Please note that this syllabus should be regarded as only a general guide to the course. The instructor may have changed
specific course content and requirements subsequent to posting this syllabus. Last Modified: 20:42:05 08/26/2013
Introduction to Sociology
@bcintrosoc
Instructor: Emilie Dubois
Class:
Digital:
Gasson 206
Tuesday & Thursday
4:30 – 5:45
Contact:
duboise@bc.edu
McGuinn 502a
Thursday 1:00 – 3:00
(and by appointment)
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qd1fqu3es8yfk2v/4hqhAqr9T5
Black Board: https://portal.bc.edu/portal/page/portal/MyServices/Login
pinterest: http://pinterest.com/eadubois/introduction-to-sociology/
instagram: @bcintrosoc #bcintrosoc
Goal:
This course will awaken your sociological imagination. Once developed, it will help you define the relationship
between history and biography in society. Freeing as a critical sociological perspective may be, developing one
requires training. Together, we will explore sociology’s founding, methods, and texts to tune our viewpoints.
Method:
Developing a sociological perspective is a challenge because we live within our object of analysis. Much like a fish
that sets out to analyze the ocean’s pollution while simultaneously swimming through it, we each may encounter
personal difficulties while learning to view America through the lens of sociology as each of our positions within it
is unique.
We will take on the challenges brought by differing perspectives by using today’s social media tools to connect
with one another and share insights. During each class meeting, we will take notes collectively through a shared,
online note-taking platform called etherpad. On the days between our meetings, you will hone your sociological
perspective by posting images to instagram tagging the user @bcintrosoc and using the hashtag #bcintrosoc. We
will also pin images to our class pinterest board that connect lecture topics to your everyday life. We will also
complete 4 exercises, and our shared notes will be available to the class as resource for exam preparation.
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Expectations:
Participation
This course requires the same attention and participation as civic engagement. Participation in and between classes is a
primary course requirement. If you must miss one of our class meetings, you must inform me in advance. If you miss a class
meeting without providing an adequate explanation, your participation grade will suffer. You should not think of our
classroom as a place where you can come to quietly absorb new material. Because our reading load will be moderate and
our formal evaluations infrequent, daily participation will be compulsory. I expect each of you to participate at least one time
per class meeting through one of the following methods (1) posting to an online forum, (2) contributing to our collective
notes, or (3) speaking during class. These requirements for class engagement are set to create a culture of collaboration in
our classroom.
Honesty
Do not present the work of others as your own, borrow their ideas in place of creating them, or do anything else that might
be interpreted as a breach of the University’s honor code: www.bc.edu/integrity. Please take the time to familiarize yourself
with the University’s honor code. Boston College’s definition of plagiarism is reproduced here:
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.
Should any breach of the code occur, the offender will receive a grade of F or “0” for the assignment. You may collaborate
with classmates while studying for exams; however, any written assignments you submit as part this course’s evaluation
must be the product of independent work. You owe yourself the opportunity for thinking and growing presented by this
course. Take it.
Introduction to Sociology and The Core Curriculum:
Introduction to Sociology is part of the Core Curriculum in Sociology. It is designed to address a number of intellectual and
methodological issues in the field and engage students in the course elements listed below.
The Big Questions:
Sociology tackles big questions. It takes on the debates over the social causes of behavior, the evolution of society,
and how individual agency interacts with social structures. This course provides an introduction to these debates.
For example, we will confront the debate about whether the wealth distribution in the United States is a product of “
human nature” or social design.
Diverse and Historical Perspectives:
Our course considers modern society from the perspective of cultural diversity and with respect to its location within
social history. We will explore how race, class, and gender structure social reality both in our time and how they
have done so in past eras.
Methodology:
We will learn about a variety of tools that sociologists employ for study of the social world. We will cover qualitative
and quantitative approaches to sociological research.
Writing:
We will practice sociological writing in this course. Your mid-term and final exams will contain essay questions. You
will be required to write a sociological autobiography totaling 8 – 10 pages.
Personal Philosophy:
Every one of us participates in society. Not all are conscious of the social forces that structure our experience. This
course is designed to help you think critically and consciously about American society and your place within it.
Evaluation
Participation 30%
Online Forums (instagram and pinterest) 10%
Exercises (I – IV) 10%
In-Class (attendance, speaking, collective notes, quizzes) 10%
Mid-Term Exam 20%
Sociological Autobiography 20%
First Draft 10%
Final Draft 10%
Final Exam 30%
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Class Schedule
Tuesday
Assignments
Thursday
Sociological heritage
September 3 and 5
An Invitation to Sociology
Sociological Perspective
1. Body Ritual Among the Nacirema (Miner)
(Blackboard: “Nacirema_Miner“ pages 503 – 507)
September 10 and 12
Sociological Theory Primers
Sociological Theory Classics
1. Invitation to Sociology (Berger)
(Blackboard: “Sociology as a Form of
Consciousness “ pages 25 – 53 and
“Excursus: Alternation and Biography”
pages 54 - 65)
2. “The Structure of Power in American
Society” (Mills)
(Blackboard Article: pages 29 – 41)
1. The Consumer Society Reader
(Adorno and Horkheimer)
(Blackboard: “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment
as Mass Deception“: pages 1 – 19)
2. “The Forms of Capital” (Bourdieu)
(Blackboard Article: pages 1 – 20)
Quantitative
Interview
1. “Does Changing a Light Bulb Lead to
Changing the World?” (Willis and Schor)
(Blackboard Article: pages 160 – 185)
1. The Cult of Thinness (Hesse Biber)
(Blackboard: “Becoming a Certain Body” pages
108 – 130 and “Joining the Cult of Thinness”
pages 131 - 151)
Sociological methods
September 17 and 19
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September 24 and 26
Ethnography
Historical
1. Class Acts (Sherman)
(Blackboard: Introduction pages 11 – 23
and Games, Control, and Skill pages
110 – 152)
1. “The Color of Money and the Nature of Value”
(Babb)
(Blackboard Article: pages 1556 – 1591)
2. Exercise I (Due in Class)
Family
Law
1. Intimate Matters (D’Emilio)
(Blackboard: “Family Life and the
Regulation of Deviance” pages 15 – 38)
1. United States v. Windsor Decision
(Blackboard Article: 1 – 76)
Speaker: Nicole Poteat
Healthcare
Religion
1. Social Causes of Health and Disease
(Cockerham)
(Blackboard: “Class and Health:
Explaining the Relationship” pages 114 –
163)
Speaker: Adina Koch
1. The Sacred Canopy (Berger)
(Blackboard: “Religion and World Construction”
pages 1 – 28)
Speaker: Paul Schervish
2. Exercise II (Due in Class)
Midterm Exam Review
Midterm Exam
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Social Institutions
October 1 and 3
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October 8 and 10
Midterm Exam
October 15 and 17
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Class
October 22 and 24
Poverty
Privilege
1. Ain’t No Makin It: Aspirations and
Attainment
in a Low-income Neighborhood
(MacLeod)
(Blackboard: “Social Immobility in the
Land of Opportunity" pages 3 – 10,
“Teenagers in Clarendon Heights”
pages 25 – 53, and “Conclusion
Outclassed and Outcast(e)” pages
241 – 271)
1. Privilege: The Making of the Adolescent Elite
(Khan)
(Blackboard: “The New Elite” pages 18 – 40 and
“Finding One’s Place pages 77 – 113)
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October 29 and 31
Mobility
Performance
1. Unequal Childhoods (Lareau)
(Blackboard: “Concerted Cultivation
and the Accompolishment of Natural
Growth” pages 1 – 32)
1. The Consumer Society Reader (Veblen)
(Blackboard: “Theory of the Leisure Class” pages 187
– 204)
2. Exercise III (Due in Class)
Structural Racism
Intersectionality
1. Critical Race Theory (Crenshaw)
(Blackboard: “Whiteness as Property”
pages 276 – 291)
1. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge,
Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (Hill
Collins)
(Blackboard Article: “Black Feminist Thought in the
Matrix of Domination” pages 1 – 11)
2. Exercise III (Due in Class)
Race
November 5 and 7
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Gender
November 12 and 14
Traditions & Roles
Presentation & Deviance
1. Thinking about Women (Andersen) 1. Doing Gender (West and Zimmerman)
(Blackboard: “The Social Construction (Blackboard Article: pages 125 – 151)
of Gender” pages 20 – 51)
2. Sociological Autobiography: Outline Draft
Sexuality
November 19 and 21
Heteronormativity
Bro Culture
1. Imagine A World Where Being
"Gay" Is The Norm & Being "Straight"
Would Be The Minority! (video)
1. Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in
High School (Pascoe)
(Blackboard: “Dude, You’re a Fag” pages 52 – 83)
2. Exercise IV (Due in Class)
November 26 and 28
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Consumption
Sociological Autobiography Review
Thanksgiving
December 3 and 5
American Consumer Culture
American Consumer Culture
1. The Feminine Mystique (Friedan)
(Blackboard: “The Sexual Sell”
pages 298 – 333)
1. The McDonaldization of Society (Ritzer)
(Blackboard: “Introduction” pages 1 – 24 and
Globalization and McDonalization page 159 – 184)
Thanksgiving
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Final Exam Review
Christmas and Commerce
Final Exam Review
December 10 and 12
1. This American Life (National
Public Radio)
1. Final Exam Review
2. Final Sociological Autobiography (Due in Class)
Final Exam
December 17
December 17
Final Exam