Sociology 241: Socialization
St. Francis Xavier University
Department of Sociology
Winter 2011
Instructor: Dr. Peter Mallory
Office Hours: Tue. 9:45-11:45 &
2:30-3:30; Thur. 1:30-3:30;
Friday 8:30-9:30
Office: Annex 9D
Email: pmallory@stfx.ca
Phone: 867-2445
Lecture Schedule
Monday and Wednesday, 3:45-5:00
Course Description
Socialization is the process by which individuals to come to think, feel and act as
competent members of society and social groups. It is through socialization that
human beings transcend their biological natures and become full participants in the
symbolic and intersubjectively meaningful social world. Socialization is a life-long
process which is intense in childhood but continues whenever people learn new
roles or adjust to the loss of previous ones. This course introduces you to the major
sociological perspectives on socialization. We will focus on themes such as culture
and symbols, the self, authority and obedience, education, total institutions,
stigma, disability, gender and emotions. Throughout this course we will study
individuals not simply as passive actors who thoughtlessly internalize the rules,
norms and values of society. Instead, we will study people as active participants in
social life who are capable of consciously sustaining institutions, transforming them,
and creating new ones.
Required Texts
1. A course pack available at the university book store.
2. Readings marked “library’s electronic resources” are available for free
download from the MacDonald Library’s electronic resources. Since you
have free access to them, they have not been included in the course pack.
2
Course Evaluation
Class participation
Mid-term Quiz
Essay
Final Exam
10%
20%
30%
40%
Essay:
There will be one short essay assignment. A handout will be distributed during
lecture. Completed papers will be no longer than 7-8 pages in length (250 words
per page, 12 point standard font, double spaced). It will be due no later than
Monday, March 28th.
Mid-term Quiz:
There will be an in-class test on Wednesday, February 16th. The purpose of the
quiz is to give you feedback on your progress in the course prior to the drop date.
Exam:
An exam will be scheduled during the regular examination period. It will be closedbook and contain a variety of questions. A study guide will be distributed on the
last day of class.
Class Participation:
A high level of participation is a requirement for this class. Your grade for
participation will take into account attendance, demonstrated grasp of the weekly
reading, participation in small group discussions and participation in lectures.
Please bring the readings to class, and be prepared to offer your questions and
insights. Being prepared for class with thoughtful and analytical comments on the
day’s readings is a requirement for this course. Attendance without participation is
not sufficient to do well in this part of your grade.
IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION AND POLICIES
Late Policy
Late papers submitted without prior permission will incur a late penalty of 5% of
the total assignment per day, including weekends.
Plagiarism (Or, the easiest way to fail the course)
Since this course requires you to complete a written assignment, you should
familiarize yourself with standards for proper referencing of all materials cited (i.e.
books, journals, newspaper articles, internet resources etc.). Students who
attempt to pass off someone else’s work as their own (plagiarism) will be dealt with
through the university policy on academic honesty. Our job is not solely to help
3
you to learn, but also to maintain the integrity of your degree. Please ensure that
you fully understand this policy (see section 3.8 in the calendar).
You should keep all rough work (notes, draft, etc.) until your final marks have been
officially recorded by the Registrar’s Office.
Class Attendance
If you must miss more than one class, please contact your professor. If you will
miss more than five days of school, you should contact the Dean’s Office. The
Dean’s Office will then notify your professors.
Special Accommodations
If you develop a prolonged illness or encounter a personal crisis that will impact
your participation in the course, please contact your professor as soon as the
problem becomes apparent. Your best strategy for dealing with anything that
may prevent you from completing the course in a way that is satisfactory to you is
to discuss your concerns as soon as possible with your professor so that we can
together work out a way of responding to them.
Other Accommodations
If you are student with physical, learning, or psychiatric disabilities that require
reasonable accommodation in teaching style or evaluation, you should speak with
the professor early in the term so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
That’s all for now – Welcome to the Course!
4
LECTURE SCHEDULE AND READINGS
Jan 5
Course Overview
Optional Reading:
Gopnik, Adam. “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli.” New Yorker,
78(29) September: 80. (Library’s Electronic
Resources)
Jan 10 & 12
Introduction to Socialization: Are Human Beings
Free?
Bauman, Zygmunt. 1990. “Freedom and Dependence.” Pp.
21-35 in Thinking Sociologically. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers. (Course Pack)
Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckmann. 2007 [original
1966]. “The Social Foundation of Human Experience.” Pp.
2-10 in Inside Social Life, edited by S. Cahill. New York:
Oxford University Press. (Course Pack)
Jan 17 & 19
Social Action as Subjectively Meaningful
Weber, Max. 1987 [original 1920]. “What is Social Action.”
Pp. 44 in The Meaning of Sociology, edited by J. Charon.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. (Course Pack)
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. “Thick Description: Towards an
Interpretive Theory of Culture.” Pp. 3-30 in The
Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
(Course Pack)
Becker, Howard. 1953. “Becoming a Marihuana User.” The
American Journal of Sociology 59: 235-242. (Library’s
Electronic Resources)
5
Jan 24 & 26
Classics in Socialization: Emile Durkheim on Morality
and Education
Durkheim, Emile. 2003 [original 1895]. “Sociological
Method.” Pp. 126-140 in Social Theory: Essential
Readings, edited by G. Bailey and N. Gayle. Toronto:
Oxford University Press. (Course Pack)
Durkheim, Emile. 1961 [original 1925]. “Of the Learning of
Discipline.” Pp. 860-5 in Theories of Society, Vol. 2, edited
by T. Parsons et. al. New York: The Free Press. (Course
Pack)
Jan 31 &
Feb 2
Authority, Obedience, and Conformity
Milgram, Stanley. 1973. “The Perils of Obedience.”
Harper’s Magazine, December: 62-77. (Library’s
Electronic Recourses)
Kelman, Herbert and Lee Hamilton. 2002. “The My Lai
Massacres: Crimes of Obedience and Sanctioned
Massacres.” Pp. 195-222 in Corporate and Governmental
Deviance, 6th edition, edited by M Ermann and R.
Lundman. New York: Oxford University Press. (Course
Pack)
Asch, Solomon. E. 1955. “Opinions and Social Pressure.”
Scientific American, 193, pp. 31-35. (Available Online at:
http://www.panarchy.org/asch/social.pressure.1955.html)
Feb 7 & 9
Re-socialization and the Total Institution:
Dyer, Gwynne. 1985. “Anybody’s Son Will Do.” Pp. 101129 in War. New York: Crown Publishers. (Course Pack)
Goffman, Erving. 1997 [original 1961]. “The Mortified
Self.” Pp. 55-71 in The Goffman Reader, edited by C.
Lemert and A. Branaman. Malden, MA: Blackwell. (Course
Pack)
6
Feb 14 & 16
Socialization and the University
Karp, David and Lynda Holmstrom and Paul Gray. 1998.
“Leaving Home for College: Expectations for Selective
Reconstruction of Self.” Symbolic Interaction 21(3): 253276. (Course Pack)
Edmundson, Mark. 1997. “On the Uses of a Liberal
Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College
Students.” Harpers Magazine, September: 39-49.
(Library’s Electronic Resources - Proquest)
Savio, Mario. 1964. “An End to History.” (Available Online
at: http://www.fsm-a.org/stacks/endhistorysavio.html)
** Mid-Term Test – Wednesday, February 16th **
Feb 21 & 23
Spring Break
Enjoy!
Feb 28 &
Mar 2
Classical Readings in Socialization: George Herbert
Mead on the Self
Mead, George H. 1977 [original 1934]. “Self.” Pp. 199-246
in George Herbert Mead on Social Psychology, edited A.
Strauss. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (Course
Pack)
Mar 7 & 9
Erving Goffman on Stigma and Social Interaction
Goffman, Erving. 1963. Selections from: Stigma: Notes on
the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall: (Course Pack)
Mar 14 & 16
Disability and Social Interaction
Cahill, Spencer and Robin Eggleston. 1994. “Managing
Emotions in Public: The Case of Wheelchair Users.” Social
7
Psychology Quarterly 57(4): 300-312. (Library’s
Electronic Recourses – JSTOR)
Michalko, Rod. 1982. “Accomplishing a Sighted World.”
Reflections: Canadian Journal of Visual Impairment 1: 930. (Course Pack)
Mar 21 & 23
Doing Gender: Garfinkel’s Study of Agnes
Garfinkel, Harold. 1967. “Passing and the Managed
Achievement of Sex Status in an Intersexed Person, Part
I.” Pp. 116-185 in Studies in Ethnomethodology.
Englewood Cliff’s, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Course Pack)
Mar 28 & 30
Emotions and Relationships
Hochschild, Arlie. 1994. “The Commercial Spirit of Intimate
Life and the Abduction of Feminism: Signs from Women’s
Advice Books. Theory, Culture, & Society 11: 1-24.
(Library’s Electronic Recourses- JSTOR)
Hochschild, Arlie. 1998. “The Sociology of Emotion as a
Way of Seeing.” Pp. 3-15 in Emotions in Social Life: Critical
Themes and Contemporary Issues, edited by G. Bendelow
and S. Williams. New York: Routledge. (Course Pack)
** Essay Due in Class, Monday, March 28th **
Apr 4
Negotiating Order in Everyday Life
Best, Amy. 2006. “Freedom, Constraint, and Family
Responsibility: Teens and Parents Collaboratively Negotiate
Around the Car, Class, Gender and Culture.” Journal of
Family Issues 27: 55-84. (Library’s Electronic
Resources)
Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckmann. 1999 [original
1966]. “The Origins of Institutions.” Pp. 270-3 in The
Meaning of Sociology, edited by J. M. Charon. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (Course Pack)
8
Apr 6
Discussion and Review
Exam Study Guide Distributed in Class