Department of Sociology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Fall 2006 Sociological Theory SOCI 250 Section 001 MWF 10 00 10 50 Peabody 217 and 218 Andrew Perrin TA Rajesh Ghoshal Office Hamilton 269 Office hours Monday 2 00 3 30 Thursday 10 00 11 30 or by appointment Phone 962 6876 E mail andrew perrin unc edu http perrin socsci unc edu TA rajesh email unc edu Course Overview This course is designed to give you an overview of major themes in sociological theory In addition it should give you an idea of the relationship between sociological theory and sociological research and of the process of building sociological theory This course has four broad goals 1 To present the history of sociological theory 2 To encourage a theoretical mode of thought 3 To consider the theoretical implications of social research and action 4 To promote excellent writing Readings and Resources Required Books Jean Baudrillard America Verso 1989 Sigmund Freud The Ego The Id Norton 1962 E mile Durkheim The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Free Press 1995 Michel Foucault The History of Sexuality Volume 1 Vintage 1978 Erving Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Doubleday 1959 Recommended Books Karl Marx Friedrich Engels ed Tucker The Marx Engels Reader 2nd ed Norton 1978 Graff and Birkenstein They Say I Say The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing Norton 2006 Supplementary Readings All other readings are available either on the web or on the course website Readings available on the course website are marked with the www symbol Those available on the web are linked from the course website A few readings are on reserve in the library and should also be available by electronic reserve these are marked with the lib symbol The course website is available through http blackboard unc edu and is also linked from http perrin socsci unc edu Other Resources Have a dictionary close at hand to look up words you don t know You can find an adequate one at http www dictionary com if you prefer using an online version The UNC Writing Center http www unc edu depts wcweb can help you with writing clearly and correctly These are requirements of the class you cannot do social theory adequately without writing well There is an astonishing amount of information available on the World Wide Web A significant proportion of that information though by no means all is true and relevant By all means use the Web to supplement your reading and knowledge but use it critically and make sure you know the source of the information Formal Requirements The requirements of this course are as follows Reading You must complete all the course readings You are responsible for understanding the readings make use of your fellow students your dictionary the Internet your TA and me to make sure you understand the readings Course time is to be used for substantive discussion and further exploration of the implications of course readings not for grasping the basic contents Reading is due on the first discussion session about the reading You may decide whether to do readings before or after a lecture pertaining to them Participation You must attend and participate in all class discussions Participation in discussions means actively talking in them attendance counts only for a very small portion of the credit Come to discussions prepared to ask questions and discuss the readings You are also responsible for the information contained in course lectures Vocabulary Exercises You must turn in two short one page or less exercises in which you learn the meaning of a word in one of the class readings whose meaning you did not previously know You should note the word its definition and its meaning in the context of the reading Exams There will be two examinations The midterm examination will be a one period essay style test held in class on October 23 You may consult any notes or printed materials you wish during the midterm exam The final exam will be a time limited take home exam due on December 11 It will be available for pickup on December 6 in class You may be required to view a video before taking the exam If so this will be announced in class Reading Response Choose one of the readings listed as recommended and write a short 2 4 page response that relates the reading to other readings from the class Your response may be synthetic discussing the points made and how they are similar to and different from others in the class or evaluative judging the reading s usefulness in understanding social phenomena Due October 9 in class Final Paper The final paper is your opportunity to synthesize what you have learned during the class with outside interests and experiences Your final paper must develop a sociological argument using appropriate sources It is an academic paper and as such must be written in an appropriate style Choose an everyday setting for example a shopping mall a cafe a restaurant etc and observe closely the interactions you see going on there Analyze these interactions and the social system of your observed setting using at least two theorists from class If you have another topic relevant to the course and its readings on which you would like to write you must discuss it and get approval before you begin work on it Papers on other topics that have not been pre approved will receive no credit Due November 17 by 5 00 pm Completing these requirements adequately will earn you a B in the course Completing them exceptionally well will earn you a B A or A depending on the quality of work Grading Your course grade will be calculated as follows Discussion Participation Attendance Active Discussion Vocabulary Exercises Midterm Exam Final Exam Reading Response Final Paper 15 3 12 10 15 25 10 25 Course Organization During most weeks Monday s class will be a combined lecture to be held in 218 Peabody Wednesday and Friday will be discussion classes they will meet as follows Students with a PID ending in 0 3 Peabody 218 Students with a PID ending in 4 9 Peabody 217 Check the syllabus schedule for exceptions to this rule Lectures and videos are integral to the content of the course Slides and notes will sometimes be posted to the course website but there is no substitute for attending the lecture Course Policies You are an adult As a student in this class you are provided with a set of resources for learning the class s contents and you are expected to fulfill a series of requirements designed to evaluate the depth and breadth of your knowledge