Name: SSC 102g: General Sociology Subject: Category: Abstract: Keywords: SSC 102g: General Sociology Spring 2001 M/W/F 1:20 – 2:30 McGregor 130 Erin Davis Office: 231 McGregor Hall Office Phone: PBX 1337; e-mail: edavis@antioch-college.edu Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 9:30-11:00, 4:00-4:30, & by arrangement Course Description and Objectives “Tell me the landscape in which you live, and I will tell you who you are.” —Jose Ortega y Gasset Our behavior is not as individual as we often assume; in fact, the group norms and social structures that surround us have a strong influence on how we act, think, and feel. Sociology explores the ways that social forces impact our lives (including ideas, behaviors, and place in the social hierarchy) and the ways that we, in turn, act back on the world around us. First, sociology examines the taken-for granted assumptions about the social world in which we live. Second, it describes the norms, structures, and patterns of interaction that exist in the social world. Finally, sociologists attempt to explain these norms, structures and patterns of interactions. The objectives of this introductory course are to: 1. Become familiar with the kinds of questions sociologists typically ask, the kind of research methods sociologist use to answer those questions, and the kinds of theories used to frame and interpret their research. 2. Understand sociological perspectives on how social structures and cultures in their diversity both serve to facilitate and to constrain people’s actions and interactions. 3. Link course materials with actual social realities through service learning experiences. 4. Develop critical thinking and analytical skills and to apply these skills to our own lives and the world around us. Course Requirements and Sources of Evaluation Attendance: You should attend every class meeting and be prepared by completing the reading and any assignments. More than 4 absences will result in a “no credit” for this course. Use your absences wisely: absences due to illness, activism, or work in other classes do count toward the limit. You are responsible for all assignments and material covered in class, whether or not you attend and regardless of the reasons for any absence. Service Learning Participation: You are required to participate in a service project for a minimum of 15 hours (and a minimum of 5 visits). Failure to complete this time requirement by April 20 will result in a “no credit” for this course. This placement presents the opportunity for you to experience first-hand the various aspects of social life that we will be discussing in this course. Further, you are encouraged to share relevant knowledge gained during your service experiences throughout the semester. Your service learning participation will be evaluated through a self-evaluation, an agency evaluation, and through several assignments connecting your service experiences to course material. You may choose among 4 local sites: 1) Food not Bombs –a organization that provides food to homeless and low-income people in downtown Dayton on Wednesday evenings; 2) Senior Citizen Center—a community center providing companionship and social activities (including structured activities such as computer tutoring and aerobics) to senior citizens in Yellow Springs; 3) Mills Lawn Enrichment Program—an after-school program primarily for elementary school kids (K-6th) in Yellow Springs; and 4) John Bryant Center—a evening and weekend program primarily for junior-high school students (6th –9th). Individuals from these organizations will be in class on either January 22 or 24 to discuss their program and answer any questions you might have. You should sign-up for your service site before February 2 and your service site forms are due February 12. (There may be limitations on how many individuals can sign up for a particular site.) Both Marianne Ryan (PBX 1157) and I are available throughout the semester to meet with you concerning the initial service assignment or any subsequent service problems or concerns. Short Assignments: There will be a number of short assignments throughout the course designed to encourage your active engagement in the issues discussed. These assignments include group projects and individual exercises as well as both in-class and “take-home” tasks. Several of these assignments will allow you to incorporate or reflect on your service experiences. Assignments will be discussed in more detail on the day assigned. Essay Assignments: There will be two 6-8 page essay assignments. Specific instructions and additional guidelines for these essays will be provided later in the term. Late Assignments: Unless prior arrangements have been made with me, late assignments will not be accepted. Other Relevant Information: Class Structure: This class mixes a lecture and a seminar format and is designed to promote interaction and exchange. I expect everyone to contribute to discussion—which requires that you read carefully and think about the assigned material before every class. I also expect people to listen to each other--which requires patience, empathy, and mutual respect. Reading and Note-Taking: Take notes on your reading. Jot down the main points and questions or criticisms that come to mind. Try to answer the following questions as you read each piece: 1. What is the main point or argument? 2. What theories and/or research methods does the author use to demonstrate this point? 3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the argument? In class, you should also take quick notes on the themes, key ideas, and (occasional and very brief) lectures that I give. These notes will be exceedingly handy when it comes time to write an essay. Discussion Guidelines: In order to facilitate discussion in this course, please adhere to the following guidelines. When someone else is speaking (me or another student), give them your undivided attention. When you are speaking, don't preach or be judgmental -- try to express what you believe and why, but don't present your views as the final word on the matter. Respect each person's right to have an opinion on an issue. Disability Statement: I would appreciate hearing from anyone in this class who has a special need that may be the result of a disability. I am reasonably sure we can work out whatever arrangement is necessary. See me after class or during my office hours as soon as possible. Required Reading: ? Susan Ferguson, 1999. Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology. 2nd Edition. Mountain View, California: Mayfield. (MSL) ? Readings on reserve (Reserve) ? A few readings are also available online (Online) COURSE SCHEDULE Introduction to the Course (1/17) The Sociological Imagination: The Study of Society (1/19) What is a sociological perspective? In what ways might this be a useful way of understanding things? READ: Mills, The Promise (MSL) Allen Johnson, The Forest and the Trees (Reserve) Stephanie Coontz, 1997. The Way We Really Are: 18-23 (Reserve) Service Learning: Learning through Action (1/22 & 1/24) READ: Reading TBD Private Issues and Public Troubles (1/26) READ: Martin and Hummer, Fraternities and Rape on Campus (Reserve) Peggy Orenstein, 1994. Learning Silence (Reserve) Max Weber “The Case for Value-Free Sociology” (Reserve) Thinking Sociologically: Social Theory (1/29) Which theoretical model do you feel is most useful for understanding society? READ: Paul Colomy, Three Sociological Perspectives (Reserve) Kathleen deMarais and Margret LeCompte, Theory and Its Influences on the Purposes of Schooling (Reserve) Combining Theory with Research (1/31) Read: Kathleen deMarais and Margret LeCompte, Theory and Its Influences on the Purposes of Schooling (Reserve) Lisa Yogan, Student Tracking and Student Violence (Reserve) Group Theory Assignment 1/31 Doing Sociology: Ethics (2/2) What kinds of ethical and practical issues arise in different types of sociological research and what can be done about them? READ: Weitz, Personal Reflections on Researching HIV Disease (MSL) Rik Scarce, Scholarly Ethics and Courtroom Antics (Reserve) Sociological Methods (2/5) READ: Specific Readings TBD (all of these readings are available on Reserve) Field Research: Patricia Adler, Researching Smugglers and Dealers Survey Research: Edward Lauman, et al. Survey of Sexual Behavior of Americans Intensive Interviewing: Alexis Walker, Couples Watching Television Unobtrusive Research: Martin Gilens, Race and Poverty in America Experiments: Jack Powell and Aaron Drucker, The Role of Peer Conformity in the Decision to Ride with an Intoxicated Driver Evaluating Methodological Approaches (2/7) What are the advantages and disadvantages of different research techniques? READ: Specific Readings TBD Service Learning Day (2/9) Socialization: Social Expectations (2/12) VIDEO: Ma Vie En Rose READ: Margot Mifflin, “Singing the Pink Blues” Salon. December 13, 1999. (Online: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1999/12/13/toys) OR Lisen Stromberg, “My Son, The Crossdresser.” Salon. May 5, 1998. (Online: http://www.salonivorytower.com/mwt/feature/1998/05/27feature.html) Service Site Form—Due 2/12 Learning Social Rules and Roles (2/14) READ: Messner, Boyhood, Organized Sports, And the Construction Of Masculinities (MSL) Melissa Milke, The Impact of Pervasive Beauty Images on Black and White Girls Self-Concepts (Reserve) Optional: Melvin Kohn, Social Class and Parent-Child Relationships (Reserve) Learning to Play by New Rules (2/16) READ: Granfield, Making It by Faking It: Working Class Students in an Elite Academic Environment (MSL) David Karp, et al., Leaving Home For College (Reserve) Optional: Dyer, Anybody’s Son Will Do (MSL) Socialization Exercise—Due 2/16 Social Interaction in Everyday Life: Recreating Rules, Roles, and Relations (2/19) How do we learn how to interact with each other? What kinds of rules govern our interaction? READ: Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self In Everyday Life (Reserve) Candace West and Don Zimmerman, Doing Gender (Reserve) Service Learning Theory/Observation Assignment—Due 2/19 Community Service Day: No Class (2/21) Service Learning Day (2/23) Breaking Social Norms (2/26) Social Norms Exercise—Due 2/26 Building Identities: The Construction of the Self (2/28) READ: Douglas Mason-Sckrock, Transsexuals’ Narrative Construction of the ‘True Self’ (Reserve) Betsy Lucal, What It Means to Be Gendered Me (Reserve) The Politics of Identities (3/2) READ: Joshua Gamson, 1996. Must Identity Movements Self-Destruct? A Queer Dilemma (Reserve) Culture: The Power of Values and Norms (3/5) READ: Anderson, The Code of the Street (MSL) Kevin Young and Laura Craig, Canadian Male Street Skinheads (Reserve) Cultural Components (3/7) READ: John Schouten and James Alexander. Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography Of The New Bikers—Condensed excerpt (Reserve) Optional: Howard Becker, Becoming a Marihuana User (Reserve) Service Learning Culture Assignment: Due 3/7 Deviance and Conformity: What are the social functions of deviance? Why do some individuals commit deviant acts? Why are some acts deviant and others not? How do views of conformity and deviance change over time? Social Labeling and Social Control (3/9) READ: Rosenhan, On Being Sane in Insane Places (MSL) Chambliss, The Saints and the Roughnecks (Reserve) Bourgois, In Search of Respect (MSL) The Creation of Social Problems (3/12) READ: Emile Durkheim, The Functions of Crime (Reserve) Craig Reinarman and Harry Levine, The Crack Attack: Politics and Media in America’s Latest Drug Scare (Reserve) Service Learning Deviance Assignment Due 3/12 Stratification of Economic Privilege and Social Status: What is social class? Why do some people get the “good” jobs, houses, neighborhoods, etc and what do they do to keep them? Why do other people get so little and why is it so difficult to move out of poverty? The Significance of Social Class (3/14) READ: Domhoff, Who Rules America? (MSL) Lillian Rubin, Families on the Fault Line (Reserve) Donna Langston, Tired of Playing Monopoly (Reserve) Poverty and Welfare (3/16) READ: Edin and Lein, Making Ends Meet (MSL) Group Budget Exercise 3/14-16 Service Learning Days (3/19 & 3/21) First Paper—Due 3/19 at 4:30pm in my MacGregor Box Spring Break: No Class (3/23) Education and the Reproduction of Inequality (3/26) READ: Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities (Reserve) Susan Bell, On the (Re)Production of Social Class: Living In With and Beyond Elementary School (Reserve) Valdes, Con Respecto: Bridging the Distance Between Culturally Diverse Families And Schools (MSL) Social Distinctions and Social Inequalities: Racial-Ethnic Identification and the Process of Assimilation (3/28) READ: Mary Waters, Optional Ethnicities, For Whites Only (Reserve) Charles Gallagher, White Racial Formations (Reserve) Alejandro Portos and Min Zhou, Should Immigrants Assimilate? (Reserve) The Color Line (3/30) READ: Du Bois, The Color Line (MSL) VIDEO: The 2 Nations of Black America Racial Inequality and Structural Discrimination (4/2) READ: Oliver and Shapiro, Black Wealth, White Wealth (MSL) Massey and Denton, American Apartheid (Reserve) Wilson, When Work Disappears: The World Of The New Urban Poor (MSL) Social Privilege (4/4) READ: Peggy MacIntosh, White Privilege and Male Privilege (Reserve) Micheal Messner, The Politics of Masculinity Nijole Benokraitis, How Subtle Sex Discrimination Works (Reserve) Discrimination/Privilege Interview Exercise Due 4/4 Gender Inequality and Discrimination (4/6) READ: Williams, The Glass Elevator: Hidden Advantages of Men In The “Female” Professions (MSL) Schwalbe, The Search for Communitas in The Men’s Movement (MSL) Review: Alexis Walker, Couples Watching Television: Gender, Power, and the Remote Control (Reserve) Service Learning Day (4/9) Second Paper—Due 4/9 at 4:30pm in my MacGregor box Catch-up day: What have we learned so far? (4/11) FYI: Regional Service Learning Conference, Antioch College (4/12) The Structure of Society: Social Institutions Work and Economic Life (4/13) READ: Karl Marx, Alienated Labor (Reserve) Robin Leider, Over the Counter (MSL) Hochschild, The Time Bind (MSL) The Family (4/16) READ: Stephanie Coontz, The Crisis Reconsidered (Reserve) James Hunter, The Family and the Culture War (Reserve) Judith Stacy, “Gay and Lesbian Families are Here (MSL) FYI: Tentative Lecture by Michael Kimmel Scheduled for 4/19 Nationalism and Globalization (4/18 through 4/25) READ: Golden Arches East: McDonalds in East Asia, Selected Chapters (Reserve) VIDEO: McDonalds in Moscow Service Learning Reflection Assignment Due 4/20 Service Learning “Debriefing” and Evaluations 4/23 or 4/25