SOC&101/Survey of Sociology
 

Week Two
It is only when you step back, stop looking at the wires one by one, microscopically, and take a macroscopic view of the whole cage, that you can see why the bird does not go anywhere- Marilyn Frye, "Oppression"

Readings
  • Sociology: A Global Perspective
         Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives and Methods of Social Research
         Chapter 3: Culture
  •  Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
         Continue
 
  • Review the major ideas of the reading using the "key Concepts" that are boxed and highlighted on the pages of the chapter.
Internet

http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/sociosite/topics/theory.html (Sociological Theories and Perspectives)
http://www.culturalstudies.net/ (The cultural studies meeting house)
http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/culture-index.html (What is culture?)
http://www.wws.princeton.edu/psrc/(Survey Research Center)
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde (Center for Demography and Ecology) http://polecat.iupui.edu/ (Public Opinion Laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue)
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ (the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) http://www.soc.qc.edu/QC_Software/GSS.html (Roper Center for Public Opinion Research)
 
Practice
  • Discuss the major contemporary sociological perspectives.
  • How does qualitative research differ from quantitative research?
  • What are the key steps in the conventional research process?
  • What are the major types of research methods? What ethical issues are involved in sociological research?
  • When sociologists study material culture, what questions do they ask?
  • How are people products of cultural experiences yet not cultural replicas of one another?
  • What are the various types of ethnocentrism? Give examples of each. (Don't forget reverse ethnocentrism.)
  • Is cultural relativism equivalent to moral relativism? Explain.
  • How do the facts of cultural diffusion and individual autonomy expand our conception of culture?
  • Take the practice quiz
Content This week covers the major contemporary perspectives employed in sociological analysis and the different methodological and research strategies utilized by sociologists. Also covered is the concept of culture and its components, its transmission, its functions, and the role of the individual. You will be introduced to issues of ethnocentrism, prejudice, discrimination, and genocide.