SOCY 3153                               Evolution of Sociological Theory

Fall, 2008

 

Instructor: Dr. Joseph Whitmeyer                       Office: Fretwell 476B

Website: www.uncc.edu/jwhitmey                      Office Phone: 704-687-4363      

 

Office Hours: T 11 – 12; R 1:50 – 2:50, and by appointment

 

Books: 1 Reading Packet available from Gray's Bookstore (at intersection of R. 49 and Mallard Creek Road).

 

***PLEASE NOTE: THIS CLASS IS NOT WRITING INTENSIVE!***

 

                                                        COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

Grades will be based on 10 reading summaries, three exams, and one book review paper.  Each reading is worth 2 points.  Each exam is worth 20 points.  The paper is worth 20 points.  The total number of points possible is 100.

 

READING SUMMARIES:

From week 2 on, at the beginning of each week a 2-page summary of that week's readings is due (see SCHEDULE below for exact dates).  I take off one point if you fail to turn in your summary at the beginning of the class meeting that day.  The paper must be typed and between 1.5 and 2.5 pages, using normal font size, margins, etc.  I also take off one point if you do not meet this requirement.

 

The summary should summarize that week's reading.  You should keep your opinions about the readings to less than 50% of the paper.  The summaries are graded S (satisfactory)/ NS (not satisfactory).  I grade them leniently.  That is, any summary with reasonable content receives an S.  I take off 1 point for a 'NS.'

 

We will have 11 readings in the course of the semester (see SCHEDULE in this syllabus, and posted on website).  You need do only 10 summaries.  That is, you may omit the summary ONE week (of your choosing).

 

The schedule of readings probably will change in the course of the semester.  Please check the schedule posted on the class website for updates.

 

EXAMS:

There will be three 60-minute exams:

 

Tuesday, September 30

Tuesday, November 4

Thursday, December 18, 11:00 – 12:00

 

Exams are worth 20 points each and are not cumulative.  Exams consist of a combination of short-answer and essay questions.

 

The last exam in this class is during the scheduled final examination time.  It is NOT cumulative.  You will be allowed only 60 minutes for this exam.

BOOK REVIEW PAPER:

The paper must be typed and between 6 and 8 double-spaced pages, using normal font size, margins, etc.  I take off 2 points for each page over 8, or less than 6.  The paper is due by 5:00pm on December 9.  Late papers lose 2 points if after 5:00 on 12/9, 4 points if turned in 12/11.  No paper will be accepted after 5:00pm on 12/11.

 

The book review paper MUST be on a book from the list available from the SOCY3153 section of my website (see above).  If you do not have access to this website, please see me.  Before choosing a book, you may want to discuss it with me, although you do not need to.  The paper should summarize the ENTIRE book.  You should include your opinions in the review, but no more than one third (1/3) of the book should be your opinions.

 

Finally, all work in your paper MUST be your own, unless you note otherwise in the paper.  That is, ideas of others must be cited.  Exact words of others (including from the book you are reviewing) must be placed in quotation marks and cited.  Failure to do this will result in many points being deducted!

 

GRADING:

I use a non-competitive grade scale.  In other words, the grade you get will not depend on how well others in the class have done. I am perfectly willing to give every person in this class an "A" if she or he masters the material.

 

Tentative grade scale:

                                                               Final Grade     Points

 

                                                                     A              90-100

                                                                     B              80-89

                                                                     C              70-79

                                                                     D              60-69

                                                                      F              0-59

 

STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All UNC Charlotte students have the responsibility to be familiar with and to observe the requirements of The UNC Charlotte Code of Student Academic Integrity (see the Catalog).  This Code forbids cheating, fabrication or falsification of information, multiple submission of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials (such as Library books on reserve), and complicity in academic dishonesty (helping others to violate the Code).  Any further specific requirements or permission regarding academic integrity in this course will be stated by the instructor, and are also binding on the students in this course.  Students who violate the Code can be punished to the extent of being permanently expelled from UNC Charlotte and having this fact recorded on their official transcripts.  The normal penalty is zero credit on the work involving dishonesty and further substantial reduction of the course grade.  In almost all cases, the course grade is reduced to “F.”  If you do not have a copy of the Code, you can obtain one from the Dean of Students Office or access it online at http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html.  Standards of academic integrity will be enforced in this course.  Students are expected to report cases of academic dishonesty they become aware of to the course instructor who is responsible for dealing with them.

                      SCHEDULE OF READINGS

 

Recommended preliminary readings.  [NOT REQUIRED!]

 

Heilbronner, Robert. 1986.  The Worldly Philosophers.  New York: Simon & Schuster.  Especially the chapters on Smith, Malthus and Ricardo, Marx, Mill (pp. 127-35), Veblen, and Schumpeter.

 

Fussell, Paul.  1983.  Class.  New York: Summit Books.

 

Week 2.  Summary due 9/2.  Coursepack readings, pp. 7-21 (Smith) and 22 (Marx).

Adam Smith.  The Wealth of Nations.  Pp. 13-16, 30-33, 100-110, 423-6, 651.

 

Karl Marx.  [1859]  From Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy.  In Tucker, Robert C., ed.  1978.  The Marx-Engels Reader.  New York: W. W. Norton.  Pp. 4-5.

 

Week 3.  Summary due 9/9.  Coursepack readings, pp. 23-40.

Karl Marx.  [1867]  From Das Kapital.  In Tucker, Robert C., ed.  1978.  The Marx-Engels Reader.  New York: W. W. Norton.  Pp. 361-372, 417-431, 439-442.

 

Week 4.  Summary due 9/16.  ***NOTE: DOWNLOAD THESE FROM WEBSITES!***

Emile Durkheim.  1947 [1893].  The Division of Labor in Society.  New York: The Free Press. (http://media.pfeiffer.edu/lridener/DSS/Durkheim/DIVLABOR.HTML)

  1982.  The Rules of Sociological Method.  New York: The Free Press. (http://media.pfeiffer.edu/lridener/DSS/Durkheim/SOCFACT.HTML)

 

Week 5.  Summary due 9/23.  Coursepack readings, pp. 42-57.

Max Weber.  1978 [1922].  Economy and Society.  Berkeley: University of California Press.  Pp. 4-15, 22-26, 926-939.

 

Week 6.  Summary due 10/2.  Coursepack readings, pp. 58-76.

Thorstein Veblen.  1918 [1899].  The Theory of the Leisure Class.  New York: Viking.  Pp. 22-53, 81-85.  [Chapters 2-3, part of 4]

 

Week 7.  Structural-Functionalism: Talcott Parsons.  NO SUMMARY.

[Taken from: Talcott Parsons.  1970.  "Some Problems of General Theory in Sociology."  Pp. 26-68 in J. C. McKinney and E. A. Tiryakian, eds.  Theoretical Sociology: Perspectives and Developments.  Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.]

 

Week 8.  Summary due 10/21.  Coursepack readings, pp. 77-92.

George C. Homans.  1964.  "Bringing Men Back In."  American Sociological Review 29:809-18.  Entire article.

 

_______.  1974.  Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms.  New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.  Chapter 3.

 

Week 9.  Social Interactionism, Part 1.  Summary due 10/28.  Coursepack readings, pp. 93-112.

George Herbert Mead.  1962 [1934].  Mind, Self, and Society.  Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.  Pp. 144-64.

 

Erving Goffman.  1959.  The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.  Garden City, NY: Doubleday.  Pp. 1-17.

 

Week 10.  Social Interactionism, Part 2.  Summary due 11/6.  Coursepack readings, pp. 113-126.

Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann.  1966.  The Social Construction of Reality.  Garden City, NY: Doubleday.  Pp. 72-92, 185-9.

 

Week 11.  Rational Choice.  Summary due 11/13.  Coursepack readings, pp. 127-144.

Gary Becker.  1976.  The Economic Approach to Human Behavior.  Chicago: Chicago University Press.  Pp. 3-14.

 

James Coleman.  1990.  Foundations of Social Theory.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.  Pp. 91-108.

 

Week 12.  Structuralism.  Summary due 11/20.  Coursepack readings, pp. 145-160.

Peter Blau.  1977.  Inequality and Heterogeneity.  New York: The Free Press.  Pp. 1-17, 19-31.

 

Week 13.  Feminist Theory.  Summary due 12/2.  Coursepack readings, pp. 168-179.

Dorothy E. Smith.  1979.  "Sociology for Women."  Pp. 135-187 in J. A. Sherman and E. T. Beck, eds.  The Prism of Sex.  Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.  Pp. 146-72, 184-7.