Sociology 101 Recitation Syllabus, Fall 2015
Sections 35-40 (Professor Lee Clarke)
Lecture Meetings: Monday and Thursday 10:05am-11:00am, Scott Hall 135
Recitation Meetings:
Section 35 (with Stephen): Monday 8:25-9:20am, Campbell Hall A3
Section 36 (with Good): Monday 8:25-9:20am, Hardenbergh Hall A5
Section 37 (with Stephen): Thursday 8:25-9:20am, Murray Hall 114
Section 38 (with Good): Thursday 8:25-9:20am, Hardenbergh Hall A1
Section 39 (with Stephen): Monday 11:45am-12:40pm, Murray Hall 210
Section 40 (with Good): Thursday 11:45am-12:40pm, Hardenbergh Hall A3
Teaching Assistants:
Anand Stephen
Email: astephen@sociology.rutgers.edu
Office Hours: Thursday 11:30am-12:30pm
and by appointment
Location: College Ave Campus
Student Center
Adrian Good
Email: adrian.good@rutgers.edu
Office Hours: Monday 11:30am-12:30pm
and by appointment
Location: College Ave Campus
Student Center
Both teaching assistants will hold office hours in the College Avenue Campus Student Center.
This is a large space, so it would be wise to arrange where to meet with us ahead of time.
Recitation Goals:
The general purpose of this introductory course is to give you a sense of what it means to think
sociologically. The recitation complements the lecture by giving you a chance to revisit the
material from the readings and lectures, ask questions about it, discuss what it means and what
its ramifications are, and brainstorm about how we can apply it to everyday life. You should
expect to be a much more active participant in recitations than in lectures—this requires a greater
amount of effort on your part (you need to have done the readings and attended the lectures or
else we won't have a base from which we can discuss anything), but the more you put into the
class, the more you can expect to get out of it.
Expectations and Requirements:
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Before each recitation, finish reading, watching, or listening to the materials required for
the most recent lecture as well as any additional materials outlined in the calendar below.
Make sure you are able to state the main argument(s) of what you've read and seen.
Before each recitation, prepare a brief memo including a question based on the materials
that have been newly introduced since the last recitation. Read the materials for that day's
lecture, think about the ideas in them, think about how the ideas relate to what you
learned in previous weeks, find any weak points or inconsistencies, and think about how
the ideas might or might not be useful. Memos must be three sentences long: a topic
sentence, a follow-up sentence, and a question. The first two sentences are to provide
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background for the question. A good question shows that you have engaged with the
material; a great question is one that we could use to open up a discussion. Please bring a
physical copy of your memo to class.
Recitations are discussion-based, so come prepared to participate in discussions.
You should attend recitation and be on time. Tardiness is disruptive to the TAs and to
your fellow students.
Your TAs will sometimes send out instructions and/or reminders via Sakai
announcements and emails. You should regularly check Sakai and/or the email address
you registered with Sakai for announcements, to keep on track and stay prepared for
class.
Evaluation
Recitation comprises 15% of your final grade for the course. As noted in Professor Clarke's
syllabus, if you get a zero in recitation, you will fail the course, regardless of the other grades
you receive. The 15 possible points for recitation will be earned through a combination of
quizzes, attendance, and participation:
Quizzes – 10 points
We will give six unannounced quizzes during the semester that may be distributed at the
beginning, middle, or end of the recitation session. The questions will derive from the readings,
Professor Clarke's lectures, and our discussions in recitation. The format could be multiplechoice, definitions, or short answers, and the number of questions will vary depending on the
format and material. Quizzes will be worth 2 points each; whichever quiz you do worst on will
be dropped, so only your best five quizzes will count toward your final grade. Make-up quizzes
will only be offered if you have a documented excuse.
Attendance, Participation, and Memo Submission – 5 points
Because recitation is where you get to interact with the material both inwardly and outwardly,
attendance is required. Attending recitations regularly will help maximize your chances of doing
well in the course. Beginning with the classes for Socialization and Symbolic Interactionism
(Sept 14 & Sept 17), we will take attendance by collecting your memos (see “expectations”
section above) at the beginning of the class. Please bring a physical copy of your memo on a
sheet of paper that can be handed in and has your name as it appears on the course roster.
Emailed questions will not be accepted. You can skip two of these without it affecting your
grade, after which you will lose ½ point for each week you fail to submit. After handing in your
question, you must still participate in the class discussion in order to get full credit for
participation. You are not to leave class early without permission.
You are able to miss two question submissions and one quiz without penalty. After you've used
up these skips, missing recitation again will make you lose ½ point from your final grade if there
is no quiz and 2½ points if there is a quiz. If you have a good reason to miss recitation, please
email your TA and we can work things out so that your grade doesn't suffer too much. If you
wait until the end of the semester to do this, it will be too late.
Contacting Us, Office Hours, and Additional Help
As your TAs, we are available to help answer any questions or clear up any confusion you have
regarding course concepts or course logistics. Please feel free to bring up any questions you may
have during recitation, after class, or at office hours, whichever is most comfortable for you. If
you have any questions, but cannot make it to office hours, please contact your TA and we will
be happy to set up an appointment for another time.
If you are having difficulties keeping up with the class, please come to us as soon as possible.
The earlier we address the difficulties, the better chance we have for you to succeed.
We should respond to your emails within 48 hours (if not sooner), unless you email us over the
weekend, in which case we should respond by Monday. If we don't, we might have missed your
message, so please email again. We don’t want to inadvertently delete your e-mails, so please
make sure to include a meaningful subject line (e.g., “question about second assignment”) and
your name somewhere in the email.
Tentative Course Outline
Thursday, Sep 3: Introduction to Recitation
Monday Recitations: Read the recitation syllabus carefully before class and bring any questions
on September 8th.
Tuesday, Sep 8 & Thursday, Sep 10: Sociological Imagination
 Read The Intersection of Biography and History
o http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/01/24/the-intersection-of-biographyand-history-2/
 Watch Kids and Past Technologies
o http://youtu.be/3CMS9xnBRkc
Monday, Sep 14 & Thursday, Sep 17: Socialization and Symbolic Interactionism
 Watch Commercials and Femininity [TED talk by Jean Kilbourne]
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy8yLaoWybk
Monday, Sep 21 & Thursday, Sep 24: Socialization and Authority
 Watch The Stanford Prison Experiment
o http://youtu.be/760lwYmpXbc
Monday, Sep 28 & Thursday, Oct 1: Review for First Quiz
Monday, Oct 5 & Thursday, Oct 8: No recitations
Monday, Oct 12 & Thursday, Oct 15: Deviance
 Watch Breaking Norms by Doing Nothing
o http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/03/04/doing-nothing-anexperiment-innorm-breaking-2/
Monday, Oct 19 & Thursday, Oct 22: Race and Ethnicity
 Watch Rachel Dolezal's Parents React to Daughter's Race Identity Comments
o http://abc.go.com/shows/nightline/listing/2015-06/16-nightline-061615-racheldolezals-parents-react-to-daughters-race-identity-comments
Monday, Oct 26 & Thursday, Oct 29: Social Facts & Suicide
 Watch Redlining: Banks Still Restricting Home Loans In "Non-White" Areas
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obKAWUCsfAY
 Read/Watch Durkheim: Types of Suicide
o http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com/videos/durkheim-types-of-suicide
Monday, Nov 2 & Thursday, Nov 5: Review for Second Quiz
Monday, Nov 9: Second Quiz, No recitation
Thursday, Nov 12 & Monday, Nov 16: Social Problems
 Watch Climate Tipping Point? Concentration of Carbon Dioxide Tops 400 ppm For First
Time in Human History
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvC-VI2EdBY
 Read Senate Fails to Pass Bill to Override Obama's Keystone XL Pipeline Veto
o http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/04/senate-fails-bill-keystonexl-pipeline-veto
Thursday, Nov 19 & Monday, Nov 23: Rationality and Bureaucracy
 Read etymology of word “bureaucracy”
o http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bureaucracy&allowed_in_frame=0
 Watch George Ritzer and the McDonaldization of Society: Definition and Principles
o http://study.com/academy/lesson/george-ritzer-and-mcdonaldization-of-societydefinition-and-principles.html#lesson
Thursday, Nov 25: Thanksgiving, No recitation
Monday, Nov 30 & Thursday, Dec 3: Organizations
 Watch Summary of “Accumulating Trouble: Complex Organization, a Culture of Silence,
and a Secret Spill” (article by Thomas D. Beamish, 2000)
o Link to come
Monday, Dec 7 & Thursday, Dec 10: Review for Final Exam