SOC 110:
Introduction to Sociology
Fall 2015
LECTURES: Harris Hall 107, M/W/F 1:00-1:50
INSTRUCTOR: Craig M. Rawlings,
Associate Professor of Instruction
EMAIL: craig.rawlings@northwestern.edu
OFFICE: 1810 Chicago Ave.
OFFICE HOURS: Mon/Wed. 2:30-4:30; Tues.
10:00-noon; and by appointment!
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
George Balgobin
(balgobin@u.northwestern.edu)
Kory Johnson
(KoryJohnson2014@u.northwestern.edu)
OFFICE HOURS: TBA
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Sociology emerges from a fundamental hunch that there are forces at work
beyond our control (and often beyond our awareness) that influence how we think, feel, and act.
Sociologists have turned this philosophical speculation into a systematic approach to building and testing
specific theories. Since the mid-Nineteenth Century, sociology has developed into a thriving discipline
that has contributed to our understanding of numerous important social phenomena.
Sociology explains human behavior as being fundamentally social – that is, influenced and coordinated
by groups (e.g. cliques, families, gangs, organizations) with overlapping and competing interests,
cultures, and varying degrees of material resources, power, and privilege. Many of the fundamental
aspects of our personal identities – our race/ethnicity, gender, and tastes for music and food – are clearly
more social than “natural” (whatever that means). Beliefs and behaviors that may seem entirely personal –
depression, suicide, creativity, choice of college major – are clearly shaped by social factors. In the end,
sociology shows us that much of what we take for granted as “reality” is “socially constructed” – that is,
groups define something as real and it is therefore real in its consequences. In this way, Sociology often
shakes our taken-for-granted assumptions about how the world works.
In this course, you will learn to think like a sociologist – to use your “sociological imagination” to
examine the social nature of a number of issues and behaviors, many of which may at first appear to be
the results of strictly individual motives and personal choices. This is not to say that sociology is right and
other explanations are wrong, or that individual choices don’t matter. Rather, sociology explains the
social contexts in which choices are made, and, paradoxically, how choices often recreate those social
contexts (but sometimes challenge or change them). You are free to ponder and attempt to integrate these
explanations with other forms of knowledge (biology, economics, etc.), but our goal in this class will be
to provide the strongest sociological explanation for many phenomena.
In short, sociology adds complexity to a number of often oversimplified issues and gives credence to the
adage that “for every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” In this way,
sociology often makes what is familiar seem strange, and what is strange seem more familiar. I hope you
will enjoy and benefit from the journey!
Required course texts and technology:
(1) Conley, Dalton. 2015. You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (4th
Edition). New York: W.W. Norton.
Available at the Norris Center. Also available at reduced cost as an e-book or online rental
(http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?id=4294989745). There are many inexpensive
used copies of the third edition, but this may require you to fill in a few blanks.
(2) Henslin, James (Editor). 2007. Down to Earth Sociology: Introductory Readings (14th Edition).
New York: Free Press.
Available at the Norris Center. Many inexpensive used copies also available online.
(3) Student Response Devices (i.e. “clickers”). This handy device will record your lecture
participation and help keep us engaged with the material through its interactive features (details
forthcoming).
Course requirements:
You are required to be familiar with this syllabus, and any announcements and updates during the
quarter.
Attendance and participation at lectures is required and rewarded. Beginning in Week 2, your
participation will be gauged through your clicker usage. I will take your average participation across all
lectures (i.e. non-attendance/non-participation is a zero; clicking on half of the queries in a lecture is 50%,
etc.). All students with greater than 75% overall participation will be awarded a full 10% to their grades.
That means, you can come to 75% of lectures and participate 100%, or come to 100% of lectures and
participate 75% of the time. Students with below 75% participation will receive a proportion of that 10%
as follows: 50-75% participation = 5% to grade; 25-50% = 2% to grade; below 25% = 0%. Responses to
sensitive questions will be anonymous – it will record that you participated, but not the content.
There will be one in-class mid-term, covering material up to that point.
We will have a final exam at the appointed time and place. The exam will be cumulative – that is,
covering material from all ten weeks.
The mid-term and final exams will consist of both multiple choice and short answers. Questions will be
geared toward gauging your comprehension of the concepts, not simply memorizing definitions, etc.
You will be a required to write two blog entries in which you will have the opportunity to demonstrate
your budding sociological imagination. The basic structure should follow examples from the Everyday
Sociology Blog website (http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/). You will be given a more
detailed prompt to help you write your own blog posts about current events. Each blog entry should be
around 2 pages (double-spaced) in length.
Academic Integrity
The internet has changed the nature of academic misconduct and led to more “borderline cases.”
Suspected violations of academic integrity will be reported to the Dean’s Office. For more information on
Northwestern’s academic integrity policies, please see
http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/handbook/integrity/index.html.
Grades will be determined as follows:
Mid-term exam: 25%
Final exam: 40%
Blog entries: 25% (2 × 12.5%)
Participation: 10%
Decorum: Please be considerate at all times. Turn off all cell phones (or keep them on silent); please do
not talk during lecture, or check your cell phone, or IM/SMS during class. Sleeping, reading newspapers,
wearing headphones, etc., are also impolite distractions. If your behavior is distracting, you will be asked
to leave.
Laptops for note-taking are permitted. However, screens can be distracting to students sitting nearby. For
this reason, you are kindly aske to sit in the back two rows if you will be using a laptop. An exception
will be made for designated note-takers for the course. Please refrain from browsing social media while in
class.
Behavior for mid-term and final exams: You are required to bring the appropriate materials for exams
(details forthcoming). We reserve the right to refuse to seat late arrivals for exams, as this is distracting
and potentially unethical if students have already finished and left. You will be instructed to put aside all
materials, and to focus strictly on your exam. You will hand in your exam and answers to me or one of
the TAs.
Missing an exam will only be excused with a documented emergency. Students with excused absences
will be given one opportunity for a scheduled make-up exam.
Additional Resources:
Any student requesting accommodations related to a disability or other condition is required to register
with AccessibleNU (accessiblenu@northwestern.edu; 847-467-5530) and provide professors with an
accommodation notification from AccessibleNU, preferably within the first two weeks of class. All
information will remain confidential.
Schedule of lectures and readings (subject to change if we get behind or ahead):
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Dates
9/21
9/23
9/25
9/28
9/30
10/2
10/5
10/7
10/9
10/12
10/14
10/16 – Blog #1
10/19
10/21
10/23 – Midterm
10/26
10/28
10/30
11/2
11/4
11/6
11/9
11/11
11/13
11/16
11/18
11/20 – Blog #2
11/23
11/25 – No Class
11/27 – No Class
11/30
12/2 – No Class
12/4 – No Class
Topics
Welcome
What is sociology?
Text (Conley)
Ch. 1
Theory & Methods;
Culture & Media
Ch. 2
Ch. 3
Ch. 7: Jacobs
Socialization;
Groups & Networks
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
Ch. 13: Davis
Social Control &
Deviance;
Stratification
Sex & Gender
Ch. 6
Ch. 7
Ch. 24: Henslin
Ch. 35: Higley
Ch. 8
Ch.14: Henslin
Ch. 15: Eder
Race;
Poverty
Ch. 9
Ch. 10
Health;
Family
Ch. 11
Ch. 12
Ch. 6: Pager
Ch. 34: Morris &
Grimes
Ch. 28: Rosenhan
Ch. 37: Coontz
Education;
The Economy
Ch. 13
Ch. 14
Ch. 39: Gracey
Ch. 43: Leidner
Authority;
Religion
Ch. 15
Ch. 16
Ch. 42: Dyer
Ch. 19: Stinson
Science & the
Environment
Ch. 17
Ch. 38: Davis-
Social Change;
Course wrap-up
Ch. 18
Final Exam is Thursday, December 10th from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Reader (Henslin)
Ch. 8: Miner