Interactionism: Self and Society
Section 002 |
10:20-11:15 MWF |
Grise Hall 132 |
Douglas Clayton Smith |
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Associate Professor of Sociology
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Phone: (270) 745-2152
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Office Hours: Wednesdays and Fridays 2:00-3:30 or by appointment |
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This is a survey course designed to present an overview of the field of social psychology with a specific emphasis on symbolic interaction. In addition to that of basic instruction in the tradition of liberal arts education, the goal of this course is to enable students to better understand their personal lives, identities, and attitudes in relation to the social worlds in which they live.
This course fulfills the Category C (Social and Behavioral Sciences) general education requirement. It will help you attain these general education goals and objectives:
#1. The capacity for critical and logical thinking
#2. Proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking
#6. A historical perspective and an understanding of
connections between past and present
#9. An understanding of society and human behavior
We all think to some degree or another that we are islands unto ourselves, setting our own courses of action, or in this class, interactions. However, sociology tells us that individuals' interactions are very much affected by the social context in which they are enacted. Furthermore, individual actions can affect others' actions, or society. In this course you will learn the theoretical perspectives and concepts used to understand the self in society. We will evaluate the accuracy, authority, bias, and relevance of the information that actors use to develop lines of action. We will trace the effects that pragmatism and symbolic interaction ideas have had on social thought. We will engage each of these goals through reading, writing, and speaking.
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I expect you to be in class. Little symbolic interaction can occur between us if you are not. To encourage class attendance I will distribute sign-in sheets on randomly selected days. I will also pass out a sign-in sheet if one is requested by class members. Attendance points will be levied based on your attendance on the days the sign in sheets are passed out.
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Arriving late to class, talking, reading the newspaper are not acceptable classroom behavior and are disrespectful to your instructor and other students who want to listen and learn. ALL cell phones and pagers should be turned off before entering class. Similarly, if you are likely to have a regular problem with getting to class on time, please let me know in advance. | ||
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All food and drink (with the exception of water) is prohibited in our newly remodeled classroom. | ||
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Also, all late work will be penalized. If you are absent, you may email your writing assignments. It is still due on the day of class. | ||
| If you find yourself forced to miss either Exam 1 and Exam 2, you must submit your name, WKUID number and reason for missing the quiz in an email to me within one week of the missed quiz. You will be permitted to take make up examinations on Friday, December 11 during the regular class period. Friday, December 11 is the ONLY date for make-ups. There is no makeup for the final exam. | ||
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The teacher reserves the right to alter these requirements based on class interest and needs (See my disclaimer at the end of the syllabus.). |
All students are urged to review the material about these issues in both the Western catalog and Student Handbook. Your work in this course is to be an original effort. I expect that all work you turn in is your own and that you give credit for any material that you use from other sources. If I discover work has been plagiarized from another source or if you hand in a project that is identical to another student’s in the first third of the course, you will receive a zero for that assignment. If I discover plagiarized or identical work after the first third of the course, you will FAIL THE COURSE.
Writing Center -- The Writing Center offers individual conferences to assist writers with their assignments. Drop by 123 Cherry Hall or call the Writing Center at 745-5719 with any questions or to make an appointment
Disability Services -- In
compliance with university policy, students with disabilities who require
accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this
course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services in DUC A-200 of
the Student Success Center in Downing University Center. Please
DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor without a letter of
accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.
None. I will either have a reading packet or a Blackboard site with the readings.
There will be 2 exams, 3 short papers, and a final exam in this class. Material for the exams will be taken from the textbook, lectures, films, and class discussion. The assignments are short (2-3 pages, typed, double-spaced). They are either: a) reactions to readings that I will make available or b) reactions to social experiments that we may try. This material will not be included on the quizzes or final.
The weighting is as follows:
Class Attendance and Participation 12.5%
2 Exams 25% (12.5% each)
3 Assignments 37.5% (12.5% each)
Comprehensive Final 25%
| 90.0 to 100.0 | A |
| 80.0 to 89.9 | B |
| 70.0 to 79.9 | C |
| 60.0 to 69.9 | D |
| Below 60 | F |
This is a general schedule of quiz dates, due dates for reaction papers, and readings to be done in preparation for class.
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8/31 |
1Monday |
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE |
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9/2 |
Wednesday |
THREE FACES OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY House, "Three Faces of Social Psychology" First section of Interaction reader |
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9/4 |
Friday |
THEORIES IN THE OTHER FACES OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Pp. 44-51 in O’Brien Pp. 5, 8-16 in DeLamater and Myers |
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9/7 |
2Monday |
LABOR DAY |
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9/9 |
Wednesday |
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9/11 |
Friday |
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION Pp. 51-62 in O’Brien Pp. 16-18 in DeLamater and Myers |
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9/14 |
3Monday |
Symbolic Communication and Language Denzin, "Interaction and Language Acquisition in Childhood" |
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9/16 |
Wednesday |
Lakoff and Johnson, "Metaphors We Live By" Whorf, "The Name of the Situation as Affecting Behavior" Moore, "Racism in the English Language" |
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9/18 |
Friday |
Film: Nonverbal Communication |
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9/21 |
4Monday |
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9/23 |
Wednesday |
Self and Identity Mead, "The Self, the I, and the Me" Cooley, "Looking-Glass Self" Denzin, "Genesis of Self in Early Childhood" |
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9/25 |
Friday |
Maines, "Bodies and Selves" |
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9/28 |
5Monday |
Do we really have no self if we don’t have language? Davis, "Extreme Social Isolation of a Child" Irvine, "A Model of Animal Selfhood" |
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9/30 |
Wednesday |
Socialization Denzin, "Play, Games, and Interaction" Scheff, "A Theory of Genius" |
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10/2 |
Friday |
Becker, "Becoming a Marihuana User" |
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10/5 |
6Monday |
EXAM 1 |
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10/7 |
Wednesday |
Agents of Socialization Film: Merchants of Cool |
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10/9 |
Friday |
Fall Break |
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10/12 |
7Monday |
Self-Presentation and Impression Managment Lofland, "Urban Learning" |
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10/14 |
Wednesday |
Goffman, "Presentation of Self in Everyday Life" |
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10/16 |
Friday |
Gove, "Playing Dumb" Orpen, "The Effects of Ingratiation and Self Promotion Tactics on Employee Career Success |
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10/19 |
8Monday |
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10/21 |
Wednesday |
Emotion Work Hochschild, "Emotion Work, Feeling Rules and Social Structure" Gross and Stone, "Embarrassment and the Analysis of Role Requirements" |
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10/23 |
Friday |
Repairing Interaction Scott and Lyman, "Accounts" Hewitt and Stokes, "Disclaimers" |
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10/26 |
9Monday |
Dealing with Irreparable Interaction Clark, "The ‘Cooling-Out" Function in Higher Education" Garfinkel, "Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies" |
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10/28 |
Wednesday |
Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships Simon, Eder and Evans, "The Development of Feeling Norms Underlying Romantic Love Among Adolescent Females Haas and Deseran, "Trust and Social Exchange" |
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10/30 |
Friday |
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11/2 |
10Monday |
Social Worlds and Group Cohesion Anselm Strauss, "A Social World Perspective" |
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11/4 |
Wednesday |
Mid-South Educational Research Association Meetings in Baton Rouge |
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11/6 |
Friday |
Mid-South Educational Research Association Meetings in Baton Rouge/Anthropologists and Sociologists of Kentucky meetings in Murray |
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11/3 |
11Monday |
Gary Alan Fine and Lori Holyfield, "Secrecy, Trust, and Dangerous Leisure: Generating Group Cohesion in Voluntary Organizations" |
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11/5 |
Wednesday |
EXAM 2 |
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11/7 |
Friday |
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11/10 |
12Monday |
Status/Power and Interaction Gaventa, "The Mechanisms of Power" Hallett, "Symbolic Power and Organizational Culture" |
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11/12 |
Wednesday |
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11/14 |
Friday |
Deviance
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11/17 |
13Monday |
Bernburg, Krohn, and Rivera, "Official Labeling, Criminal Embeddedness, and Subsequent Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test of Labeling Theory" Kenney, "Victims of Crime and Labeling Theory: A Parallel Process" |
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11/19 |
Wednesday |
Rosenhan, "On Being Sane in Insane Places" |
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11/21 |
Friday |
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11/24 |
14Monday |
Collective Behavior |
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11/26 |
Wednesday |
Thanksgiving Break |
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11/28 |
Friday |
Thanksgiving Break |
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12/1 |
15Monday |
Berbrier, "Making Minorities: Cultural Space, Stigma Transformation Frames, and the Categorical Status Claims of Deaf, Gay, and White Supremacist Activists in Late Twentieth Century America" |
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12/3 |
Wednesday |
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12/5 |
Friday |
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The university may have adopted a business model; however, education is NOT a business. Moreover, the syllabus is not some sort of sacred contract (at the very least, the course calendar is not a sacred contract), but more along the lines of a road map. The readings in the course calendar are places we are scheduled to visit. Anyone who has taken a preplanned road trip or vacation knows that the trip is not fun unless you stop at the interesting roadside attractions even though they might divert from your original route or time table. It's the process of getting there that is fun and relaxing and intriguing. In that light, the above schedule and procedures for this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. |
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