32600

WiSe 15/16: Basic Sociology

Jana Gerlach

Comments

This course will introduce you to the sociological perspective as well as to the research methods employed by sociologists to understand how society works. The primary aim is to provide you with the analytical tools to begin to think sociologically. It is therefore designed to familiarize you with the key concepts of the discipline such as culture, socialization & identity, social structure & interaction, deviance & social control, social inequality and social institution. It is at the same time an introduction to American Sociology in a double sense: We will not only refer explicitly to major sociological traditions that have emerged within the US context and therefore influenced and shaped the disciplinary field, but we will also use these perspectives to examine US society as an object of sociological analysis. As an introductory course, we will also deal with techniques of academic reading and writing. The course is divided in three parts: Part I serves as general introduction to the discipline. In Part II, we will then turn to basic concepts and categories of sociological analysis and discuss these relating to three major theoretical perspectives within the American sociological tradition. In Part III we will then turn to methods of sociological research and will look at exemplary cases and methods of qualitative/explorative research. We will combine primary key texts of American Sociology with readings from an US Textbook (Richard T. Schaefer. Sociology, 10 the edition, Mc Graw Hill, 2012). The primary target group are first year students of North American Studies and Sociology. The course will primarily consist of in-class discussions based on reading assignments. In order to ensure your active participation, sessions will include short student presentation and group exercises. The organizational management of the course will take place via blackboard (https://www.lms.fu-berlin.de). Students are responsible for logging in, checking regularly for posted announcements, and obtaining readings, handouts and assignments from the site. The instructor reserves the right to revise the syllabus during the semester. Changes will be announced in class. close

16 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Thu, 12:00 - 14:00 16 Class schedule

Thu, 2015-10-15 12:00 - 14:00

Lecturers:
Jana Gerlach