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SOC 55 Introduction to
Sociology
soc055@mills.edu
Mills
College Fall 2006
Professor
Dan Ryan
danryan@mills.edu
¤ 430-3242 ¤ Vera Long 123
Syllabus
| Note |
(*) next to a reading
means it is available electronically via a link in the online version
of the syllabus
(http://djjr.net/dan/crss/soc055)
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Overcoming the
Fetishism of the Individual
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8.23
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Introduction to
Course and Field
The shape of the course
and the shape of
the field
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8.28
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Society
as Irrational
Functional vs.
substantive rationality,
unintended consequences, functionalism vs. conflict, rituals,
Marx/Weber/Durkheim, social contract, free-rider problem, by-stander
effect, trust, power.
Reading
Collins,R.
"The Nonrational Foundations of Rationality" in Sociological Insight.
Assignment
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8.30
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God
(and Baseball)
Religion, ritual,
moral feelings, uniforms, symbols, chants, national anthems, the sacred
self
Reading
Collins,R.
"The Sociology of God" in Sociological
Insight.
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9.6
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The
Individual vs. The Social
Biographical
experience as historical event. Psychological explanations vs.
social explanations. Structural stories. Ecology.
Aggregations. Fundamental attribution error.
Reading
Mills,
C. Wright. 1959. The
Sociological
Imagination. Excerpt.(*)
Suggested
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9.11
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Social
Facts
Canary
in coal
mine. Rates, age adjustment, etc. Basic of
demography. Isolation as *social* fact. Risk and disasters.
Reading
Durkheim,
Emile. 1982. The
Rules of the Sociological Method.
New York: Free Press, pp. 50-59.
Klinenberg,
E. 2002. Heatwave.
Chicago: University
of Chicago Press. Read through p.78.
Suggested
Pennsylvania
Department of Health Health Statistics
-Tools of the Trade "Age-Adjusted Rates"
National
Cancer Institute, Calculating
Age-Adjusted Rates
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Cncld
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Special
Topic: Religion,
Spirituality, and Modernity
On this
anniversary of 9.11 we'll take a
day off from our regularly scheduled programming to talk about a few of
the sociological issues relevant to the contemporary world of terrorism
and anti-terrorism. Question: is there
a continuity among different kinds of "fundamentalism" as a style of
thinking?
Reading
Barber,
Benjamin R. 1992. “Jihad
vs. McWorld.” The
Atlantic Monthly (March 1992).
Suggested
Emerson,
M. O. and D Hartman. 2006. "The Rise of Religious
Fundamentalism." Annual Review
of Sociology, vol. 32: 127-144
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9.13
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Race,
Place, and Vulnerability
Topics
Reading
Klinenberg,
E.
2002. Heatwave.
Chicago: University
of Chicago Press. Read pp.79-128, 225-242.
Read about the Chicago neighborhoods
discussed in the book
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9.18
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The
Cutting Edge I : Social Capital, Small
Worlds, and Social Networks
Topics
Reading
“The Oracle of
Bacon.”
(Read
links under “Interesting Facts.”)(*)
William
Stevenson, Barbara Davidson, Ivan Manev and Kate Walsh. “The
Small World of the University.”
Slide show on
Networks by Steve Borgatti
Further
Reading
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9.20
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Networks
Cont'd
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9.25
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Discussion
Class
Reading
Work on network project.
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9.27
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Discussion
Class
Reading
Work on network project.
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Back to Chicago
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10.2
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Organizations
as Tools, Urban Communities as Arenas
Sociology of
formal organizations. Communities of organizations.
Bureaucracy. Urban sociology. Community.
Reading
Klinenberg,
E.
2002. Heatwave.
Chicago: University
of Chicago Press. Read pp.129-164.
Ryan, Dan. 2006.
"Everything Here is
Political." Journal of Drug
Issues, vol. 36, no. 2.
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10.4
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Spin,
Media, and Collective "Knowledge"
Sociology of
mass
media. Sociologies of Knowledge. Propaganda.
Journalism as source of knowledge.
Reading
Klinenberg,
E.
2002. Heatwave.
Chicago: University
of Chicago Press. Read pp.165-224.
Further
Reading
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| Dimensions of
Inequality: Race,
Class, Gender and More |
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10.9
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Inequality,
an Overview
The
discovery of inequality.
Equality of opportunity, equality of condition. Material
inequality. Symbolic inequality. Class. Race.
Gender. Social movements old and new. Income and wealth
inequality in the US. Global inequality. Power
Reading
Supplemental
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10.11
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Guest
Lecture: Kerry Woodward on "Poverty and Rising Economic Inequality in
the U.S."
Reading
Claude S. Fischer,
Michael Hout, Martin Sanchez-Jankowski, Samuel R.
Lucas, Ann Swidler, and Kim Voss, "How Unequal? America's Invisible
Policy Choices," pp 129-157 in Claude Fischer et. al. (eds.), Inequality
by Design, Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press,
1996. (PDF)
Donald L. Bartlett
and James B. Steele, "The Have-Mores and
Have-Lesses," pp.44-53 in Joel M. Charon (ed.), Social Problems, Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth Group, 2002. Read pages
46-50. (PDF)
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10.16
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Privilege:
White, Male, and Other
Intersections. Looking at inequality
as asset and deficit.
Reading
McIntosh,
Peggy. 1988. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible
Knapsack"
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10.18
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Race
& Ethnicity :
Guest Lecture: Bruce Williams
Topics
Reading
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| 10.23
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Gender
I
Gender vs. Sex.
Reading
Lorber,
Judity. "Night to His Day"
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10.25
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Guest
Lecture: Sex
and Gender and Boys and Girls
Topics
Reading
TBA |
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10.30
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Power
Topics
Reading
Collins, Randall. “Paradoxes of Power”
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11.1
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OPEN
Topics:TBA
Reading
TBA |
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Family, Work, Socialization, Education,
Parenthood
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11.6
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Love
and Property
Property.
Social construction of love. Honor killing and social
structure. Incest. Household property. History of
love. Future of family.
Reading
Collins, Randall. "Love and Property" in Sociological Insight.
Start reading Warner, Judith. Perfect
Madness.
NYT article and followup on opting out.
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11.8
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Guest
Lecture: TBA
Topics
Reading
TBA |
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11.13
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Throwing
Like a Girl: Phenomenology and Embodiment
Embodiment.
Self and world. Phenomenology. Socialization.
Reading
Young, Iris M. “Throwing Like a Girl” (intranet) |
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11.15
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Social
Interaction and the Interaction Order
Topics
Reading
Goffman, Erving. “On Facework” (intranet)
Suggested
Goffman,
Erving. 1956. The
Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday,
1956, pp. 22-30, 70-76.(*)
Collins, R.
Sample Chapter from Interaction Ritual Chains. (*) |
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11.20
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Getting
the Word Out: The Sociology of Information
Topics
Reading
Ryan, Dan. "Getting the Word Out: Notes on the Social
Organization of Notification," Sociological
Theory 24:3 September 2006 (intranet) |
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11.22
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Social
Control: Master Concept for Sociology?
Deviance and
social control. Varieties of control. Law and
society. Hobbes. Social contract. Norms.
Reading
Collins, R. "Crime is Normal"
TBA
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11.27
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What
We've Had To Leave Out (and where you can learn about it) I
Topics:TBA
Reading
TBA |
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11.29
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What
We've Had To Leave Out
(and where you can learn about it)
II
Topics:TBA
Reading
TBA |
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12.4
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Wrapup,
Review, and What's Next
Topics:
Everything!
Reading
TBA |
Goals
To appreciate the breadth of sociology's substantive concerns and
theoretical perspectives.
To be able to supercede individualized explanations and "see" the world
sociologically.
To appreciate the multidimensionality of inequality.
To be able to read and digest non-textbook texts and articles and be
able to
discuss them intelligently.
To appreciate the mission of sociology as a "finding out" endeavor.
To distinguish sociological perspective from other approaches to human
behavior.
To develop a beginner's repertoire of sociological concepts and terms.
To be able to characterize the importance of evidence in sociological
arguments.
Books
Collins, Randall. Sociological
Insight
Klinenberg, Eric. Heatwave
Warner, Judith. Perfect Madness
Requirements & Policies
All reading is expected to be done prior to the class session with
which it is listed in the syllabus. The instructor reserves the
right to add supplementary readings within reason. The syllabus,
in other words, is not a guarantee that only the listed items will be
assigned. The online version of the syllabus should be considered
authoritative and should be consulted regularly. You will be sent
email notifications of changes.
Assignments are due at the start of class on their due
dates unless otherwise indicated. Skipping class to finish an
assignment and handing it in at the end of class is unacceptable and
may result in the assignment not being accepted.
I am, in general, not interested in adjudicating the quality of
excuses. Please don't waste either your time constructing, or
mine listening to, tales of woe. Everybody messes up now and
then; let me know there's a problem, tell me when you will hand
something in, and move on. If, though, you find yourself messing
up all the time, look around for some structural changes that might
help make matters right.
Please do not ask for extensions or similar consideration within 24
hours of a due date. Plan your crises accordingly.
Grading
and Such
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Early essay on prosocial behavior and free-rider problem
Based on observation,
students analyze an "irrational" social behavior.
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~20% |
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Two "other book" essays
Each student reads
two "classic classics" or "modern classics" from the sociological
literature and prepares a brief reader's report for her classmates.
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~20% |
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Network exercise paper
We will replicate,
more or less, Stanley Milgram's famous "small world" experiment.
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~20% |
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Exam on concepts and factoids
Midtermish.
Some things you just ought to know.
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~20% |
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Final exam/project
Details TBA.
Should be comprehensive and fun.
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~20% |
Attendance, preparation, participation, engagement are assumed.
Consistent demonstration to the contrary (in the subjective opinion of
the instructor) may be reason for loss of one third of a letter grade
in final evaluation.
Cell phones are expected to be turned off during class. Be
considerate of your classmates; they are paying for the class
too. Laptop usage is permitted during class, but surfing,
emailing, and the like are not. Repeat offenders may be asked to
leave. Audio recordings for your own use or for an absent
classmate are permitted. Rebroadcast of distribution of such
things is not.
Approximate grading system
Work for this course will be evaluated according to the following
scale. Please note the emphasis on "demonstration." Your
written work must stand on its own as an artifact that can be
interpreted as an indicator of your achievement.
| A+ |
Excellent; noteworthy, remarkable, should be shown to
other students as example of how to do it. |
| A- |
Demonstrated competence and acceptable form,
demonstrated understanding of material |
| B |
Suggested competence
but room for doubt. Acceptable content but
flawed presentation. Evidence of lack of effort, lack of interest; etc. |
| C |
Suggested
incompetence and lack of understanding of course material and/or
unacceptable presentation. |
| F |
Demonstrated
incompetence, lack of motivation; intellectual dishonesty, serious lack
of engagement, etc. |
Accomodations for Students with
Disabilities
Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in
this class are encouraged to contact SSD in the Cowell Building as soon
as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented
in a timely manner.
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