Robert Goldman
Howard 371
Office Hours WF: 1:30-3:00 P.M. Th 10:00-2:00 P.M.; and by appointment

Sociology is defined by some as the study of society; others see it as the systematic study of
institutions and structures; some conceive it as the study of group life; and still others define it as the
study of social relations. Some see sociology as a science dedicated to assembling facts in order to
discover laws of society, while others view sociology as a method of inquiry - or rather, as a series of
carefully crafted methods of interpretation. In this course we will 'try on' various approaches, but
throughout we will treat sociology as a disciplinary way of seeing which produces a distinctive body of
knowledge.

Rather than attempt to accomplish a comprehensive survey of the field as is done with the
standard introductory sociology textbook that is a mile wide and an inch deep, we will read and
discuss some exemplary works of sociological analysis. Through our readings of these works we will
explore the complex web of institutions and relations that include schooling, labor markets,
urban/suburban spaces, television and pop culture, the family, and peer groups. We will examine the
social relations of inequality by class, race and gender, along with the tensions in contemporary life
between individualism and community, freedom and dependence, markets and traditions. As we
proceed you will be introduced to some of the specialized conceptual language of sociology: terms
like habitus, roles and norms; ideology and hegemony; alienation and anomie.

Required Texts:

Jay MacLeod, Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations & Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood.
Westview. 1995.

Julie Bettie, Women Without Class: Girls, Race and identity. University of California. 2003.

Arlie Hochschild, The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of
California Press. 1983.

Richard Sennett & Jonathan Cobb, The Hidden Injuries of Class. Vintage. 1973.

George Ritzer, The McDonalidization of Society, fifth edition. Sage. 2008.

Reserve Readings
C. Wright Mills, "The Promise," in The Sociological Imagination.

Stephanie Coontz, “Historical Perspectives on Family Studies,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, 62 (May 2000), pp.283-297.

Stuart Hall (ed), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Ch. 1 & 4.

John Berger, "Why Look at Animals," pp.1-26 in About Looking, NY: Pantheon. 1980.

Susan Willis, “Looking at Zoos,” The South Atlantic Quarterly, v.??, no ?, Fall ????.

Juliet B. Schor, “The Commodification of Childhood: Tales from the Advertising Front Lines,”
Hedgehog Review vol. 5, no. 2 (Summer 2003).

Rodney Clapp, "Why the Devil Takes Visa," Christianity Today, October 7, 1996, pp.19-33.

Richard Sennett, excerpt from The Corrosion of Character.


Course Requirements:
Preparation for class, attendance, and participation in class are compulsory aspects of this course.
Doing the reading, coming to class, and contributing to the class are the basic prerequisites for this
class. Those who fall short in terms of preparation, attendance, and participation could end up failing
the course.
Class attendance. A basic obligation of being in a class is attending that class, and coming prepared
to be an active participant. Attendance is required. If you have been in class every time then it can
only work in your favor when it comes time you evaluate your work! Absences will count against the
final grade. Attendance will be taken each class day. Over the course of the term, four absences will
be permitted. On the fifth absence however, the student will be docked one/half letter grade off their
final course grade. And for every additional absence a half grade point will be deducted.
As an introductory sociology class aimed at attuning students to seeing the sociological significance of
what goes on around them, I shall be pressing you to see the world around you through sociologically-
colored lenses -- or, put another way, I want to push you to try on a different frame of mind. Toward
that end, I ask that you keep a Documented Learning Blog of "sociological observations." In this
learning blog you will be accountable for critically assessing and discussing what you have read and
observed, as well as making connections via your emergent sociological imagination. You should at
minimum have three entries per week, or one per class session. Anything less will result in grade lower
than C on this part of the course grade. This counts for 1/3 of the course grade.

At this juncture you are probably wondering about this perspective called the "sociological
imagination." Well, no easy answers to that here, but hopefully its meaning will emerge as we go
along. I encourage you to be attentive to items from newspapers, events attended, observed,
experienced or participated in, and then try to put them into a context that will reveal their sociological
significance. In this way, a sociological way of seeing usually evolves as the term unfolds. Your
learning blog should indicate to me a) how you are processing the readings and b) how you are
thinking about applying what you have learned to situations that you have encountered or read about.
This is why you should be regularly keeping up with your learning blog. And, I want to encourage you
to bring observations and queries to class. Periodically, we will spontaneously spend a class exploring
the sociological significance of something that has been in the news or that one of you brings to our
attention on your blog.

The remainder of your grade will be based on two four page essays that will be assigned about the
books that we will have read. I will frame questions on the books to guide these writing assignments.
There will be an in-class midterm examination (actually 10 weeks) covering the material read and
discussed. A final project using the sociological concepts developed over the term will be presented at
the end of the term, during the final exam period. You may work on that project by yourself or with
up to two others.

Learning blog =35%
Essays =25%
Midterm =25%
Final project =15%