Çankaya University
Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences
Department of Economics
SOC 102- Introduction to Sociology
Lecturer
: Ali Rıza Taşkale
Email
: alirizataskale@gmail.com
Office Hours: by appointment
Course Aims and Objectives
This course introduces you to basic sociological issues, ideas, concepts and argument by
examining the ways in which different sociological perspectives approach their objects, and to
consider the consequences of these differences.
The course is taught in blocks covering themes such as: sociology as a branch of social sciences,
“classical” and contemporary perspectives in sociology, societies, culture, micro-sociology, social
divisions and social stratification, race, ethnicity, racism, migration, religion and sociology in the
21st century.
At the end of this course, you should have a basic capacity for conceptual analysis and for
applying classical and contemporary sociological reasoning to empirical examples. This will
allow you to evaluate what you see around you with new critical skills.
Formative coursework
Sociology is an ‘exciting’ subject. And this course will give you a good grounding in what
sociology as an exciting subject is about. However, students are expected to attend all class
sessions and participate in all class discussions. They are also expected to read all of
the assigned material before class discussions. Students will receive feedback on their class
participation. Participating in class discussions will positively affect your grades.
Textbook
Macionis John J (2010) Sociology (13th edition). London: Pearson
Supplementary Book (optional)
Bauman, Zygmunt and Tim May (2001) Thinking Sociologically, rev. edn. Oxford:
Blackwell
Turkish translation available:
Bauman, Zygmunt (2010) Sosyolojik Düşünmek, İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları
Grading
Two midterms and a final exam, all of which weigh as follows:
Midterm I
: 25 % DATE TBA
Midterm II
: 25 % DATE TBA (Film Analysis)
Final
: 50 % DATE TBA
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Course Schedule and Readings
Week 1:
Introduction
Week 2:
“The Sociological Perspective,” pp. 2-25, C. Wright Mills (1950), “The Promise of Sociology”,
from the Sociological Imagination
Week 3:
“Sociological Investigation”, pp. 26-55
Week 4:
“Culture”, pp. 56-85
Week 5:
“Ideology”, pp. 104-130, Terry Eagleton (1991), “What is Ideology”, in Ideology, London, Verso
Week 6:
“Societies,” pp. 86-109
Week 7: No Class >> Midterm---Midterm---Midterm----Midterm
Week 8:
“Social Interaction in Everyday Life,” pp. 136-159
Week 9:
“The Metropolitan Mind”: Georg Simmel: Georg Simmel (1903), “The Metropolis and Mental
Life”, in Georg Simmel: On Individuality and Social Forms, ed. Donald Levine,
Princeton, NJ, Princeton UP
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Week 10:
“Social Divisions and Social Stratification,” pp. 246-271
Week 11:
“Race and Ethnicity,” pp. 354-383
Week 12:
The Panopticon Society and Surveillance: Michel Foucault (1977), “Panopticism”, in Discipline
and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Penguin, London, pp. 195-228
Week 13:
“Collective Behaviour and Social Movements”, pp. 598-623
Week 13:
Course Summary
Concluding Remarks
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