UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE – DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
SOC 100J: Introduction to Sociology
Fall 2009
Professor Cheryl Laz
*e-mail: cherlaz@usm.maine.edu
Phone: 780-4101 (office, voice mail)
780-4100 (Sociology main office)
GORHAM
Office: Geography/Anthropology Department, 300 Bailey Hall
Office Hours: MW 8:30-9:30 and 12:15-1:00, and by appointment
PORTLAND
Office: Sociology Department, 120 Bedford Street
Office Hours: Thursday 12-1, and by appointment
REQUIRED BOOKS
David Newman. 2010. Sociology: exploring the architecture of everyday life. Brief edition.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
David Newman and Jodi O’Brien. 2008. Sociology: exploring the architecture of everyday life:
Readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS
“The most important thing...that we can know about a man [sic] is what he takes for
granted, and the most elemental and important facts about a society are those that are
seldom debated and generally regarded as settled.”
Louis Wirth, preface to Karl Mannheim’s Ideology and Utopia
This course will introduce you to sociology as a way of asking and answering questions, as a way of
thinking, and as a scientific study. In general, sociologists are interested in the relationship between
individuals and society, between personal experiences and larger social conditions and historical
events. To understand the perspectives, methods, and theories that sociologists use, we will focus
on inequality, and, in particular, on social class, gender, race and ethnicity.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Identify many of the social structures and processes that define the modern world and
shape our everyday lives;
2. understand the basic concepts, theories and methods of sociology;
3. apply selected sociological concepts, theories and methods to understand contemporary
social issues and your own life;
4. imagine actions you could take to create a more equitable, democratic and sustainable
society;
5. read and study more critically and effectively, and;
6. communicate about sociological issues more analytically and persuasively.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Grades will be based on a total of 350 points, distributed as follows:
Midterm Exam
100 points
Final Exam
100 points
Exercises
50 points
Focus Questions
100 points
Midterm Exam will be taken in class and will consist of close-ended (multiple choice, true/false)
and short-answer questions. You will be expected to demonstrate understanding of and ability to
apply materials from readings, lectures, discussion, films, etc. The exam will be open-book and
open notes.
The Final Exam will take the place during finals week. It will consist of close-ended (multiple
choice, true/false) and short answer questions.
Short Exercises will require you to do, use, and reflect on sociology outside of class. These will
enable you to apply what you read and learn in class to the world around you and to your own
experiences. You will usually have about one week to complete these exercises. It is imperative
that you submit all work on the designated due dates, but especially crucial with these short exercises
since the work of the class as a whole will be used as data for purposes of class discussion.
While effective writing is important on exercises, exams, and essays, I will not grade you explicitly
on the basis of grammar and writing skills. I will, however, make comments and suggestions to
help you improve your writing. I also expect you to correct any pervasive or systemic problems.
Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference, is a tremendous resource; I highly recommend you use it.
Focus Questions. In conjunction with the articles from the Reader, you will be required to answer
focus questions. Their purpose is to create a framework for reading carefully and thoroughly, and
to provide an opportunity for thinking systematically about the material prior to class discussion.
You are required to submit written (word-processed) answers to these questions at the end of class
on the day we discuss the readings. Late papers will not be accepted for credit. Answers to focus
questions will be reviewed, recorded, and returned with minimal comment. I will not be grading
each set separately, but will award a check (for satisfactory work), a check plus (for excellent work),
and a check minus (for incomplete or careless work). To earn full credit for focus questions (100
points), you must satisfactorily answer (i.e. get a check on) 20 (out of 30+/-) sets of questions.
Attendance and Participation are required. Some of our class time will be used to present
background material; define, present, and explain basic sociological concepts, theories, and data; and
to forge connections among the readings. I hope that we can also learn about sociology and its
usefulness by discussing it in small groups and as a class. Hence, a lack of preparation and/or
irregular attendance on your part will negatively affect the whole class. In short, you are expected
to come to class (on time) regularly and to be an active and prepared participant.
POLICIES AND INFORMATION
Blackboard. This course has a Blackboard website which we will be using on a regular basis for
announcements, assignments, required reading, and other course materials. In addition, I will use
the “communication” function to send you e-mail. Make sure that your e-mail address is where you
really get your mail. Plan to log in to Blackboard regularly and to print assignments and other
materials at least one week in advance of when they are due.
If you have not taken a USM or UMS course before, you will need to activate your account. The
following link will answer many questions and get you started using Blackboard:
http://usm.maine.edu/computing/resources/blackboard/bb5_guide.jsp#a1
You can navigate to Blackboard from the USM website, www.usm.maine.edu. Click on Sites for
Current Students, and use the drop-down menu under Academics to locate “Blackboard.”
his link –
http://www.learn.maine.edu/crs/bb5_guide.php – will help you if you are
unfamiliar with Blackboard, or if you need a refresher on how to access materials, change your
password, change your e-mail address, etc.
If you have trouble activating or logging in to Blackboard, please do NOT call me for help. Use
the Blackboard help line, 1-800-696-4357 (HELP), or their e-mail address,
techsupport@maine.edu or call USM’s Help desk at 780-4029 or e-mail
Helpdesk@usm.maine.edu.
Academic Support Information. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of
a disability, please let me know this as soon as possible. For academic skills workshops, contact the
Learning Center at 228-8224 (Costello Sports Complex, Gorham) or 780-4228 (253 Luther Bonney,
Portland). Other support services you might find useful include the Counseling Center (110 Upton
Hall, x4050) and the Office of Academic Support for Students with Disabilities (237 Luther Bonney,
Portland, x4706).
Make up and late Policies and a Note on Academic Honesty. I expect that you will take the
exams at the scheduled times. Make ups for exams will be scheduled on an individual basis but
ONLY will be permitted under exceptional circumstances and ONLY if PRIOR arrangements have
been made. (I do not consider oversleeping an exceptional circumstance.)
I also expect that you will hand in exercises and focus questions on assigned dates. Late exercises
will be penalized for each day late (including weekends and holidays). Under no circumstances will
exercises be accepted after corrected ones have been discussed or returned in class. Focus
questions will not be accepted late, nor will electronic submissions be accepted.
I encourage you to share your ideas with classmates and others and to discuss material outside of
class. However, all written work (focus questions, exercises, exams, essays) must be your own.
Plagiarism, in any shape or form, will not be tolerated. This includes “borrowing” from friends and
classmates as well as from other authors. You are expected to know and adhere to the Sociology
Department’s “Guide to Referencing and Citation.” (A copy of this is available in Blackboard,
Course Information.) Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference (used in all ENG 100 classes at USM) is
also an excellent resource. If you have questions about plagiarism, citation, or referencing, please
ask.
Minimum grade requirement. For university Core credit for SOC 100J, you must get a D or
better; for Sociology majors, the minimum grade requirement is C. It is your responsibility to know
the minimum grade requirements for your major. Please see your advisor if you have questions.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Any changes in reading assignments or due dates for written work will be announced in class and
posted to Blackboard. It is YOUR responsibility to get this information.
Any reading indicated by author’s last name and article title is found in the Reader AND has required
focus questions. The questions can be found on the handout distributed in class and in the
Assignments section of Blackboard.
Weeks 1-3
I. Introducing the Sociological Perspective: The Sociological Imagination
8/31 Introduction
9/2
Newman, Ch. 1
C. Wright Mills, “The Sociological Imagination” (Reader p. 3)
9/7
No Class: Labor Day
9/9
Newman, Ch 2
9/14 Exercise 1 Due
Chambliss, “The Mundanity of Excellence” (Reader, p. 8)
9/16 Glassner, “The Culture of Fear” (Reader, p. 20)
Weeks 4-5
II. Asking and Answering Sociological Questions
9/21 Newman, Ch 3
9/23 Babbie, “Concepts, Indicators, and Reality” (Reader, p. 44)
9/28 Adler, “Researching Dealers and Smugglers” (Reader, p. 33)
Weeks 6-9
III. Culture, Identity, Conformity and Deviance
9/30 Newman, Ch 4
Fadiman, “The Melting Pot” (Reader, p. 61)
10/5 Exercise 2 Due
Portes, “English-Only Triumphs, But the Costs are High” (Reader, p. 71)
Anderson, “The Code of the Streets” (Reader, p. 99)
10/7 Newman, Ch 5
Romero, “Life as the Maid’s Daughter” (Reader, p. 78)
Messner, “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities”
(Reader, p. 87)
10/12 No Class: October Break
10/14 Newman, Ch 6
Goffman, “Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” (Reader, p. 120)
Cahill and Eggleston, “Wheelchair Users’ Interpersonal Management of Emotions”
(Reader, p. 130)
10/19 Exercise 3 due
Newman, Ch 7
Carrington, “No Place Like Home” (Reader, p. 143)
Coontz, “The Radical Idea of Marrying for Love” (Reader, p. 158)
10/21 Newman, Ch 8
Hesse-Biber, “Becoming a Certain Body” (Reader, p. 111)
10/26 Tuggle and Holmes, “Blowing Smoke” (Reader, p. 189)
Conrad and Schneider, “Medicine as an Institution of Social Control” (Reader, p. 197)
10/28 MIDTERM EXAM
Weeks 10-14
IV. Social Structure, Institutions, Power, and Inequality
11/2 Newman, Ch 9
Van Maanen, “The Smile Factory” (Reader, p. 210)
Cookson and Persell, “Preparing for Power” (Reader, p. 220)
11/4 Newman, Ch 10
Mantsios, “Making Class Invisible” (Reader, p. 243)
Adair, “Branded with Infamy” (Reader, p. 250)
11/9 Exercise 4 Due
Hernandez Navarro, “To Die a Little” (Reader, p. 326)
11/11 No Class: Veteran’s Day
11/16 Newman, Ch 11
Omi And Winant, “Racial and Ethnic Formation” (Reader, p. 269)
11/18 Waters, “Optional Ethnicities” (Reader, p. 276)
Farley and Squires, “Fences and Neighbors” (Reader, p. 283)
11/23 Newman, Ch 12
Landry, “Black Women and a New Definition of Womanhood” (Reader, p. 292)
Hochschild, “Love and Gold” (Reader, p. 338)
11/25 No Class: Thanksgiving
11/30 Exercise 5 due
Williams, “Still a Man’s World” (Reader, p. 304)
12/2 Grindstaff & West, “Cheerleading & the Gendered Politics of Sport” (Reader, p. 314)
Week 15
V. Social Change
12/7 Newman, Ch 14
Hall, “Apocalyse 9/11" (Reader, p. 359)
12/9 Krauss, “Challenging Power” (Reader, p. 374)
Final Exam: Thursday, December 17, 1:30-3:30