SOC 105

SOC 105: Sociological Perspectives

(3 units, GE)

TTh 2:10-3:25
Thornton Hall 329

Fall 2006

San Francisco State University

Office: HSS 372; Tel. 338-1090

Office hours: T&Th 3:30-4:30 and by appointment

Course Description: Sociological perspectives are a valuable part of any discipline, as they promote useful and insightful understandings of current events, social change, daily life, and social roles. Perhaps even more valuable, the tools and insights of sociology promote a critical interpretation of society and the individual’s place in it. Equipped with the tools and methods of social science, students might cease taking the world around them for granted and look more deeply at their interactions and social world.

A sociological imagination offers its possessors a number of tools and perspectives that can be useful in understanding the “social landscape” (the world and our place in it). The application of sociology to daily life enables people to engage with society in ways that improve their quality of life and ultimately improve their society. The course introduces students to major ideas, concepts, and methods in the study of society: social structure, social interaction, social inequality, culture, social policy, and social change.

Course Materials: The following required text should be available for purchase in the university bookstore:

Susan J. Ferguson (ed.), Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology. 4^th Edition. McGraw Hill 2005.

Additional readings may be made available on-line through Blackboard. Please note that the instructor will be using Blackboard to provide information about assignments and schedule.

Assignments and Computation of Final Grade: You can earn a total of 100 points in this class, which are distributed as follows among the required assignments:

Attendance policy: While there is no official “penalty” for missing class, please be aware that it will be very difficult for you to do well in this course if you do not attend and participate regularly.

Make-up exams and quizzes: Make-up exams and quizzes will NOT be given unless the student has made timely arrangements with the professor prior to the date of the exam or quiz.

Late work policy: Unless the student has made timely prior arrangements with the professor to turn an assignment in after the due date, one point will be deducted from your score on that assignment for each day it is late.

Cheating and plagiarism: Cheating is the actual or attempted practice of fraudulent or deceptive acts for the purpose of improving one’s grade or obtaining course credit; such acts also include assisting another student to do so. Typically, such acts occur in relation to examinations. However, it is the intent of this definition that the term “cheating” not be limited to examination situations only, but that it include any and all actions by a student that are intended to gain un unearned academic advantage by fraudulent or deceptive means. Plagiarism is a specific form of cheating. Plagiarism is defined in The Sociology Student Writer’s Manual by W.A. Johnson, Jr., R.P. Rettig, G.M. Scott, and S.M. Garrison (Prentice Hall, 1998: p. 111) as “the using of someone else’s words or ideas without giving that person credit.” The authors go on to explain:

While some plagiarism is deliberate, produced by writers who understand that they are guilty of a kind of academic thievery, much of it is unconscious, committed by writers who are not aware of the varieties of plagiarism or who are careless in recording their borrowings from sources. Plagiarism includes:

§ constructing a paraphrase that closely resembles the original in language and syntax.

Penalties for cheating and plagiarism range from 0 or F on a particular assignment, through an F for the course, to expulsion from the university. For more information on the University’s policy regarding cheating and plagiarism, refer to the University Catalog (“Policies and Regulations”).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accommodations: The University is committed to providing reasonable academic accommodation to students with disabilities. The Disability Programs and Resources Center provides university academic support service and specialized assistance to students with disabilities. Individuals with physical, perceptual, or learning disabilities as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact Services for Students with Disabilities for information regarding accommodations. Please notify your instructor so that reasonable efforts can be made to accommodate you. If you expect accommodation through the Act, you must make a formal request through Disability Programs and Resource Center in SSB 110 (telephone 338-2472).

Syllabus is subject to change: This syllabus and schedule are subject to change in the event or extenuating circumstances. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to check on announcements made while you were absent.

Required readings:
1. C. Wright Mills, “The Promise” (in Ferguson pp. 1-7)
2. Donna Gaines, “Teenage Wasteland: Suburbia’s Dead-End Kids” (in Ferguson pp. 7-20)
3. Mary Romero, “Intersection of Biography and History: My Intellectual Journey” (in Ferguson pp. 20-36)
Review Writing Assignment: “My Sociological Autobiography”

T 9/12-Th 9/14: Required readings:
1. Michael Schwalbe, “Finding Out How the Social World Works” (in Ferguson pp. 36-47)
2. Craig Haney, W. Curtis Banks, and Philip G. Zimbardo, “Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison” (in Ferguson pp. 47-57)
3. Elaine Bell Kaplan, “Not Our Kind of Girl” (in Ferguson pp. 57-65)
Quiz # 1: Thurs. 9/14

T 9/19-Th 9/21: Required readings:
1. Anne M. Velliquette and Jeff B. Murray, “The New Tattoo Subculture” (in Ferguson pp. 66-78)
2. Elijah Anderson, “The Code of the Streets” (in Ferguson pp. 79-90)
3. Eugenia Kaw, “’Opening’ Faces: The Politics of Cosmetic Surgery and Asian American Women” (in Ferguson pp. 91-110)
4. Haunani-Kay Trask, “Lovely Hula Hands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture” (in Ferguson pp. 111-118)
Quiz # 2: Thurs. 9/21

T 9/26-Th 9/28: Required readings:
1. Judith Lorber, “’Night to His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender” (in Ferguson pp. 119-132)
2. Michael Messner, “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities” (in Ferguson pp. 132-147)
3. Robert Granfield, “Making It By Faking It: Working-Class Students in an Elite Academic Environment” (in Ferguson pp. 147-161)
4. Gwynne Dyer, “Anybody’s Son Will Do” (in Ferguson pp. 161-172)
Quiz # 3: Th 9/28

T 10/3-Th 10/5: Required readings:
1. David L. Rosenhan, “On Being Sane in Insane Places” (in Ferguson pp. 230-240)
2. Penelope A. McLorg and Diane E. Taub, “Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: The Development of Deviant Identities” (in Ferguson pp. 241-253)
3. Philippe Bourgois, “In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio” (in Ferguson pp. 253-265)
4. A Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Space, “Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women?” (in Ferguson pp. 265-278)
Quiz # 4: Th 10/5

Th 10/12-Th 10/19:Required readings:
1. Kingsley Davis, Wilbert E. Moore, and Melvin Tumin, “Some Principles of Stratification” (in Ferguson pp. 279-289)
2. G. William Domhoff, “Who Rules America? The Corporate Community and the Upper Class” (in Ferguson pp. 289-303)
3. Melvin L. Oliver and Thomas M. Shapiro, “Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality” (in Ferguson pp. 303-317)
4. Barbara Ehrenreich, “Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” (in Ferguson pp. 318-331)
Quiz # 5: Th. 10/19

T 10/24-T 10/31: Required readings:
1. Barbara Risman, “Gender as Structure” (in Ferguson pp. 332-341)
2. Christine L. Williams, “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the ‘Female’ Professions” (in Ferguson pp. 342-353)
3. Yen le Espiritu, “The Racial Construction of Asian American Women and Men” (in Ferguson pp. 353-365)
4. Maya Sadker and David Sadker, “Failing at Fairness: Hidden Lessons” (in Ferguson pp. 366-379)
5. Suzanne Pharr, “Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism” (available on Blackboard)
Quiz # 6: T 10/31

Th 11/2-Th 11/9: Required readings:
1. Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Racial Formations in the United States” (in Ferguson pp. 380-390)
2. Jennifer Lee and Frank D. Bean, “Beyond Black and White: Remaking Race in America” (in Ferguson pp. 390-398)
3. Lillian B. Rubin, “Is This a White Country, or What?” (in Ferguson pp. 398-410)
4. Charlie LeDuff, “At a Slaughterhouse, Some Things Never Die” (Ferguson pp. 410-20)
Quiz # 7: Th 11/9

T 11/14-Th 11/16: Required readings:
1. Martin N. Marger, “The Mass Media as a Power Institution” (in Ferguson pp. 452-463)
2. Gregory Mantsios, “Media Magic: Making Class Invisible” (in Ferguson pp. 463-472)
3. Todd Gitlin, “Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives” (in Ferguson pp. 472-481)
Quiz # 8: Th 11/16

T 11/28-Th 11/30:Required readings:
1. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” (in Ferguson pp. 482-488)
2. William Julius Wilson, “When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor” (in Ferguson pp. 488-501)
3. Robin Leidner, “Over the Counter: McDonald’s” (in Ferguson pp. 501-517)
Quiz # 9: Th 11/30

T 12/5- Th 12/7: Required readings:
1. Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes, “Civilize Them With a Stick” (in Ferguson pp. 573-581)
2. Peter W. Cookson, Jr., and Caroline Hodges Persell, “Preparing for Power: Cultural Capital and Curricula in America’s Elite Boarding Schools” (in Ferguson pp. 581-592)
3. Judith Stacey, “Gay and Lesbian Families Are Here” (in Ferguson pp. 601-614)
4. Arlie Russell Hochschild, “The Time Bind: When Works Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work” (in Ferguson pp. 625-636)
Quiz # 10: Th 12/7

T 12/12-Th 12/14:Required readings:
1. George Ritzer, “The McDonalization of Society” (in Ferguson pp. 637-646)
2. Conrad L. Kanagy and Donald B. Kraybill, “How Will the Internet Change Society?” (in Ferguson pp. 646-653)
3. Charles Derber, “The Wilding of America: Iraq and the War Against Terrorism” (in Ferguson pp. 654-665)
4. Amitai Etzoni, “Community Building: Steps Toward a Good Society” (in Ferguson pp. 665-673)
5. Allan G. Johnson, “What Can We Do? Becoming Part of the Solution” (in Ferguson pp. 673-684)
Writing Assignment (My Sociological Autobiography) Due In Class Tues. 12/12