Sociology 138 – Theory & Society
Spring term 2009
Professor: James Moody
Office Hours: after class, TTh 12:30 – 2:00, and by appointment
Email: jmoody77@soc.duke.edu (best way to reach me)
Course Web Page: http://www.soc.duke.edu/~jmoody77/s138/index.htm
Room: Soc Sciences 119
Class Time: T,TH 10:05 – 11:20
Course description:
The goal of social theory is to help us better understand how the social world works. The issues sociologists choose to explain are varied and diverse, and our reading in this course will reflect much of this diversity. We will touch on topics of social order, the economy, the foundations of social roles, and processes of human interaction. We start our survey with foundations of social thought, then move on to the classical foundations of current social theory. After the midterm, we will move on to modern social theorists, focusing specifically on issues of power and social action related to the Holocaust, theories of interpersonal interaction and group formation. Our understanding of these authors will be built on reading, discussing and writing about each of the authors.
This course has two objectives: (1) to introduce you to the major themes and thinkers in the history of social thought, and (2) to help you develop a set of skills that will enable you to (a) evaluate theories of society and (b) formulate theoretical statements about society. The first objective is covered mainly through the readings. The second objective is covered mainly through class discussion and your own writing. Class time is intended to highlight and clarify the (sometimes quite difficult) readings, and provide a forum for us to discuss the ideas presented. While I will provide notes on the readings / classes, it is imperative that you read all of the material for the course and come to class.
This is designated as a writing-intensive course and the workload reflects that. There are two writing components to the class.
First, you should turn in a short (1 page, roughly 250 words) response to the readings at the beginning of every class. The purpose of the assignment is to get you thinking about the material in an active way before class, and thus leave you prepared for class discussions.
Each response should contain a brief summary of the main point the author is trying to make, what evidence (if any) the author uses and, most importantly, your evaluation of the argument. At the end of the response, include a single multiple-choice question you think well reflects the core of the argument.
Each paragraph is worth 5 points, and you can skip two. Because the purpose of the paragraphs is to ensure that everyone is up to speed for the class discussions, I will not take paragraphs late. All paragraphs must be typed, double spaced. I will not take them through email. Keep all copies of your paragraphs.
Second, we will write two term papers. The goal is synopsis and critique, like a legal brief. A person should be able to read your paper and get the central argument(s) of the reading you are writing on. The paper should have 4 parts: (1) explain a particular problem that the author is addressing, (2) lay out the main themes of the author’s argument, (3) point out areas of contention or problems with either the argument or the evidence the theorist provides, and (4) propose your own solution to the critique you raise. The critique & response are the most important part of this paper
Complete details are on the course web page and in the writing handout I will pass out. You have been divided at random into two groups (given to you on the first day), and due dates are staggered between the two groups. These are listed on the class calendar.
Course requirements
& Grade breakdown:
1) Daily response paragraphs (15%)
2) Midterm Exam (25%)
3) Cumulative Final Exam (25%)
4) Two papers (17.5% each)
5) Extra Credit. I reserve the right to have pop-quizzes, essays, etc. that will contribute to the final score. These points are added into the total paragraph score.
Exams will consist of essay questions, short answer questions and multiple choice. A heavy proportion (at least a third, but as high as 60%) of each exam will be essay questions. The midterm and the final are weighted equally and will be of the same length, though I do consider improvement when assigning the final grade. Exams are cumulative.
Academic Misconduct
I expect you to do all of your own work. Any instances of cheating on exams or plagiarizing work will be brought to the attention of the university committee on academic misconduct.
The readings are from, Classical Sociological Theory and Contemporary Sociological Theory edited by Craig Calhoun, Joeseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, Katheryn Schmidt and Indermohan Virk, listed as “ClST” and “CoST” respectively.
The Classical Sociological Reader is required. I also strongly recommend you buy the Contemporary volume as well, but since we are reading less than 1/3 of the total text, I’ll post those readings to the course webpage.
A few additional readings are available online (click from the web version of the syllabus). We will also be reading all of Zygmut Bauman’s Modernity and the Holocaust. All books are at the bookstore.
Course Notes:
It is unnecessary for you to take
notes in class, since I will post my course lecture notes at the end of every
class. I encourage you to focus on listening and participating in class instead of trying to copy down what I say to
study later. Writing notes distracts you
from the lecture and discussions, as your attempts to write what classmates or
I say always leaves you a step behind. I
will post notes for the course on the course web page at the end of the day
(i.e., you won’t get them until after
that day’s class). Notes are not a substitute for reading or coming to class, and exam
questions will cover items not covered in the notes.
Theory and Society – Class Calendar
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Mon |
Tuesday |
Wed |
Thursday |
Fri |
Sat |
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January 8 |
9 |
10 |
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1st Day, Class Begins Introduction ClST pp 1-16 |
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11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
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Rousseau: Social Contract Read: ClST: 17-38 |
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Durkheim Rules of Sociological Method Clst: 131-157 |
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18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
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Durkheim The Division of Labor ClST: 158-180 |
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25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
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Marx: Econ & Phil Manuscripts ClST: 75-81,86-95 |
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(Moody out of town) |
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Feb 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
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Marx: Wage, Labor, Capital + Classes ClST: 122-130 |
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Weber: Class, Status, Party ClST: 205-210,247-255 |
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8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
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Weber: Bureaucracy ClST: 264-274 |
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Weber: Protestant Ethic Clst: 228-246 Group 1 Paper 1
Due |
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15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
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Simmel: The Stranger + Individuality ClST: 277-281,295-314 |
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(Moody out of town) Group 2 Paper 1 Due |
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22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
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(Moody out of town) |
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MIDTERM EXAM |
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Mar 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
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Manheim: Ideology & Utopia CoST: 1 – 22, ClST: 331-346 |
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Arendt: Ideology & Terror (online) |
Spring Break |
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Sun |
Mon |
Tuesday |
Wed |
Thursday |
Fri |
Sat |
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8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
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15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
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Bauman: Modernity & the Holocaust, Chap 1-4 |
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Bauman: Modernity & the Holocaust Chap 5-8 |
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22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
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Goffman: Presentation of Self |
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Blau: Exchange & Rationality Group 1 Paper 2
Due |
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29 |
30 |
31 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
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Eric Leifer: Action Preludes to Role Setting |
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(Moody out of town) Group 2 Paper 2
Due |
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5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
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Foucault: Truth & Power + Discipline & Punish |
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Bourdieu: Social Space + Habitus |
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12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
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Bourdieu: Language & Symbolic Power |
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Sewell: Social Structure |
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19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
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Last Class Day Social Networks, Simulation & Contemporary Social Theory (Reading TBA) |
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26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
May 1 |
May 2 |
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Final Exam:
7pm-10:pm |
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