Self & Society: Who Am I Really?
Soc 125b, Spring 2016
Professor: Kristen Lucken
Class time: Tues. & Fri. 11am-12:20
Room: Shiffman Humanities Center 105
E-mail: klucken@brandeis.edu
Contact: 617-470-0016
Office Hours: T, Th, F by appointment
In the United States, we have a very particular view of the self as highly individual, inherent to
the person, and the prime driver of our lives, distinct from the social order that surrounds it. We
attribute how a person relates to others and their life trajectory and outcomes to who they are—
good, bad, intelligent, hard-working, caring, selfish—and we assume that the self is coherent,
continuous, and with a life of its own independent of situations. In this theoretical experiential
learning course, we will question these assumptions and ask: what is a self really? Are you fixed
or fluid, singular or multiple? Are you your memories, your biography, your traits? Are you the
sum of your social identities? How you present or see yourself? Or are you something else,
something more? We will delve into these big questions through texts and experientially using
social-psychological, philosophical and religious conceptualizations of selfhood to investigate
just who you really are.
Learning Goals for the Course. Students will:
1. identify, analyze, and critique basic assumptions underlying contemporary understandings of
selfhood and of how people become who they are;
2. distill, compare, critique, synthesize, and apply arguments from texts (and other sources) that
make a variety of theoretical claims regarding the nature of the self;
3. investigate these arguments experientially through a variety of individual or group exercises;
4. learn the basics of conducting empirical qualitative research—recruitment, interviewing,
coding and analyzing data—investigating the contemporary nature of selfhood;
5. facilitate the class at least twice in an experiential way that draws out other students’ insights
and active participation;
6. communicate your arguments, explorations, and research findings effectively both orally and
in writing; and
7. delve into your own life n http://www.yearup.org/arratives, presentations of self, identities,
etc., to understand how the concepts and arguments we are learning about play out in
your own lives.
Laptop and cell phone policy:
Aside from presentations to the class as a whole, we will be a technology-free zone. This is
intended to minimize distractions and focus our attention and to create a different sort of
experience from your everyday life.
University Policy on Academic Accommodations
If you require academic accommodations because of a documented disability, please see me this
week with your letter of accommodation so I can provide you with the appropriate support.
University Policy on Academic Integrity
You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic
integrity (see http://www.brandeis.edu/studentlife/sdc/ai).
COURSE CALENDAR
WHAT SELVES ARE AND HOW THEY ARE CREATED
WEEK 1: The Emergence and Historical Development of Selfhood
Jan 15 Components of Self/Illusion of Self (44 pages)
►Leary, M. R. (2004). The Curse of the Self. New York: Oxford University Press.
Chapter 1: “The Self-Aware Animal,” 3-24
►Wiley, Norbert. (1994). “History of the Self: From Primates to Present,” Sociological
Perspectives, 37(4): 527-545 (Winter 1994) (read only 534-543)
►Greenblatt, Stephen. (2005) Renaissance Self-Fashioning, 1-9, 255-257
WEEK 2: Theories of the Self
Jan 19 Components of Self/Illusion of Self
►Mead, George. 1934. “The ‘I’ and the ‘Me,’” Mind, Self & Society. Chicago: Univ. Chicago
Press, p. 173-178
►Swann, William B. and Michael D. Buhrmester. (2012). “Self as Functional Fiction,” Social
Cognition 30(4): 415-430
►Westerhoff, Jan. (2013) “The Great Illusion of the Self,” New Scientist 2905: 34-37
Please take the Character Strength survey (VIA).
Jan 22 Components of Self/Illusion of Self (cont.)
►Pojman, Louis. (2006). Who Are We? Theories of Human Nature. NY: Oxford Univ. Press.
Chapter 11: “Sigmund Freud’s Theory of Human Nature,” 170-172
Chapter 15: “The Darwinian Theory of Human Nature,” 204-205, 211-217
►“Cooley’s Looking Glass Self,” Vogt Isaksen, Popular Science
GUEST SPEAKER: Nancy Gertz to speak on Character Strengths
WEEK 3: Socialization, Situations, and the Question of Human Freedom
Jan 26
►Hewitt, John. Self & Society: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective, chapter 4: “Socialization
& the Self,” p. 89-109
►Lovaglia, Michael (2000). “The Power of the Situation Over You,” Knowing People, 1-10
►Lovaglia, Michael (2000). “Acquiring a Self,” Knowing People: The Personal Use of Social
Psychology, Boston: McGraw-Hill, 22-24
►Pojman, Louis. (2006). “The Paradox of Human Nature: Are we Free?” 250-263
Jan 29 Questioning the Agentic Self
►Closely read ONE of the three dense theoretical reads below, and create a novel style of report
on it for the other students. (Note: readings below are from Identity: A Reader, du Gay & Evans,
eds., Los Angeles: Sage, 2000.)
1) Elias, Norbert (1978). “Homo Clausus & the Civilizing Process,” 284-296
2) Rose, Nikolas (1996). “Identity, Genealogy & History,” 311-324
3) Foucault, Michel (1986) “The Use of Pleasure,” 360-369
(I gratefully acknowledge Ana Villalobos who designed and previously taught this course.)
IDENTITIES: WHO WE THINK WE ARE
WEEK 4 Narrative Identity: (Selective) Memories and Stories We Tell About Ourselves
Feb 2, 5 (51 pages)
►Bourdieu, Pierre (1986) “The Biographical Illusion,” Identity, 297-303
►Mason-Schrock, Douglas (1996). “Transsexuals' Narrative Construction of the ‘True Self,’”
Social Psychology Quarterly, 59(3): 176-192
►Ezzy, Douglas (1998) “Theorizing Narrative Identity: Symbolic Interactionism and
Hermeneutics,” The Sociological Quarterly, 39(2): 239-252 (read 245-247)
►Ochs, Elinor & Lisa Capps (1996). “Narrating the Self,” Annual Review of Anthropology 25:
19-43 (read 20-32)
►Weir, Kirsten (2012). “Memory: How the brain spins your life story,” New Scientist 2885, 1-3
►Bond, Michael (2013). “The self: Why are you like you are?,” New Scientist 2905: 41-43
►Salgado, João & Hubert J. M. Hermans (2005). “The Return of Subjectivity: From a
Multiplicity of Selves to the Dialogical Self,” E-Journal of Applied Psychology: Clinical section.
1(1): 3-13 (read 3-4,6-7)
WEEK 5: On-Line Identity: A Packaged “Front” or Liberated Selfhood?
Feb 9, 12 (52 pages)
►Palfrey & Gasser. (2010). “Identities,” Born Digital, Understanding the First Generation of
Digital Natives, 17-37
►Winder, Davey. (2008). Being Virtual: Who You Really Are Online, ix-xvii
►Turkle, Sherri. (2011) “No Need to Call,” Alone Together, 187-209
►Lovaglia, Michael (2000). “Self-Serving Bias…” Knowing People, 29-33
►Iver, Pico (2011) “The Joy of Quiet,” NY Times, December 29, 2011
►Zweig, David. (2012) “Why We Should Take Fewer Pictures of Our Children,” NY Times
WEEK 6: FEBRUARY BREAK
WEEK 7: Social Identities & Stereotypes
Feb 23, 26 (55 pages)
►Markus, Hazel Rose, “Who Am I? Race, Ethnicity, and Identity,” Ferguson reader, 179-188
►Lovaglia, Michael (2000). “What’s in a Name?” Knowing People, 20-22
►Dozier, Raine. “Beards, Breasts & Bodies: Doing Sex in a Gendered World,” Gender &
Society (15 pages)
►Howard, Judith A. and Ramira M. Alamilla, “Gender and Identity,” Gender Mosaics:
Social Perspectives, Dana Vannoy (ed.)*, 189-197
►Snow, David and Leon Anderson, “Salvaging the Self” (excerpted from Down on Their Luck:
A Study of Homeless People), Ferguson reader, 207-216
►Pager, Devah. (2003) “Blacks and Ex-Cons Need Not Apply,” Contexts, 2(4): 58-59
THE AMERICAN SELF
WEEK 8: American Self-Obsession
Mar 1, 4 (22 pages) (MIDTERM March 4)
►Hewitt, John. (1989) “Ubiquity of the Self,” Dilemmas of the American Self, 3-17
►Orrange, Robert. (2003). “The Emerging Mutable Self: Gender Dynamics and Creative
Adaptations in Defining Work, Family, and the Future,” Social Forces 82(1): 1-34 (read 1-8)
WEEK 9: The Achievement-Defined Self-as-Product (The Case of College Applications)
Mar 8, 11 (49 pages)
►Bourdieu, Pierre. (2000) Pascalian Meditations (excerpt)
►Levine, Madeline. (2006) The Price of Privilege
Chapter 1: “The Paradox of Privilege,” 3-15
Chapter 4: “What is a Healthy ‘Self’?” 63-70, 88-92
►Nelson, Margaret. Parenting Out of Control, NY: NYU Press, 23-37
►Anderson, Jenny. (2011) “For a Standout College Essay…” NY Times, 8-5-11
►Atlas, James. (2011) “Super People,” NY Times, 10-1-11
WEEK 10: Self-Blame: The Dark Side of the U.S. Self-Help & Self-Empowerment Rhetoric
Mar 15, 18 (56 pages)
►Sharone, Ofer (2013). Flawed System, Flawed Self, Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1-5, 14-17, 21-25, 51-85
►Schulz, Kathryn (2013) “The ‘Self’ in ‘Self-Help,’” New York Magazine, 1-6-13
FALSE SELF/ TRUE SELF
WEEK 11: Masquerading as Yourself: Performances, Self-Branding and Fraud Complex
Mar 22, 25 (45 pages)
►Goffman, Erving (1959). Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, 17-24
►Hochschild, Arlie & Sarah Garrett. (2013) “The Personalized Market and the Marketized
Self,” So How’s the Family?, 93-110
►Hochschild, Arlie. (1979) “Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure,” American
Journal of Sociology, 85(3): 551-575 (read 551-568)
►McGowan, Kat. (2005) “Managing the Self,” Psychology Today (2 pages)
WEEK 12: Are You So Busy Performing that You’re Missing Your Life?
Mar 29, Apr 1 (53 pages)
►Hochschild, Arlie. “The Search for Authenticity,” The Managed Heart:
Commercialization of Human Feeling, 185-198
►Neff, Kristin. (2011) “Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, and Well-Being,” Social and
Personality Psychology Compass 5: 1–12
►Ralston, Peter (2010). “The Cultural Matrix,” and “You Don’t Have to Rehearse to be
Yourself,” The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind & Consciousness.
Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 41-44, 47-57, 129-142
WEEK 13: Authenticity: Is there a “Real You” Underneath it All?
Apr 5, 8 (55 pages)
►Gecas, Viktor. 1994. “In Search of the Real Self: Problems of Authenticity in Modern
Times,” Self, Collective Behavior and Society: Essays Honoring the Contributions of
Ralph H. Turner, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 139-154
►Pagis, Michal (2009) “Embodied Self-Reflexivity,” Social Psychology Quarterly, 72(3): 265283
►Ralston, Peter (2010). “What Am I?,” “The Self: Noun or Verb,” 159-172, 193-6, 204-9
WEEKS 14: Selfhood in Religion
Question: How have certain world religions understood “the self”?
April 12, 15 (40 pages)
►JUDEO-CHRISTIAN, scriptural source text excerpts
Genesis (Bereshith), Ecclesiastes (Kohelet)
Books of Mark, Luke & John, and 2nd Corinthians
►BUDDHISM
Kornfield, Jack. (1993). A Path with Heart. NY: Bantam Books, chapter 14: “No
Self or True Self?” p. 198-214
►HINDU
Bhagavad Gita (scriptural source text)
Maharji, Ramana. “Who Am I?”
WEEK 15: Apr 20 Last Day of Class—WRAP UP
SPRING BREAK BEGINS--(Research Papers Due)
WEEK 16: OFFICIAL END OF TERM
EVALUATION OF PROGRESS
Your grade will be based on the following:
Research Paper 25%
In lieu of a final examination, you will conduct your own field research (interviews with 3 or more people who
can give you insights into their own experience of “who they are” as it relates to their construction of a coherent
self) and write a 7 to 10 page paper exploring your findings. The paper will use concepts from the course as tools
to analyze what your interviewees have to say and to speculate on what seems to be going on. This paper will
occur in stages, and I will walk you through the whole process step by step. For past students, this has often been
the most eye-opening experience of the class. Part of your grade on this will include a formal research
presentation to the class during the last two weeks of the semester. Your research paper itself is due the last day
of class, on April 28.
Midterm 20%
The midterm, March 5, will be a closed-book in-class essay exam over the course readings as well as over what
came to light in class (lectures, discussions, films, etc.).
Assignments 20%
This category includes various assignments throughout the course, most significantly the weekly reflections on
the readings. These reading reflections should be posted to Latte by Monday at midnight before the week we will
discuss them (you may choose one busy week in the semester when you do not want to send these, and you will
not be penalized). Reading reflections are designed to encourage students to see the readings as a group or “set” in
relation to the weekly course topics and should cover: (1) the most significant themes addressed in the readings,
(2) the differences between the arguments in the various readings and nuances in that week’s readings and also in
relation to prior readings during the course, and (3) the points of particular interest, concern, curiosity, or
confusion to the student. You should include ALL of that week’s readings in your reflection in a way that
communicates your understanding of each reading. These reflections should be about a single spaced page, and
submitted on time (they lose 20% for every day late).
Self Journal 15%
You will keep a weekly journal in this class in which you process your experiences in the class, reflect on how
they pertain to your life, and complete any personal writing prompts intended to go in your journal.
Participation and Facilitation 20%
Participation includes your co-facilitation of two class sessions as well as your day-to-day engagement during
class time. Everyone’s full participation is needed to get the most out of the course and each of us (including
YOU) has something to offer the rest of the class. Forms of participation can include active listening, thoughtful
preparation for class, sharing a well-formulated idea after a long pause for thought, off-the-top-of-your-head
reactions to new ideas, helping a classmate understand a difficult concept, asking interesting questions, engaging
with another student who has made a comment, coming to office hours, bringing relevant news or magazine
articles to class to share, and engaging with the various assignments. While participation can take many different
forms, it cannot take any form if you are not present! Thus I expect you to make every effort to attend all classes
and to arrive on time for all class meetings. If you miss three classes, your participation grade will go down 5%
and an additional 5% for each additional absence (by contrast, if you miss less than two classes, your participation
grade will get a 5% boost!). I know this is an early class and I feel your pain, especially if you are a night owl, yet
three tardies count as one absence as well in this formula—so please be on time!
Note: I invite you to drop by my office in Mandel 125, even if just to stop by for five minutes to say hello and see
where the office is. If you’d like to make an appointment, please email me and we can get together more
purposefully. I like to get to know you, so during the semester, don’t be shy about coming in regularly to hash out
what you’re learning in class or from the readings, or to share your personal responses to and experiences with the
course. That’s what I’m here for!