University of Colorado
Department of Sociology
Fall 2004
Seminar in Modern Sociological Theory
SOCY 5011-001
Tuesday 3:00-6:00
KTCH 33
http://sobek.colorado.edu/~irvinel/moderntheory04.htm
Leslie Irvine
Office: Ketchum 223
Phone: 2-7039
E-mail: irvinel@colorado.edu (best way to reach)
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 11-12
Aim of the course
The modern period in sociological theory comprises works produced between the turn of the 20th century and (roughly) the 1960s. In this seminar, we will examine a selection of modern theory under the guiding theme of “continuities and connections.” This theme manifests itself in two ways. One is by challenging the illusory distinction between “theory” and “methods” in favor of continuity across the acts of selecting topics, framing research questions, and making methodological decisions. The second manner in which this theme appears is through an emphasis on the connections between the conversations begun in modern theory and those engaged in by theorists today. In several cases, we will read contemporary applications or extensions of particular arguments or approaches. The course does not attempt to cover all theories and theorists of the period. We will omit a great deal that you must read on your own in preparation for a career in sociology as well as for the comprehensive exam.
The course is organized around relevant debates rather than particular theorists. We will focus on three debates in particular, which run through all the assigned texts:
· The division of intellectual labor: why make a distinction between theory and method? Can we separate really separate the two? What counts as theory?
· Split lives in the modern world: the “individual versus society” argument
· Structures and systems: how do institutions work? Do people create institutions? Or do institutions create people? Why should we care?
Course Materials
Books to obtain
Alford, Robert R. 1998. The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Blumer, Herbert. 1969. Symbolic Interactionism. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Du Bois, W.E.B. [1903] 1996. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Penguin Books.
Lemert, Charles, and Ann Branaman (eds.) 1997. The Goffman Reader. Malden MA and Oxford UK: Blackwell.
Mead, George Herbert. 1934. Mind, Self & Society from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist (Works of Mead, vol. 1). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mills, C.Wright. [1959] 2000. The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Additional readings
Additional readings are available in reading packet and on electronic reserve. Note: some readings are available only on electronic reserve and are not included in the reading packet. They are indicated below in bold. The Kenan reading is reproduced only in the reading packet.
Cooper, Anna Julia. “The Colored Woman’s Office”
Colomy, Paul, and Laura Ross Greiner. “Criminalizing Transgressing Youth”
de Saussure, Ferdinand. “Arbitrary Social Values and the Linguistic Sign”
Fanon, Frantz. “Decolonizing, National Culture, and the Negro Intellectual”
Fox, Renée C. “Talcott Parsons, My Teacher”
Freud, Sigmund. Listed as “Selections” on reserve: “The Psychical Apparatus and the Theory of Instincts,” “Dream-Work and Interpretation,” “Oedipus, the Child,” “Remembering, Repeating, and Working-Through,” “The Return of the Repressed in Social Life,” and “Civilization and the Individual”
Garfinkel, Harold. “Reflexive Properties of Practical Sociology”
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Irvine, Leslie. “A Model of Animal Selfhood”
James, William. “The Self and Its Selves”
Kenan, Randall. “Introduction” to 1995 Signet Classic edition of The Souls of Black Folk.
Merton, Robert. “Manifest and Latent Functions”
------. “Social Structure and Anomie”
Parsons, Talcott. “Sex Roles in the American Kinship System”
------. “Illness and the Role of the Physician.”
------. The System of Modern Societies. (intro and Chapter 2)
Simmel, Georg. “The Metropolis and Mental Life”
Staudenmeier, William. “Alcohol-Related Windows on Simmel’s Social World”
Riesman, David. “Character and Society”
All readings except Colomy & Greiner, Fox, Kenan, Irvine, Parsons’s “Illness” and System, Simmel, and Staudenmeier come from Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classical Readings (2nd edition), edited by Charles Lemert (1999, Boulder: Westview).
Course requirements
You must attend class regularly, complete all assignments (outlined below), and keep up with the readings. If you miss two classes, your grade will drop by one letter. If you miss a third class, you must withdraw from the course. I will not offer any Incompletes in this class except for the most extenuating circumstances.
If you miss a class, you must arrange to see any films shown during your absence. All films are available through Norlin Library’s Media Center.
Grading
I will base grades on four criteria: participation in in-class debates (20%), essays (15% X 2), final papers (40%), and class participation (10%).
Guidelines for debates
Debate has been called a sport of the mind and voice. All members of this seminar must participate in one of two in-class debates (9/26 and 10/21). This activity is intended to improve your argument skills. In this seminar, the word “argument” will refer to reasoning, not quarrelling. The in-class debates are aimed at providing you with an opportunity to make arguments without having personal investments in them.
The class will divide into four teams of four students each. Two teams will debate on 9/26, and the other on 10/21. Each debate team will receive a grade, which is also your individual grade (worth up to 20% of final grade). Team members must meet outside of class to analyze the topic and discern the main issues involved. Each team should have a captain who can organize the team in doing research and select the order of speakers. For the research, each team should assign one member to a different aspect so that they develop some expertise in that area. This will be helpful during rebuttals. Each team must study both sides of the issue regardless of which team they are on. The team members are responsible for creating “fact sheets” on index cards. Each card addresses one aspect of the issue. On the back of the card are the references for that information. These must be submitted at the end of the debate.
Outline of a debate
· The affirmative (pro) team always begins the debate.
· The first speaker on either side will have a minimum of five to a maximum of ten minutes to make his/her point. The captain should assign this role to the strongest speaker on the team, as it will set the tone of the debate. Those who are not speaking should be making notes of the other team’s position to prepare for rebuttals.
· The first speeches will be followed by five minutes of uninterrupted time to prepare rebuttals. This is where the research comes in. The con side begins the rebuttals. Each team will have five minutes to speak. There will be two rounds of rebuttals, with preparation time in between. The audience should use this time to prepare questions.
· The rebuttals will be followed by ten minutes of questions from the audience.
· Teams will have five minutes to prepare closing arguments.
· Affirmative team gives first closing argument (3 minutes), followed by negative team. The closing speaker should be chosen ahead of time.
· All members of the seminar will write short essays in response to the debates (guidelines below).
First debate statement:
The intellectual division of labor between theory and methods is illusory and limiting.
Second debate statement:
Graduate training in sociological theory should be limited to the works of Weber, Marx, and Durkheim. Any training beyond these classics should be on an elective basis.
Optional: To prepare the class for debates, teams may wish to provide a short relevant reading. If so, materials must be made available to the seminar members by the Friday before the debate. Texts may be scanned and placed on electronic reserve with the course readings.
Guidelines for essays
In no more than two pages (12 point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins all around), discuss one issue raised during the debate. State an opinion and develop it; offer a rational defense. Follow the “classic” format of the essay and provide an introduction, which introduces your thesis. Then, in the body of the essay, develop your argument. Offer counterarguments and provide evidence for and against them. Finally, restate (by rephrasing) your thesis and draw the essay to a close in the conclusion. If you need to brush up on the elements of essay-writing, see Thinking on Paper, by V.A. Howard and J.H. Barton(1986, New York: Quill/William Morrow).
Put your name in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. Staple both pages together. Do not make a cover page or use a plastic binder. Essays are due in class 9/28 and 11/2.
Each essay is worth 15% of your grade, for a total of 30% for the two essays.
Guidelines for final papers
All members of the seminar must write a final paper that uses one or more of the works of modern theory to examine an aspect of his or her individual research topic. You must limit yourself to the theorists considered in this course, but you are not limited to the works we read. In other words, you may choose to integrate Du Bois’s insights from The Philadelphia Negro, rather than The Souls of Black Folk. Alternatively, you may wish to examine the full versions of excerpts we read in class. I strongly encourage students to meet with me at least once during the semester to discuss papers.
Papers should be no more than 20 double-spaced pages (12 point font, one inch margins), including references and any tables or illustrations. Use ASA citation style. Final papers are due 12/10 by 4:30 p.m. No extensions. Put hard copies in my mailbox. Final papers contribute up to 40% of your final grade.
Class participation
In this seminar, your participation is valuable. You are expected to take an active role in the discussion. The seminar format does not work if you do not participate. Plan to come to the seminar each week prepared with at least one thing to say. Have a question to ask. Quietly taking notes not only dilutes your experience of the seminar, it also deprives other seminar members of your insights. If you have difficulty participating for any reason (e.g., your own shyness, the brashness of others), please arrange to meet with me so that we can discuss strategies for correcting such situations. Class participation can add as much as 10% to your overall grade.
Tentative Schedule
(Subject to change. I will announce any changes in class and post them on-line.)
8/24 Introduction to the course
8/31 read Alford
9/7 read Mills
9/14 read Blumer
9/21 In-class debates
9/28 Debate essays due. Read Freud (“The Psychical Apparatus and the Theory of Instincts” and “Dream-Work and Interpretation”
10/5 read Freud (“Oedipus, the Child” “Remembering, Repeating, and Working-Through,” “The Return of the Repressed in Social Life,” and “Civilization and the Individual”)
10/12 read Simmel & Staudenmeier
10/19 read James, Kenan, and Du Bois (Note: read James first)
10/26 In-class debates
11/2 Debate essays due. Read Fanon, Cooper, and Gilman
11/9 read Goffman (Introductions, Parts I, II and III in Reader)
11/16 read Goffman (Part IV); Riesman
11/23 read Mead & Irvine
11/30 read De Saussure, Merton (2), Garfinkel
12/7 read Colomy & Greiner, Parsons (3) (optional: Fox)
12/10 Final papers due
Disability Policy
Students with documented disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities should see me during the first two weeks of class to discuss possible reasonable accommodations. For more information, consult The Office of Disability Services, Willard 322 (303-492-8671).
Academic Integrity
In a graduate seminar, this should not need to be discussed. Nevertheless, cheating and plagiarism will be grounds for receiving a failing grade on the relevant assignment and possibly failing the course. All material quoted or paraphrased from published sources should be properly cited using ASA format. For details, see www.asanet.org, go to publications, then to ASA Style Manual.