This course introduces students to the fundamental questions and perspectives that guide sociological inquiry. Sociology is the study of people in groups, and we begin the course by understanding the significance of the sociological perspective, and what it means to apply this perspective to everyday phenomena. We will begin by learning about how we are taught to become individuals, and members of society, and then how these individual behaviors aggregate into group dynamics. In particular, we'll examine organizations, social class and stratification. After the midterm exam, we'll turn to an examination of the key social dynamos: politics, the economy, racial and ethnic stratification, religion, work, the mass media, the family, religion, education, and the health care system. Finally, we will conclude the semester by looking at social movement dynamics, as a sociological element that promotes change and stasis in all of these realms.

Required Texts:

The readings listed below are the required texts for the course. The books are available at the campus bookstore. The text and reader listed below are bundled together.

Anderson, Margaret, Kim Logio and Howard Taylor. Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader. Second Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005.
Indicated in syllabus as (R).

Anderson, Margaret and Howard Taylor. Sociology: The Essentials. Third Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005.
Indicated in syllabus as (T).

There will be additional readings (indicated in the syllabus as (Addn)); these will be made available either through E-Res, paper copy reserves, or as PDF files on Prometheus.

Practica

We will perform 9 practica over the course of this term. The content and objectives of these will change from week to week. The preliminary schedule includes data collection including interviews, participant observation, surveys, and breaching experiments. Some weeks it will entail watching and responding to a film, participating in a debate, or listening to and interrogating a guest speaker.
Practica Writing Assignments:
* These written assignments should be typed and no more than two pages.
* They are due the next class day (after the practicum).
* These will be graded pass/fail. A passing grade will be given to those writing assignments that clearly and accurately convey the material covered in the readings and discussions, and are earnest and thoughtful. A failing grade will be given to those who do not submit writing assignments, or those that are not completed satisfactorily. An unsatisfactory submission is one that misrepresents or inaccurately relates the material discussed in class, or that is substantively immaterial, thoughtless or intellectually irresponsible.

Included with your textbook, you will all receive a CD-Rom. By opening the file "Anderson 10," you will launch a companion piece for the book we are using. There are four components to the CD ROM: Virtual Explorations, Map the Stats, Diagnostic Quiz, and Study Videos. You will find these resources helpful, as you seek to read and understand the text. Please take some time and familiarize yourself with each component, and the Companion web site (see below).
Virtual Exploration Assignments:
This is an on-line quiz that complements each chapter, using web pages embedded in the quiz. N.B. These Virtual Explorations can be accessed through the CD-Rom but are also available from the companion website at: http://www.sociology.wadsworth.com/anderson_taylor/essen3e.
* You will complete these for many chapters we will read (as noted in below).
* The quiz format requires that you complete the quiz, add your name and email address, and the instructor's name and email list. Please remember to add your email (for a receipt) and include Emily Tanner-Smith (Emily.e.tanner-smith@vanderbilt.edu) , as the instructor. Do not mail them to me. Do not forget to double-check the email addresses.
* These will are due by 11:10 A.M. Late assignments will not be accepted.
* N.B. It is each student's responsibility to ensure that these are completed on time, and that Emily receives them. Please enter your email and Emily's email correctly. And double-check that you have.

Practice Test Assignments:

Wadsworth has created a companion website for the text, at which you can take an on-line quiz that complements each chapter. You will complete these quizzes for several of the chapters we read. Follow these steps to take the quiz:

* First access the companion website at:
http://www.sociology.wadsworth.com/andersen_taylor/essen3e
* At the top of the page, use the drop down menu to select the appropriate chapter (e.g., 1 Sociological Perspectives).
* On the left side of the web page, under "Chapter Resources", click on the "Post-Test". If you do not follow the last two directions in this order, you will not complete the correct assignment.
* Answer all 35 questions by entering/choosing the correct answer and clicking on the "submit" button.
* After you have submitted your answers to all 35 questions, click on "Study Plan".
* Another window will come on the screen, reading "This will exit the test and take you to the Study Plan to see your results. Are you sure you wish to continue?" Click "OK".
* The study plan will then present your total score on the test. Click on "Print", and under "Page Range", select "Pages" and enter "1". This will print the first page of the study plan with your final grade on it.
* Turn in this first page of the study plan that you have printed (which includes your quiz grade), make sure you print your name on the results page before turning it in. These are due to Emily at the start of the class period on which they are due.

Final grades are determined as follows:
Mid-term exam: 25%
Final exam: 30%
Practica: 30%  (we will drop the one lowest)
Virtual Explorations/Practice Tests: 15%  (we will drop the two lowest)

New Information about Extra Credit:

If you successfully completed:
1 or 2 extra credit assignments we will add 1 point onto your final grade in the class (e.g., 89 to a 90)
3 or 4 extra credit assignments we will add 2 points onto your final grade in the class (e.g., 89 to a 91)
5 or 6 extra credit assignments we will add 3 points onto your final grade in the class (e.g., 89 to a 92)

Week 1
August 27, 30 & September 1
Introduction to Sociology and Methods


Orientation


(T) Chapter 1


(R) Mills, C. Wright. The Sociological Imagination.
(R) Johnson, Allan G. The Forest and the Trees.
(R) Miner, Horace. Body Ritual among the Nacirema.
(Addn.) Best, Joel. Promoting Bad Statistics. (available as .pdf)

Virtual Exploration due, "The Sociological Perspective."

Week 2
September 3, 6, 8
Culture

(T) Chapter 2

(R) Ritzer, George. September 11, 2001: Mass Murder and Its Roots in the Symbolism of American Consumer Culture.
(R) Cunningham, Kamy. Barbie Doll Culture and the American Waistland.
(R) Kilbourne, Jean. Buy This 24-Year-Old and Get All His Friends Absolutely Free.

Practicum 1 (as .pdf)

Practice Test Assignment, Chapter 2 "Culture."

Week 3
September 10, 13, 15
Socialization

(T)  Chapter 3
Practicum 1 Writing Assignment due

(R)  Karp, David et.al.  Leaving Home for College: Expectations for Selective Reconstruction of Self.
(R)  Schultz, Amy J.  Navajo Women and the Politics of Identity.
(Addn.)  Beal, Becky.  Alternative Masculinity and Its Effects on Gender Relations in the Subculture of Skateboarding.


Practicum 2 (as .pdf)

Practice Test Assignment, Chapter 3 "Socialization and the Life Course."

Week 4
September 17, 20, 22, 24
Society, Social Interaction, Groups and Organizations

(T)  Chapter 4
Practicum 2 Writing Assignment due

(T)  Chapter 5

(R)  Goffman, Erving.  The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
(R)  Anderson, Elijah.  Code of the Street.
(R)  Hardey, Michael.  Life Beyond the Screen: Embodiment and Identity Through the Internet.
(R)  Adler, Patricia and Peter Adler.  Clique Dynamics.
(R)  Boswell, A. Ayres and Joan Z. Spade.  Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women?
(R)  Erickson, Bonnie.  Social Networks: The Value of Variety.

Practicum 3

Virtual Exploration due, "Social Interaction and Socialization."

Week 5
September 27, 29, October 1
Social Class and Stratification

(T)  Chapters 7 & 8
Practicum 3 Writing Assignment due

(R)  Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels.  The Communist Manifesto.
(R)  Shapiro, Thomas M.  Great Divides.
(R)  Conley, Dalton M.  Wealth Matters.
(R)  Hays, Sharon.  Studying the Quagmire of Welfare Reform.
(R)  Bonancich et. al.  The Garment Industry in the Restructuring Global Economy.
(R)   LaFeber, Walter.  Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism.
(R)  Hochschild, Arlie Russel.  The Nanny Chain.
(Addn.)  Friedman, Thomas L.  The Lexus and the Olive Tree.

Practicum 4

Practice Test Assignment: Chapter 7 "Social Class and Social Stratification," and Chapter 8 "Global Stratification."


What Jobs Are Going Overseas?  Type in your zip code, company name or industry, and AFL-CIO will tell you if it is "likely" or not.

October 4, 6, 8

Midterm Review

Practicum 4 Written Assignment due

Midterm Essay Questions narrowed to: #11, 12, 13 & 14.

Midterm Answer Key.

No Class

Week 6
October 11 & 13
Politics, the Economy, and Work

(T)  Chapter 14

(R)  Mills, C. Wright.  The Power Elite.
(R)  Zweigenhaft, Richard and G. William Domhoff.  Diversity in the Power Elite.
(R)  MacDonald, Cameron Lynne and Carmen Sirianni.  The Service Economy and the Changing Experience of Work.
(R)  Presser, Harriet B.  Toward a 24-Hour Economy.
(R)  Ehrenreich, Barbara.  Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.
(Addn.)  Van Maanen, John.  The Smile Factory: Work at Disneyland.

The State: Power and Privacy
The Patriot Act

A Guide to the Patriot Act 1: Private Records

A Guide to the Patriot Act 2: Changes to FISA & "sneak and peek" warrants

A Guide to the Patriot Act 3: Electronic Surveillance

A Guide to the Patriot Act 4: Alien Detentions

Statement in support of the Patriot Act

ACLU resources vis-a-vis the Patriot Act

List of Patriot Act Resources

Week 7
October 15
Population, Urbanization and the Environment

(T)  Chapter 15
(R)  Massey, Douglas S. and Nancy A. Denton.  American Apartheid.
(R)  Austin, Regina and Michael Schill.  Black, Brown, Red and Poisoned.
(R)  Portney, Kent E. and Jeffrey M. Berry.  Mobilizing Minority Communities: Social Capital and Participation in Urban Neighborhoods.

Immigrant Community Assessment, Nashville (248 page .pdf file that includes maps shown in class)

Environmental Protection Agency website: Search your community for toxins.

Week 8
October 20, 22, 25
Race and Ethnicity

(T)  Chapter 9

(R)  DuBois, W.E.B.  The Souls of Black Folk.
(R)  Martinez, Elizabeth.  Seeing More Than Black & White.
(R)  Portez, Alejandro and Ruben Rumbaut.  Immigrant America: Who They Are and Why They Come.
(R)  Gallagher, Charles A.  Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America.


Practice Test Assignment Due, Chapter 9

Practicum 5

Began with "Can you count on this?" quiz.

Based on “A Class Divided,” the PBS documentary on third-grade teacher Jane Elliott's "blue eyes/brown eyes" exercise, originally conducted in the days following the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.  Things like extra recess time, getting to go back for seconds at lunch, and being first in line were fitting rewards for her 8 year olds.

Practicum 5 Assignment

Week 9
October 27 & 29, November 1 & 3
Gender and Sexuality

(T)  Chapter 10
Practicum 5 Writing Assignment due

(T) Chapter 11

(R)  Anderson, Margaret L.  The Social Construction of Gender.
(R)  Messner, Michael A.  The Politics of Masculinities.
(R)  Lambert et. Al.  Pluralistic Ignorance and Hooking Up.
(R)  Kimmel, Michael S. Masculinity as Homophobia.
(R)  Vaughan, Diane.  The Long Goodbye.
(Addn.)  Milani, Farzneh.  Lipstick Politics in Iran.

Practicum 6

Virtual Exploration due, "Gender."
Virtual Exploriation due, "Sexuality."

Week 10
November 5, 8, 10, 12
Family and Religion

(T)  Chapter 12, pages 315-336

(R)  Coltrane, Scott.  Family Rituals and the Construction of Reality.
(R)  Arendell, Terry.  Divorce and Remarriage.
(Addn.)  Narayan, Umi.  'Mail-Order' Brides: Immigrant Women, Domestic Violence and Immigration Law.

Practicum 6 Writing Assignment due

(T) Chapter 12, pages 337-348

(R)  Weber, Max.  The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
(R)  Chaves, Mark and Dianne Hagaman.  Abiding Faith.
(R)  Goldscheider, Calvin.  Are American Jews Vanishing Again?
(Addn.)  Ayella, Marybeth F.  Insane Therapy.

Virtual Exploration due, "Family."
Virtual Exploration due, "Religion."

Practicum 7

Week 11
November 15, 17, 19
Education and Health

(T)  Chapter 13, pgs. 350-363.
(Addn.)  Anyon, Jean.  Ghetto Schooling.
(Addn.)  Taylor, Howard F.  Intelligence.
(R)  Orenstein, Peggy.  School Girls.

Practicum 7 Writing Assignment due

(T) Chapter 13, pgs. 363-379
(R)  Zones, Jane Sprague.  Beauty Myths and Realities and Their Impact on Women's Health.
(Addn.)  Smith, Allen C. and Sherryl Kleinman.  Medical Students' Contacts with the Living and the Dead.
(Addn.)  Fadiman, Ann.  Do Doctors Eat Brains?

Practicum 8

Practice Test Assignment, Chapter 13 "Education and Health Care."

Week 12
November 29, December 1 & 3
Social Change and Social Movements

(T)  Chapter 16
Practicum 8 Writing Assignment due

(R)  Alwin, Duane F.  Generations X, Y and Z: Are They Changing America?
(R)  Barber, Benjamin R.  Jihad vs. McWorld.
(Addn.)  Zwingle, Erla.  Goods Move, People Move, Ideas Move.  And
Cultures Change.
(Addn.)  Rifkin, Jeremy.  The Biotech Century: Human Life as Intellectual Property.

Practicum 9

Virtual Exploration due, "Global Social Change."

Week 13
TBA

    Reading TBA
    Practicum 9 Writing Assignment due

Reading TBA