SOCB58H3: Sociology of Culture

Monday: Ten-Noon, SW 143

Instructor:
Clayton Childress
TA:
Diana Miller
[email protected]
Office Hours: Mon, 12:15-1:15
MW 309
[email protected]





The sociological study of culture has had a long and
curious history. Long ago some sociologists either
ignored culture or minimized its importance. Then in
the mid-20
th
century the study of culture became
dominant. After that culture was largely ignored again,
until about 30 years ago when culture was brought
back in, although at this point nobody is quite sure
what that means for the future study of culture. If
culture is everything and everywhere what exactly
isnt culture, and do we actually need a subfield in
sociology to study it if everyone is already studying it
anyway? Does this course sound confusing? Does it
sound like something youd best run away? Please dont.
You need not worry. Culture is both the norms, values,
and rituals that you celebrate and hold dearly, and the
ones that you take for granted as common sense.
Culture is a mental map or schema that you use to make
sense of the world and your place in it. Culture is a way
of life. Appeals to culture can be used to keep things
from changing, or to change things. Culture is also
material objects such as books, movies, art, and fashion,
as well as physical practices such as singing or dancing.
Culture is produced and culture is consumed. This is a
course about how culture which is both within you and
all around you works, doesnt work, and why.

Required Text

* Wray, Matt. 2014. Cultural Sociology: An Introductory Reader. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Goals and Objectives

*Students will be able to display comprehension of major theories and perspectives in the sociological study
of culture, both historical and contemporary.
*Students will be able to apply theories from these subfields to real-world settings and examples.
*Students will leave the course with an analytic tool-kit for studying the role of culture in groups,
organizations, fields, and societies.




Student Expectations
Students will attend all scheduled meetings on time and prepared.
Students will not falsify illness or injury to themselves, family, or friends if attendance is missed.
Students will complete the readings assigned before class and to a level in which they would feel
comfortable leading a group discussion.
Students will not skip the reading, skim the reading, or give up on the reading if they find it initially
confusing.
Students will respect each other, and our collaborative learning environment in the course.
Students will not plagiarize.

Instructor Expectations
In agreement and in honor of your commitment to the course, I agree to be punctual and prepared; to use my
knowledge of sociology to work through the material with you; and to be forthright, timely, and helpful in my
communication and feedback. I take our time together very seriously and work hard to provide opportunities
within our course that will contribute to your goals, aspirations, and commitments inside and outside of
UTSC.

Assignments and Grade Breakdown:
Class Attendance and Participation: You are expected to be in class every day and be an active and vocal
member of our community. You need to be here to participate, and you need to be prepared to participate
well. Attendance will be taken using a sign-sheet on each day. If you were not present to sign in on the sign-in
sheet, you will be considered absent for that day of class.
Reading Quizzes: Over the term there will be five surprise reading quizzes. These will consist of two to
three short questions.
Mid-Term Exam: The midterm will take place in Week 6 of the course. Details will be provided in class in
advance of the midterm.
Final Exam: The final exam will have a similar format to the mid-term. We will spend time during our last
lecture discussing the final exam.

Final grades will be broken down into the following categories:
Class Attendance and Participation 15%
Reading Quizzes 15%
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 40%
Total 100%

Late Work Policy
If you miss a reading quiz you will get a zero score for that weeks quiz. Your lowest reading quiz score is
dropped. If you miss the midterm without advanced notice and without an approved and excused absence
your score will automatically be dropped by one letter grade.

Assorted Policies having to do with Email
Email Diana Miller at [email protected] with questions about the course. Questions that require two
sentences or less to answer will be responded to by email, which basically excludes all emails asking for
substantive course material to be explained. For these types of inquiries and any other inquiries that will
take longer to answer, please attend office hours or make arrangements by appointment. Diana will forward
me any questions that she cannot answer. Emails will be responded to within 48 hours. If your question has
not been responded to within 48 hours, please forward it to me after that period. Do not expect a response
outside of normal business hours (e.g. a question emailed on Friday night will be responded to by the end of
the working day on Tuesday).


What Participation Means
Participation can be either positive or negative. Being attentive, engaged, and asking and answering questions
about the course material are examples of positive participation. If you're not comfortable speaking in front
of the class, I encourage you to use this space to practice, but I also accept that this may be an issue for you.
If so, make sure youre engaging in the other forms of positive participation, and not engaging in any forms
of negative participation. Negative participation includes zoning out, coming late, leaving early, not paying
attention, sleeping, or distracting other students. If you are participating negatively and I or someone else
finds it distracting, Ill politely ask you to leave, and I strongly suggest you do so. Simply put, if youre too
tired or not ready to learn Id rather you not come to class than sleep through it or distract other students.

Feedback on our Course
I value and seek your feedback on our course. To that end, I will distribute a mid-term evaluation near the
halfway point of the course to hear from you anonymously. This assists me in making any necessary
adjustments in my teaching practice for the rest of our time together.

Possible Changes to the Syllabus
Every class is a bit different. As a result unforeseen problems may emerge and we may have to make
adjustments to the syllabus as we go. Over the term the syllabus may change. Make sure you are staying up to
date on our Blackboard site.

Academic Integrity
The University of Toronto is committed to academic integrity and academic dishonesty will be penalized. All
of your assignments should be your own work that has not been submitted to any other class. In addition,
you should citeusing any appropriate citation styleany information or idea that you obtain from any
source. For further citation information see:
Using Quotations (University College Writing Centre): http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/quotations.html
Citation Guide (UTSC Writing Centre): http://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/citations
For a full description of U of Ts academic integrity definitions and procedures see:
http://www.utoronto.ca/academicintegrity/academicoffenses.html

Academic Services at UTSC
I encourage students to make good use of the academic resources available on campus. For instance, the
Writing Centre provides online and individual support for getting started, writing, research, reading, revising,
citation guidelines, and English language development. You can view there services here:
http://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/. Check for writing workshops, clinics, drop-in hours, individual
appointments, and online help. And did you know there is a Sociology librarian at UTSC? Everyone is
encouraged to contact Sarah Fedko for research help. [email protected]

AccessAbility Services
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you have a
disability/health consideration that may require accommodations, please approach AccessAbility Services as
soon as possible and keep me in the know about how this develops. AccessAbility Services staff (located in
Rm SW302, Science Wing) are available by appointment to assess specific needs, provide referrals and arrange
appropriate accommodations at 416-287-7560 416 or email [email protected]. The sooner you let
them know your needs, the quicker you can obtain help in achieving your learning goals in this course. The
AccessAbility website is http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~ability/.





Class Outline and Readings


Date Topics Readin Assignments
Come to class with assigned readings & viewings complete each day

Day 1
9/9
The Problem of
Culture

Wray. Introduction, pp. xiii-xxxix
Day 2
16/9
Slapboxing With
Gods

Wray: pp. 3-58

Day 3
23/9
Some Newer Older
Insights
Wray. pp. 61-110.
Day 4
30/9
So What the Heck
is This Thing and
What Does it Do?
Wray. pp. 111-151
Day 5
7/10
Making &
Changing Culture
Wray. pp. 155-198
Day 6
21/10
MIDTERM EXAM
Day 7
28/10
The Diffusion of
Cultural Forms
Wray. pp. 199-267
Day 8
4/11
Weve Got it
Pinned Down, But
How Do We Study
It?
Wray. pp. 271-313
Day 9
11/11
Examining Culture
in its Natural
Habitat
Wray. pp. 314-359
Day 10
18/11
Culture as Fences,
Culture as Bridges
Wray. pp. 363-418
Day 11
25/11
Me, You, and We Wray. pp. 419-476
Day 12
2/12
Culture, We Have a
Problem
Wray. pp. 479-549