SOCIOLOGY 10002: UNDERSTANDING SOCIETIES - Fall 2015

Dr. Christian Smith (Flanner Hall 816) ([email protected] - feel free to contact me, I like students)
Office Hours: by appointment with the professor (email to set up)
Class Meeting: MWF 10:30-11:20, DeBartolo 136
Grad TA: Katie Comeau ([email protected])
Office hours: Flanner Hall 820, Mondays 8:45-10:45AM

Course Description
What does it mean that humans are social creatures and how does that influence people’s personal life
experiences and outcomes? How and why do people together create and sustain cultures, groups,
institutions, and organizations? And how do those shape people’s relationships, actions, and life
experiences? This course introduces students to the sociological perspective as a way to better
understand how personal behaviors and life outcomes are profoundly influenced by a variety of social
structures, and how their actions in turn maintain and can transform those social structures. Course
readings and discussions will focus on the power of social networks, the experience of community in
modernity, emerging adult culture, inequality and poverty, and global religious movements.

A major course objective is to learn how to “see” and think sociologically about our lives and the
world. This means cultivating in ourselves a “sociological imagination” through an investigation of
culture and social structures, networks, institutions, and social change. We will focus on exploring
different, particular social institutions, settings, and concepts to see how better understanding them
can help us better understand human action, motivations, communities, institutions, and societies
generally—which can then help us much better understand and explain our own personal lives and
those of people around us. (Keep this interplay of particular-general-personal in mind.)

Along the way we will be asking ourselves questions like: What is the “glue” that holds society
together? What is morality, where does it come from, and how does it affect our actions? In what
sense are people really “free?” Why are there deviations from normal life? What or who determines
what is “normal life?” How is life in modern society different from the past? Does modern society
erode community? What social forces shape the personal experiences of 18-23 year olds in the U.S.
today? Why do people tend to seek power and social status? How do differences in wealth and power
shape the fate of people’s lives? Why are some people poor? And so on. Those who apply themselves
to wrestling with these kinds of issues and questions will discover how very interesting and important
the sociological perspective is.

When you have successfully completed this course, you ought to be able to:
(1) see and think sociologically about many kinds of social experiences, events, and problems;
(2) better understand and explain how and why human social life works the way it does
generally;
(3) better understand how social influences profoundly shape people’s lives and experiences
(including your own);
(4) contribute to informed discussions about important aspects of social reality in your own
life, this country, and the world beyond;
(5) go on to enjoy richer, better, fuller personal lives, with broadened horizons, greater self-
understanding, more critical minds, improved communication abilities, and better
understanding about life and the world.

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Required Readings
The books that you are required to read for this course are available for purchase in the ND Hammes
Bookstore (note the specific page number assignments):

Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler. 2009. Connected: How your Friends’ Friends’ Friends
Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do. New York: Back Bay Books. Pp. 3-140,
156-164, 167-192, 287-305.
Kai Erikson. 1978. Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek
Flood. New York: Simon and Schuster. (entire)
Stephen McNamee and Robert Miller. 2009. The Meritocracy Myth (3nd Ed.). Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield. (pp. 1-214, skip Ch 9).
Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori. 2007. Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of
Christian Social Engagement. Berkeley: University of California Press. (entire)
Christian Smith et al. 2011. Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood. New
York: Oxford University Press. (entire)

Also assigned are three articles/essays that the professor will distribute by email (all copyrighted
materials are paid for by ND):

Karl Marx and Friedrick Engels. 1848. The Communist Manifesto. (selections, public domain)
Christian Smith. 2010. “Emergence against Reductionism” (chapter excerpt, pp. 25-42, plus
notes). From Smith. What is a Person? Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Susan Sprecher. 1998. “Social Exchange Theories and Sexuality.” The Journal of Sex
Research 35(1): 32-43.

The reading load is somewhat uneven over the course of the semester, varying by day and week. See
the Course Schedule below for the specific required reading timetable.

Evaluation
Grades for this class will be based on the following:

1. Class Attendance & In-Class Writing Exercises: Regular class attendance is expected and will be
recorded. Constructive participation by students in class discussions will be looked upon favorably.
On occasion we will do informal, in-class writing exercises in response to lecture and reading ideas.
Participation in them will also affect final grades. Missing more than (an obviously legitimate) 1-2
excused classes during the semester (for being very ill, pressing doctor’s appointments, family
problems, etc.) will count against one’s final grade. Students who miss no classes the entire semester
will likely be rewarded. Students who are absent from classes are of course responsible themselves to
get any handouts, lecture notes, or discussion or movie materials from any missed classes. The TA
will inquire about the reasons of missed classes.

2. Reading Quizzes: There will be short, announced (the class or two before or by email) quizzes
covering particular readings given at the beginning of class on days we will discuss those readings, in
order to provide an incentive to complete the readings fully and on time, and to focus our attention for
the discussions of the readings. The quizzes will cover basic ideas that anyone carefully reading and
adequately comprehending the assigned readings should be able to understand and retain. Altogether,
the quizzes are worth 20% of the final grade. Keep up with the assigned readings!

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3. Four Exams: The first three exams will be given during the scheduled class meeting times of
September 16, October 9, and November 13. The final exam is Thursday, December 17, 4:15-6:15
pm. Exams will cover all materials from class meetings and readings assigned for the time period
covered, per the schedule below. Exams will consist of short-answer questions. The professor will
distribute exam study guides beforehand to help you prepare well for them. Each exam will count for
20% of the final grade; altogether, the four exam count toward 80% of the final grade.

Important Info re Exams: Students must take the exams at the times scheduled! The only
exceptions might be instances of severe illness or family tragedy, in which case the student must
contact and make alternative arrangements with the TA or professor before the scheduled exam and
officially document the extenuating circumstances. You may not simply skip an exam, then come
afterwards and announce that you could not make the exam and want a make-up exam. No after-the-
fact exam make-ups will be given and missed exams will hurt one’s final grade in a huge way.
Consider yourself well warned about this!

Final Grades
Grades for the semester will be calculated and assigned based on the following distribution and scale:
90-100% = A-, A ; 80-89% = B-, B, B+ ; 70-79% = C-, C, C+ ; 60-69% = D-, D, D+ ; <60% = Fail
Note: The professor never gives extra-credit assignments. Don’t even ask. Just do your very best the
first time and live with the consequences.

TA Office Hours
The TA will hold regular office hours during the week and make efforts to create conversation times
otherwise. Please take advantage of this help when you have any questions about the readings or
lectures, concerns about doing well in the course, need for clarifications, etc. If the TA is unable to
help you or solve your problem, please contact Prof. Smith for a meeting, which he will be very happy
to have with you. Do not hesitate to ask.

Honor Code: All provisions of the University Honor Code—which prohibits giving or receiving
unauthorized assistance on graded course work—will be in effect for all exams and written
assignments. You will be required on each exam to sign your name to the Honor Code. If you have
any questions about the application of the Code in a specific situation, please talk with a TA or Prof.
Smith beforehand. More generally, study ND’s Honor Code information at:
http://www.nd.edu/~hnrcode/docs/index.httm.

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Rules of the Road
During class, no (1) eating, (2) texting, (3) surfing the web, checking social networking websites, or
checking email, or (4) leaving class before it’s over.
Re Arrival Time: Come to class on time so that you will not miss important announcements
and handouts, and so you will not disrupt a class that has already started.
Re Departure Time: Class is over when the professor says so. Leaving early is disruptive, so
don’t do it (at least without explaining to the professor beforehand why you must, if you must).
Re Texting: You cannot learn and text at the same time. You may NOT text during class. The
TA will monitor for texting. Recurrent texters will have the class attendance part of their grades
docked. More generally, consider whether communication technologies have taken over your life for
the worse. It is healthy for you to turn off your devices sometimes, definitely during class.
Re Cell Phones: TURN THEM OFF BEFORE CLASS STARTS! Warning: If anyone’s cell
phone rings in class, I, your professor, hereby reserve the right to answer it and tell the caller that you
are in class and please not to call during that time.
Re Laptops: You may use laptops to take notes, but NOT to check email, social networking
sites, or to surf the web; non-class laptop activity often distracts others who are trying to learn, not to
mention the laptop user. The TA will monitor laptop use. Please report to the professor or TA after
class anyone who may be bothering you with their inappropriate laptop use. If students start abusing
laptops in class, I will ban all laptops from class. But we are too mature for something like that to
happen, right?
Re Talking: In class it can be difficult for your classmates to hear lectures with side
conversations going on around the classroom, so please be respectful of others and the professor and
do not have conversations during class-time.

Suggestions for Success

1. If you develop any worries, confusion, frustrations, logistical difficulties, or other problems related
to this course or your personal life, please, please, please talk to your TA or Professor Smith in time
to take constructive action. We can help, and ND makes available various resources for different kinds of needs. If,
for example, you suffer anxiety or become depressed about life, please talk to your TA and/or the professor and/or take
advantage of the ND counseling services: http://ucc.nd.edu/. Address your problems and concerns proactively and early.

2. Two keys to success in academic work are: planning and self-discipline (conversely, the keys to
failure are disorganization and laziness). Planning involves assessing your resources and goals for a given period
of time and developing a realistic schedule and strategy for accomplishing your goals, given your resources. This means
stepping back and organizing the big picture, rather than always and only focusing on whatever obligation confronts you
next. Academic calendars/planners—in which you record all of your assignments, appointments, and deadlines—are
essential. Self-discipline means exercising the willpower to overcome the laziness and inertia that would prevent us from
carrying out what we have planned. Things don’t just happen—we have to make them happen, and that usually requires
that we discipline ourselves to work at them. Students who plan best and exercise the most self-discipline definitely not
only learn most and get the best grades, but are also the ones who are freest to enjoy their extra-curricular activities—they
get their work done early and efficiently, then go out to play with nothing hanging over their heads. Do that.

3. When reading, studying, and note-taking, always distinguish the centrally important issue or
argument in the reading or lecture from the less-important details, facts, and other data that are meant
to illustrate, support, or nuance the central issue or argument. The danger of not doing so is treating all
material as equally important, becoming overwhelmed with information, and failing to see and grasp the major point. It’s
not that supporting details and illustrations are unimportant and can be disregarded, only that they should not be
cognitively processed in a way that obscures the reading’s or lecture’s main argument. A helpful exercise here is to try to
summarize concisely the essential point of a reading or lecture in one or two sentences. If you can’t, something is wrong,
and you probably need to go back and work at it more or change your approach. Talk to your TA about learning to do this.

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Course Schedule
Assigned Readings
WEEK 1:
AUG 26 – Syllabus, Orientation, House Rules * begin Smith Lost
AUG 28 – The Sociological Imagination * Smith Lost pp. 3-47

WEEK 2:
AUG 31 – The Sociological Imagination * Smith Lost pp. 48-69
SEPT 2 – Culture and Socialization * Smith Lost pp. 70-109
SEPT 4 – Culture and Socialization * Smith Lost pp. 110-147

WEEK 3:
SEPT 7 – Culture and Socialization * Smith Lost pp. 148-194
SEPT 9 – Culture and Socialization * Smith Lost pp. 195-225
SEPT 11 – Culture and Socialization * Smith Lost pp. 226-243

WEEK 4:
SEPT 14 – Review and Discussion * Finish and review Smith Lost
SEPT 16 – EXAM #1
SEPT 18 – What Makes Social Life Work? * Marx & Engels “Communist Manifesto” (entire)

WEEK 5:
SEPT 21 – What Makes Social Life Work? * Sprecher “Social Exchange Theories” (entire)
SEPT 23 – What Makes Social Life Work? * Christakis & Fowler Connected pp. 3-60
SEPT 25 – What Makes Social Life Work? * Christakis & Fowler Connected pp. 61-94

WEEK 6:
SEPT 28 – Social Relations, Networks, Institutions * Christakis & Fowler Connected pp. 95-140 (skip 141-156)
SEPT 30 – Social Relations, Networks, Institutions * Christakis & Fowler Connected pp. 156-164, 167-171 (skip 165-166)
OCT 2 – Social Relations, Networks, Institutions * Christakis & Fowler Connected pp. 172-192, 287-305 (skip 193-286)

WEEK 7:
OCT 5 – Seven Crucial Concepts * Smith “Emergence of Personhood” chapter excerpt (entire pdf)
OCT 7 – Seven Crucial Concepts * Finish and review readings
OCT 9 – EXAM #2

WEEK 8:
OCT 12 – Modernity * Erikson Everything pp. i-50
OCT 14 – Modernity * Erikson Everything pp. 51-93
OCT 16 – Modernity * Erikson Everything pp. 94-134

 FALL BREAK

WEEK 9:
OCT 26 – Multiple Modernities * Erikson Everything pp. 135-185
OCT 28 – Postmodernism/Postmodernity * Erikson Everything pp. 186-229
OCT 30 – Postmodernism/Postmodernity * Erikson Everything pp. 230-259

WEEK 10:
NOV 2 – Religion * Miller & Yamamori Pentecostalism pp. 1-67
NOV 4 – Religion * Miller & Yamamori Pentecostalism pp. 68-128
NOV 6 – Religion * Miller & Yamamori Pentecostalism pp. 129-183

WEEK 11:
NOV 9 – Religion * Miller & Yamamori Pentecostalism pp. 184-224
NOV 11 – Religion * Miller & Yamamori Pentecostalism finish and review
NOV 13 – EXAM #3

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WEEK 12:
NOV 16 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 1
NOV 18 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 2
NOV 20 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 3

WEEK 13:
NOV 23 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 4

 THANKSGIVING BREAK
WEEK 14:
NOV 30 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 5
DEC 2 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 6
DEC 4 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 7

WEEK 15:
DEC 7 – Social Inequality * McNamee & Miller Meritocracy Myth Ch 8
DEC 9 – Course Review and Discuss * review readings

 FINAL EXAM: Thursday, December 17, 4:15-6:15 PM

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS BREAK!! (OR HANUKKAH,

CHINESE NEW YEAR, ETC. AS THE CASE MAY BE!!)