Section 1

Course Content and Structure

The course is designed to introduce the student unfamiliar with sociology to the sociological discipline, to provide a foundation for the further study of the field of sociology, and to provide the framework and theoretical tools for the analysis of social structure, social change and social processes. 

There will be a number of themes in the course that will emerge during the class.  Among these themes will be the following: (1)gender, race and class approaches to sociology; (2) history and sociology, (3)stasis/change (static and dynamic concepts); (4)the effects of contemporary media on U.S. society; (5) Objectivity and subjectivity in the social sciences; (6) the nature of U.S. society; (7) the globalization of human society; (8) social structural as opposed to individual approaches to social understanding; (9) the study of subfields  in sociology such as medical sociology and environmental sociology; and, finally, (10) the concept of renewable and sustainable societies and the interaction between society and nature.  These themes will develop in the context of a critical approach to sociology and society.

The course will usually consist of lectures three times a week and will frequently include film presentations.

Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations to meet the expectations of this course are encouraged to bring this to the attention of the instructor as soon as possible.

II.  Readings and Required Texts

1.  Eitzen, Stanley D. and Mazine Baca Zinn.  In Conflict and Order: Understanding Society.  Allyn and Bacon.  Ninth Edition.

2.  A packet on AIDS in Africa.  This packet will be available on this website.

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Section 2 Course Evaluation

1.  Students have the responsibility to attend lectures acquainted with the materials assigned for the week.

2.  First Midterm (Friday, October 13):  The first in class midterm will consist of a multiple choice examination containing 50 questions.  Students must bring a suitable pencil and a scantron.  The exam will include all discussion materials, readings, and lectures up to and including Oct. 6.  There will be no make-up examination provided for this examination.

3.  Second Midterm (Friday, November 3):  The second midterm will consist of an examination similar in structure and question style to the first exam.  There will also be 50 questions on this exam.  Pencils and a scantron will be necessary.  The exam will include material, lectures, readings and films until and including Nov. 1.  There will be no make-up examination for this exam.

4.  Third Midterm (Wednesday, November 22):  The third midterm will consist of an examination similar in structure and question style to the first exam.  There will also be 50 questions on this exam.  Pencils and a scantron will be necessary.  The exam will include discussion sections, material, lectures, readings and films until and including Nov. 20.  There will be no make-up examination provided for this exam.

5.  Students may miss one of the above exams and the final grade will be calculated from the other two examinations that are taken.  As an alternative, the instructor will drop the lowest grade of the three above examinations if the student has taken all three.  The total weight for the two midterms will be 60 percent of the grade.  There will be no make-ups or alternative examination dates.

6.  Final Examination.  (Thursday, December 7 at 3:15 PM in 150 Columbia)  The final examination will consist of an exam similar in structure and question style to the first, second, and third midterms.  It will consist of 100 questions and will require two hours.  This examination will be comprehensive and cover all the material presented in the class.  Pencils and a scantron will be necessary.  The final examination will make up 40% of final grade.  THERE WILL BE NO ALTERNATIVE DATES FOR, OR PRESENTATION OF, THIS EXAMINATION.

7.  Students are encouraged to attend their discussion sections.  Students who attend at least seven of ten of their discussion sections and meet  the requirements of the discussion section GTF, will receive an extra 5 points on their final grade averages.

 

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Section 3 Course Outline and Related Required Readings

 Week 1:  Discussion of course content and requirements, definitions of Sociology; why we study Sociology and the Sociological Imagination.  Discussion of Course themes.  An introduction to sociological theory: Marx, Weber and Durkheim.  Social Causation theories.

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Week 2:  Introduction to preindustrial societies; gatherer-hunter, horticultural and agrarian societies.  Human nature discussion.  The Neolithic Revolution and theories as to its cause.  Social/environmental co-evolution and early human societies.  The rise of Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution.

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Week 3:  The Columbus celebration and the origins of the World System; ideology and the Colombia mythology; the modern World System, Colonialism, and the First World/Third World dichotomy. 

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapters 1, 2 , 3 and 4.

FIRST MIDTERM: FRIDAY, Oct. 13, 2000.

Week 4:  The concept of stratification in society; gender stratification, sex/gender distinction,  patriarchy, matriarchy, descent systems, feminism, nature/nuture debates; the social construction of gender roles.

Readings: Eitzen and Zinn, Chapters 9 and 12.

Film:  “Slim Hopes”

Week 5:  The concept of Stratification: Race and definitions of race; the origins of racial concepts; racial stratification; the rise of western capitalism and race; media, sports and race.

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapter 11.

Film: “In Whose Honor”

Week 6:  The concept of stratification in society: class stratification; definitions of class; wealth and income distribution in the U.S.

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapter 10

SECOND MIDTERM:  Friday, Nov. 3, 2000.

Week 7:  Socialization; agents of socialization; media socialization; deviance; repression and social control; theory and social movements.

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Film: “The War at Home” and “Eyes on the Prize: A Nation of Laws?”

Week 8:  Work and Economic Life; Taylorism and the Babbage Principle; Alienation and the organization of work. 

Readings:  Eitzen and Zinn, Chapter 13.

Film:  “Clockwork”

Week 9:  Medical Sociology; AIDS and Africa; Social epidemiology.

Readings:  AIDS Packet: divided into 4 sections. This packet will be available on this website readable with Adobe Acrobat. (The best place to get Acrobat is through the Duckware CD, or go to the Adobe website and download it)

THIRD MIDTERM: Wednesday Nov.22, 2000.

Week 10:  Media in the U.S.  Kosovo and the Persian Gulf War; the selling of warfare and world system explanations.  Course themes and wrap-up.

FINAL EXAMINATION: Thursday, December 7, 2000, AT 3:15 P.M. IN 150 Columbia.

FINAL Review: Wednesday, December 6, 2000, AT 1:00 P.M. IN 150 Columbia.

 

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Section 4  AIDS Packet

 The AIDS packet focuses upon AIDS in Africa and the connection between the epidemic of AIDS and the migrant labor system in various areas of Africa.  Click here for the AIDS Packet 1 2 3 4. 

Section 5  Instructor contact Information

Instructor:  Chuck Hunt

Phone #:  607-0106  (do NOT use the University message system)

Office:  616 PLC

Office hours:  Monday, Noon to 12:50 or by appointment

E-mail address:  cwhunt@oregon.uoregon.edu

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Section 6  GTF contact Information

Brett Clark

blc30155@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Bio

Eric Edwards

ericed@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Roxanne Gerbandt

rox@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Mark Hudson

mhudson@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Allison Hurst

alhurst@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Bio

Bettina Stockton

bstockto@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Lora Vess

lvess@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Bio

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Section 7  Links

University of Oregon Department of Sociology

Allyn & Bacon Sociology Links

Sociology Virtual Library

The Society for Applied Sociology

American Sociological Association

Human Evolution Pages

Kennewick Man Profile 

Neanderthal Bibliography

Neolithic: 12,000 BCE 

Introduction to 1492: An Ongoing Voyage

The Explorations of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Columbus Day

The Agricultural Revolution

History of Race in Science

Charles Petit, Chronicle Science Writer

American Anthropological Association

Links recommended by Graduate Teaching Fellows (GTFs)

Social construction of gender roles

www.mediawatch.ca/hot/imagery/#negative

www.mediawatch.ca/hot/imagery/#positive

(A canadian watchdog that keeps an eye on media representations of women and ethnic minorities; these are their examples of "best and worst images."

Rise of Western capitalism and race

www.rit.edu/~nrcgsh/bx/bx03a.html

(Dr. Norman Coombs, Prof. Emeritus of History at Rochester Institute of Tech: short piece relating the kind of slavery which emerged in the USA to the socio-economic context of early capitalism in the country.)

Racial, Class, and Gender Stratification

www.panix.com/~dhenwood/IncPov98.html

>From the Left Business Observer: A quantitative (but not too dry or incomprehensible) look at income inequality in the USA, with analysis along racial, class, and gender lines.

Socialization & Media Socialization

www.adbusters.org

(Website for the "journal of the mental environment" with articles relating to media/media control, as well as "uncommercials," spoof ads, adn culture jamming activist material.)

Work and Economic Life

www.web.net/32hours

(a Canadian organization committed to the reduction of work time. Site contains readings, articles, press releases and news on workaholisim, labour struggles for shorter work time, and more. A shameless plug from the GTF who used to work for these guys :) .)

www.uiowa.edu/~hlss/specialfac/apa.htm

(Historian Benjamin Kline Hunnicutt looks at the origins of "Time Famine" in America, and the orginization of work in general.)

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