“Society
is an insane asylum run by the inmates.”
- Erving Goffman, sociologist
“Society
is the old man behind the curtain in the ‘Wizard of Oz.’”
- Gloria Steinem, feminist writer and
activist
"It
is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their
social existence that determines their consciousness."
- Karl Marx, philosopher
“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history
and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its
task and its promise.”
- C. Wright Mills, sociologist
“Because sociology addresses the most challenging issues
of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose potential is increasingly
tapped by those who craft policies and create programs. Sociologists understand
social inequality, patterns of behavior, forces for social change and
resistance, and how social systems work.”
- American Sociological Association
“Sociology is the devil.”
-
Anonymous student,
Introduction to
Sociology
Sociology 1001-020
Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00 A.M.
Hellems 199
Fall 2006
Instructor: Jaclyn Raska
Email: Jaclyn.Raska@colorado.edu
Office: Ketchum 8
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10:30-12:00 at Burnt Toast
Teaching Assistant:
Email: Shannon.Coffey@gmail.com
Office: Ketchum 8
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30-2:30
And Thursdays 12:30-1:30
ABOUT THE COURSE
Sociology is the systematic study of society, social institutions, and social relationships. We all have considerable experience living in society and interacting with other people. Sociology, however, is an unfamiliar way of looking at the familiar. The primary objective of this course is to help you develop your sociological imagination—that is, to provide you with the conceptual and theoretical tools that will allow you to examine the often invisible or taken-for-granted social forces that shape human life.
Sociologists are concerned with a vast array of topics and they approach the investigation of these topics in numerous ways. Influential sociological studies have focused on everything from how people try to look their best in face-to-face interactions, to how race, gender, class, and sexuality shape our identities and influence our life chances, to how the system of industrial capitalism came to dominate the world. They have sought answers to the puzzles of social life through inventive and sometimes controversial methods—living on the streets, simulating prison conditions on a college campus, surveying thousands of randomly selected people, and interviewing their most intimate personal acquaintances.
We hope this course will introduce you to our way of seeing the world, provide you with tools for understanding your own social positions and the conditions in which you live, and encourage you to ask new questions about what it means to be human.
REQUIRED TEXTS
1. Schaefer, Richard
T. 2006.
Sociology Matters.
2. Macionis, John J. and Nijole V. Benokraitis. 2007. Seeing Ourselves. Upper
Saddle River,
Books and E-Reserves: Both of the required books are available at the campus bookstore in the UMC. Additional required readings will be posted as e-reserves. These readings are marked “ER” on the course schedule. You can access e-reserves at:
http://libraries.colorado.edu/screens/coursereserves.html
Films: We will be watching a number of films this semester. These films are primary texts for the course, which means they are required viewing. If you are absent the day a film is shown, it will be your responsibility to locate a copy and watch it outside of class. We cannot loan out our copy, and not all of the scheduled films are available at Norlin.
COURSE POLICIES
In-Class Conduct: This class will involve a great deal of discussion. Some of that discussion will concern very upsetting, sensitive and/or highly politicized issues. We strongly encourage the free exchange of ideas and believe that active and open discussion is vital to the success of this class. That said, you should take care to ensure that your comments are thoughtful, relevant, and informed. Overtly disrespectful statements and behavior will not be tolerated and may negatively affect your grade.
Attendance: We will not take attendance in the lecture portion of this course. This does not mean, however, that you can expect to do well if you choose not to attend. It will be very difficult to write informed papers, perform well on exams, and make meaningful contributions to class discussions (and therefore earn a good grade) if you do not come to class.
Late Work Policy: We understand that students often have good reasons for turning in late work. If you need extra time to complete an assignment, you must inform Jaclyn via email no later than 5:00 p.m. the day before the assignment is due. If you follow these instructions, we are generally willing to allow an additional day or two to complete the assignment. You may take advantage of this policy only once during the semester. This policy DOES NOT apply to exams or in-class assignments.
We will not accept late work from students who do not follow these instructions. Please note that we do not accept work sent via email, nor do we accept work left under our office door. We will not acknowledge work submitted in either of these ways.
Appealing Your Grade:
If you receive a grade that you believe is incorrect or unfair and would like
us to reconsider it, you will need to submit 1) your graded assignment and 2) a
typed letter explaining point by point why you believe the grade you received
does not accurately reflect the quality of your work given the requirements of
the assignment. You must submit these
items to Jaclyn within one week of the date the graded assignment was handed
back. We will inform you of our decision
no more than one week after receiving them.
Please note that if you ask us to
reevaluate your work, your new grade may be lower than the original.
For information pertaining to disabilities, religious observances,
classroom behavior, academic honesty, and sexual harassment, please refer to the
“University Policies” section at the end of this syllabus.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR GRADE
Your grade in the this course will be determined as follows:
In-Class Assignments 5%
Social Action Plan 10%
Exam 1 15%
Exam 2 20%
Exam 3 (Final) 20%
Recitation 30%
Final Grade 100%
In-Class Assignments: Over the course of the semester, you will be asked to complete several short, informal writing assignments and/or group activities in lecture. These assignments will account for 5% of your final grade. In-class assignments will not be announced ahead of time, and you cannot make them up if you are absent.
Social Action Plan: At the end of the semester, you will be asked to write an essay in which you revisit one of the social issues discussed earlier in the course that is of particular concern to you. Then, you will develop a sociologically informed “plan of action” that describes in detail how you, as an individual social actor, could make a difference. This assignment will be available on e-reserve by early November and is worth 10% of your final grade.
Exams: Each exam will consist of 40 multiple choice questions. Exams will not be cumulative. Exam questions will be taken from text chapters, supplemental readings, lecture and recitation material, class discussions, films, and guest speakers. In short, everything class-related is fair game, so be sure to take good notes. Exams MUST be taken on the day and at the time they are scheduled. No make-up exams will be given. In total, the exams comprise 55% of your final grade.
Recitation: Your recitation
grade will be based on a short essay, weekly reading responses, and recitation
attendance and participation.
COURSE SCHEDULE
This schedule is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. Any changes to this schedule will be announced in lecture.
The readings for this course are assigned on a weekly basis. All of the readings assigned in a given week must be completed by lecture on Wednesday OR by the day and time of your recitation, whichever comes first. It is imperative that you complete the readings on time. The success of the course hinges on everyone meeting this expectation.
AUG 28-30: Seeing
Sociologically
Mills, “The Sociological Imagination” (M&K)
Labor
Day – No Class Sept. 4
SEPT 6: Sociological Paradigms
Schaefer,
pp. 1-30
The 9/11 Commission, “The Roots of Terrorism”
(M&K)
SEPT 11-13: Culture
Schaefer, pp. 33-48
White, “Symbol: The Basic Element
of Culture” (M&K)
Harris, “
Film: The Main
Stream
SEPT 18-20: Socialization
Schaefer, pp. 49-63
Messner, “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the
Construction of
Masculinity” (M&K)
Kilbourne, “Socialization and the Power of
Advertising”
SEPT 25-27: Groups and Organizations
Schaefer, pp. 65-86
Beagan, “Even if I Don’t Know What I’m Doing, I Can
Make it Look
Like I Do: Becoming a Doctor in
Meyer, “If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger,
Would You?
Probably.” (ER)
OCT 2-4: Bureaucracies
Ritzer, “McJobs: The McDonaldization of the Workplace”
(M&K)
Marx, “Alienated Labor” (M&K)
Film: Office
Space
Sociological
Imagination Essay Due OCT 4
OCT 9: Wrap Up and Review for Exam
OCT 11: Exam 1
OCT 16-18: Deviance
Schaefer, pp. 87-108
Thompson,
“Handling the Stigma of Handling the Dead” (ER)
Rosenhan, “On Being Sane in Insane Places” (M&K)
OCT 23-25: Social Class
Schaefer,
pp. 111-139
Hacker, “Who Has How Much and Why” (M&K)
Newman, “Getting a Job in
Film: People
Like Us
OCT 30-NOV 1: Race
and Ethnicity
Schaefer, pp. 143-162
McIntosh, “White Privilege, Male Privilege” (ER)
Dyson, “The Plight of Black Men” (ER)
NOV 6-8: Gender
Schaefer, pp. 165-182
Lorber,
“Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender” (M&K)
Edeleman,
“The Myth of Co-Parenting: How it Was Supposed to Be.
How it Was.” (ER)
Film: Chore Wars
NOV 13: Wrap Up and Review for Exam
NOV 15: Exam
2
Thanksgiving Break – No Class November 20-24
NOV 27-29: Sexuality
Rubin, “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of
the Politics of
Sexuality”
(ER)
Luker, “Sex Education in
and
Why That’s Not the Right Question” (ER)
Film: The Education of Shelby Knox
DEC 4-6: Education
Schaefer, pp. 205-215
Bowles and Gintis, “Education and Inequality”
(M&K)
Kozol, “Shame of the Nation” (ER)
DEC 11-13: Social Movements and Social Change
Schaefer, pp. 264-286
Freeman, “On the Origins of Social Movements” (M&K)
Ellis, Jones, and Haenfler, “The Better World
Handbook” (ER)
Social
Action Plan Due DEC 13
DEC 20: FINAL EXAM at 7:30 A.M. in HELLEMS
199
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Disabilities: If you
qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to Jaclyn a
letter from Disability Services by September 11th so that your needs may be addressed.
Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
You can contact them at: 303-492-8671, Willard 322.
http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices
Religious Observances: Campus policy
regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to
reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious
obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required
attendance. http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Behavior: Students and
faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning
environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject
to discipline. Instructors have the professional responsibility to treat
students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion
and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions.
www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html
www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student
Cheating: All students
of the
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
Sexual Harassment: The