 |
| Information |
| Instructor |
| Syllabus |
| Assignments |
| Essays |
| HOME |
SYLLABUS
| WEEK | TOPIC | READING |
| 8/25 | PART I: CLASSICAL THEORY Theory's Practical Utility |
Essay I Assigned Cuzzort, Chapter 1 Mills, "Sociological Imagination." |
| 9/1 | What is normal? | Cuzzort, 2 Durkheim, "Social Facts." |
| 9/8 | What is just? | Cuzzort, 3 Marx/Engels, "Class Struggle." |
| 9/15 | Who am I? | Cuzzort, 4 Mead, "Self."; Allen, "Red Roots." |
| 9/22 | What is reasonable? Essay I Due |
Cuzzort, 5 Weber, "Bureaucratic Machine." |
PART II: CONTEMPORARY THEORETICAL CONTROVERSIES
| 9/29 | Can theory be objective, society one? Essay II Assigned |
Cuzzort, 6 Schlesinger, "E Pluribus Unum." |
| 10/6 | When are we free? | Cuzzort, 7 West, "Politics of Difference." Smith, "A Woman's Standpoint." |
| 10/13 | Do we take society for granted? | Cuzzort, 8 Berger/Luckman, "Social Product. |
| 10/20 | When do we act out and when up? | Cuzzort, 9 Wehr, "Rocky Flats." |
| 10/27 | What do we mean by what we say? Essay II Due |
Cuzzort, 10 Gamson, "Political Discourse." |
PART III: CRISIS AND EMPOWERMENT
| 11/3 | Imaging Solutions Essay III Assigned |
Cuzzort, 11, 12 Downton/Wehr, Chapter 1 |
| 11/10 | Belief and Availability | Downton/Wehr, 2, 3 Rorty, "Irony/Hope." |
| 11/17 | Elements of Commitment | Downton/Wehr, 4, 5 Giddens, "Radicalized Modernity." |
| 11/24 | The Activist Role | Downton/Wehr, 6, 7, 8 |
| 12/1 | The Integrated Life Essay III Due |
Downton/Wehr, 9, 10, 11 |
| 12/8 | Sharing of Empowerment Strategies Course Evaluation |
|
| 12/15 | Final Exam (7:30 PM) |
ESSAYS
| Essay I: | A four-page (double-spaced) description, in the third person, of an unacceptable life situation. Guide questions provided on line. |
| Essay II: | A four-page analysis of the described life situation as an intersection of biography, social structure and culture. Guide questions provided. |
| Essay III: | A four-page empowerment strategy for changing or leaving the life situation you analyzed. Guide questions provided. |