Classical Theory
University of Colorado at Boulder
Graduate Instructor: Angel Hoekstra
________________________________________________________________________
Course Description: This course provides an introduction to ideas and concepts proposed by four classical theorists in sociology. Sociology is the systematic study of human behavior and social interaction. Theories from each of these writers have been influential in the development of the discipline, and many of their ideas continue to be used in sociological research today. In addition to gaining knowledge and the ability to apply sociological theories, it is hoped that we will be able to attain a few supplementary goals, such as to form a productive and enjoyable learning community.
Expectations: You are responsible for all material presented in class, in the textbook, and in supplemental readings posted on course reserve. I will regularly refer to specific pages from your readings during class, so I suggest that you bring your reading materials to class with you whenever you are able to do so. Please be respectful of your fellow classmates and do not disrupt their ability to learn: please do not arrive late, leave early without prior permission from me, talk “off topic” during class, or engage in any other behavior that is distracting or disrespectful to others.
Finally, please be sure to turn off your cell phone each day before you come to class.
Make-ups: Given that this class meets every day for five weeks, we will have a lot to do each day. Thus, you are permitted one excused absence from this class. An excused absence is arranged by email, prior to missing class, with me. If you are sick and cannot make it to your email, you may bring a doctor’s note and then you will be allowed to make up any work due on the day you missed. Absences for any other reason will be considered unexcused, and you will not be allowed to make-up any work due that day. Please carefully examine the calendar provided for this course: If you find that you have a scheduling conflict that will result in your missing one of the quizzes or assignments, you may want to consider dropping the course.
Learning Goals for Classical Theory
1) Foster a safe and productive learning community.
Mechanisms for Assessment:
I. Develop a community where students can feel comfortable, valued, and secure in the class learning environment.
II. Encourage appreciation for the diversity of opinions that results from having multiple participants in the class community.
III. Learn to trust one another in discussion: Begin to value the verbal comments and opinions of other students; do away with the notion that what the instructor has to say is automatically more valuable or insightful than what your peers may have to say.
2) Cultivate critical thinkers who are able to apply sociological theories to contemporary social life.
Mechanisms for assessment:
I. Gain practice at identifying claims and concepts made in classical theories.
II. Evaluate the usefulness of these claims and concepts for experiences in today’s social world.
III. Identify various ways in which sociological concepts are practical: useful for understanding the experiences that you have in your work and/or personal life.
3) Encourage each of you to develop your writing skills in order to prepare you for future courses.
Mechanisms for assessment:
I. Cultivate the writing skills necessary to clearly and concisely convey what you have learned from classical theoretical concepts.
II. Develop the ability to “make connections” between readings and/or class discussion content and your personal experiences.
III. Write in depth about one classical theory (or theoretical concept) that you find intriguing, challenging, or frustrating- explaining how it applies to contemporary life.
Required Text: TXT
Sociological Lives and Ideas: An Introduction to the Classical Theorists.
Fred C. Pampel, 2000, Worth Publishers.
To find articles on course reserve
will ensure that the website is up and working.
Course Segments in Classical Theory
Unit 1- Introduction to Classical Theory
TXT: Preface; RDGS: Anderson & Taylor, Mills, Gaines; Film
TXT: Durkheim, RDG: Durkheim
TXT: Weber, RDG: Weber
TXT: Mead
Unit 6- Review
General Concepts, Peer Review Exercise
“Letter to a Friend” Introductory Essay to Instructor 20
Student Assessments of Progress Toward Learning Goals 60
(2 x 30 possible points per assessment)
Individual Short Essays
1: Film Character Analysis 60
2: Final Paper Assignment 100
Quizzes to assess content learning 200
(4 quizzes, 25 questions each, 50 points per quiz)
________
Total possible points 500
Grade Point Breakdown
A 460/500 92% or higher
A- 445/500 89%
B+ 430/500 86%
B 410/500 82%
B- 395/500 79%
C+ 380/500 76%
C 360/500 72%
C- 345/500 69%
D over 300 60%
F under 300
Important Dates
Essay 2 - Draft Due for Peer Review Exercise: Thursday, July 6
Although I do not expect to have to do so, this syllabus is subject to change by the instructor should modifications be necessary.
Course Components in Detail…
Assignment of “Letter to a Friend” Introduction to the Instructor
In order to gain an initial understanding of who you are as an individual and the kind of learning styles that you prefer, you will complete a brief “letter” to provide me with some background information about your interests and what you hope to gain by taking this class. Letters will be completed on the provided format and are due in class on June 7.
Student assessments of progress toward learning goals
Twice during the summer session you will evaluate how well you believe that we as a learning community are achieving the goals of the course. In addition to evaluating community learning goals, you will develop two individual learning goals that you will turn in to me (within the “letter to a friend assignment”) that you will evaluate as well. This exercise is completed in class, I will provide the rubric.
Short essays
You will complete two short essay assignments during this course: one in response to a film we view in class, and the other in substitute of a final exam. Short essay responses are to be turned in under your student number only. Please do not place your name on your essays, because I prefer to grade all written work anonymously. Note: This is a theory course and one of our learning goals is to improve your writing skills. I expect you to make a sincere effort toward improving your writing ability on these short essays. Papers should be thoroughly proofread, well organized, and adhere to space limitations.
1) Responses must not exceed space limitations.
Essay 1: max 2 pages Essay 2: max 4 pages.
2) Responses must be 1 ½ spaced, 12-point font and utilize paragraph format.
3) At top right of first page, place your student number (no name please).
4) Responses must be typed: no handwritten responses will be accepted.
5) Responses will be graded for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
6) Late papers will be returned unmarked unless an excused absence has been arranged.
7) Developing an outline prior to writing will help you to write with better clarity and form.
8) Be sure to proofread your paper so that you can eliminate awkward phrases or catch incorrect spelling forms that the spell-check did not.
Course Quizzes
Classical Theory Course Calendar
|
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
|
6/5
First day of class: - Introductions - Learning goals - Syllabus basics - Letter to a Friend
|
6/6
Intro. to Classical Theory (1): Levels of Causation, Basics, and Learning Styles
- RDG: Anderson & Taylor |
6/7 Introduction (2): Mills and Soc. Imagination
“Letter to a Friend” Due
- Preface to TXT - RDG: Mills |
6/8 Group discussion on Gaines article
In-class film: As Good as it Gets(For essay #1)
- RDG: Gaines |
6/9
Discussion and Review of Basic Theory Concepts
- No reading today |
|
6/12
Karl Marx à Essay 1 Due
- TXT: Marx Sections 1, 2, 3
|
6/13
- TXT: Marx Sections 4, 5
|
6/14
Discussion Questions Due
- TXT: Marx Sections 6, 7, S |
6/15
Group discussion
- RDG: Marx & Engels Article |
6/16
Quiz 1: Marx
- Review for Quiz |
|
6/19
E. Durkheim à
Sections 1, 2, 3 |
6/20
|
6/21
Discussion Questions Due
Sections 6, 7, S
|
6/22
Group discussion
- RDG: Durkheim |
6/23
Quiz 2: Durkheim
- Review for Quiz |
|
6/26
Max Weber à
- TXT: Weber Sections 1, 2, 3 |
6/27
- TXT: Weber Sections 4, 5 |
6/28
Discussion Questions Due
- TXT: Weber Sections 6, 7, S
|
6/29
Group discussion
- RDG: Weber |
6/30
Quiz 3: Weber
- Review for Quiz |
|
7/3
- TXT: Mead Sections 1, 2, 3
|
7/4
- TXT: Mead Sections 4, 5
|
7/5
Discussion Questions Due
- TXT: Mead Sections 6, 7, S
|
7/6
Group discussion
Essay 2 Draft Due, Peer Review Exercise in Class
- No reading today
|
7/7
Quiz 4: MeadEssay 2 Due
Last day of class: Discussion and Goodbyes! |
Letter to a Friend
Introductory Letter to Instructor
Dear Angel,
My name as registered with CU is: ____________________________________
Some things you should know about me are:
What name do you prefer to be called? _________________________________
What year are you? ____________________________________________
What is your major? ____________________________________________
What email address do you regularly use? (Provide one that you check regularly.)
Why did you enroll in this course, or what do you hope to learn this semester?
What are some of your interests and/or hobbies?
(Favorite TV shows, sports, music, hobbies, social movements, religion, politics, etc.)
Please devise two personal learning goals that you will strive to achieve in this course. You will evaluate your goals (along with two community goals) each time we conduct learning goal evaluations in this class. Your goals may address your attitude in class, your attendance, your level of participation, your performance on quizzes, etc.
Your learning goals should be specific to you: thus if you know yourself to be shy or generally uncomfortable with speaking in class, your goals will differ from someone who knows they are often a regular classroom “talker.” In addition, you should write your learning goals such that they are attainable and concrete in nature.
For example, the goal, “I want to speak regularly during class discussions” is inferior to a clearly stated, concrete goal such as, “I plan to speak at least two times a week in this class.” Similarly, “I am a shyer student, so I want to work toward speaking more during small group discussions,” is not as easy to assess as “I am a shyer student, so I plan to try to speak at least twice a month.” Similarly, if you know yourself to be a regular contributor to class discussions, and have observed in the past that sometimes your peers may think that you contribute too often, you should design your goals with that in mind.
The point of devising personal learning goals is to help you to learn to become a better participant within a learning community. Students confront a unique learning community in every class that they take, but this fact is rarely given much attention. By drawing attention to your role within our classroom, I hope to help you find your personal “space” within the learning community. Please state each of your goals in one sentence form and be sure to keep a copy of these goals for yourself; you will need them when we do learning goal evaluations.
Personal Learning Goal #1:
Personal Learning Goal #2:
These next few questions are designed to help me determine your learning style:
Of the following four scenarios, which is most important to you when in class?
A) Being able to do activities in class where you can do “hands on” learning
B) Evaluating an argument by questioning or critiquing it
C) Interacting with others and feeling socially comfortable in class
D) Having a teacher who is knowledgeable and references well-supported facts
Which of the following situations would be most frustrating for you as a student?
A) Taking too long to get started on a paper or not finishing it efficiently
B) Being given unclear boundaries for how to do a writing assignment
C) Being put down by peers for making an unpopular comment in class
D) Being put down by peers for not being trusted about what you know
What components of this class (structure or assignments) seem awkward to you?
(Are you worried about anything on the syllabus? Does everything make sense?)
Is there anything else that I need to know that pertains to your performance in our class?
(Are you working, taking another course during summer A session, do you have kids, etc.)
Angel, I have read the entire syllabus and agree to abide by the course requirements,
Sincerely, ___________________________________________________________
Miscellaneous:
1. The University does not permit me to give student grades over email, so please don’t ask.
2. An excused absence is arranged in advance, by email, with me. If you notify me that you must miss class, but forget to email me about it, your absence will not be considered excused.
3. No make up quizzes will be administered in this class for any reason.
4. Class begins promptly at 2:30pm and ends at 4:05pm, please do not ask to leave early or come late unless you have a reasonable excuse for doing so.
5. You may eat or drink during class provided that you do not disrupt the learning of your classmates. Please be respectful of those around you!
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services by July 10 so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
Campus policy regarding
religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and
fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have
conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In
this class, if you need to miss class for a religious holiday you will need to
use your excused absence to make up any work you miss. http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Students and
faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning
environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject
to discipline. Graduate Instructors have the professional responsibility to
treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom
discussion and to set reasonable
limits on the manner in which students express opinions. See polices at
www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at
www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student
All students of
the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic
integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include:
cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery,
and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be
reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students
who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be
subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic
sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or
expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
The University of Colorado Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all students, staff and faculty. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual attention. It can involve intimidation, threats, coercion, or promises that create an environment that is hostile or offensive. Harassment may occur between members of the same or opposite gender and between any combination of members in the campus community: students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Harassment can occur anywhere on campus, including the classroom, the workplace, or a residence hall. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment (OSH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed can be obtained at: http://www.colorado.edu/sexualharassment/