Introductory Sociology (SC00104)
Lara Birk – Fall 2010
Class Time & Location: MWF 1-1:50 p.m., Campion 010
Office Hours & Location: MW 2-3 p.m., 410A McGuinn
Contact Information: larabirk@gmail.com
Welcome to Introductory Sociology! Whether you are new to sociology or a seasoned major
catching up on requirements, you should find this course challenging but reasonable. My
philosophy as an instructor is that you have as much to teach one other as I have to teach you.
As such, conversation will be a substantial portion of the course. By enrolling in SC00104, you
hereby agree to do each set of readings prior to the class in which we will discuss them and
that you will be an active participant in all class discussions and activities. My central
objective in this course is to help each of you develop a “sociological imagination” that you can
then apply to the everyday world around you. I also aim to provide you with the opportunity to
strengthen the critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking skills you will need to excel at
college and beyond. If you have questions or concerns at any point during the course, please do
not hesitate to talk with me after class or to come see me during my office hours or by individual
appointment.
SC001 Introductory Sociology and the Social Science Core:
Introductory Sociology is a social science core, and as such, it will reflect all of the critical
components of the BC Core Curriculum:
 Perennial Questions – How is society structured? What does it mean to say our selves
and identities are socially constructed? What do our everyday social interactions tell us
about the society and culture within which we live? How do our race, class, gender,
sexuality, and (dis)ability status affect our life chances? Is society “fair”? Why do some
groups have more power than others? What role do social institutions such as education,
medicine, and the family play in the reproduction of inequality? What makes some
behaviors, activities, and people “deviant,” and what is the purpose of such labels? Are
we completely free agents or does society exert some control on and influence over our
lives and choices? How can we resist what is unjust and effect social change?
 Cultural Diversity – In this course, we will sustain an intense focus on race, class, gender,
sexuality, and disability. We will examine different groups’ relations to power and attend
to the many ways in which these factors intersect and affect our own lives. As we will
discuss many sensitive subject matters throughout the semester, I ask that you treat your
fellow classmates with respect and compassion and focus your critical comments on
students’ arguments—never on the student themselves.
 Historical Perspective – The development of a “sociological imagination” is at the heart
of this course. Throughout, we will take up C. Wright Mills’ call for us to investigate the
relationship between “personal troubles” and “public issues.” In other words, we will
analyze the connections between the seemingly private events of our own lives on the one
hand and history and social structure on the other.
 Methodology – Sociologists rely on multiple research methods to guide their research,
and one’s choice of methodology is profoundly shaped by one’s philosophical approach
toward the subject in question. The readings in this course reflect a diverse range of
1
Introductory Sociology (SC00104)
Lara Birk – Fall 2010


methodologies—and so too philosophies—and we will train our focus not only on the
content of such readings but also on how the methodology and philosophy they represent
made such knowledge possible.
Writing – While the majority of college students think of writing as something you do
once and turn in, good writing is actually an iterative process—meaning it is something
you return to again and again. The ideas you have will shape how you write, and the
writing you do will in turn shape your ideas. Writing and critical thinking go hand in
hand, and the two together are perhaps the most important skills you will develop in your
college career. As such, for both paper assignments, I will accept drafts at least ten days
prior to the due date so that you can incorporate my comments into your paper in time to
meet the deadline. I will also allow you to do revisions of either paper provided you truly
refine and improve your ideas (not merely your textual edits). If you want to maximize
your efforts, I recommend you work with a writing tutor at the Connors Family Learning
Center (CFLC) or Learning Resources for Student Athletes (LRSA) if you are an athlete.
Creating a Personal Philosophy – While we will study a great many theoretical
perspectives in this course, we are not learning theory merely for theory’s sake. I will
expect you to apply the concepts we learn to the world around you. I will ask you to
consider social problems from different and perhaps unfamiliar vantage points. I will
challenge you to use the course to critically examine your previously held assumptions
and unarticulated beliefs and to develop a thoughtful and informed approach to your life
and the lives of all those with whom you will make contact. You should come away with
a richer sense of your own place in society and your potential to make a difference in it.
Required Texts:
1. Readings for Sociology (6th edition), edited by Garth Massey
[Hereafter referred to as “RS”]
2. Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology (8th
edition), edited by John J. Macionis & Nijole V. Benokraitis
[Hereafter referred to as “SO”]
3. Additional Readings in Course Reserves
[Hereafter referred to by “Author Name (Reserves)”]
Course Requirements:
 Attendance, Preparation, & Participation
 5 In-Class Quizzes
 2 Papers
 1 Exam
 1 Time as Co-Leader of 15-20 minute Class Discussion
Grading:
 Attendance & Participation 15%
 In-Class Quizzes (5 unannounced quizzes) 10%
 Co-Leadership of Class Discussion 10%
 First Paper (4-5 pages) 15%
 Second Paper (7-10 pages) 20%
 Final Exam 30%
2
Introductory Sociology (SC00104)
Lara Birk – Fall 2010
Date
Wed. 9/8
Fri. 9/10
Mon. 9/13
Wed. 9/15
Section 1: Introduction to Sociology
Assignment
Topic
Introductions
RS Ch. 2; SO Ch. 2 & 4
The Sociological Imagination
RS Ch. 3 & 4
What is Sociology?
SO Ch. 6 & RS Ch. 6
Social Research
Section 2: Self and Social Interaction in Everyday Life
Date
Assignment
Topic
Fri. 9/17
SO Ch. 15; Cooley (Reserves) The Self
Mon. 9/20
RS Ch. 13; SO Ch. 20
Presentation of Self
Wed. 9/22
SO Ch. 19 & 21
The Self in Context
Fri. 9/24
Garfinkel (Reserves)
Social Breaching Experiments
Date
Mon. 9/27
Wed. 9/29
Fri. 10/1
Mon. 10/4
Wed. 10/6
Fri. 10/8
Mon. 10/11
Wed. 10/13
Fri. 10/15
Mon. 10/18
Wed. 10/20
Fri. 10/22
DUE 10/22
Section 3: Social Structure & Identity
Assignment
Topic
RS Ch. 16 & Young
Gender Socialization
(Reserves)
SO Ch. 22, 39, 40
Gender & Sexism
SO Ch. 34; Martin (Reserves) Sexuality
RS Ch. 26 & Lubrano
Class
(Reserves)
RS Ch. 17 & 29
Classed Identities
McIntosh (Reserves)
Racial Privilege
NO CLASS
RS. Ch. 42, 18; SO Ch. 43
Race & Ethnicity
RS Ch. 21; SO Ch. 44 & 45
Racial & Ethnic Identities
RS Ch. 7; Solorzano et al
Race & Racism
(Reserves)
Powell et al (Reserves)
Race & Class
Garland Thomson (Reserves) Disability & Mental Illness
OR Karp (Reserves)
4-5 pg. Paper
Sociological Autobiography
3
Introductory Sociology (SC00104)
Lara Birk – Fall 2010
Section 4: Social Institutions & the Reproduction of Inequality
Date
Assignment
Topic
Mon. 10/25 RS Ch. 39; SO Ch. 11
Macro Perspective: Capitalism
Wed. 10/27 SO Ch. 49 & 50
Politics
Fri. 10/29
SO Ch. 37 & RS Ch. 31
Economic Inequality
Mon. 11/1
RS Ch. 22 & McLeod
Labor
(Reserves)
Wed. 11/3
RS Ch. 24; SO Ch. 48 & 27
Labor
Fri. 11/5
RS Ch. 25 & 28
Labor & Resistance
Mon. 11/8
SO Ch. 58 & 59; Ferguson
Education
(Reserves)
Wed. 11/10 SO Ch. 61 & 63
Medicine & Health
Fri. 11/12
RS Ch. 44, 42; SO Ch. 53
Love & Family
Mon. 11/15 RS Ch. 40, 43, 19
Family & Marriage
DUE 11/15 7-10 pg. Research Paper
The Reproduction of Inequality
Date
Wed. 11/17
Fri. 11/19
Mon. 11/22
Wed. 11/24
Fri. 11/26
Mon. 11/29
Wed. 12/1
Fri. 12/3
Mon. 12/6
Wed. 12/8
Section 5: Deviance, Social Control, & Social Change
Assignment
Topic
SO Ch. 25, 30, 31
Deviance
SO Ch. 29 & Goffman
Total Institutions
(Reserves)
RS Ch. 5 & Meyer (Reserves) Obedience
NO CLASS
NO CLASS
RS Ch. 32 & Williams
Social Control
(Reserves)
RS Ch. 33 & 34
Police & Prison
RS Ch. 49 & 50
Social Change
Review
FINAL EXAM
Cumulative
I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus at any time, provided I give you fair and
ample warning.
**Please Note: You must turn OFF all cell phones and other electronic devices prior to the start
of class out of respect for me and your fellow students. Additionally, I discourage use of laptops
during class time and prohibit them during discussions. If you *must* take notes using a laptop,
I require that you send me a copy of those notes after each class session.
4
Introductory Sociology (SC00104)
Lara Birk – Fall 2010
Academic Integrity
Policy and Procedures
The pursuit of knowledge can proceed only when scholars take responsibility and receive credit
for their work. Recognition of individual contributions to knowledge and of the intellectual
property of others builds trust within the University and encourages the sharing of ideas that is
essential to scholarship. Similarly, the educational process requires that individuals present their
own ideas and insights for evaluation, critique, and eventual reformulation. Presentation of
others’ work as one’s own is not only intellectual dishonesty, but also undermines the
educational process.
Standards
Academic integrity is violated by any dishonest act which is committed in an academic context
including but not restricted to the following:
Cheating is the fraudulent or dishonest presentation of work. Cheating includes but is not
limited to:
 The use or attempted use of unauthorized aids in examinations or other academic exercises
submitted for evaluation;
 Fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of data, results, sources for papers or reports,
or in clinical practice, as in reporting experiments, measurements, statistical analyses, tests,
or other studies never performed; manipulating or altering data or other manifestations of
research to achieve a desired result; selective reporting, including the deliberate suppression
of conflicting or unwanted data;
 Falsification of papers, official records, or reports;
 Copying from another student’s work;
 Actions that destroy or alter the work of another student;
 Unauthorized cooperation in completing assignments or during an examination;
 The use of purchased essays or term papers, or of purchased preparatory research for such
papers;
 Submission of the same written work in more than one course without prior written approval
from the instructors involved;
 Dishonesty in requests for make-up exams, for extensions of deadlines for submitting papers,
and in any other matter relating to a course.
Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas, data, illustrations, or statements of another
person or source, and presenting them as one’s own. Each student is responsible for learning and
using proper methods of paraphrasing and footnoting, quotation, and other forms of citation, to
ensure that the original author, speaker, illustrator, or source of the material used is clearly
acknowledged.
Other breaches of academic integrity include:
 The misrepresentation of one’s own or another’s identity for academic purposes;
 The misrepresentation of material facts or circumstances in relation to examinations, papers,
or other evaluative activities;
 The sale of papers, essays, or research for fraudulent use.
5