Emory University |
| CULTURE AND SOCIETY |
| SOC
221; Fall 2006 |
| Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays; 12:50 - 1:40 |
Dr.
Timothy J. Dowd |
Vaughn Schmutz |
| COURSE DESCRIPTION In this course, we survey major themes and questions in the sociology of culture. We do so in three broad sections. (1) We begin by developing a “vocabulary” that is drawn from a variety of approaches. This new vocabulary allows us to address such questions as “What is culture and what does it do?” (2) We then examine the classical treatments of culture found in the respective works of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. This examination allows us to see how issues that they originally raised are treated today. Examples of current issues include the following: “How do media messages shape our view of reality?” “How do people in one group exclude those from another group?” “Can religion survive in modern times?” (3) We finally focus on the role that culture plays in creative, organizational and technological production. Thus, we will deal with such issues as “How does culture shape the workplace?” and “How does culture influence and shape technological change” |
| COURSE REQUIREMENTS (A) You are strongly encouraged to attend class, especially because we use class time to integrate the assigned readings and to present additional information not found in the readings. Regular attendance, moreover, will raise your final grade. If you miss no more than two classes during the semester, I will add two points to your final grade. If you miss only three classes, I will add one point. (B) You are required to complete four written assignments: one major paper and three short memos. The paper involves a research project that you will complete over the course of the semester. You may choose your paper topic from a list that I will circulate on October 6th or you may propose a topic of your own (subject to my approval) by October 20th. In either case, an outline of your paper is due on November 8th and the completed paper is due on December 11th (although it may be submitted before that date). This 8- to 10-page paper is worth 35% of your final grade. The memos will help you prepare for the examinations. In these 3-page assignments, you will synthesize the readings and the issues that emerge as the course progresses. The due dates for the memos, as well as the dates for when I distribute memo questions, are listed below. The memos will comprise 15% of your final grade (5% each). Note that I will distribute a total of four memo assignments, but you are only required to complete three. (C) You are also required to take two examinations – both of which are non-cumulative. The exams consist of short-answer and essay questions. Prior to each exam, I will distribute a handout that will help you prepare for the test. Each exam will be worth 25% of your final grade. The mid-term examination occurs on October 27th, and the final exam takes place on December 15th from 8:30 to 11:00 am. (D) Students are expected to adhere to the Emory College Honor Code when completing both assignments and examinations. |
| COURSE RESOURCES This course offers an introductory survey of the sociology of culture. Consequently, the class will cover a wide range of literature. To assist in this introduction, we have the following required text – which is available at the Emory University Bookstore: Wendy Griswold. 2004. Cultures and Societies in a Changing World (Second edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. The remaining readings are drawn from various sources and will be available at Woodruff Library's electronic reserves (click on “Reserves Direct”) and on the Blackboard site (click on “Reserve Readings”). Other class materials will be posted on Blackboard as the semester progresses. If you have any special needs due to learning disabilities, please contact me at the beginning of the semester and we will discuss the necessary arrangements (for additional information, visit the Emory Office of Disability Services website). |
| COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to revision) |
| SECTION
ONE: DEVELOPING A VOCABULARY |
| September 1: | Introductions |
| September 4: | LABOR DAY
(No Class) |
| September 6: | Wendy Griswold.
2004. CSCW, Chapter 1. |
| September 8: | Kristen Luker.
1984. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. Chapter 7. |
| September 11: | Vaughn Schmutz. 2005. “Retrospective Cultural Consecration in Popular Music: Rolling Stone’s Greatest Albums of All Time.” American Behavioral Scientist 48: 1510-1523. |
| SECTION TWO: CLASSICAL TREATMENTS & CONTEMPORARY COUNTERPARTS |
| Marxian Approaches: Domination, Resistance and Commodification |
| September 13: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Pages 21-33. MEMO QUESTION #1 DISTRIBUTED |
| September 15: | Sharon Hays. 1997. “The Ideology of Intensive Mothering: A Cultural Analysis of the Bestselling ‘Gurus’ of Appropriate Childbearing.” Pages 286-321 in From Sociology to Cultural Studies, edited by Elizabeth Long. Malden, MA: Blackwell. |
| September 18: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Pages 33-35 and 98-104. |
| September 20: | Viviana Zelizer. 1978. “Human Values and the Market: The Case of Life Insurance and Death in 19th Century America.” American Journal of Sociology 84: 591-610. MEMO #1 DUE |
| September 22: | Kathy Peiss. 1998. Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture. New York: Owl Books. Chapter 5. |
| September 25: | David Hesmondhalgh. 1998. “The British Dance Music Industry: A Case Study of Independent Cultural Production.” British Journal of Sociology 49: 234-51. |
| Weberian Approaches: Work, Status and Exclusion |
| September 27: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Pages 39-49. MEMO QUESTION #2 DISTRIBUTED |
| September 29: | Tracy Scott. 2002. “Choices and Constraints: Protestantism, Gender, and the Meaning of Work.” International Journal of Sociology & Social Policy 22: 1-38. |
| October 2: | Wendy Griswold.
2004. CSCW, Pages 92-95. |
| October 4: | Paul DiMaggio. 1991. “Cultural Entrepreneurship in Nineteenth-Century Boston: The Creation of an Organizational Base for High Culture in America.” Pages 374-397 in Rethinking Popular Culture, edited by Chandra Mukerji and Michael Schudson. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. MEMO #2 DUE |
| October 6: | Karen Aschaffenburg and Ineke Maas. 1997. “Cultural and Educational Careers: The Dynamics of Social Reproduction.” American Sociological Review 62: 573-587. RESEARCH TOPICS DISTRIBUTED |
| October 9: | FALL BREAK
(No Class) |
| October 11: | Annette Lareau. 2002. “Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families.” American Sociological Review 67: 747-776. |
| Durkheimian Approaches: Solidarity, Community and Boundaries |
| October 13: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Pages 52-60 and 68-76. |
| October 16: | Wesley Shrum and John Kilburn. 1996. “Ritual Disrobement at Mardi Gras: Ceremonial Exchange and Moral Order.” Social Forces 75: 423-458. |
| October 18: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Pages 60-68 and 109-114. |
| October 20: | Karyn Lacy. 2004. “Black Spaces, Black Places: Strategic Assimilation and Identity Construction in Middle Class Suburbia.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 27: 908-930. ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH TOPIC DUE TEST PREPARATION SHEET DISTRIBUTED |
| October 23: | Caitlin Killian. 2003. “The Other Side of the Veil: North African Women in France Respond to the Headscarf Affair.” Gender and Society 17: 567-590. |
| October 25: | Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz. 1991. “The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial: Commemorating a Difficult Past.” American Journal of Sociology 97: 376-420. |
| October 27: | MID-TERM EXAMINATION |
| SECTION THREE: CULTURE AND PRODUCTION |
| The Cultural Foundations of Creativity: Conventions, Constraints, and Change |
| October 30: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Pages 78-91. |
| November 1: | Jennifer Winther. 2005. “The Embodiment of Sound and Cohesion in Music.” American Behavioral Scientist 48:1410–21. |
| November 3: | Gary Alan Fine. 1992. “The Culture of Production: Aesthetic Choices and Constraints in Culinary Work.” American Journal of Sociology 97: 1268-1294. |
| November 6: | Anne E. Lincoln
and Michael Patrick Allen. 2004. “Double Jeopardy in Hollywood:
Age and Gender in the Career of Film Actors, 1926-1999.” Sociological
Forum 19: 611-631. |
| November 8: | Damon J. Phillips and David A. Owens. 2004. “Incumbents, Innovation, and Competence: The Emergence of Recorded Jazz, 1920 to 1929.” Poetics 32: 281-295. RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE DUE |
| The Cultural Foundations of Organizational Life: Bureaucracy and Beyond |
| November 10: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Chapter 6. MEMO QUESTION #3 DISTRIBUTED |
| November 13: | Robin Leidner. 1991. “Selling Hamburgers and Selling Insurance: Gender, Work and Identity in Interactive Service Jobs.” Gender and Society 5: 154-177. |
| November 15: | Leslie Perlow. 1998. “Boundary Control: The Social Ordering of Work and Family Time in a High-Tech Corporation.” Administrative Science Quarterly 43: 328-357. |
| November 17: | Andrew Hargadon and Robert I. Sutton. 1997. “Technology Brokering and Innovation in a Product Development Firm.” Administrative Science Quarterly 42:716-749. MEMO #3 DUE |
| November 20: | James A. Evans, Gideon Kunda, and Stephen R. Barley. 2004. “Beach Time, Bridge Time, and Billable Hours: The Temporal Structure of Technical Contracting.” Administrative Science Quarterly 49: 1-38. |
| November 22 | THANKSGIVING
BREAK (No Class) |
| November 24 | THANKSGIVING
BREAK (No Class) |
| November 27: | Nicole Woolsey Biggart. 1989. Charismatic Capitalism: Direct Selling Organizations in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapter 5. |
| The Cultural Foundations of Technological Change: Communication and Connections |
| November 29: | Wendy Griswold. 2004. CSCW, Chapter 7. MEMO QUESTION #4 DISTRIBUTED |
| December 1: | Claude Fischer. 1988. “Gender and the Residential Telephone, 1890-1940: Technologies of Sociability.” Sociological Forum 3:211-233. |
| December 4: | Noelle Chesley. 2005. “Blurring Boundaries? Linking Technology Use, Spillover, Individual Distress, and Family Satisfaction.” Journal of Marriage and Family 67: 1237-1248. |
| December 6: | Sarah Nephew Hassani. 2006. “Locating Digital Divides at Work, Home and Everywhere Else.” Poetics 34: 250-272. MEMO #4 DUE |
| December 8: | Lori Kendall. 2000. “'Oh No! I’m a Nerd!’ Hegemonic Masculinity on an Online Forum.” Gender and Society 14: 256-274. TEST PREPARATION SHEET DISTRIBUTED |
| December 11: | Wrap-Up and Conclusions FINAL PAPER DUE (5:00 p.m.) |
| December 15: | FINAL EXAMINATION
(8:30 - 11:00 a.m.) |