INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY SOC 120#Fall 2015-16#University of Tennessee Instructor: Nikhilendu Deb E-mail: [email protected]Class Meeting: Office hours: TBA Tue, Thu (10.30-11.50), TBA “A science which hesitates to forget its founder is dead” (Alfred Whitehead) Welcome! Hello everyone! Welcome to the world of Sociology! This is an introductory course that will familiarize you with all the important and fundamental aspects of Sociology. Yet the course is not so much in-depth, it is general in scope. After completing this introductory course, you will understand exactly what it means when someone says, “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both” 1 . Hence, the first objective of this course is to understand and make use of the difference between common sense and sociological sense– essentially, you will learn to use your Sociological Imagination. Since Sociology examines how the social world influences the way we think, experience, and act, it is undeniably interesting and worthy of study. For the same reason, sociological observations can range from simple to a complex, from the interactions between two people to the complex relationships between nations or multinational corporations. Therefore, besides the study of different contemporary aspects, the overall objective of this course is to introduce you to all the major perspectives of sociology in order to understand and analyze the traits of different phenomena. Start thinking sociologically! The following are the official learning objectives for this course. Students will learn: - The sociological perspective, the theoretical foundations of the discipline (Functionalism, Conflict, and Symbolic Interactionism), and the contributions of major theorists to the development of these perspectives. - The way in which sociologists gather, interpret, and evaluate data, including both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. - The components of culture and their impact on shaping human behavior and world view. 1 This much-cited statement was first coined by C. Wright Mills in 1959 in his book The Sociological Imagination. Many aspects of this introductory course will deal with and be guided by this concept.
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INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY SOC 120#Fall 2015-16#University of Tennessee
“A science which hesitates to forget its founder is dead” (Alfred Whitehead)
Welcome!
Hello everyone! Welcome to the world of Sociology! This is an introductory
course that will familiarize you with all the important and fundamental aspects of
Sociology. Yet the course is not so much in-depth, it is general in scope.
After completing this introductory course, you will understand exactly what it
means when someone says, “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society
can be understood without understanding both”1. Hence, the first objective of this
course is to understand and make use of the difference between common sense and
sociological sense– essentially, you will learn to use your Sociological Imagination. Since
Sociology examines how the social world influences the way we think, experience, and
act, it is undeniably interesting and worthy of study. For the same reason, sociological
observations can range from simple to a complex, from the interactions between two
people to the complex relationships between nations or multinational corporations.
Therefore, besides the study of different contemporary aspects, the overall objective of
this course is to introduce you to all the major perspectives of sociology in order to
understand and analyze the traits of different phenomena. Start thinking sociologically!
The following are the official learning objectives for this course. Students will learn:
- The sociological perspective, the theoretical foundations of the discipline
(Functionalism, Conflict, and Symbolic Interactionism), and the contributions
of major theorists to the development of these perspectives.
- The way in which sociologists gather, interpret, and evaluate data, including
both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
- The components of culture and their impact on shaping human behavior and
world view.
1This much-cited statement was first coined by C. Wright Mills in 1959 in his book The Sociological Imagination. Many aspects of this introductory course will deal with and be guided by this concept.
- The elements of social structure and the organization of society.
- Some of the key sociological concepts and the prominent subdisciplines in
Sociology.
- To apply our sociological knowledge to the most significant contemporary
issues such as inequality, deviance, population and environment, and social
change are a few to name.
Required Text2:
Giddens, Anthony et. al. 2013. Introduction to Sociology. W. Norton & Com. ISBN: 978-
0-393-92223-3. (Required)
Additional readings will be posted on my website
(http://nikhilportfolio.wordpress.com/) or on the Blackboard.
Learning and Teaching Techniques:
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and
knowledge." - Albert Einstein
It is not difficult for me to assume the form of thinking that students’ value,
particularly in their undergraduate life, because during my entire undergraduate and
graduate life, I have tried to understand the factors that would make a better classroom
environment. I know that students appreciate an amicable environment in class.
A good class-environment presupposes students’ engagement. Specifically, a
successful class largely depends on the collaborative efforts of everyone involved. Even
though my lecture will dominate our class time, we will still experience learning
together. My intention is not only to teach, but to inspire you to learn. That said, it will
take a great deal of creative effort to bring out the most creative thinking in our classes.
Remember, an assumption is an unquestioned, assumed truth. We all need to remain
open to alternatives to question our presumed ideas.
My learning and teaching techniques focus on ‘brainstorming’. Brainstorming, a
helpful tool to develop creative solutions to a problem, is an imaginative thinking
process by which students are asked to develop ideas or thoughts. These ideas may
2You can purchase this book for approximately $40 from Amazon. If you are unable to collect the book, please, contact me as soon
as possible. Also, additional readings will be posted on Blackboard or on my website.
□ please bring a printed copy of the syllabus, and make sure you have read this syllabus
closely. After introducing ourselves to the class, I will talk about all of the aspects of the
syllabus and I expect you to ask any questions that you have.
□ I e-mailed you earlier and welcomed you to our class. In that e-mail, I have also
informed you that today I would randomly ask to explain what sociology means to you.
Yes, you do not need any preparation for this assignment, because it is our first class;
hence, there is no right or wrong answer for this question all you need is to share your
thought. It’s a warm up exercise! At the end of the semester, in retrospect, we may
wonder if we should have done better!
Thursday/8.28:
□The topic today is: what is sociology? We will continue our discussion from the
previous class. But, before coming to this class, you must read the assigned part of the
chapter from our required text. We will also talk about a few primary concepts such as
society, community, institution, folkways and mores, etc.
□We will conclude this class with a very brief introduction to the Sociological
Imagination. A qualitative step toward sociology, in our next class!
Week Two: Sociological Imagination
Tuesday/9.2:
□ Today I will lecture on Sociological Imagination and how does it work as an awareness
to make the relationship between an individual and the wider society. You need to read
“The Promise” prior to this class (Mills, C. W. 1959. “The Promise”.Pp.1-13, which is
posted on Blackboard).
3Remember, there will be a review of our previous classes in every four weeks. And, there will be discussion in every three weeks though all of
them will not be considered for your course grade. Please note, I may, without notice, take sudden short/MCQ exams at different point of the semester. Be noted that I reserve right to bring any changes in my class plan.