Department of Sociology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Fall 2009 Sociological Theory SOCI 250 Section 003 TR 11 00 12 15 Fred Brooks Sitterson Hall F009 Professor Andrew J Perrin TA Rachel Ramsay Office Prof Perrin Hamilton 159 Ms Ramsay Hamilton 230 Office hours Prof Perrin Wednesday 10 00 11 30 Thursday 1 00 2 30 or by appointment Ms Ramsay Wednesday 10 00 11 45 Phone 962 6876 E mail andrew perrin unc edu http perrin socsci unc edu TA ramsayr 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 Peter L Berger and Thomas Luckmann The Social Construction of Reality A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge Anchor 1966 Pierre Bourdieu Logic of Practice Stanford University Press 1990 E mile Durkheim The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Free Press 1995 Michel Foucault The Foucault Effect University of Chicago Press 1991 Erving Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Anchor 1959 Karl Marx Friedrich Engels Manifesto of the Communist Party 1849 Optional Books for the Second Paper You will write on one of these books of your choice for your second paper you do not need all of them unless you are interested in them for your own purposes Barry Glassner The Gospel of Food Ecco 2007 Sam Harris The End of Faith Norton 2005 The 9 11 Commission The 9 11 Commission Report Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States W W Norton 2004 Malcolm Gladwell The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Back Bay Books 2000 Andrew Keen The Cult of the Amateur How Today s Internet is Killing Our Culture Doubleday 2007 Michael Pollan The Omnivore s Dilemma Penguin 2006 James Surowiecki The Wisdom of Crowds Anchor 2004 Dana Thomas Deluxe How Luxury Lost its Luster Penguin 2007 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 Exams There will be two examinations The midterm examination will be a one period essay style test held in class on October 20 You may consult the Internet and any notes or printed materials you wish during the midterm exam The final exam will be a time limited open book and open note exam It will take place in Fred Brooks F009 on Saturday December 12 at 12 00 noon You may be required to view a video before taking the exam If so this will be announced in class Class Papers There are three written assignments 1 Spend at least 30 minutes observing some social scene such as a sporting event a restaurant a class etc Carefully note the social environment you observe including the interactions and your observations about them Write a short 2 4 page description of your observations highlighting anything you found puzzling problematic or particularly interesting Due September 29 in class 2 Choose one of the optional books listed at the top of the syllabus and write a short 3 5 page social theoretical discussion of it Your discussion should be neither a summary nor an opinion about the book rather it should engage with one or more theories of society in or related to the book and explore the implications You may select a different book only with Professor Perrin s prior permission It is strongly recommended but not required that you select a book with whose argument you expect to disagree Due November 3 in class 3 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 Use the observations you catalogued for assignment 1 above 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 24 in class Completing