Sociology 201 Contemporary Social Theory Spring 2009 Professor Thomas Cushman Pendleton East 334 Office Hours: M: 1:30 -2:30; Th: 1:30-2:30 This course examines important sociological theories of the 20th century. There are three basic objectives for the class: to help you develop the capacity to read and “ unpack ” complex theoretical texts , to develop a vocabulary of key analytical concepts, and to develop the capacity to use these concepts to interpret a broad range of social and cultural phenomena from multiple perspectives. Course Readings The following books are required and can be purchased at the bookstore. Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality (Anchor, 1967) Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Anchor, 1959) Lewis Coser, The Functions of Social Conflict (Free Press, 1964) Zygmunt Bauman, Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts (Polity, 2004) Eviatar Zerubavel, Social Mindscapes: An Invitation to Cognitive Sociology (Harvard, 1999) A number of articles are on e-reserve and are indicated as such in the course schedule. These are available in the course folder, which every student registered in the course will have on her desktop. Course Requirements and Assignments
Attendance and participation is required of all students and will factor into the grade. Students who miss four or more classes will receive no credit for the class, unless they have a written medical excuse. It is absolutely crucial that all readings be done by the date on which they are listed. All students are required to do short 1-2 page weekly assignments, one per week (as a general rule). These will be distributed on the course conference. These will be used as the basis for class discussions and are to be turned in after class each week as evidence of attendance. These are not to be emailed to me and they will not be accepted late. If you don‟t have them in class, they will not be accepted.
There will be two six page essays on...