Out-of-Class Essay on Tuesday 3/2

This is just a reminder, mainly for those who were absent, that I will be handing out a write-up of our first OUT-OF-CLASS ESSAY at the beginning of class on Tuesday, March 2nd. I had originally planned to do this in-class, but I decided not to because I knew a couple people would have to leave class early. Nonetheless, it is probably better that we do it this way, because I am a bit behind in terms of class lectures. On Tuesday I will quickly wrap up Chapter 2 and plan to get through ALL of Chapter 3, so you should be that far in your reading in the text. As a hint, the topic will have to do with the two major (contrasting) views of societal evolution that are brought out in these two chapters. Finally, after I hand the topic out on Tuesday, you will have until CLASS TIME ON THURSDAY (MAR. 4TH) TO COMPLETE IT, so you should get right on it after I hand it out. It will be OPEN-NOTEBOOK, OPEN-BOOK, of course and it is worth 25 points.

See you next Tuesday.

Follow-Up to "What Good (or Use) is Sociological Theory Anyway?"

It is presently 12:15PM, Wed. Feb., 17th, and Natalie and John have yet to submit your comments for this exercise. The deadline was this past Monday. Please do so ASAP. 5 points are at stake.

Regarding those who have submitted your comments, I'd like to follow-up on the blog with some general comments of my own. Let me stress that none of the points I am going to make are intended as real criticisms of anyone's comments. I was not asking for much with this exercise, just a reflection on the relevance of some theories or theorists you have already encountered. But I will say a couple submissions were weak and really did not address the question of relevance very well or at all in one case.

In general, what did these various theorists and their interpretations of social reality help us to do? Basically, better understand how individuals and/or societies behave or function, and knowing this may help us adapt better to certain social situations. Several focused on this social psychological dimension (eg., Goffman, Festinger, Mead, Sapir/Whorf being a bit broader). Some others cited theorists' ideas that offered some critical perspective on society or an aspect of society (eg., Weber, Marx, Freud, Becker, King).

But whether your observations were more social psychological or sociological (focusing on the larger society or some aspect of it), one can say that these theories, ideas, concepts helped you interpret and understand some aspect of social reality. Of course, we could pursue this further by raising questions about the validity of these ideas, about how narrowly or broadly applicable they may be. Our goal, of course, is trying to understand society and social life in all of its complexity, which, ultimately, is the only basis for improving the quality of life for individuals and society as a whole.

PLEASE INCORPORATE THESE BRIEF COMMENTS IN YOUR CLASS NOTES. I BELIEVE THEY ARE PERTINENT TO WHAT I TALKED ABOUT IN MY FIRST CLASS LECTURE.

First Exercise: What Good (or Use) is Sociological Theory Anyway?

Without doing any research or reading in our text, I want you to identify a sociologist that you have read or heard about in any sociology course you have taken and briefly describe an idea or concept he or she developed that you believe has some merit or usefulness. Describe briefly in what way exactly you believe this idea or concept is useful.
I am looking for two paragraphs at most (no dissertations). Post them as a comment on this blog post. This activity is worth 5 activity points, which you will earn for any reasonable submission. Please do so by next Monday, Feb. 15th, so I can have the opportunity to review them and possibly use some in class next week.

Welcome to SOC. 340 Blog: Spring 2010

Welcome to the place in the "blogosphere" set up for this course, Sociology 340: The Development of Sociological Theory." We will be using this space over the course of the semester for what I call "individual and group activities and exercises," and for occasional posting of lecture notes and reminders. As I note in the syllabus, I would suggest that you check this site out at least once a week. I will usually give you notice in class if I will be posting anything on this blog or if there is an activity I'd like you to do. Often, if I feel that I did not do a terribly good job presenting something in class, I may use this blog space to make amends and try to clarify or elaborate on some remarks I made in class. You will need to check this blog prior to the midterm and final exams for some questions (and answers) that will appear on each of those tests. Finally, I hope you will feel free to use this space to post any questions or comments you may not feel comfortable verbalizing in class.

BY THE END OF THIS FIRST WEEK I WILL BE POSTING A "GET-YOUR-FEET-WET" INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY TO GET YOU ACCUSTOMED TO USING THIS BLOG. BE LOOKING FOR IT.