INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Course Description

Sociology is concerned with the inter-relationships among individuals and the social structures and groups to which they belong.  As you become familiar with sociological inquiry, you should develop more appreciation for the complexity of social life.  You will also come to see that individual behavior is not so individual as we sometimes suppose; rather, how we think, act, and feel has a lot to do with the group norms and social structures around us, structures for which we ourselves are only somewhat responsible.

The course uses six case studies to examine these issues, rather than a typical introductory textbook.  The first three case studies offer differing perspectives on disasters. First, we will examine the growth of community and culture, and their possible destruction, through an analysis of the community of Buffalo Creek, and of the flood that helped destroy it.  Second, we will examine reasons the Chicago heat wave of 1995 had very different impacts in neighborhoods whose residents differed in socio-economic status and race.  Third, we will look at the operation of a mountain search and rescue team whose members have to deal with emotionally draining work and emotionally traumatized victims. 

The next two cases focus on urban education, race, gender, and future success.  First, we will examine poverty, social class, and race through an ethnographic study of male adolescents growing up in a low-income housing project in Chicago.  Second, we will examine the disparate school experiences of boys and girls from the Dominican Republic in a parallel ethnographic study, set in New York City.  In each case, we will be interested in the connections between "public issues" and "personal troubles" which these cases illustrate and in how those connections help illuminate our own social experiences.

Finally, since the course otherwise focuses on the nature of some social problems in the United States, we will end by examining options for positive social change through democratic community organizing.

Course Format

Many of the important things you can learn in this class will come from listening and talking to other students, so the class is designed to promote interaction and exchange.  Most class meetings will combine brief lectures with small- and large-group discussion.  I expect everyone to contribute to discussion — so you need to read carefully and think about the material before each class and you need to speak up in class.  I also expect people to listen to each other, which requires patience, a sense of humor, and mutual respect. 

To help you prepare for discussions and exercises, I will distribute discussion questions on some of the readings, which you should complete on your own and bring to class.  During classes we frequently will divide into small groups to consider these questions.  Working in small groups is a particularly useful experience in a sociology class, given that group behavior is a focus of sociological study.  Other classes will feature games or simulations or presentations or videos, with a variety of class activities designed to be fun and to encourage your active engagement in what goes on.

Objectives for Individual Learning

1. To become familiar with the kinds of questions sociologists typically ask, the kinds of research methods sociologists use to answer those questions, and the kinds of theories they use to interpret their research findings.
2. To understand sociological perspectives on how social structures and cultures in their diversity serve both to facilitate and to constrain people’s actions and interactions.
3. To use sociological perspectives in examining the major institutions of contemporary societies, such as families, education, and the government.
4. To use sociological perspectives in examining issues of social policy, especially issues relating to inequality and diversity.
5. To begin to see one’s own life and experiences through a sociological lens.
6. To improve one’s skills in writing, critical thinking, oral presentation, and class discussion.

Course Requirements

1. REACTION & EXCHANGE PROJECT (20 percent).  This on-going project allows you to reflect on and creatively apply ideas from readings and class discussions to your own life and to the world around you.  You may choose one of two options for this project:  either keeping a journal throughout the semester or participating in a discussion group that will meet regularly outside of class.  Both formats involve weekly informal writing, evaluated without letter grades, and the opportunity to engage our subject matter beyond the classroom.
2. DATA-ANALYSIS PROJECT (10 percent).  Pairs of students will work together to analyze quantitative sociological data using the MicroCase/ShowCase statistical package.  Each pair will write a brief report describing their methodology, findings, and conclusions.
3. MIDSEMESTER EXAM (10 percent).  The midsem will be a short take-home essay exam that will focus on basic sociological ideas and vocabulary, and on the first case studies.
4. SHORT ESSAYS (30 percent).  You will write three short (3-4 page) papers during the semester that will focus on the case studies.  You will have the option of writing these as letters to the authors of those studies, or as more traditional analytic papers.  In either case, you may rewrite the papers if you desire.  I will average the grade on the first attempt and on any rewrite to arrive at the grade for the paper.  I have listed six such papers: everyone will do the first paper, plus two of the other three. 
5. FINAL EXAM (20 percent).  The final exam will be either an in-class exam, with questions provided in advance, or a take-home essay exam.
6. CLASS PARTICIPATION & ATTENDANCE (10 percent).

I am particularly eager to help students improve their writing.  If you are concerned about the adequacy of your writing, I strongly recommend that you see me to discuss your papers and that you go to the Writing Lab for advice on writing.  I will read your papers for both content and style (and will grade accordingly, explicitly or implicitly using the "paper grading criteria" attached below).

You must abide by the rules on honesty in academic work, outlined in the Student Handbook (pp. 11-14), which require you to "acknowledge explicitly any expressions, ideas, or observations that are not" your own.  I take your obligation to acknowledge sources very seriously and I expect you will do so as well.  In addition, I require that every paper contain a footnote acknowledging any assistance of any kind you received in producing the paper.  In the case of cooperatively produced work, you must indicate who produced which part of the data or product.  If you are unsure of your obligations about acknowledging sources, please see me.  For citations of sources in papers, I will accept any commonly used footnote or reference style, but I strongly recommend you use the American Sociological Association reference style, described later in this syllabus.  I will grade down any late work, unless you request permission for the lateness and I grant it before the due date.

Summary of Course Requirements and Grading

Required Books [listed in the order we’ll read them]

Erikson, Kai.  1976.  Everything in its Path:  Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Klinenberg, Eric.  2002.  Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago.  Chicago:  Chicago.

Lois, Jennifer.  2003.  Heroic Efforts: The Emotional Culture of Search & Rescue Volunteers. New York: NYU.

MacLeod, Jay.  1995. Ain’t No Makin’ It:  Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood.  Boulder:  Westview.

Lopez, Nancy. 2003.  Hopeful Girls, Troubled Boys.  New York: Routledge

Wood, Richard.  2002.  Faith in Action:  Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America. Chicago: U Chicago Press.

TYPICAL PAPER GRADING CRITERIA