Sociology 101The Sociological Imagination
Fall, 2013TTH: 8:00-9:35
Professor Robert Bulman, Ph.D., Office hours: TTH 11:30-12:30 and by appt.
Saint Mary's College of CaliforniaGaraventa 311 Office extension: 8321
Overview of the course
This course is designed as an intermediate course between the lower and upper division courses in sociology. It will reinforce and expand upon many of the concepts you have been introduced to in Introduction to Sociology and Social Problems. In addition to reviewing the perspective of the sociological imagination, we will pay particular attention to understanding issues of race, urban poverty, masculinity, and racial stereotypes in the late 20th/eary 21st century United States. You will learn how to conduct a sociological literature review, collect primary data, use sociological theories to explain empirical data, and write sociological papers. This is a “Writing in the Discipline” (WID) course which will build upon the skills you have learned in English 4 and 5. There will be a significant focus on the development of your writing as sociologists. This course will also provide students with a solid substantive base of skills which will serve them well in other upper division sociology courses – the Sociological Theory and Sociological Research Methods courses in particular.
Learning outcomes -- By the end of this course you will be able to:
Examine the life of an individual in social context and critically evaluate how individuals have been affected by the time, place, and social categories of their lives.
Reflect upon the implications for personal and social responsibility in contemporary society.
Collect primary data and use that data to build a sociological argument.
Effectively apply sociological theories to interpret empirical data.
Recognize and compose readable prose, as characterized by clear and careful organization, coherent paragraphs and well-constructed sentences that employ the conventions of standard written English and appropriate diction
Recognize and formulate effective written communication, giving appropriate consideration to audience, context and format
Develop search strategies and use library catalogs and databases to find relevant material
Critically evaluate sources
Integrate and cite evidence appropriately using ASA format.
Understand the concept of intellectual property and practice academic honesty.
Course pre-requisites: Sociology 2 or 4. English 5
Writing in the Disciplines (WID)
As a WID-designated course, Sociology 101 satisfies the college-wide Writing in the Discipline requirement for graduation. This course builds upon skills you have developed in English 4 and 5 and applies them directly to the work that sociologists do. It is assumed that you have the skills and resources to write essays with correct and clear written English and grammar. Your work in this course (and all other sociology courses) will be evaluated in part by the quality and clarity of the writing as well as your ability to construct organized essays that use evidence to support an argument. I expect that you have retained the texts that were assigned to you in English 4 and 5. You will use these texts as reference in this class. Additionally, portions of the Hubbich text will be assigned for you to re-read at appropriate places in the semester (see below in syllabus).
There are many writing resources available to you. In addition to my own instruction, you should feel free to consult the tutors at the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC). We will have one in-class workshop with CWAC staff, but you are encouraged to meet with tutors individually at the center as you develop your papers.
Free Writing Advising at the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum:
Students of all levels and disciplines are welcome to drop in or make appointments for one-on-one sessions with CWAC Writing Advisers. Students may request weekly or biweekly sessions with the same peer student Adviser. The Center, in Dante 202, is open 5-8 p.m. Sunday and 2-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The phone number is 925.631.4684. Through collaborative engagement, Advisers guide their peers toward expressing ideas clearly and revising their own papers with an eye toward audience and purpose. Writers should bring their assignments, texts, and related material. Writers visit the Center to brainstorm ideas, revise drafts, or work on specific aspects of writing, such as grammar, citation, thesis development, organization, critical reading, or research methods. Discussions may involve any type of writing, including poetry, science lab reports, argument-driven research, or professional application letters.
Also, library staff members are available to help you as you find the appropriate sources for your papers. In addition to a workshop we will participate in as a class at the library, the reference librarians are available to help you brainstorm strategies to search for sources, to use the appropriate databases, to evaluate the quality of sources and to answer your questions. Specifically, as sociologists we work closely with Patty Wade (). 925-631-4288. She is familiar with the assignments in this class and she should be the first person at the library you contact for help locating sources. If she is not available there are reference librarians waiting to help you when the library is open. You can also click the “Ask Us!” link on the library home page for assistance.
We will periodically have writing exercises in class – reflection pieces, paraphrasing work, peer editing, “one minute” papers, etc. These assignments will not be used to evaluate your grade, but will be used to help you develop your skills as a writer.
Final grades will be determined by the following assignments:
Quality of Participation: 5% of your grade.
What you need to do:
In addition to regular attendance, this class requires active participation – participation in class discussion, leading class on certain days (see syllabus), and occasionally posting responses to articles on Moodle. Also, students may show their engagement with course material by attending office hours and corresponding with me via email.
What you will learn:
Participation is an important part of active learning. As you take active notes, share your ideas, ask questions, back up your thoughts with evidence, cooperate with others, and respond to questions you will make cognitive connections that help you better to comprehend, remember, and useinformation.
How you will be graded:
I take daily roll. I also take notes after each class to indicate who has participated in a meaningful way. Talking just to talk does not “count” as much as asking intelligent questions, offering critical and helpful observations, making contributions that show a serious engagement with the material, communicating with others respectfully, and working cooperatively in small groups. I also take not of visits to office hours, email communication, and other attempts to show to me that you are participating actively in the course.
Research Journal: Worth 5% of your grade. Due in two installments –October 22 and the day of our final exam.
What you need to do:
All students must keep a three-ring binder journal in which they keep notes on each of the readings assigned in the course. Each entry should provide a summary of the main points in that day’s assigned reading. In addition, if you disagreed with the reading, explain why. If you found it confusing, explain where and why you struggled. You will also include in the journal your field notes from participant observation, your summary of the articles you found for the research paper (and their proper citation), and any other entries related to the work you do for this course. Don’t wait until the last moment to do this assignment! The point is that you regularly take notes and make contributions to your research journal.
What you will learn:
This requirement will help you to keep organized for all of the assignments in this class. It requires you to take notes as you read actively, which will increase your comprehension and retention. It requires you to keep a log of the library research you have done so that you write an organized literature review and cite sources properly. It will help you to keep track of all the observations you make in the participant observation research so that you are able to analyze more effectively the data and write the final paper. But you will accomplish these learning goals only if you keep up with the journal on a daily basis.
How you will be graded:
At the middle of the semester I will review your journals and give you general feedback about the quality and thoroughness of your entries so that you have time to make adjustments in the second half of the class. At the end of the semester I will look at the entirety of the journal and evaluate it based on the journal’s completeness, thoughtfulness, organization, and how seriously you wrestle with each reading.
Midterm Paper: 20% of your grade. Due in class October 3.
What you will do:
In this approximately 5 page paper you should explain the overall argument made by Mitchell Duneier in the book Slim’s Table. In addition to explaining the central research questions, method, and arguments of the book you should explain how this book is an example of C.W. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. Use this as an opportunity to explain the sociological perspective. Some questions to consider as you write the paper: What is distinctively sociological about this book? How has this book helped you to understand issues of importance to sociologists? What are the book’s shortcomings?
You also need to find one academic book review of Slim’s Table. Read the review carefully. Write a section of the paper that evaluates the review – What was the essence of the review? Did you agree with the reviewer’s assessment of the book? Why or why not? Did the review give you new insight into an understanding of the book? Explain how.You should conclude with a personal reflection – Given what you now understand about the sociological imagination and the issues raised in Slim’s Table, what obligations do we have personally and socially to others in society? What are our ethical obligations as sociologists when we conduct research?
What you will learn:
It is important as sociologists that we carefully read books in order to understand accurately what the research questions are, what the methods are, how the data do or do not support the author’s argument, and how others have understood and evaluated the work. As you write this paper you will develop a more complete understanding of Slim’s Table, you will begin to see how Duneier’s argument is structured and supported (or not), you will develop your own evaluation of the strength and weakness of the book, and you will learn how other scholars have responded to the book. You will also reflect upon our roles as sociologists in the social world. What can we know? What can’t we know? What ethical responsibilities do we have to the social world we study?
How you will be graded:
To evaluate formal writing in this course I will be using a grading matrix that has been adapted from English Composition and Collegiate Seminar. I have included a sample of the matrix at the end of this syllabus. Briefly, I will look for the quality of the paper’s thesis (argument), the structure, organization, and development of the paper, the proper use of language and grammar, and the appropriate use of and documentation of sources.
Literature Review Paper: . 20% of your grade. Due in class October 22.
What you need to do:
In this paper you should find three peer-reviewed academic journal articles on the topic of social interactions in public places. Inspired by the ethnographic study of the Valois in Slim’s Table, this literature review is a first draft of part of the final research paper. The final research paper asks you to study the ways in which Saint Mary’s students behave and interact with each other in the Sodexo dining hall and/or Café Louis. Try to find academic articles about the social dynamics in cafeterias, coffee shops, or restaurants. You may want to search for articles that explore a particular interest you have – for instance, how race, class, gender, sexuality, age, athletic status, solitude, etc. affect behaviors in public places. For each article, complete a one page worksheet that explains 1) the primary research question(s) the author(s) are asking. That is, what do they want to learn? 2) The methods they use to collect data. That is, what steps do they take to collect information to answer the question? Do they use interviews, surveys, participant observation, etc? 3) What do their data reveal? That is, what is the empirical answer to the research question(s) they pose? What is their argument? 4) What theory do they use to frame the issue? That is, do they use a particular theoretical perspective to interpret their data?
In addition to these three worksheets, you should write a one page “literature review” that summarizes thematically what these three articles tell you about your research question. That is, don’t write about them one by one, but try to write a review that discusses the contributions of the articles in an integrated way. Are these articles in conversation with each other? Do their findings support each other? Do they use similar methods? Etc
What you will learn:
You will learn how to find appropriate sources in order to address specific research questions. You will learn how to understand the methods, data, argument, and contribution of each of the sources you find. You will learn how to write about these sources in a coherent and cohesive way. You will learn how to compare and contrast the various contributions that each source brings to an understanding your research question.
How you will be graded:
I will grade this assignment based on: A. The appropriateness of each source for the purpose at hand. B. Your ability to deconstruct each article so that you understand their question, method, data, argument, and theory. C. Your ability to summarize the contributions of all three sources in a concise and well written literature review.
The final research paper: 30% of your grade. Due the day of our final exam
What you will do:
Inspired by the research done in Café Valois in Slim’s Table, this class will first ask the exploratory research question, “How do member of the Saint Mary’s College community interact with each other in the Sodexo dining hall and/or Café Louis?” This inductive research will use the method of participant observation. You will conduct at least 6 sessions of participant observation in which you take detailed field notes of what you observe. You will not only describe the setting in rich detail, but you will look for social patterns and generate hypotheses to be tested further.
Next, you will conduct deductive research in which each of you develop an explanatory research question and hypothesis to be tested both with additional observations and with a brief survey. You may want to examine the ways in which variables such as race, class, age, gender, position at the college, athletic status, time of day, or location affect social interactions and behavior in the dining hall or café Louis.
You will build an argument using the data from the participant observation field notes and survey results. You will also use the literature to frame and support your argument. A portion of this paper will be a revised version of your literature review paper. You will also incorporate at least one of the theories studied in class to help explain your data. I’ve attached an outline of the expected components of this paper at the end of the syllabus.
What you will learn:
In this assignment you put everything that you’ve learned this semester together in one package. You will learn how to look at data about the social world, analyze them, and organize them into an argument. You’ll learn how to relate your findings to existing literature in the field. You’ll learn how to apply a theoretical perspective to an interpretation of data. You’ll learn how to build the components of an effective sociological research essay. You’ll learn how to evaluate the results of the study and make recommendations for policy changes and/or future research.
How you will be graded:
As with the midterm, I will be using a grading matrix that has been adapted from English Composition and Collegiate Seminar. I have included a sample of the matrix at the end of this syllabus. Briefly, I will look for the quality of the paper’s thesis (argument), the structure, organization, and development of the paper, The use of data to support your argument, the ability to integrate literature into your analysis of the data, the proper use of language and grammar, and the appropriate use of and documentation of sources.