SOC 502 Spring 2000 Dr. Gonzalo Santos |
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Office:
DDH - AA205
Office Hrs:2:00 - 4:00 pm, Tu.Th., or by appointment Phone: (661) 664-2191 |
Web site & Email: |
Textbooks
This course provides the student with a advanced entry-point into the theoretical perspectives and world debates that have shaped the way sociologists and other social scientists think today.
In the first half of the course, using the Lemert anthology, we review some of the Classic Sociological Thinkers of Modernity. We then attempt a U.S. multicultural and global overview of thinkers, doers & shakers of the Twentieth Century - social scientists, revolutionaries, cultural critics, policy makers: those that analyzed or engaged in world conflict during the world wars; those that embraced the promise or fought the establishment of Pax Americana between 1945 and 1980; and, finally, those that have theorized how we have gone ,or seek to go, beyond modernity in the last 20 years.
In the second half of the course, we attempt a panoramic but critical "mapping" of the key formal currents of social theory. Using the Budgen anthology for this purpose, we will assesses the historical and sociological theories of the more recent schools of thought such as critical theory, world-systems theory, neo-Weberianism, structuration theory and postmodernism. We will combine the theoretical insights of individual thinkers, such as Ulrich Beck, Pierre Bourdieu, Jon Elster, Michel Foucault, Ernest Gellner, Anthony Giddens, Jrgen Habermas, Michael Mann, Carl Schmitt, Theda Skocpol, Richard Rorty, Roberto Unger, with synthetic considerations of themes such as essentialism, structure and agency, individualism and modernism.
Course Structure
Class Presentations:
The
course will be run as a seminar. Given the size of the seminar, each time
the seminar meets each student will present and critique a selection from
a different thinker drawn from the assigned pool of readings for the day.
This will be followed by Dr. Santos comments and a period of open class
discussion. Dr. Santos will therefore expect everyone to come to class
prepared to discuss all the readings assigned for each session,
besides the one they will present respectively. Each student should bring
to class an outline (1-2 pages long) for his/her presentation, with enough
copies to distribute in the class. The outlines should typically consist
of four parts:
I What the selection is all about: maintopic, theoretical claims, and key insightsmade by the author;II The student's positive assessment of the selection,
III The student's negative assessment of the selection,
IV Questions for further discussion
Research
papers: There will be two research papers assigned, consisting
each of an in-depth overview and critical analysis of the work of a major
social theorist or school of sociological thinking. Students must discuss
with Dr. Santos their choice of scholar or school of thought, and seek
his approval in a timely fashion. The first paper is due on May 11
in class; the second on June 8, before 4:00 pm at Dr. Santos' office.
Each individual paper must be no less than 20 pages in length (excluding bibliography, etc.), double-spaced, font 10 or 12, one-inch margins. For the specific citation and other guidelines to follow in the papers, please consult Dr. Santos' information placed on his web site at http://www.csub.edu/~gsantos/Guide-Paper.html.
Grading: The class presentations are worth 50% of the grade, as a whole. The two research papers are worth 25% each.
Office Hours/E-Mail
to Dr. Santos: All students are encouraged to visit the instructor
regularly during posted office hours (see above), or by appointment, especially
to ensure their individual presentations and research papers are well organized,
or to discuss any question they may have from the seminar or the textbooks.
Private but brief and to the point e-mail messages to Dr. Santos (NOT a
substitute for office visits, please) may be sent to: santos_class@csub.edu.
Schedule of Reading & Presentation Assignments
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1
March 28
March 30 |
Introduction to the Course -------------------------------------------------- Lemert: K. Marx & F. Engels |
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2
April 4 April 6 |
-------------------------------------------------- Lemert: Part I |
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_________________________ |
3
April 11 April 13 |
Lemert: Part II -------------------------------------------------- Lemert: Part II |
_________________________
_________________________ |
4
April 18 April 20 |
Lemert: Part III -------------------------------------------------- Lemert: Part III |
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5
April 25 April 27 |
Lemert: Part IV -------------------------------------------------- Lemert: Part IV |
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6
May 2 May 4 |
-------------------------------------------------- Lemert: Part VI |
_________________________ _________________________
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7
May 9
May 11 [1st. paper due] |
-------------------------------------------------- Budgen: Part II |
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8
May 16
May 18 |
Budgen: Part III -------------------------------------------------- Budgen: Part IV |
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9
May 23
May 25 |
Budgen: Part V -------------------------------------------------- Budgen: Part VI |
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10
May 30
June 1 |
No class today due to holiday on Monday -------------------------------------------------- Budgen: Part VII |
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11
June 6 [last day] |
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4:00 pm at Dr. Santos' office |