Sociology 301: Survey of Theory
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
T/TH 12:30-1:45
Spring 2003
Dr. David Kauzlarich
1208 Peck
Phone: (618)
650-2891
Fax: (618) 650-3509
Email:
dkauzla@siue.edu
Web Page:
http://www.siue.edu/~dkauzla
Office Hours: T/TH 10:30-11:30 a.m.and by
appointment
I.
Course Information
This course is intended to provide
students with an overview of the core theories and theorists in sociology. The
course is divided into two major sections.
First, we will focus on the substance and significance of the main
theories in sociology: Functionalism, conflict, symbolic interactionism, and
rational choice. While this section of
the course will be characterized by interactive lectures, we will also have
group discussions. The second part of
the course is designed to allow us to openly and critically apply sociological
theory to a range of sociological topics and problems. This portion of the course will be more
interactive, and group discussions will become more prevalent. Hopefully, not only will you leave the
course with a better understanding of theory per se, but also of how it
can be applied to better understand social structure, culture, and interaction.
Sociology majors should know that this
course is required before enrollment is allowed in SOC 302 (formerly 312) and SOC 303 (formerly
318). The SIUE Sociology faculty expect
you to leave this class with a paper that can be used as a foundation for your
work in the methods and statistics courses.
As you will read below, this course will require such a paper.
II. Required Texts
Pampel, Fred C. (2000). Sociological
Lives and Ideas: An Introduction to the Classical Theorists. New York: Worth Publishers.
Ritzer, George (2000). Sociological Theory. Fifth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Other mandatory readings will be handed
out in class.
III. Course Requirements
The final course grade will be determined
by the students' performance on:
1. Three
essay exams (60%)
2. A
major paper (20%)
3. Four
APop@ quizzes (10%)
4. Presentation
of your major paper to the class (5%)
5. Class
participation and attendance
(5%)
These
are weighted in the following manner:
Exam
I.............................................. 50 points
Exam
II............................................. 50 points
Exam
III............................................ 50 points
Major
Paper...................................... 50 points
Four
Pop Quizzes.............................. 25 points
Class
Presentation of Major Paper .. 12.5 points
Class
Participation and Attendance.. 12.5 points
Total..................................................250
points
Exams:
The exams will be mostly in-class essays and are intended to gauge your
understanding of the lectures, discussions, and readings.
Major
Paper: Each student is required to write a major
paper that involves a theoretical interpretation of a sociological topic or
problem. (Much more on this in section VI of this syllabus).
Class
Presentation of Major Paper: Each student will present their paper to
the class toward the end of the semester.
Specific dates and times of individual presentations will be determined
by midterm.
Class
Participation and
Attendance: Students
are expected to come to class with questions, comments, and critiques of their
readings. Students are also expected to
be an active member of their group, if and when convened. Unannounced, periodic roll will be taken.
Pop
Quizzes: I
will give four Apop@ quizzes. These cannot be made up and of course, are
unannounced. Their main purpose is to
ensure that you are coming to class prepared and keeping up with the readings.
Final grades
will be determined by dividing the total amount of points earned by the total amount of points possible. The resulting percentage will be converted
into a letter grade according to the following scale:
A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F under 60%
At any point in
the semester you will be able to calculate your exact standing in the
class. Simply divide the number of points you have earned by the total amount of points possible and refer to
the above scale. Note that the final
point distribution may change if exam scores need to be curved.
Part I: Introduction to the Core of Sociological
Theory
1/14 Introduction to the Course
1/16-21
Introduction to Sociological Theory and Metatheory
Readings:
Ritzer, Chapter 1 (pp.1-28) and Appendix
1/23- 2/4
Conflict Theory
Marx
Critical Theory
Modern Conflict
Theorists
Readings:
Ritzer, Chapters 2, 8 (pp. 271-303),
and 7 (pp. 258-268); Pampel, Chapter 1
2/4-11 Functionalism
Durkheim
Parsons
Readings:
Pampel, Chapter 2; Ritzer, Chapters 3
and 7 (pp.
229-258)
2/13 Exam 1
2/18-20 Weber
Rationalization
Bureaucracy
Readings:
Pampel, Chapter 3; Ritzer, Chapter 4
2/25-27
Symbolic Interactionism
Mead
Cooley
Readings:
Pampel, Chapter 5; Ritzer, Chapter 10
3/4 Rational Choice Theory
Readings:
Ritzer, Chapter 12
3/6 EXAM II
3/10-14 Spring
Break - No Classes
Part II:
Applying Sociological Theory
3/18-25 Crime
Readings: Matthews and Kauzlarich AThe Crash of
ValuJet Flight 592...@
Kauzlarich and
Kramer AExplaining and Controlling the Crimes of the Nuclear State.@
3/25-27 Social
Stratification and Inequality
Readings: Farley, pp.
151-154
4/1-3 The Workplace and Bureaucracy
Readings: Farley, pp.
230-238
4/8-10 Gender
Readings: Ritzer,
Chapter 13 and Farley, pp. 206-212
4/10-15 Race
Readings: Farley, pp.
161-169
4/17-5/1 Class
Presentations (dates may be increased or decreased depending on enrollment).
5/1 Paper Due in Class
5/7 Final Exam, 12-1:40.
VI. The Paper
Your paper
assignment requires you to provide theoretical interpretations of a major
subject area within sociology, or of a social problem. Students should choose a
sociological topic or problem from the following list. Other topics (including narrower subject
matters) must meet my special approval.
Crime and/or
Deviance
Race and Ethnic
Relations, Racism
Gender, Sexism,
Patriarchy, Sexuality
Marriage and
Family
Urban Sociology
Bureaucracy,
the Workplace
Religion
Population
Aging,
Gerontology, Ageism
Social
Movements
Social
Stratification, Classism
Education
Eco-Human
Issues
By the midterm
examination each student must submit to me an outline of their paper. I would like to know what progress has been
made thus far, and any other information you feel represents the status of your
paper at that point in time.
We will attempt
to schedule the presentations as democratically as possible.
The paper is
due the last day of class, May 1.
As you prepare
the paper, the following outline should be your guide. Extreme deviations must be approved by me.
(1) A description of the problem or topic. Why is it sociologically relevant? What is the nature, extent, and distribution
of the problem or topic? Why is the
topic at hand important and worthy of discussion?
(2) Research
evidence. Conduct a brief
literature review. What research has
been conducted on the topic that is related to or inspired by your theory? What are the findings of the research?
(3)
Description of the theories. Select
two theories to guide your analysis. What are the origins, assumptions, and key
variables of the theories? What are
the theories main advantages and disadvantages?
(4) Theoretical interpretation. Apply your sociological theories to
the subject. Explain how the theories
shed light on the subject and how it increases the understanding of the problem/topic.
(5) Social
policy implications of the theoretical interpretation. Briefly, what social policies are implied by
your analysis? Furthermore, what should
be done if your theoretical analysis is correct?
(6) Conclusion. What is the significance of your
analysis? What does it show? How is it valuable?
Papers must be
typewritten, free of misspelled words, and logically organized. It should
be between 10 and 15 pages, excluding references. A minimum of 5 references other than the
course texts must be employed.
VII. Policies on Late Papers and Missed Exams
Makeup exams
will be given only under exceptional circumstances. Proof of hardship, illness, etc. is required. If a makeup exam is granted, you will need
to give me at least one week to compose it.
The paper is due in class. Late papers will be accepted, but will be degraded at a rate of 25% per day, starting the second that class ends on the paper due date.