Spring 2002 Principles of Sociology (SOC 301)

Sociology as a discipline originated in the effort to gain a clear understanding of the peculiar nature and dynamics of the new type of society and culture that was in the process of emerging from the transformation of the old European socio-culture order. In articulating this particularity, authors on one level suggested certain global characteristics in whose terms the essential state of affairs prevailing before the great transformation could be incisively contrasted with that prevailing afterwards (e.g., a social organization based on "status" giving way to one based on "contract," "mechanical solidarity "being replaced by "organic solidarity," or "traditional" society retreating before the advance of "modern" society). Using such overall diagnostic perspectives as their vehicles, these authors on another level also endeavored to elucidate the internal structures and processes of the contrasted societal types. To that end they developed an apparatus of concepts, ideas, and hypotheses for the comparative analysis of the manner in, and premises on, which people try to manage their coexistence in groups and associations, and of the results of these efforts.

Given the comparative nature of the discipline and the fabulous complexity of contemporary societies, the field of sociology is extraordinarily vast, and this course can only deal with selected topics. The textbooks discuss some of the ideas at the core of the discipline's theoretical debates, and the lectures will present others. Textbooks and lectures thus are complementary; they are not substitutes for each other.

The aim of this course is to make students conversant with a set of concepts and ideas that have been central to the sociological tradition. To the extent to which a student learns to approach social phenomena analytically in their terms, he/she will gain a unique and revealing perspective on life in society. This perspective is somewhat at a distance from the one typically adopted by individuals practically involved in everyday affairs, and it does not necessarily confirm commonly held beliefs concerning how things work in the social world. It pretends to enable the presentation of a picture that is relatively unencumbered by self-serving and justificatory slants, and its adoption is advocated in the belief that the empirically grounded diagnosis of what is actually the case, and why it is so, is desirable not only for those in a position to make policy decisions but also for any citizen interested in making informed judgment concerning the larger states of affairs in which he/she is willy-nilly involved.

Textbooks:

Bruce, Steve: Sociology A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Kivists, Peter: Key Ideas in Sociology. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press (Sage Publications), 1998.

Exams: There will be four (4) exams - short question/answer format. Each exam will count for 25% of the course grade. Grades will be letter grades with + and -. Attendance will count to decide ambiguous cases. There will be no extra credit. Unexcused failure to take an exam will result in an F for this exam.

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 9:00-11:00am, Wednesday 11:00-1:00pm

Office: Faner Hall 3432

Telephone: (618) 453-7629.

Outline

January 15, 2002	General Introduction Assignment: Bruce 1-19; 100-112 Kivisto 1-9
January 17 & 22	Social Arrangements Assignment: Bruce 20-34; 52-62
January 24 & 29	Culture Assignment: Kivisto 83-97; 103-118
January 31 & February 5	Socializations Assignment: Bruce 45-51
February 7	TEST
February 12 & 14	Family Assignment: Bruce 89-93
February 19 & 21	Economy Assignment: Bruce 85-89 Kivisto 10-24
February 26 & 28	Polity
March 5	Assignment: Kivisto 46-54; 62-68; 71-80
March 7	TEST
March 12-14	SPRING BREAK
March 19 & 21	Formal Organization Assignment: Bruce 34-40; 94-100 Kivisto 56-62
March 26 & 28	Religion Assignment: Kivisto 54-56
April 2 & 4	Stratification and Differentiation Assignment: Bruce 63-80 Kivisto 24-33; 36-40; 68-70; 119-138
April 9	TEST
April 11 & 16	Life Styles Assignment: Kivisto 33-35; 40-45
April 18 & 23	Deviance Assignment: Bruce 40-45; 80-85 Kivisto 97-103
April 25 & 30	Social Movements Assignment: Kivisto 80-82; 138-160
May 1-5	FINAL EXAM WEEK