SOC-1010-VO01 - Introduction to Sociology

SOC-1010-VO03 - Introduction to Sociology

To view the Course Description and Essential Objectives please click on the following link: Summer 2024 Course Description/Syllabus

See Course Information and Resources for details about the class and how it works.  Information regarding the text (John J. Macionis, Sociology) and details on ordering can be found at CCV's bookstore.  A link to access the text can be found in Course Resources.

Syllabus, Summer 2024

Week 1: By Monday, May 27, in our text, Sociology, by John J. Macionis, read chapter 1, The Sociological Perspective; and chapter 2, Sociological Investigation. Please also read the excerpt from C. Wright Mills, "The Sociological Imagination."

Instructor’s discussion questions for this week: 

1. What are the major elements of the sociological perspective? How is the perspective applied in the structural-functionalist, social-conflict, and symbolic- interaction paradigms?
2. How can understanding the sociological perspective help us in our daily lives?
3. According to C. Wright Mills, the “sociological imagination” consists of being able to make connections between one’s personal experiences and larger social forces. Use the sociological imagination to account for some personal concern of importance to you at the present time.
4. Why is the sociological imagination important?
5. Which sociological approach—structural-functional, social-conflict, feminism and gender conflict, race conflict, or symbolic-interaction—do you think is most useful for explaining the workings of American society? Why?
6. Choose one sociological approach, describe it, and identify at least one social thinker associated with that paradigm, explaining that thinker’s contributions. Are those contributions still useful or valuable today? Why or why not?
7. What are some of the strategies and problems of sociological interviewing? Can sociological interviewing usefully contribute to social knowledge? Why or why not?
8. How do scientific, interpretive, and critical sociology differ? What theorists are associated with each approach?

Week 2: By June 3, read chapter 3, Culture; chapter 4, Society; and chapter 5, Socialization. Also see the bonus reading, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema," and the short videos.

1. Discuss the difference between material and nonmaterial culture. What are some examples of each? In what ways does each affect the ways in which we live our daily lives?
2. There is considerable debate over whether there are cultural universals common to all cultures. To what extent can such cultural universals be said to exist? What are some examples of cultural universals?
3. Is there a common American culture? Discuss, in terms of common values, subcultures, and countercultures, and give concrete examples of each.
4. What is meant by ethnocentrism and cultural relativism? Discuss ethnocentrism and cultural relativism in relation to the sociological study of cultures other than your own.
5. Summarize American values, noting how some have changed in the last several decades. How do changing American values compare to your own values?
6. Compare the visions of society posed by Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Is one vision more valid than the others are? Why or why not?
7. What does Charles Horton Cooley mean by the “looking glass self”? Why is this idea important in the study of socialization?
8. Identify the main elements of culture and give an example of each. Can and should these elements ever change?
9. Why do sociologists study the Nacirema people?
10. According to the different theories of socialization, how do people in a particular society acquire their sense of self, and how do they change?
11. How are males and females socialized differently in American culture? What is the relationship of gender, language, and socialized gender roles?
12. Which is the most important agent of socialization in American culture? In what ways is this changing today? Are the changes beneficial or harmful?
13. How can we account for the fact that the process of socialization creates a great deal of uniformity among people sharing the same culture, yet individual differences remain?
14. What contributions have Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan, and George Herbert Mead made to our understanding of socialization?
15. Discuss socialization through the life course. In what ways are the life stages biological and what ways are they socially constructed? How do we know?

Week 3: By June 10, read chapter 6, Social Interaction in Everyday Life; and chapter 7, Mass Media and Social Media. And check out the video.

1. How does ascribed and achieved status serve to identify who a person is in a culture? What are the implications of such status assignments for the individual?
2. How is humor socially constructed?
3. What did Irving Goffman mean by “dramaturgical analysis” and the “presentation of self”?
4. Discuss freedom of the press in the U.S. What are the roles of the mass media in a democracy? Why are they important?
5. Describe how the concentration of ownership of media in the U.S. has been increasing. What are the implications of this concentration of ownership for a free press?
6. Explain what is meant by the aphorism that “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.” How does this statement apply to our media today?
7. Does social media have a positive or negative influence on society?

Week 4: By June 17, read chapter 8, Groups and Organizations; and chapter 9, Sexuality and Society. 

1. What is the importance of groups in society? How does the size of a group affect the dynamics of interaction within the group?
2. What is the difference between primary groups and secondary groups? Give examples of each in your own life.
3. Considering both daily social interaction and political factors, to what extent do individuals in the United States conform to authority? What is the evidence that most people are either conforming or nonconforming?
4. What are the principal characteristics of bureaucratic organizations? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this type of organization? Is an alternative system of social organization desirable or not, in terms of hierarchy and human relations within organizations?
5. What challenges are presented by formal organizations, and what solutions may be employed to deal with them?
6. Are organizations necessarily restrictive of individual freedom?
7. How have sexual attitudes changed in the United States over time? Are these changes good ones? Why or why not?
8. Compare the structural-functionalist and social-conflict analyses of sexuality. Which analysis is more compelling?
9. How do biology and culture influence sexuality?

Week 5: By June 24, read chapter 10, Deviance; chapter 11, Social Stratification; and chapter 12, Social Class in the United States. Please also read the article entitled, "The Injuries of Class."

1. Compare and contrast the biological and the sociological explanations for the incest taboo. Is one explanation more relevant or true than the other?
2. What is the sociological view of deviance, and how does it differ from “common sense” ideas of deviant behavior?
3. What are the main theoretical explanations for deviance?
4. What is the relationship of capitalism to deviance? Does capitalism define social relations in a particular way that leads to a label of deviance that would not otherwise be applied?
5. What are the causes and effects of social stratification?
6. Explain the differences between closed systems and open systems. How can class systems be almost as restrictive as caste systems?
7. How does ideology support social stratification?
8. "All you need to get ahead in this society is hard work and effort." What sociological approach supports this statement? What approach refutes it? What is the evidence for and against each approach as an explanation of the causes of poverty?
9. What is the evidence for and against the persistence of elements of class or caste in American society? Do you agree with Thomas Jefferson that democracy and concentration of wealth cannot coexist? Why or why not?
10. What are the most important elements in determining a person's social class? How difficult is it to overcome these things?
11. How does one's class position at birth influence his or her chances for mobility?

Week 6: Our midterm exam essays are due by midnight on Monday, July 1. In proper essay format and with proper citation, please answer both questions in separate essays, per instructions provided in “Midterm and Final Exams.” Each essay should be about three pages in length. You cannot pass the class without submitting the essay exams. 

1. What were the historical origins of sociology? What social factors led to the development of sociology as a discipline and how did historical changes lead people to believe that sociology was something worth studying?
2. What are the most important reasons for developing the sociological imagination, and why are those reasons important? What are the benefits of the sociological imagination for individuals and the larger society? Be sure to refer to the concepts of "troubles" and "issues" as discussed by C. Wright Mills, "The Sociological Imagination" in your answer.

Week 7: By July 8, read, chapter 13, Global Stratification; 14, Gender Stratification; chapter 15, Race and Ethnicity. Also see the reading, “White Frights,” and the videos.

1. Compare the Marxist analysis of social class, which posits two opposing classes, with more dominant theories such as the one presented in our text that describe several classes. Which theory would you favor and why?
2. Distinguish between colonialism and neocolonialism. What mechanisms operate in each system to foster global stratification? Is it still going on? If so, who are the perpetrators?
3. Does modernization theory or dependency theory more credibly explain global stratification? Why do you think so?
4. Compare the structural-functionalist and social-conflict views of stratification by gender. Which view is more compelling?
5. What does the symbolic-interaction approach in sociology show concerning gender differences?
6. How are American conceptions of gender roles similar and different from those in other cultures discussed in the text?
7. Describe patriarchy and the social costs of sexism. How are men as well as women harmed by sexism? How does feminism try to address this problem?
8. What do sociologists mean when they assert that "race" and "ethnicity" are social constructs rather than biological or natural characteristics of different groups of people?
9. What do sociologists mean by "institutional discrimination" and how does it affect the lives of minorities? What steps might be taken to overcome it?
10. What are the relationships between prejudice, stereotyping, scapegoating, and racial violence? How can these things be changed?
11. How did some new immigrants "become" white?
12. What are "sundown towns"?

Week 8: By July 15, read chapter 16, Aging and the Elderly; chapter 17, The Economy and Work; and chapter 18, Politics and Government, plus the supplementary articles and video.

1. In what ways are the elderly discriminated against in American society? How does this compare with some other societies?
2. What are the main components of the structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social-conflict analyses of aging in the United States? Of these perspectives, which provides the most valid analysis of aging?
3. What are the characteristics of a capitalist economic system? What is the effect of oligopoly on capitalist societies? Is the effect harmful or not? Why?
4. What was the social significance of the industrial revolution? How have labor unions tried to ameliorate the effects of the industrial revolution? Why have unions only been partially successful?
5. Discuss the changing nature of work in industrial and post-industrial society. What are the principal characteristics of work in each? What are the principal differences? Do you think work is likely to become more or less rewarding in the near future?
6. Why is democracy important in the workplace? How can we achieve it?
7. Apply the three models of power--pluralist, power-elite, and Marxist--to the US political system. Which model is most credible as an analysis of how American society works?
8. What are the principal differences between the structural-functional and social-conflict theories of state power? How might each theory account for the existence of war and militarism today?
9. Who rules America? Can the system be characterized as a democracy, an oligarchy with a democratic façade, or something else? How do you know?
10. Does voter apathy reflect contentment or alienation with the American political system? How can you tell?

Week 9: By July 22, read chapter 19, Families; chapter 20, Religion; and chapter 21, Education, and as always, the supplementary materials for this week.

1. What are the differences between the structural-functional and conflict theories of the family? Which do you believe better accounts for the changes that are occurring today, and why?
2. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the nuclear versus the extended family.  Which is preferable?
3. Describe the changing role of the family in modern society and discuss their impacts on family life.  Are the changes good ones or are they harmful? How do you know?
4. How do social class and race affect the modern family?
5. How does religion influence society and social behavior, and how does society influence religion?
6. In what ways can religion contribute to social change? In what ways can religion serve as a conservative force in society? Which of these is most common today?
7. Compare and contrast the structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social-conflict analyses of religion. Is one of these perspectives more credible? 
8. In what ways can religion contribute to social change?  In what ways can religion serve as a conservative force in society?  Which of these is most common today? 
9. In what ways do schools serve to transmit culture from one generation to the next? What are the latent functions of education?  Are any of these functions more harmful than helpful for the student?
10. In what ways are schools likely to be conservative institutions that reinforce the status quo? In what ways are they likely to be subversive institutions that undermine and seek to change it?
11. In what ways is schooling in the United States shaped by our economic, political, and cultural systems?  Should changes be made in these systems to ensure a more democratic educational experience?
12. From a structural-functional perspective, why is schooling important to the operation of society? From a social-conflict point of view, how does formal education reproduce social inequality in each generation?

Week 10: By July 29, read chapter 22, Health and Medicine; and chapter 23, Population, Urbanization, and the Environment. Also see the bonus readings.

1. How can health be viewed as a social as well as a physical concept?
2. How is the health system in the United States viewed by the social-conflict perspective?
3. Is health care a right or a privilege? In formulating your answer, think about comparisons with the health systems in other countries. Also, think about some of the problems with the current health care delivery system in the United States, and how they might be addressed in light of your answer.
4. Why are health-care costs rising so rapidly in the United States and what does this tell you about the social construction of medicine? What changes should be made in our health care delivery system?
5. What are the dimensions of global population and environmental problems today, and what insights does sociology bring to bear on understanding their causes and possible solutions?
6. What are the positive and negative consequences of urban growth and life? Do you prefer to live in an urban or rural environment?
7. What is the relationship between class and race and environmental degradation in general and waste sites in particular? How can this be changed?

Week 11: By August 5, read chapter 24, Collective Behavior and Social Movements; and our final chapter 25, Social Change: Traditional, Modern, and Postmodern Societies. Please also see the supplementary readings.

1. How do sociologists explain collective behavior? To what extent does it reflect more impulsive, unconscious processes, in which ordinary socialization to norms breaks down? To what extent does collective behavior reflect other factors?
2. What are the principal factors that explain the success or failure of social movements?
3. Choose a social movement from the past or present and analyze that movement in terms of deprivation theory, mass-society theory, structural-strain theory, resource-mobilization theory, culture theory, or new social movements theory. What important contributions, if any, did that social movement make to our society?
4. For a social movement of your choice, trace its life course in terms of the stages of social movements. Would you participate in that social movement?
5. What are the most important causes of social change in our society? What aspects of society need to be changed, in your view? What needs to stay the same?
6. Is the United States a "mass society," a "post-modern society," a "class society," or some combination of those things? Why do you think so?
7. What is modernity? How are modern societies different from traditional societies?
8. What are the main arguments of modernization theory and dependency theory with respect to the transformation of poor societies? How does the former approach make social change sound more positive and easier than the second? What is the role of high-income nations such as the United States, according to each approach? On balance, which approach do you find more convincing? Why?

Week 12: Our final exams are due by midnight on Monday, August 12. In proper essay format and with proper citation, please answer both questions in separate essays, per instructions provided in “Midterm and Final Exams.” Each essay should be about three pages in length.

To submit your exam essays, first prepare them on your word processor and then upload the essays together on one document, with page breaks between them, by clicking on “Upload Submission.” Upload or paste the text itself, not a link or an attachment. Do not submit the essays via email. Respond to all parts of the question and don't forget to proofread the essays.

1. Sociologists argue that there is a tendency in the United States for people to explain everything in individual terms. Using an example of your choosing, why are individualistic explanations inadequate? What would sociological explanations emphasize instead?
2. How would the structural-functional approach and the social-conflict approach analyze the differential socialization girls and boys receive in schools, the media, and other institutions? Which school of thought do you think is more persuasive, and why?