SOCIOLOGY 321

Society and the Individual

SPRING SEMESTER 2002

Instructor: Jennifer Dunn

3423 Faner Hall

Office Hours: TBA

Phone: 453-7623 e-mail: jldunn@siu.edu

Content and Objectives of the Course

This course will introduce you to some of the basic concepts of micro-sociology (the nexus between sociology and psychology). We will examine and learn to apply concepts--such as symbolic environment, definition of the situation, reality construction, culture, cultural relativism, identity, social location, stigma and vocabularies of motive--to our "face to face" interactions with others and the patterned social arrangements in which we participate. We will thus be exploring the social processes that influence the acquisition of self, the socialization of selves, and the ongoing interrelationship of selves and societies. That is, we will consider how individuals create and shape the social world which simultaneously shapes and creates individuals. By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Analyze ideas about the relationships between the individual and society

• Identify major thinkers and their views

• Use the concepts to analyze your own observations and experience

Required Texts

Cahill, Spencer (ed.), Inside Social Life: Readings in Sociological Social Psychology and Microsociology. Third Edition. 2001 (paperback), Roxbury Publishing Company.

Duneier, Mitchell. Slim's Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity. 1992 (paperback), The University of Chicago Press.

Goffman, Erving, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. 1963 (paperback), Prentice Hall.

Requirements and Grading

Participation and Attendance:

I will take attendance as necessary. Participation is assessed as follows. Students are expected to come to class having completed the assigned readings for that day. Meaningful participation is relevant to the class materials being discussed and respectful of the diversity of student opinions. You can demonstrate your preparedness by commenting on and/or questioning material from readings and lecture. You may do this in class, during office hours. You can ask for an explanation of something you didn't understand or comment on things you thought were interesting. Exceptional attendance and participation will often raise a student's grade, particularly if the grade is 'borderline'. Failure to attend and participate invariably results in substantially poorer performance on exams.

Microsociology Journal: (50% of course grade)

Beginning the second week of the semester, you will begin making journal entries based on the readings from Inside Social Life (hereinafter, ISL). Choose one of the readings for that week. Describe an abstract idea (a concept) from the reading in a sentence or two, in your own words. Illustrate the concept with an example from your own experience. Explain how the example illustrates the concept. Journal entries are approximately one page in length and there are ten (10) total. It is possible to earn extra-credit by writing up to three (3) additional journal entries. Journal entries can sometimes be used during your in-class unit exams, so it is worth your time to construct them carefully. All journal entries must include the name of the article and the author's name, and must be TYPED.

Unit exams (30% of course grade)

Unit exams are in-class essay examinations that require you to apply course concepts to your own experience. The first unit exam is based on lecture materials and readings from ISL. The second unit exam is based on lecture and Slim's Table, and the third unit exam is based on lecture and Stigma. Make-up exams are 5-7 page papers on the same topics, by prior arrangement with the instructor.

Final exam: (15% of course grade)

There will be an in-class final. The final will be comprehensive. Lecture materials, films, and readings throughout the course will all be relevant to answering the questions completely. The final exam format will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, fill-in questions, and definitions of terms. PLEASE READ THE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES REGARDING MAKE-UP EXAMS.

Self Assessment: (5% of course grade)

Instructions for self assessments are attached to the syllabus. This assignment is due the last regular class meeting.

Tentative Course Schedule

WEEK	Topic (Assignments)	Readings	Due
1/14-1/18	Introduction to Microsociology	Cahill, pp. ix-x, 1, 15, 41, 73, 113, 149, 187, 215, 249, 289, Geertz, pp. 6-9, and Zerubavel, pp. 10-14 in ISL
1/23-1/25	Self/Social Interaction/Society	Cooley, pp. 16-20 and Mead, pp. 21-25 in ISL
1/28-2/1	Self/Social Interaction/Society cont.	Goffman, pp. 74-81 and pp. 114-122, and Cahill, pp. 123-131 in ISL
2/4-2/8	Socialization	Cahill, pp. 26-32, Irvine, pp. 33-40, Adler, and Adler, pp. 82-89, and Smith and Kleinman, pp. 61-72 in ISL.	Unit Exam #1
2/11-2/15	Social Location: Introduction	Stryker, pp. 188-190, Blumer, pp. 216-219, and Arluke, pp. 236-248 in ISL. Begin reading "Slim's Table" this week.	Turn in Journal 2/15
2/18-2/22	Social Location: History	Lofland, pp. 54-60 in ISL.
2/25-3/1	Social Location: Culture	Fine, pp. 191-198, and Best, pp. 269-279 in ISL
3/4-3/8	Social Location: Hierarchy	Paules, pp. 205-214, Thorne, pp. 220-226, and Anderson, pp. 227-235 in ISL
3/11-3/15	SPRING BREAK
3/18-3/22	Hierarchy, cont.	Finish reading "Slim's"	Unit Exam #2
3/25-3/29	Reality Construction	Vygotsky, pp. 42- 46, Becker, pp. 47-53, and Lifton, pp. 280-288 in ISL.	Turn in Journal 3/29
4/1-4/5	The Politics of Social Reality	Goffman, pp. 250-257 and Karp, pp. 258-268 in ISL.
4/8-4/12	Constructing the Self	Snow and Anderson, pp. 90-99, and Vaughan, pp. 150-160, in ISL. Begin reading "Stigma" this week.
4/15-4/19	Identities: Social, Personal, Felt	Continue reading "Stigma"
4/22-4/26	Identity Management	Finish reading "Stigma" this week	Unit Exam #3
4/29-5/3	The Interaction Kaleidoscope: Summary and Review		Turn in Journal 5/3
5/9 at 7:50-9:50 am			IN-CLASS FINAL