David Peppas
B.M.C.C.
Meets: Mon-Wed 7:20-8:35 PM
Office Hours: Wed. 4:30-5:30 PM
(Meet outside of room M1205)
Email: peppd886@newschool.edu
SOCIOLOGY 100
711 (Spring 2011)
Course Description and Goals of the Course:
 Familiarize students with some of the founding thinkers in both sociology and anthropology.
 Give students the tools they need to look at the world through sociological and anthropological
lenses in their own creative ways.
 To familiarize students with basic ethnographic field methods and encourage students to go out
into the city and conduct original fieldwork in areas of their own interest.
Course Requirements: Your final grade will be based on written assignments, field trips, a final
research project on a topic that interests you, class participation, and attendance. There will be
weekly writing assignments based on material presented in class and from the readings. Other class
assignments and homework may be added at the instructor's discretion. Students are expected to
complete all assignments and activities and to participate in class discussions, as well as attend all
class sessions and field trips.
Requirements and Grading:
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS (30% of grade)*
There will be regularly assigned written assignments. These assignments will provide an opportunity
for you to explore your thoughts about various issues discussed in class and in the reading using
sociological concepts. There will be four papers assigned as homework and also a number of in-class
writing assignments. The in-class assignments will require that you write about the assigned reading
and function much like a quiz.
(*Students are allowed and encouraged to rewrite/revise homework papers to improve their writing
and to receive a higher grade. For revised papers, the higher grade will be recorded—the lower
grade will be thrown away.)
FINAL PROJECT (30% of grade)
There will also be a final research project. The final project will consist of a series of short
assignments that culminate with a final paper. The specifics of the final project and all other
assignments will be discussed fully in class and handouts will be distributed which detail the
assignments.
MIDTERM PROJECT (25% for midterm)
Using material covered in class and in the readings, students will write a midterm book analysis. This
will be discussed more fully in class. A detailed assignment will be distributed as a handout.
CLASSROOM ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION (15% of grade)
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Attendance will be taken at each class session. Students are expected to participate in classroom
activities and discussions. There will be frequent in-class written assignments, presentations, and
group work. Three ‘lates’ equal one absence.
Course Texts and Reading:
Required Text:
Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in
Sociology. 8thedition, Pearson.
Terry Williams Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line.
Many of your readings and assignments can be found on the following blog site:
http://dpintrosociology.wordpress.com/
College Attendance Policy
At BMCC, the maximum number of absences is limited to one more hour than the number of hours a
class meets in one week. For example, you may be enrolled in a four-hour class that meets four times
per week. You are allowed 5 hours of absence (not 5 days). In the case of excessive absences, the
instructor has the option to lower the grade or assign an F or WU grade.
Academic Adjustments for Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this
course must contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities. BMCC is committed to
providing equal access to all programs and curricula to all students.
BMCC Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Statement
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas, words or artistic, scientific, or technical work
as one’s own creation. Using the idea or work of another is permissible only when the original author
is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct quotations, require citations to the
original source. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not
necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism. Students who are unsure how and when
to provide documentation are advised to consult with their instructors. The library has guides
designed to help students to appropriately identify a cited work. The full policy can be found on
BMCC’s web side, www.bmcc.cuny.edu.
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OUTLINE
OF THE
COURSE
Week 1: C. Wright Mills and Emile Durkheim
January 31- Read “The Sociological Imagination” in The Sociological Imagination section of
Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves. *Emile Durkheim “What is a Social Fact?” Rules of
Sociological Method. *David Peppas (Lecture Notes) “Emile Durkheim and Collective
Effervescence”.
February 2- Read “Anomy and Modern Life” in Sociology of Change and Modernity section of
Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves.
Week 2: Max Weber & Karl Marx
February 7- * Max Weber’s Ideal Types.
Read “The Disenchantment of Modern Life” in Sociology of Change and Modernity section of
Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves.
February 9- Read Karl Marx, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” in Society section of Macionis
and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves. *Excerpt from Karl Marx, Capital Volume I "The Fetishism of
Commodities and the Secret Thereof".
Week 3: Karl Marx & Subjectivity:
February 14- (Proposal for term paper due)
Read “Alienated Labor” in The Economy and Work section of Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing
Ourselves.
February 16- Excerpt’s from *Sigmund Freud, The Ego and the Id. * Ferdinand de Saussure, Course
in General Linguistics and *Michel Foucault, “The Subject and Power” : Source: Critical Inquiry, Vol. 8,
No. 4 (Summer, 1982), pp. 777-795.
Week 4: Gender and Sexuality
February 21- NO CLASS
February 23- Handout: Essentials of Sociology textbook (On Gender and Sexuality). *Simone de
Beauvoir "The Second Sex".
February 28- Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves Readings (Read all readings in Gender
and Sexuality section). *Erving Goffman, excerpt from “Gender Advertisements.”
Week 5: Race and Ethnicity
March 2- Handout: Essentials of Sociology textbook (On Race and Ethnicity).
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March 7- Macionis and Benokraitis -Seeing Ourselves (Read all readings in Race and Ethnicity
section). *Carrie McLaren “The Great White Way” Stay Free Issue Number 22.
Week 6: Family
March 9- Midterm essay due on Crackhouse (2 page, double spaced and typed).
Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves (Read all readings in Family section).
March 14- * Lynn Huffer, “A Contrarian View: Same-Sex Marriage? No Thanks,” (1-2) OutSmart
Magazine, August 12, 2004.
Week 7: Ethnography
March 16- Field Trip
March 21- Field Trip Discussion
Week 8: Religion
March 23- Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves (Read all readings in Religion section).
March 28- Movie
Week 9: Deviance
March 30- Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves (Read all readings in Deviance Section).
April 4- Class Exercise
Week 10: Social Interaction in Everyday Life
April 6- Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves (Read all readings in Social Interaction in
Everyday Life Section).
April 11- Movie
Week 11: Socialization
April 13- Macionis and Benokraitis Seeing Ourselves (Read all readings in Socialization Section).
April 18- NO CLASS
Week 12:
April 20- NO CLASS
April 25- NO CLASS
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Week 13:
April 27- Bibliography Workshop
May 2- Movie
Week 14
May 4- Movie Discussion
May 9- Presentations
Week 15
May 11- Presentations
May 16- Presentations
May 18- Term Paper Due
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