SC 550. IMPORTANT READINGS IN SOCIOLOGY
Dr. Paul S. Gray
McGuinn 413
Wed 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
My office is 429 McGuinn. Office Hours, Mon 11 – 12; Wed 1 – 2 p.m., or by
appointment. Phone ext. 24140. E-Mail: < gray@bc.edu >
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the Honors Program in Sociology. We will be reading and
doing commentary on six exemplary works, spanning some of the major alternatives in theory
and methodology.
The purpose of this exercise is not only to understand the analyses that the various authors
are making, but also to prepare each of you to do your own research for your senior thesis by
appreciating the relative strengths and weaknesses of various data collection techniques and
theoretical approaches. At the end of the course you will be asked to develop some tentative
ideas on research topics and strategies.
The course is taught in seminar format with an emphasis on student participation, mutual
support, and trust.
Course Requirements:
1. Four, four-page essays, each on a different assigned book of your choice. Each of these
essays counts 10% of your final grade.
2. In-class oral presentations on two of the books, prepared together with one other student.
These presentations each count 20% of your final grade.
2. A take home final essay of 8 typed, double-spaced pages (counting 20% of your final grade).
Expectations are that you will attend class regularly and come prepared to discuss the
readings for the week.
Required Readings:
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, by Erving Goffman
Schooling in Capitalist America, by Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis
Sidewalk, by Mitchell Duneier
Speaking of Sadness, by David Karp
Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam
Writing for Social Scientists, by Howard Becker
2
CALENDAR
date
topic/activity
assignment
1/16
Introduction
Scheduling Class Presentations
Selecting Essay Topics
1/23
The “Self” and Micro-level Theory
Lecture and Discussion
Goffman
1/30
Class Presentations
2/6
Institutions and Neo-Marxist Theory
Class Presentations
2/13
Lecture and Discussion
2/20
Ethnographic Description & Analysis
Class Presentations
2/27
Lecture and Discussion
Bowles & Gintis
Duneier
VACATION
3/13
Interviewing
Class Presentations
Karp
3/20
Lecture and Discussion
3/27
Aggregate Data and Multi-Method Analysis
Class Presentations
4/3
Lecture and Discussion
4/10
Social Science Writing
Class Presentations
4/17
Lecture and Discussion
4/24
Exploration of Thesis Topics
5/1
Conclusions
5/8
FINAL PAPERS DUE [12 noon, MY MAILBOX, 426 MCGUINN]
Putnam
Becker
3
SC 550
Template for In-Class Presentations
Each team should plan to spend 30-45 minutes on their oral presentation.
•
Make a summary statement about the book and its significance for the field of
Sociology.
•
What are the origins of the theory or theories used in this book? Does the author make
an original contribution to theory?
•
What are the origins of the methodology or methodologies used in this book? Does the
author make an original contribution to methods?
•
What were your major empirical learnings after having read this work? Does it inform
your own work, and if so, how?
•
In your opinion, what are the major strengths and weaknesses of this work?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Final Essay Outline (subject to change!)
Select a potential topic for your senior thesis.
Explain how one of more of the books you read this term influenced your choice of topic.
What theory tradition are you thinking of using?
What methods tradition are you thinking of using?
What do you hope to discover?
Alternative for current thesis writers:
Explain how the insights from one or more of these books can inform your thesis work this
semester.