Sociology 123: Social Stratification
Dr. Linda Nilson
circa 1980
Topics and Assignments:
Weeks I & II: What Social Stratification Is—Across Species, Through History, and According to
Consensus (Functionalism) and Conflict Theories.
Turner and Starnes (T&S): Chapter 1
Lopreato and Lewis readings (L&L): Introduction, pp. 1-6: “Basic Statements of Theory,” 716; and the following selections:
A.
Conflict Theory
Marx and Engels, 17-29
Marx, 31-37
Weber, 45-54
Dahrendorf, 55-58
B.
Consensus Theory (Functionalism)
Durkheim, 72-74
Davis and Moore, 64-71
“On the Functional Theory of Stratification,” 87-89
Critique by Tumin, 95-102
Davis’ Reply, 103-107
C.
An Attempt at Synthesis
Lenski, 75-85
Recommended in L&L: Simpson, 108-114; Wrong, 115-124
Week III:
Inequalities in Wealth and Income
T&S: Chapters 2, 3 (Pay close attention to all the tables.)
“The Incredible Rocky”
Domhoff, 1967, if you haven’t already read it or don’t remember it.
Concentrate on generalizations, not on people’s names so it doesn’t take you long.
The introduction and chapters 1, 2, and 7 are most important.
Week IV:
Inequalities in Power
L&L: Kaysen, 343-350
Mills, 361-376
Hacker, 370-376
Domhoff, 1979: entire book (Don’t memorize his examples.)
Review in Sections
Week V:
Midterm in Class
Week VI:
Inequalities in Prestige; Measurements of Socioeconomic Status
Parkin:
Chapter 1
On Reserve: Robert Hodge, Paul Siegel, and Peter Rossi, “Occupational Prestige in the U.S.:
1925-1963,” in C. Heller, Structured Social Inequality, pp.192-204 or in R. Bendix
and S.M. Lipset, Class, Status and Power, 2nd edition, pp. 322-334.
Week VII:
Inequality of Opportunity for Wealth, Income, Power, and Prestige: Social Mobility and
Status Attainment
L&L: Hazelrigg, 469-493 (Try to follow the reasoning and get the generalizations).
Blau and Duncan, 503, 508
Parkin: Chapter 2
Weeks VIII & IX: New Modern Stratification Persists: The Political System (Wealthfare, Welfare,
and Pluralistic” Representative Democracy)
Parkin: Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6
T&S: Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
How Modern Stratification Persists: People’s Beliefs and Subjective Responses to
Stratification
L&L: Leggett, 193-201
Davies, 275-287
Form and Huber, 399-409
Geschwender, 438-446
Lopreato, 540-546
Week X:
Review in Sections
Final Examination:
Friday, December 17, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Dodd 170
(No, you can’t take it earlier.)
Partial Syllabus for Free Will and Determinism
Dr. Linda B. Nilson
To what extent do free will, fate, and predetermining factors mold individual lives and the course of social change?
Several disciplines have taken on the challenge of this classic question of human existence--notably sociology,
philosophy, and psychology. They have offered a wide range of answers, many of which this seminar will explore
in depth. We will also consider the modern genetic and biochemical perspectives.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
More than anything else, this freshman seminar is a course in sound, critical thinking about philosophical and
evaluative issues that have no clear right and wrong answers. I have chosen free will vs. determinism as the central
life issue to examine in this course because I remember its being crucial to me when I was your age. Hopefully, you
will carry over the thinking skills you learn in this course in considering other central life issues.
In specific terms, by the end of this course, you will have developed a well reasoned, personal position on the role of
free will and determinism in your own and others' lives. You will be able to express, support, and defend your
position orally and in writing while acknowledging its weaknesses and realizing that it can never be validated as
"the right answer" and that it may change over time. Hopefully, you will also begin to feel comfortable with the
uncertainty and tentativeness of knowledge and with making decisions in spite of it.
In addition, you will learn the role that hidden assumptions play in leading people to various arguments and
conclusions. You will be able use this knowledge to identify and examine people's unexpressed premises and
"givens" and to evaluate their arguments and conclusions more critically for the rest of your life.
To help you attain these major course goals, you will also acquire these supporting abilities: to sift out the various
positions on free will and determinism in the assigned literature; to express these positions accurately, both orally
and in writing; to draw sound comparisons and contrasts among them; to identify and explain their strengths and
weaknesses; and to distinguish among the stronger and the weaker positions.
Still another course goal, this one process-oriented, is to develop in you the listening, cognitive, and social skills for
engaging in open, intellectual discussion and working cooperatively in small groups. Collaborative work is the
wave of today and of the future in both the private and the public sectors. You must learn to make your fair
contribution and to listen to the good ideas of others, whatever you plan to do with your life.
REQUIRED READINGS
Peter L. Berger, Invitation to Sociology, Anchor-Doubleday, 1963.
Wayne W. Dyer, Your Erroneous Zones, HarperPerennial, 1991, 1976.
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, HarperPerennial, 1992, 1932.
C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University, 1959.
James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy, Warner, 1993.
Ruis (Richard Appignanesi), Marx for Beginners, Pantheon, 1976.
B.F. Skinner, Walden Two, Macmillan, 1948, 1976.
Clifford Williams, Free Will and Determinism: A Dialogue, Hackett, 1980.
ClassPak: chapters from Richard Taylor's Metaphysics and short articles on the effects of genetics and
biochemistry on human behavior.
COURSE ORGANIZATION AND SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
We will begin by examining the definitions of free will, indeterminism, compatibilism, fatalism, and determinism in
modern philosophy, as well as the arguments for and against each position. You will find discover that the
philosophical case for determinism relies heavily on the evidence from the physical and natural sciences (not the
social sciences). Therefore, while we are in the middle of our philosophical readings, we will examine some of the
most recent research findings on the effects of genetics, biochemistry, and sociobiology on human behavior.
Then we will proceed more or less chronologically through the major social scientific and psychological
perspectives on free will and determinism:
* the historical, social, and economic philosophy of the late 19th century;
* the sociopolitical thought of the 1930s (Huxley);
* the behaviorist psychology of the mid-20th century (Skinner);
* major mainstream sociological theory of the latter 20th century: symbolic interactionism (Berger) and
conflict theory/political sociology (Mills);
* clinical psychology's self-help therapy of the 1970s and 1980s (Dyer); and
* the New Age psycho-spiritual perspective of the late 20th century (Redfield).
All of these approaches have retained their scholarly and/or public popularity until today.
Remember that, as a rule, you are to have read at least two thirds of the assigned book and prepared answers to the
accompanying Study and Discussion Guide questions by the first class session we discuss the book.
WEEK 1
1/11
Course Overview and Introduction
Index Cards; Icebreaker Activities; First Free-Write Journal Entry
WEEK 2
1/16
Modern Philosophical Perspectives on Free Will and Determinism
Taylor in the ClassPak: pp. 35-53 (chapter 5)
Williams: pp. vii-30
1/18
WEEK 3
1/23
1/25
The Modern Genetic, Biochemical, and Sociobiological Evidence for Determinism
ClassPak readings focusing on temperament and intelligence:
"The Case of Dr. Strangedrug"
"Counting Your Blessings"
"Mind: Born to Believe"
"The Realistic View of Biology and Behavior" (Kagan)
"IQ Testing Thrown a Curve"
"Class, IQ, and Heredity"
"Mainstream Science on Intelligence"
Genetics, biochemistry, and sociobiology continued
ClassPak readings focusing on deviant, dominant, and mating behavior
"Defective Gene Linked to Obesity"
"Study Suggests X Chromosome Is Linked to Homosexuality"
"Fingerprint Research Suggests Sex Orientation Set before Birth"
"The Influence of Testosterone on Deviance in Adulthood”
"Biology and Behavior"
"An Anthropologist's Risk"
WEEK 4
1/30
2/1
Williams: pp. 30-58. Also review Abstract, pp. 59-67.
Fatalism -- Taylor in the Classpak: pp. 54-67 (chapter 6); Journals Evaluations (in class)
WEEK 5
2/6
2/8
Draft of Paper #1 Due; Revision Groups
Paper #1 Due; Student Paper Symposium
WEEK 6
2/13
2/15
WEEK 7
WEEK 8
the
2/20
Historical Material Determinism of the Late 19th Century
Ruis (on Marx): pp. 7-35 and especially pp. 64-142; definitions pp. 145-53
Recommended: pp. 36-63
Ruis (on Marx) continued
2/22
The Specter of Programmed Sociopolitical Determinism in the 1930s
Huxley: pp. vii-xviii and 1-202 (Foreword and chapters I-XIII)
Huxley: pp. 203-267 (chapters XIV-XVIII)
2/27
The Utopian Possibilities of Programmed Determinism: Behaviorist Psychology of
2/29
Mid 20th Century
Skinner: pp. v-vxi and pp. 1-207
Skinner: pp. 208-301
SPRING BREAK WEEK - 3/2-3/10 Have a delightful week, but don't forget to write your first draft of Paper #2!
WEEK 9
3/12
3/14
Draft of Paper #2 Due; Revision Groups; Journal Evaluations (in class)
Paper #2 Due; Student Paper Symposium
WEEK 10
3/19
Latter 20th Century Sociology: Symbolic Interactionist School
Berger: chapters 1, 2, and 4
Berger: chapters 5 and 6
3/21
WEEK 11
3/26
3/28
WEEK 12
4/2
4/4
WEEK 13
4/9
4/11
Latter 20th Century Sociology: Conflict Theory (Political Sociology)
Mills: chapter 1, introduction and sections 1, 2, and 6
chapter 2, introduction and sections 1, 2, 3, and 4
chapter 5, section 3
chapter 7, section 2
chapter 8, section 5
Mills: chapter 9, all
chapter 10, introduction and sections 1, 2, 3, and 4
Clinical Psychology's Self-Help Therapy of the 1970s and 1980s
Dyer: pp. 1-163 (Introduction and chapters I-VII)
Dyer: pp. 164-234 (chapters VIII-XII)
The New Age Psycho-Spiritual Perspective of the Late 20th Century
Redfield: pp. 1-122 (first five chapters)
Redfield: pp. 123-246 (last four chapters)
WEEK 14
4/16
4/18
Draft of Paper #3 Due; Revision Groups; Journal Evaluations (in class)
Paper #3 Due; Student Paper Symposium
Peer Performance Evaluation forms distributed; complete and turn in 4/23.
WEEK 15
4/23
Student Paper Symposium Continued
Peer Performance Evaluations Due
Summary Discussion of Free Will vs. Determinism and the Course
Course/Instructor Evaluation Forms
The above schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of
extenuating circumstances or by mutual agreement.
Information on Commercial Software for Graphic Syllabi and Outcomes Maps
Company Information
Name
Telephone
Web Site
Computer
1-877-441-1150
Systems
www.conceptdraw.com
Odessa, LCC
Product
Price
ConceptDraw
MINDMAP
$99
Curio 6
Professional
(Mac only)
EDGE
Diagrammer
$69
Zengobi, Inc
$49.95 - $99
Pacestar
Software
iMindMap
$99-$395
ThinkBuzan,
Inc.
Inspiration 9
$69
Inspiration
Software
1-800-877-4292
www.inspiration.com
MindGenius
$235
Gael Ltd.
MindManager
$129 for Mac,
$349 for
Windows
$249
Mindjet
+44 (0) 355-247766
www.mindgenius.com
1-877-646-3538
www.mindjet.com
MindMapper
2009
Professional
Novamind
Prezi
VisiMap
Professional
4.2
Visual Mind
11 Basic,
Business
$49-$249
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with limited
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sales@zengobi.com,
info@zengobo.com
www.zengobi.com
1-480-893-3046
www.pacestar.com
1-800-961-4582
www.thinkbuzan.com/us/product
s/imindmap/
SimTech
1-972-436-0863 or
Systems, Inc. 1-877-883-6505
www.mindmapper.com
NMS Global 1-800-583-8123
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NovaMind
Software
Prezi, Inc.
sales@prezi.com;
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CoCo
Systems Ltd.
+44 7971-321586 or
1-800-884-0489 (orders)
www.coco.co.uk
Mind
+47 3285 5455
Technologies www.visual-mind.com
AS
Free Computer Software for Graphic Syllabi and Outcomes Maps
MindRaider: http://mindraider.sourceforge.net/
CMapTools: http://cmap.ihmc.us/
FreeMind: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page,
http://www.mapyourmind.com/freesoftware.htm
BrainBox: http://www.circle-of-excellence.com/index.htm
GnuConcept (collaborative mind mapping tool): http://gnuconcept.e-oss.net/en/index.php
Belvedere Knowledge Mapping: http://sourceforge.net/projects/belvedere/
BuddySpace Jabber Client: http://www.files-library.com/files/BuddySpace-Jabber-Client.html
map2owl: http://sourceforge.net/projects/map2owl/
Java Object Base: https://sourceforge.net/projects/javaobjectbase/
Conzilla: http://www.conzilla.org/wiki/Overview/Main
Visualiser: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sv1/
Super CSV: http://supercsv.sourceforge.net/
Diagram Drawer: http://sourceforge.net/projects/diagram-drawer
University of Minnesota Digital Media Center: http://cmc.umn.edu/activities/mindmap
FreeMind: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Wisdomap: http://wisdomap.com/
XMind: http://www.xmind.net/
The Brain: http://www.thebrain.com/
Mind Mapping Software Review: http://mind-mapping-software.org/
Gliffy (basic online version): http://www.gliffy.com/
Creately (public version): http://creately.com/
Tufts University Visual Understanding Environment: http://vue.tufts.edu
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