Sociology 151: Principles of Sociology
Spring 2005
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 – 10:45 am
Carswell 208
Professor: Teresa Ciabattari, Ph.D.
Email: ciabatt@wfu.edu
Office: Carswell 222
Phone: 758-7139
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Thursdays 8:30 am – 9:30 am
And by appointment
“The sociological perspective is…like a demon”
According to sociologist Peter Berger, sociology is a “demon,” a “passion,” a unique perspective
that teaches you to look at the world in a new way. The main purpose of this course is to excite
the sociological passion in you. This means that you will develop and use your sociological
imagination to look for and understand patterns in how people live their lives. At its core, the
sociological perspective is about looking beyond individual level experiences to recognize the
larger structures that organize societies and how these structures influence individuals’ choices
and opportunities.
Sociology is a social science that has built, since its founding in the 19 th century, a large body of
theoretical and empirical work; it is this theoretical and empirical work that we will study in this
course. You will also have the opportunity to practice some basic sociological research which will
increase your learning about sociology and its methods.
To introduce you to the “principles of sociology” requires making some difficult choices. We
could not possibly cover all aspects of sociology in only one semester. Instead, we will focus on
the basics, organized into six units: Sociology and the Scientific Method; Components of Social
Organization; Micro Sociology; Stratification; Quantitative Data Analysis; and Social Change.
Course Requirements
1. Readings
Readings for this course provide an essential foundation for our activities in class. Successful
and meaningful discussions and activities depend on each student thoroughly and critically
reading each assigned text. The reading load varies widely from week to week—some weeks have
as little as 20 – 30 pages of assigned reading, while others require you to read an entire book.
So, be sure to plan ahead in order to complete the readings on time. You are responsible for all
readings, even if we do not discuss the material during class. The required books are available
for purchase at the Bookstore.
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To encourage all students to complete the assigned readings, I will give unannounced reading
quizzes throughout the semester.
Required Books and Readings:
1) Babbie, Earl. 1994. The Sociological Spirit, Second Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Publishing.
2) Ritzer, George. 2004. The McDonaldization of Society: Revised New Century Edition.
Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
3)
Selected readings available for download from Blackboard. (For information on how to
access and use Blackboard, go to http://www.wfu.edu/Library/ITC/training/blackboard/. A
direct link to this site is available in the WFU Computing Assistance folder in the Start
Menu of the standard Thinkpad load).
4)
Selected readings available from JSTOR and other online full-text databases. Noted on
reading schedule as “Library”.
The reading schedule is detailed on pp. 7 – 10. I reserve the right to make any changes in this
schedule, as appropriate.
Notes on readings:
Part of being a critical reader is noting the date in which the readings were first published. This
allows you to put the reading in its historical context. For example, many of the readings refer
to social life “today,” but are, in fact, not referring to 2005, but to when the article or book was
written. In this class, this could be as early as 1897. So, pay attention to these details. In
addition, you will notice that the authors (of course) use the stylistic customs of their time. You
will see instances of authors using the generic masculine, “a sociologist studies his world,” and
descriptors, such as “Negro,” that are no longer used. Although startling to the modern eye, we
must read with an understanding of the authors’ contexts. Seeing these words and practices in
these older writings does not give you permission to use them in your own. Always, you should
use contemporary stylistic guidelines, which includes, among more obvious things like not using
the word “Negro”, avoiding the generic masculine.
Library and Blackboard readings are central to the course. I expect you to read them as closely
and critically as you read the purchased textbooks. In addition, to encourage active reading
(making margin notes with questions/comments/reactions), I strongly suggest you print these
articles before you read them. If you are unable to print them, you should take detailed notes
as you read. All students should have a copy of the reading and/or their detailed reading notes
with them in class on the day we will be discussing the reading.
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2. Class Attendance and Participation
Your active participation in this class is expected. Attending and participating in class on a
regular basis is the best way to learn the material and to succeed in this course. Discussions can
facilitate learning by encouraging you to integrate and evaluate course material.
To encourage attendance, I will take attendance every class meeting. If you are not present at
the beginning of class, you will be counted absent. You are allowed three absences, no questions
asked. Students who miss 4 – 6 class sessions will have their grades dropped by one letter grade
(i.e. A to A-); students who miss 7 – 9 classes will have their grades dropped by two letter
grades (i.e. A to B+), etc. This applies to both excused (illness, death) and unexcused (sleeping in)
absences. Thus, I suggest that you use your absences carefully. Don’t waste your allowed
absences on trivial matters—if you then get sick, you will be out of luck. In addition, you are
responsible for any announcements or handouts from any class period that you miss.
Every person in this classroom deserves a voice. In order to foster a respectful learning
community, we need to set up some discussion ground rules. First, everyone has the right to
speak and to be heard, so none of us should be talking while someone else has the floor. Second,
you may disagree with what I or another student in the class is saying, but you must do so in a
respectful manner. This means you should direct your comment towards substantive, not
personal, rebuttals. Third, I want to encourage everyone in the class to participate, so I will
often call on those who have not yet spoken before calling on those who have. Finally, I
encourage you to cite evidence from class readings or other reliable sources to support your
arguments.
3. Exams
Students will have two exams in this course: a midterm exam on Thursday February 24 and a
final exam on Monday, May 2 at 9:00 am (as scheduled by the University). The exams will
consist of several short answer and essay questions, and will ask you to integrate and evaluate
course materials and readings. All students must take the exams at the scheduled times.
4. Analyzing Social Data
A central component of sociology is the analysis of empirical data. You will learn about some of
the data that are available to researchers, such as the General Social Survey and the U.S.
Census, and will work in a group to complete two data projects to analyze social patterns in these
data. I don’t expect that you are familiar with any sort of statistics or other kinds of data
analysis—I will teach you what you need to know to answer the research questions.
We will spend two weeks (March 22 – March 31) on data analysis. Your first research report will
be due on Monday March 28 and the second on Monday April 4. More details about each will be
provided.
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5. Review of Professional Sociological Journal Article
To facilitate your introduction to the discipline of sociology and its practice, you will be required
to read and review one research article from a professional sociology journal. While most class
material will give you a broad introduction to the sociological perspective, this assignment will
allow you to better understand the science of sociology and the process by which sociological
knowledge is created and disseminated.
Here’s what you need to do:
1) Take a look at recent Tables of Contents of one of the three leading peer-reviewed sociology
journals: American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, or Social Forces. You
must choose an article that has been published sometime after May 2004. These journals
can be viewed online on the library website or in hardcopy in the library stacks. One of the
purposes of this assignment is to give you library research skills; so if you are having
difficulties, ask a librarian to help you locate these journals.
2) Based on your review of these Tables of Contents, choose an article to read. I strongly
suggest that your choice be based on interest, not convenience. Many of these articles will
be very challenging for you to read—they will introduce you to theories, concepts, statistics,
and writing styles that you are unfamiliar with. You will need to read the article several
times in order to fully understand it. If you are not interested in what you are reading, this
assignment will be painful. So, choose your article carefully.
3) Print or photocopy the article so that you have a hardcopy. This will allow you to underline,
make margin notes, and interact more fully with the text. If you are printing the article
from an online database, you must print a PDF version so that it looks exactly like the print
version. If it is not available in PDF, go to the library and copy it from the stacks.
4) Read the article you have chosen. Read it again. And again, if necessary.
5) Write a 4 – 5 page summary and review of the article. This paper should include the
following:
 The author(s) and her/his/their professional affiliation(s)
 A statement, in your own words, of the purpose of the article.
 A description of the research questions.
 A summary of the theoretical debate or controversy which this article addresses.
 A summary of the article’s methods and data. What kind of data is used and where did
the author(s) get it? Who or what makes up the sample?
 A summary of the article’s empirical findings. Use the questions, hypotheses, and/or
theories raised in the first part of the article to help you organize and discuss the main
empirical findings.
 A summary of the article’s theoretical conclusions. What contribution does this article
make to the field of sociology? How does it inform the theoretical controversies
discussed in the first sections of the article?
 Your reaction to the article—what did you learn about the issue addressed in the article?
What did you learn about the science of sociology? What additional questions did it
raise?
When submitting you paper (in hardcopy), you should also submit a copy of your article (your
marked-up copy is fine; in fact, I prefer to see your marked up copy rather than a clean copy).
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There are three due dates for this assignment: Friday February 11, Friday March 18, and
Friday April 15. By the second week of the semester, I will randomly assign each student in the
course to one of these three due dates, and students will be required to submit their paper on
their assigned date. Once due dates are allocated, students will have 24 hours to make a case
that their due date should be changed to one of the other two dates. You must have a valid,
documented reason to argue for the switch (such as an exam in another class on the same date),
and I will be much more likely to grant the change if you can find a classmate with which to
switch.
For example, Student A is given a due date of February 11. She has a chemistry exam on that
date, and would prefer to submit her journal review paper on March 18. She finds a classmate,
Student Z, who was assigned March 18 and who is willing to switch to February 11. Students A
and Z send me an email, explaining why they want to switch and I will respond with an approval or
a denial of the change. By the end of the second week of class, you will know when your journal
review assignment is due.
At least one week before submitting your review, you should submit to me the complete citation
for the article you have chosen. This citation must be in the correct sociological format
described below. I will not accept citations that use a different or incorrect format.
Sociology citation format for journal articles:
Author(s). Year. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume: Pages.
Example:
Bianchi, Suzanne M., Melissa A. Milkie, Liana C. Sayer, and John P. Robinson. 2000. “Is Anyone
Doing the Housework? Trends in the Gender Division of Household Labor.” Social Forces 79:
191 – 228.
Notes on sociological citations:
 The first author should be listed with last name first; subsequent authors (if your article
has more than one) are listed first name first.
 Include two spaces after each period.
 The title of the article should be in quotations. The title of the journal should be italicized
or underlined.
 Only the volume number is included in the citation—you should not include the issue number
(page numbers run continuously for each volume, so one can find the correct issue by using
the page numbers; i.e. if issue 1 of volume 1 is 103 pages, issue 2 of volume 1 begins with page
104).
 The first line is flush with the left margin; subsequent lines are indented.
Course Grading Policies
Exams: All students must take the exams at the scheduled time. If you miss an exam because
you are away on official University business or because you have a documented emergency, you
must contact me ASAP so that alternative arrangements can be made.
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Writing Assignments: All writing assignments (research reports, journal article review) should
be submitted to me or to my office by 5:00 p.m. on their due date. If it is not submitted by this
time, your grade will be reduced by 10% for each day that it is late, including weekends.
Course requirements have the following weights:
Participation (including reading quizzes)
Research Reports (2)
Journal Article Review
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Total:
50 points
100 points (50 points each)
50 points
150 points
150 points
500 points
Your letter grade for the course will be derived from the percentage of points you earn out of
the maximum of 500:
Letter Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
Percentage
95 – 100%
91 – 94%
88 – 90%
84 – 87%
81 – 83%
78 – 80%
Letter Grade
C
CD+
D
DF
Percentage
74 – 77%
71 – 73%
68 – 70%
64 – 67%
61 – 63%
<= 60%
Honor System
Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are serious breaches of the WFU Honor System. I
expect every piece of work you complete in this class to be your own. Any suspected violations
of these standards of academic honesty will be pursued through the Honor and Ethics Council.
For more information about plagiarism, see
http://www.wfu.edu/academics/english/courses/writing_guide.htm#Plagiarism
Learning Assistance Center
If you have a disability that may require an accommodation for taking this course, please contact
the Learning Assistance Center (758-5929) within the first 2 weeks of the semester.
Writing Center
The university Writing Center offers writing tutoring to all WFU students. If you’d like some
help brainstorming, organizing, or editing your papers, I suggest you contact them (759-5768).
They are located in 117 Reynolda Hall.
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Course Schedule
(Subject to Change)
UNIT I: Introduction to Sociology and the Sociological Method
Introduction to the Discipline
January 11: Course Introduction
1) Babbie chapter 1, “An Idea Whose Time Has Come” pp. 1 – 27
2) Enroll yourself in the course on Blackboard. See the Blackboard help page for instructions (URL
is listed on page 2 of the syllabus) and call the HELP desk (x4357) if you run into any problems.
January 13:
1) Blackboard: Berger, Peter. 1963. Invitation to Sociology. Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 1 – 53
The Science of Sociology
January 18:
1) Blackboard: Durkheim, Emile. 1895. Rules of Sociological Method. Chapter 1, “What is a Social
Fact?” pp. 1 – 13.
January 20:
1) Blackboard: Durkheim, Emile. 1897. Suicide: A Study in Sociology. Preface (pp. 35 – 39),
Introduction (pp. 41 – 53), Book 2: Chapter 1 (145 – 151), Chapter 2 (152 – 170);
Recommended: selection from Chapter 3 (171 – 180)
UNIT II: Social Organization
Groups and Organizations
January 25:
1) Babbie, Chapter 3, “Groups,” pp. 46 – 61
2) Library: Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. 1977. “Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed
Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women.” American Journal of Sociology 82: 965 – 990.
January 27:
1) Babbie, Chapter 4, “Organizations,” pp. 62 – 78
2) Blackboard: Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. 1976. “The Impact of Hierarchical Structures on Work
Behavior of Women and Men.” Social Problems 23: 415 – 430.
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Institutions
February 1:
1) Babbie, Chapter 5, “Institutions,” pp. 79 – 98
2) Blackboard: Berger, Peter. 1963. Invitation to Sociology. Selection from Chapter 4, pp. 84 –
92.
3) Library: Martin, Patricia Yancey. 2004 “Gender As Social Institution.” Social Forces 82: 1249
– 1273.
Culture
February 3:
1) Babbie, Chapter 6, “Culture and Society,” 99 – 117
2) Blackboard: Becker, Howard. 1982. “Culture: A Sociological View.” Yale Review 71: 513 – 528.
Rationalization
February 8 – 10:
1) Ritzer, McDonaldization of Society
February 11: Journal article reviews due for first group by 5:00
Social Control and Social Deviance
February 15:
1) Babbie, Chapter 8, “Freedom versus Order,” pp. 135 – 148
2) Blackboard: Becker, Howard S. 1983. Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. New
York: Free Press. Chapter 1, pp. 1 – 18.
3) Blackboard: Berger, Peter L. 1963. Invitation to Sociology. New York: Doubleday. Selection
from Chapter 4, pp. 66 – 78.
UNIT III: Micro Sociology
Symbolic Interactionism:
February 17:
1) Blackboard: Blumer, Herbert. 1969. Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Pp. 2 –
21.
2) Library: Becker, Howard A. 1953. “Becoming a Marijuana User.” American Journal of Sociology
59: 235 – 242.
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Socialization and Identity:
February 22:
1) Babbie, Chapter 2, “Identity,” pp. 28 – 45
2) Blackboard: Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckman. 1967. The Social Construction of Reality.
Chapter III, pp. 129 – 147.
3) Library: Nagel, Joane. 1995. “American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Politics and the Resurgence of
Identity.” American Sociological Review 60: 947 – 965.
February 24: Midterm Exam
UNIT IV: Social Stratification
March 1:
1) Babbie, Chapter 7, “Inequality,” pp. 118 – 134
2) Blackboard: Weber, Max. 1946. “Class, Status, Party”.
3) Blackboard: Gans, Herbert. 1971. “The Uses of Poverty.” Social Policy July/August: 20 – 24.
March 3:
1) Blackboard: Wilson, William J. 1980. The Declining Significance of Race. Chapter 5, pp. 88 –
121.
March 7 – 11: Spring Break
Social Capital:
March 15:
1) Library: Coleman, James S. 1988. “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.” American
Journal of Sociology 94: S95 – S120.
2) Blackboard: Putman, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone. New York: Simon and Schuster. Chapter 1,
pp. 15 – 28.
March 17:
1) Library: Lareau, Annette. 2002. “Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childbearing in Black
Families and White Families.” American Sociological Review 67: 741 – 776.
March 18: Journal article reviews due for second group by 5:00
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UNIT V: Introduction to Data Analysis
March 22 – March 31:
Please bring your Thinkpads to class.
Research Report #1 due on Monday March 28
Research Report #2 due on Monday April 4
UNIT VI: Dynamics in Social Structure: Social Change
Social Movements
April 5:
1) Blackboard: Freeman, Jo. 1983. “On the Origins of Social Movements.” Pp. 8 – 30 in The
Social Movements of the Sixties and Seventies. Edited by Jo Freeman. New York: Longman.
April 7 & 12:
1) View the documentary, After Stonewall, in class.
2) Babbie, Chapter 9, “Social Change,” pp. 149 – 163
Populations and Social Change
April 14:
1) Library: Ryder, Norman B. 1965. “The Cohort as a Concept in the Study of Social Change.”
American Sociological Review 30: 843 – 861.
April 15: Journal article reviews due for third group by 5:00
“Buffer” Week
April 19 - 21:
We will use this last week to catch up on anything we missed. Topics and readings TBA.
Last Day of Class: Wrapping It All Up
April 26
Final Exam on Monday May 2, 9:00 am, Carswell 208.
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