Social Things November 19th: Fight Club and the Modern Condition? Chuck Pahluniak: Fight Club & Discussion 9 November 21st: Clips from AFight Club@ Paper Guidelines Handed Out WEEK FOURTEEN: FALL RECESS-- NO CLASS WEEK FIFTEEN: December 1st: Finish viewing clips from AFight Club@ & Discussion 10 First Draft of Paper Due! December 3rd: Looking Ahead Lemert: Chapter 6 [pgs. 77-87] & Chapter 12 in Social Things December 5th: Discussion 11 & Review December 8th: EXAM #4 Final Draft of Paper Due! Have a Wonder Winter Break! 5