L A K E H E A D    U N I V E R S I T Y
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
Introduction to Sociology
Sociology 1100 YA

Brian McMillan                                                                                 Fall/Winter 2005 
UC0038                                                                  Mon. & Wed. 10:00 - 11:30am
rbmbs@tbaytel.net                                                                                        RB3046
Office Hours: Thursday 1:00 - 2:00pm                                                                                 

                                                                                                                        Course Description

Introductory Sociology offers the student a cross-sectional view of the study of sociology. Sociology is the systematic study of contemporary society. It seeks to describe and explain patterns of human behaviour, the structure of social organization, the dynamics of social change, and the nature of people’s perceptions of their social environment. The fundamental premise upon which the study of sociology proceeds is that human behaviour is related to the character of the social context within which the behaviour unfolds. An awareness of this relationship between human behaviour and broad historical, cultural and social contextual factors is often referred to as “the sociological imagination”.

The course of study includes instruction in the application of sociology’s unique perspective, its major theoretical paradigms and its basic research methodologies. The course undertakes an examination of important social processes including socialization, social interaction, social stratification, urbanization, globalization, population development, social change and others. The student is introduced to the social structural character of Canadian society with references to culture and the ideological structure, inequality and the social class structure, as well as an examination of various issues relating to the family, economics, politics, medicine, education, criminal justice, race & ethnicity, gender and others. 

Textbooks

Required:  Henslin, J. M., et al. SOCIOLOGY: A DOWN-TO-EARTH APPROACH, 3rd Edition. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2004.

Optional:  Glenday, D., et al. STUDY GUIDE. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Ed, 2005.

Grading Scheme

Fall Midterm…………………..…… 17%
Fall Term Assignment……….....… 13%
Christmas Examination……..……. 20%
Winter Midterm…………..……...... 17%
Winter Term Assignment………….13%
Final Examination…………...……. 20%

Examinations

There are 4 examinations scheduled throughout the course of study. The examinations may be comprised of multiple choice, short answer and short essay questions. Examinations are based on classroom lectures, activities and the required readings. The Fall and Winter midterms are scheduled for regular class times and locations (see Course Schedule below). The locations, dates and times of the Christmas and Final examinations will be announced at a future time. Please refer to the Grading Scheme for the weight of each examination.

Assignments

There are 2 formal assignments to be prepared and submitted during the course of study. Each assignment is worth 13% of the final grade. Each assignment will entail library research and the preparation of a 2000 word report using either APA or MLA. Assignment topics and other particulars will be announced at a later date. Please see the Course Schedule below for assignment deadlines. A 5% per day late penalty applies to ALL late submissions… NO exceptions!

FALL COURSE SCHEDULE
September 8 - November 30

Study Period One: The Sociological Perspective
     
     Monday Sept. 12
          No required reading
          Lecture: “The Sociological Imagination”
          In-class exercise: “Private Troubles vs. Public Issues”
         
     Wednesday Sept. 14 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.3-7 
          Lecture: “Social Location: Is It Hazardous to Your Health?”

     Monday Sept. 19
          Required reading: Henslin pp.7-16 
          Lecture: “Why Sociology?”
          In-class exercise: “Are You a Marxist, Durkheimian or Weberian?”

     Wednesday Sept. 21 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.16-22 
          Lecture: “Sociological Theory: It’s Simply a Matter of How You Look At It”
          In-class exercise: “Social Problems in Theoretical Perspective ”

Study Period Two: Culture
     
     Monday Sept. 26
          Required reading: Henslin pp.47-55  
          Lecture: “Seeing the Strange in the Familiar”
          Video: “Culture Jam: Hijacking Commercial Culture”

     Wednesday Sept. 28 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.55-63  
          Lecture: “Individualism Made Visible Through Popular Culture”
          In-class exercise: “The Woeful Tale of Fred the Spelunker”

     Monday Oct. 3
          Required reading: Henslin pp.63-67  
          Lecture: “Technology: The Frankenstein-Jurassic Park Dilemma”

Study Period Three: Socialization
     
     Wednesday Oct. 5 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.71-78  
          Lecture: “Mead, Cooley and the ‘Plastic’ Self”
          In-class exercise: “20 Statements Test”
     
     Wednesday Oct. 12
          Required reading: Henslin pp.78-86  
          Lecture: “Pink or Blue? The Colour of Social Experience”
          In-class exercise: “Gender Images in Magazines: Evidence of Postmodernism?”

     Monday Oct. 17
          Required reading: Henslin pp.86-92  
          Lecture: “Social Learning Theory Throughout the Life Course”
          Video: “Anybody’s Son Will Do”

     Wednesday Oct. 19
          Midterm Examination: regular class time & location
          Please note: failure to write a regularly scheduled examination will invoke the application
                             of Lakehead University’s formal regulations. Refer to Calendar for specifics.

Study Period Four: Social Structure and Social Interaction
     
     Monday Oct. 24
          Required reading: Henslin pp.95-105  
          Lecture: “Social Structure as Constraint... or Freedom?”
          In-class exercise: “Plotting Your Location in the Social Structure” 

     Wednesday Oct. 26
          Required reading: Henslin pp.112-22  
          Lecture: “What’s Going on Here? The Social Construction of Reality”
          Video: “Truth Merchants”

Study Period Five: Family: Initiation into Society

     Monday Oct. 31
          Required reading: Henslin pp.303-12  
          Lecture: “Family in Theoretical Perspective”

     Wednesday Nov. 2
          Required reading: Henslin pp.313-16  
          Lecture: “Mate Selection: What’s Love Got To Do With It”
          In-class exercise: “Is There a Mr. or Mrs. Right?”

     Monday Nov. 7
          Required reading: Henslin pp.316-27  
          Lecture: “Is the Family an Endangered Species?”
          Video: “Women and Men Unglued”

Study Period Six: Social Deviance and Social Control

     Wednesday Nov. 9
          Required reading: Henslin pp.381-88  
          Lecture: “Deviants: Born or Bred?”
          In-class exercise: “Is Deviance Normal?”

     Monday Nov. 14
          Required reading: Henslin pp.388-93  
          Lecture: “Deviant Definitions and the Role of Social Power: The Case of Illicit Drugs”
          Video: “Stopping Traffik”

     Wednesday Nov. 16
          Required reading: Henslin pp.393-98  
          Lecture: “Crime in Canada”

Study Period Seven: Social Inequality: Global and National Perspectives

     Monday Nov. 21
          Assignment #1 Deadline: 5:00pm
          Required reading: Henslin pp.127-39  
          Lecture: “The Allocation of Things of Consequence”
          In-class exercise: “The Irrigation Project”

     Wednesday Nov. 23
          Required reading: Henslin pp.139-50  
          Lecture: “The Development of Underdevelopment”
          Video: “The Cola Conquest”

     Monday Nov. 28
          Required reading: Henslin pp.150-63  
          Lecture: “Poverty: Do We Blame The Poor?”

Study Period Eight: Education

     Wednesday Nov. 30
          Required reading: Henslin pp. 331-39  
          Lecture: “Credentialism and the Problem of Selection”

     Thursday Dec. 1 (Class Make-up Day?)
          Required reading: Henslin pp. 339-47
          Lecture: “Education as Social Control”
 
Christmas Examination: time & location T.B.A

WINTER COURSE SCHEDULE
January 3 - April 3

Study Period Nine: Gender
     
     Wednesday Jan. 4 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.168-73 
          Lecture: “Gender: a little bit of this... a little bit of that.”

     Monday Jan. 9
          Required reading: Henslin pp.173-81 
          Lecture: “Gender Inequality in Theoretical Perspective”
          Video: “Gods of our Fathers”

     Wednesday Jan. 11 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.181-89 
          Lecture: “Dimensions of Gender Inequality”

Study Period Ten: Race & Ethnic Relations
     
     Monday Jan. 16
          Required reading: Henslin pp.193-200  
          Lecture: “Race as a Social Construct”
          In-class exercise: “Race as a Social Construct”

     Wednesday Jan. 18 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.200-08  
          Lecture: “Majority vs. Minority: Patterns of Interaction”
          Video: “Pride and Prejudice: The Road to Human Rights and Multiculturalism in BC.”

Study Period Eleven: Aging

     Monday Jan. 23
          Required reading: Henslin pp.211-16  
          Lecture: “The Social Construction of Aging”
    
     Wednesday Jan. 25 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.216-25  
          Lecture: “Aging in Theoretical Perspective”

     Monday Jan. 30
          Required reading: Henslin pp.225-32  
          Lecture: “Problems of the Elderly”
          Video: “The Silver Age”

Study Period Twelve: Bureaucracy & Formal Organizations

     Wednesday Feb. 1
          Required reading: Henslin pp.235-42  
          Lecture: “Bureaucracy: Bane or Boon? (Part 1)”

     Monday Feb. 6
          Required reading: Henslin pp.242-48  
          Lecture: “Bureaucracy: Bane or Boon? (Part 2)”
          In-class activity: “Has Your Life Been ‘McDonaldized’?” (see page 241)

     Wednesday Feb. 8
          Required reading: Henslin pp.248-55  
          Lecture: “Humanizing Formal Organizations”

     Monday Feb. 13
          Midterm Examination: regular class time & location
          Please note: failure to write a regularly scheduled examination will invoke the application
                             of Lakehead University’s formal regulations. Refer to Calendar for specifics.

Study Period Thirteen: The Economy: Money & Work

     Wednesday Feb. 15
          Required reading: Henslin pp.259-63  
          Lecture: “Post-industrialism and You”
          Video: ”For Man Must Work”

     Monday - Friday Feb. 20 - 24
          Mid-year Reading Week

     Monday Feb. 27
          Required reading: Henslin pp.263-71  
          Lecture: “Capitalism vs. Socialism: Pro’s & Con’s”
          In-class activity: “Debate: Directions for the 21st Century: Laissez-faire Capitalism
                                   or Democratic Socialism? You Choose”

     Wednesday March 1
          Required reading: Henslin pp.271-80  
          Lecture: “Work in Canadian Society”

Study Period Fourteen: Politics: Power & Authority

     Monday March 6 
          Required reading: Henslin pp.283-94  
          Lecture: “The Silk Glove and the Iron Fist”
          Video: “This is What Democracy Looks Like”

Study Period Fourteen: Politics: Power & Authority (cont’d)

     Wednesday March 8  
          Required reading: Henslin pp.294-99  
          Lecture: “Who’s Pulling the Big Levers of Control?”
          In-class activity: “Debate: Is War Inevitable and Can War Ever Be Morally Acceptable?”

Study Period Fifteen: Medicine, Health & Illness

     Monday March 13
          Assignment #2 Deadline: 5:00pm
          Required reading: Henslin pp.363-68  
          Lecture: “Health and Disease in Theoretical Perspective”
          Video: “Drug Deals: The Brave New World of Prescription Drugs”

     Wednesday March 15
          Required reading: Henslin pp.369-72  
          Lecture: “Social Epidemiology: Who Gets Sick?”
          In-class activity: “Who Should Live and Who Should Die?” (see page 376)

     Monday March 20
          Required reading: Henslin pp.372-77  
          Lecture: “Allopathy’s Rise to Dominance”

Study Period Sixteen: Population, Urbanization and the Environment

     Wednesday March 22
          Required reading: Henslin pp.403-12  
          Lecture: “Population (Over)Development”

     Monday. March 27
          Required reading: Henslin pp.413-18
          Lecture: “Urbanization”
          Video: “Escaping History”

     Wednesday March 29
          Required reading: Henslin pp.418-23  
          Lecture: “The Risk Society”
          Video: “Fury for the Sound: The Women of Clayoquot”

     Monday April 3
          Catch-up & Review
 
Final Examination: time & location T.B.A