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Goals for Class TodayHousekeeping: the syllabus, assignments, the wiki,attendance, etc.

Finish defining/discussing what “society” is

Discuss what sociology is and introduce founding thinkersand their concepts

Discuss “Student Participation in the College Classroom”

and create guidelines for ensuring broad participation in class discussions

Collaboratively define goals for the semester (i.e., learningoutcomes)

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What is “Society”?

infrastructure that develops around

humans

interactions, who we interact with (andhow)

hierarchy, social norms, rules,institutions

These were definitions brainstormed in class.We will revisit them throughout the semester.

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Why society?

We increase our survival chances bycoordinating our activities with others

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What is “Sociology”?

 Sociology is the scientific study of interactions and

relations among human beings Sociology is a way of looking at our social world, a wayof thinking, and a set of concepts that facilitate criticaland informed answers to questions like:

Why are we here?Why do people do what they do?

Why are things the way they are?

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Why did sociology emerge?

Enlightenment, scientific and industrial

revolutions led to Belief in logical explanations for  things (not religious ones)

Rapid social changeConfusion, anomie about people’s placein the world

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Sociology’s foundersÉmile Durkheim

Mechanical Solidarity-society held together by sameness (shared interestsand similar circumstances lead toshared ideas, values and goals)

Organic Solidarity-modern, diversesocieties lack shared values, but areheld to ether b interde endence

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More concepts

Ferdinand TönniesGemeinschaft-relationships that areends in themselves, emotion-based

Gesellschaft-relationships that are ameans to an end

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More concepts

Max Weber rational behavior-calculating, means-

 to-end

nonrational behavior-no goal in mind,aimed at appreciating the experience

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More concepts

Karl Marx

 All of society and all social behavior can be explained in economic terms:

 the bourgeoisie own the means of  production and the proletariat who havenothing but their labor to sell

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“Student Participation in theColle e Classroom”

More interactions between students and

 professor in smaller than in large classesRegardless of size

about the same # of students participate

small # of students account for most of interactions

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Conclusions...

 Students don’t talk because:

They determine whether a teacher really wants participation 

consolidation of responsibility

 teachers rarely call directly on someone

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 Students’ previous history predisposes

 them to view the college classroom as a place where professor dispenses knowledgeand students acquire knowledge

When challenged to think critically,students take critiques of their ideas ascriticisms of themselves

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The value of thinking sociologically...

 Student participation, or the lack thereof,in college classrooms does not justhappen. Rather,

 A combination of factors--includingdifferent definitions of the situation by

 teachers and students, prior experiences,infrequency of exams, gender of teacher--shape the patterns of participation