TOPICAL SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGY:
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM

Dr. Rob Benford
3396 Faner, 453 7614
rbenford@siu.edu
Office Hours: Tues., Wed., & Thurs. 9:00 11:00, or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

This seminar will focus on social constructionism. The social constructionist perspective has been among the most influential paradigms over the past several decades. It has had a significant impact on virtually every substantive area of social "science." This seminar will be devoted exclusively to examining the various ways social constructionism has influenced social science theory and research as well as exploring constructionism's potential for stimulating radical social change. What passes for knowledge in a particular society or institution? How did that knowledge come into being? How does a particular understanding of reality affect individual and collective action? What are the mechanisms and processes by which one reality is sustained over and against other realities? What role does one set of constructions (e.g., power, status, legitimacy) play in reproducing other constructions (e.g., deviance, patriarchy, racism, heterosexism, ethnocentrism, nationalism)? How do social scientists' disciplinary constructions affect what is deemed "problematic," what is studied, and how it is studied? What are the social policy implications of taking a constructionist view of social "problems"? Under what conditions is it likely that collective actors will seek to deconstruct and reconstruct extant social institutions? These are but a few of the myriad questions that will be addressed during the seminar. The first half of the semester will focus on classical and contemporary social theory related to the development and elaboration of social constructionism. We will also examine constructionist controversies and debates. The second half of the seminar will focus on conceptual and empirical applications of social constructionism to various substantive areas of social science, including crime, deviance, gender, family, race and ethnicity, collective behavior and social movements, and a plethora of social problems (e.g., suicide, genocide, war, substance use/abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, cults, poverty/welfare, institutionalized racism and sexism).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

You are expected to read and be conversant with the assigned readings, participate in seminar discussions, lead discussion during at least two seminar meetings, deliver an oral presentation, and write a journal article length paper. ALL UNIVERSITY POLICIES REGARDING PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL BE UPHELD IN THIS COURSE.

1. Reading Assignments: You are to remain current with the attached reading schedule. That means you are to read the material assigned for each week and come to that week's seminar prepared to discuss the required readings. Required texts in the order we will read them are:
?Berger, Peter L. & Thomas Luckmann. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City, NY: Doubleday/Anchor Books.
?Spector, Malcom & John I. Kitsuse. 2001 [1987]. Constructing Social Problems. New
Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
?Miller, Gale & James A. Holstein ( eds.). 1993. Constructionist Controversies: Issues in Social Problems Theory. NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
?Goode, Erich & Nachman Ben Yehuda. 1994. Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance. Oxford and Cambridge: Blackwell.
?Dunn, Jennifer L. 2002. Courting Disaster: Intimate Stalking, Culture, and Criminal Justice. NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
?Benford, Robert D. et al. 1986-2003 [Readings on reserve in Soc. Dept. on constructing protest].
?Ferree, Myra Marx, Judith Lorber, & Beth B. Hess (eds.). 2000. Revisioning Gender,
Walnut Creek, Latham, New York, and Oxfrod: AltaMira Press.
?Nagel, Joane. 1996. American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2. Class Participation: You are expected to attend each seminar meeting and to participate in an informed manner. This requires, of course, that you become familiar with the assigned readings. To facilitate participation and stimulate discussion, you will be asked to come prepared to summarize and analyze each assigned reading. You will also be required to serve as a discussion leader twice during the semester. This will entail coming to class with a set of questions/issues for discussion and facilitating a lively, informed exchange among your peers.

3. Scholarly Paper: You are to prepare a journal length paper (15 30 pages) on a topic relevant to the seminar. The paper may be on any substantive topic. Your paper may be primarily theoretical, empirical, or both, but it must be analytical. (A purely descriptive paper will not warrant high marks.) It should draw on social constructionism in some fashion. This might include a conceptual or theoretical extension of constructionism to a substantive areas, a constructionist critique of extant literature on a specific substantive topic, empirical research informed by constructionist principles, a critique of the constructionist perspective as it has been applied to a topic, etc. You are encouraged to discuss your ideas regarding a paper with me early in the semester. Papers are due in class on May 1st.

4. Oral Presentation: You are to give a 10 12 minute in class presentation on a topic relevant to the course. You are urged, though not required, to choose a topic that coincides with your research paper. Ideally, you would present your paper as you would at a professional meeting.

5. Evaluation: You will be evaluated on the basis of the extent and quality of your class participation (40%), oral presentation (10%), and scholarly paper (50%).

COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

WEEK/DATE TOPIC READINGS

1/Jan. 16 Constructing Reality

2/Jan. 23 " Berger & Luckmann: Preface, Intro.,
Sections I & II

3/Jan. 30 " B&L: Section III & Conclusion

4/Feb. 6 Constructing Social Problems Spector & Kitsuse, Intro. & Chs. 1-7

5/Feb. 13 Constructionist Controversies Miller & Holstein: Intro. & Part I

6/Feb. 20 " " M&H: Part II

7/Feb. 27 Constructing Deviance Goode & Ben Yehuda: Prologue & Chs.1-6
8/Mar. 6 " " G&B: Chs.7-12 & Epilogue

9/Mar. 20 Constructing Victims Dunn: Entire Book

10/Mar. 27 Constructing Social Protest Benford et al.: selected readings

11/Apr. 3 Constructing Gender Ferree, Lorber & Hess: Intro., Sections I II

12/Apr. 10 " " F,L&H: Sections IV & V (skip III)

13/Apr. 17 No Class: Midwest Sociological Society Meetings
Use extra week to work on paper.

14/Apr. 24 Constructing Race & Ethnicity Nagel: Preface, Note, Intro., Chs. 1 5

15/May 1 " " " Chs. 6 9

Student Presentations

PAPERS DUE

16/May 8 Student Presentations (if necessary)