SOCI 203/2AIntroduction to Society

Meeting 1: IntroductionAlexandre Enkerli

What to Expect

• From me• From you• From the semester

Presentation

• Getting to know me– "Who to expect"– "How I roll"– Here to help– Get to know you

Social scientist

• Social networks Malian hunters• Geek culture (tech, beer, coffee)• Ethnographer– But phone surveys

• "Public intellectual"– Social media– Presentations

• Market research

Teacher

• Diversified experience– Locations– Institutions– Fields

• Constructivism• Critical thinking• Humour, play, informality• Flexibility

Podcast

• Technology• Recording– Attentive listening

• Lecturecasts– Lecture part– Not discussion– Available after class

• Focus class time on participation

Slides

• Will be posting them in advance– Follow along?– Hope for more

• Wikified?• Outline– Crutch?– Skip

Who are you?

• Numerous• Diverse• Names• Profiles• "Raised hand"

Where are you from?

• Diverse origins• Disciplines• University experience

SETTING UP FOR THE SEMESTER

Basic Terms

• Course: SOCI 203/2A• Class: All of us• Class Meeting: Saturdays, 1:15 to 4:00• Classroom: H-507• Office: H-1125-28• Resource Lab: H-1132

Class Meeting Structure (After Today)

• First half: Discussion and exercises• 15' Break• Second Half: Preparation for material

Course Contributions

• What {you} give to the course– How would it be different if you weren't here?– All have something to contribute• Diverse backgrounds• Diverse interests

– I also contribute• We're all in the same boat• Different roles

Methods

• Communicate– Prompted or not– Asking question– Reacting to somebody else

• Do– Build, create, make...– Apply to own life (trace)– Editing material– Adding links

Channels

• In the classroom (exercises and discussions)• Online (Moodle)• Direct communication (office hours, etc.)• Progress through the semester

Self-Assessment

• Mid-Semester (October 24)• What grade, on 10, do you think you deserve?–Why? (Describe own contributions)

• Still my decision– Not lenient– Can end up being zero

Assessing

• No comparison• Not about attendance• May be connected to work outside of class• May be connected to learning experience• May have to do with progression

Evaluation of course contributions

• End of semester• My evaluation• Based in part on self-assessment– Baseline

• Notice progress

Online

• Internet• Blended learning• Maximize learning experience• Mostly Moodle• Moodle site for the course:

http://moodle.concordia.ca/moodle/course/view.php?id=28590– Forums– Wikis

Time Online

• At least 5 to 10 minutes a week for quiz• Stick around– Contribute– Forums– Other Modules

Forums

• News• Sociology café• General• Weekly Forums–Mid-Term Preparation–Wrap-Up

• Can unsubscribe

Required Material

• Complementarity• Main Sources– Knutila textbook–Wikibook– Other course resources (online)

Knuttila

• Availability– Concordia Bookstore ($66.95/$50.25)– Former students– Library reserve– Resource lab (1132)

• Choice– Treat as adults– Flexibility – Cost of textbooks– OUP

Wikibook

• Availability–Moodle–Wikibooks

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Sociology

• Choice– Cover bases– Open Access• Shared material

Wikibook Edits

• Contribution• Not Anonymous• Thoughtful edits• Discourage from "spoiling"• Can have non-destructive fun

“Reading”

• Making you think– Thinking like an academic– Not force mould– Take time

• Tips– Read actively– Read efficiently– Not advised to read weeks in advance– Knuttila before Wikibook

Lot of work?

• "Totally doable"• Less than project• Registering for a Gym • I work too

Reading Quiz

• Before class discussion• Multiple-choice questions with correct answers– Ten questions or less– One minute each

• Learning strategy– Low stakes

• Question Sources• Some retention of core material• Not particularly critical thinking

Exams

• Focus on thinking• Understanding• Some longer questions• Classroom• Higher stakes• Some of the same questions• Mid-Term (October 24)

– Weeks 2-6

• Final (Exam Period)– Weeks 8-12– Some comprehensive questions

OBJECTIVES

Core Objectives

• Sociological Training• Critical Thinking

Sociological Training

• Mastery of tools– Conceptual

• "Think like a sociologist"

– Terminological• "Talk like a sociologist"• Learning sociological discourse• Keywords for Search• Know use

– Practical• "Work like a sociologist"

• Not just say what is• Prepare for upper-levels and grad school

Critical thinking

• How would you define critical thinking?

Own

• «Sens critique»• Not take anything for granted• Not Dual/Binary– Not "it's patently false"– Not "it's certainly true"

Core Competencies

• Literacies• Learning how to learn• Lifelong Learning

Think About Context

• Source Criticism• Information and Knowledge

Easy Contexts for Critical Thinking

• April fool's• Satire• Rumour site• Wikipedia• Advertising• Op-Ed

Warning Signs

• Conspicuous rhetoric• French flag on French restaurant• Formal title as legitimacy

NEXT WEEK

Diverse

• Front Matter• Internet Sociologist• Chapter 1• Introduction to Wikibook

Overall

• Sense of the textbook• Critical thinking• Sense of the discipline

Front Matter

• "Non-narrative" content• Guide• Working with book• "Exercise"• Spend time

Active reading

• Critical thinking• Questions• Note-Taking– Headnotes–Marginalia– Journal– Annotations

Reading Skills

• Efficient reading– Fran Shaver and Bill Reimer

• Multiple passes– Concentric circles– Contexts

• Try to predict–Why thought?

• Semester progression

Internet Sociologist

• Method to apply critical thinking• Much about sources• Apply critical thinking to tutorial itself• Think about purpose

KNUTTILA CHAPTER 1

Overview

• Science as a Way of Knowing• Sociology and the Social Sciences• Sociology as the Study of Structure and

Agency• Science, Theory, and the Origins of Sociology• The Sociological Imagination and Its 'Promise'• Developing the Sociological Perspective• Getting On with Sociological Analysis

Science as a Way of Knowing

• Ways of knowing– Science– Also in appendix

• Perry’s positions– First positions with "right answer"– Higher positions with critical thinking

• Dominance of science– Part of sociology of science (STS)– As way of knowing– Scientific Method

Sociology and the Social Sciences

• Disciplinary boundaries

Sociology as the Study of Structure and Agency

• Personal/Public– Private/Public– Person/Group– Goal/”Greater Good”

• Agency– "Act upon"– Free Will

Social Diversity

• Human diversity• Link to sociological imagination• Particularism• Relativism

Science, Theory, and the Origins of Sociology

• Emergence of capitalism– Frequent focus– Potential critique– As broad-reaching context– Not absolute

• Science, enlightenment, classical liberalism– Careful on assumptions– Links between parts– Co-context

• Emergence of Sociology– Contextualize

The Sociological Imagination and Its 'Promise'

• Sociological Imagination

Developing the Sociological Perspective

• Sociological Way of Thinking• Getting On with Sociological Analysis– Scholars• Max Weber• Émile Durkheim• Karl Marx• C. Wright Mills

WIKIBOOK INTRODUCTION

Overview

• 1 What is Sociology?• 2 History– 2.1 Auguste Comte and Other Founders– 2.2 The Development of the Discipline– 2.3 Early Sociological Studies– 2.4 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Sociology

• 3 Sociology and Other Social Sciences– 3.1 The Development of Social Science

• 4 Sociology Today

Structure

• Short• Definitions• Sociologists– Broad– Scholars/Figures

• Development narrative– Phases– Disciplinary context– Figures outside sociology

Quiz

• On all material for next time