1. [ ANSO 300: MODERN THEORIES OF SOCIETY AND CULTURE ]
Professor: Gabrielle Raley Office: GDH 309c
Email: graley@knox.edu Extension: 7311
Class: Tues/Thurs 3s and 5s, GDH 309bGabe’s Office hours: Tues 3-4 pm, Wed 1:30-2:30 pm & by appt
Tutor: Xeno Çoufal Xeno’s Red Room hours: Mon and Wed 7-9 pm & by appt
[COURSE] This course introduces students to classical and contemporary social theory through
a close reading of original texts. The theorists we will read this term have instigated debates
about the nature, purpose, and features of the social world that have motivated decades of
sociological and anthropological research. Their ideas are relevant to our everyday understanding
of a wide range of issues: inequality, power, authority, oppression, resistance, culture, interaction,
meaning, self, and expression. These theories also contain a range of provocative philosophical
propositions about human nature, social ties, the weight of history, and the possibility of social
change. Our approach to social theory this term will emphasize close reading, the development
of students’ critical thinking abilities, and the application of theoretical concepts to the analysis
of real world data and popular culture.
[REQUIREMENTS] Students are expected to read all material thoroughly, bring printed
answers to the 2Qs to each class meeting, participate actively and enthusiastically in class
discussions, give two high-quality Theory + Media presentations, and write a midterm and final
paper. No late submissions of work will be accepted without documentation through the Dean’s
Office. I do not accept any work via email.
[READINGS] We have one reader for this course, Peter Kivisto’s (2010) Social Theory: Roots and
Branches, 4th Edition, available in the bookstore. Other (approximately 17) supplementary readings
will be posted as pdfs on the course website. Since this course will focus on the close reading of
theoretical works, it is essential that students bring the reader (or a printed copy of pdfs) to each
class meeting.
[PARTICIPATION] This is an upper-division seminar course. This means we will be spending
most of the class period talking. I will design activities to help you engage the material, and we
will incorporate media throughout the course, but this will be a discussion-heavy class. Come
prepared, find a reason to care about what we are reading, and the time will be productive. If
speaking in groups is difficult for you, please come see me early and often about discussion
strategies.
[2Qs] Students will take reading notes on all assigned reading and use them to answer the Two
Questions (2Qs). The 2Qs are: Q1) What is the main question motivating the author? What does
he or she want to know? Q2) What is the author’s answer to this question, i.e. what is his or her
theoretical framework? Q2 asks you to explain the main concepts the theorist uses and link them
in a narrative so that it is clear how the concepts relate to each other. Separate 2Qs need to be
done for each reading selection for that day, but need not amount to more than a small
paragraph per reading. Exemplary examples of the 2Qs will be distributed during the first two
weeks to assist students. Bring a printed copy of your 2Qs with you at the beginning of each class
meeting.
[THEORY + MEDIA PRESENTATION] Twice during the term, students will give a 15-
minute presentation that engages the day’s reading via a media excerpt. Film, tv, and radio

2. excerpts are encouraged, but other forms of popular (i.e. relatable, accessible) culture are also
acceptable. Students will introduce the presentation, explain how their media selection illustrates
the day’s theoretical framework(s), present the media clip(s), and summarize the linkage between
the reading and media. Please note that I expect high quality, well-conceived presentations, and a
close fit between the day’s reading and the media excerpt(s).
[PAPERS] There are two papers in this class: a ten-page midterm paper due Monday, February
2, at 10:00 a.m. on Classroom, and a fifteen-page final paper due Sunday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m.
on Classroom (you are welcome to submit either paper early if you wish). Paper prompts will be
handed out approximately two weeks before papers are due to allow you to write the paper in a
sane fashion. Given the heavy reading load in this class, you will need to budget your time
carefully to allow time to conceptualize and write these papers. Please consider coming to office
hours for assistance with your writing; I am happy to give you feedback on your ideas, outline,
rough draft, or to simply discuss the prompt and your approach to answering it.
[COMMUNICATION] Please drop by office hours anytime. I enjoy talking with students, so
please consider yourself warmly invited to come discuss questions, concepts, social theory or
sociology in general, or anything else of interest to you. No suffering in silence.
[GRADING CRITERIA] Your grade will be determined as follows:
Attendance 05 %
Discussion Participation 20 %
2Qs 20 %
Theory + Media Presentations 10 %
Midterm 20 %
Final Paper 25 %
[LEARNING GOALS] By the end of the course, students will be able to explain the theoretical
frameworks of major classical and contemporary social theorists; apply major concepts from
social theorists to understand cultural data; identify major differences and similarities in strains of
social theoretical thought; and explain selected contemporary social data from several social
theoretical traditions.
[WRITING ASSISTANCE] This is a writing-heavy course. Please come see me for individual
writing assistance anytime. I also encourage you to make use of the Center for Teaching and
Learning (CTL). You can bring notes, outlines, or drafts and CTL tutors will help you strengthen
your argument and writing. The CTL can be reached at 341-7151. The CTL also runs the Red
Room tutoring program; trained peer tutors are ready to tutor you by appointment or on a walk-
in basis. Please contact Laura Bush at x7139 with any questions.
[ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS] If you think you need an accommodation for a
disability, please contact Stephanie Grimes (x7478) at the Center for Teaching and Learning at
your earliest convenience. Some aspects of this course, such as the assignments, in-class
activities, or the way I teach may be modified to facilitate your progress. As soon as Stephanie
makes me aware of your needs, I can work with you and the CTL to help make appropriate
accommodations. All accommodations information is treated with the utmost discretion.
[INCLUSIVITY] Social identities--race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual identity, religion, mental
and physical ability, size, national origin, citizenship, etc.--affect not only how we are understood,

3. represented, and treated on campus and in society, but also the types of knowledge and learning
seen as legitimate. In this class, we commit to analyzing the ways in which social identities
condition what we assume, experience, and conclude about the world, in ourselves and in the
material we encounter in discussions, readings, experiments, and essays. The content of this
course (readings, topics, films, and assignments) aims to include authors, perspectives, and
critiques from multiple diverse social identities. Please see me to offer feedback on how the class
can be made more inclusive.
[HONOR CODE] The Knox College community expects its members to demonstrate a high
degree of ethical integrity in all their actions, including their academic work. Examples of
academic dishonesty include plagiarism, giving or receiving unauthorized help, voluntarily
assisting another student in cheating, and dishonestly obtaining an extension. If you have any
questions about this, or if you are panicking about your ability to meet deadlines, please come
and talk with me.
[ SCHEDULE ]
Week 1 – CAPITALISM (material life as social life)
TUES JAN 6
Marx: Alienated Labor (3)
Weber: Class, Status, Party (95)
Durkheim: On Mechanical and Organic Solidarity (38)
THURS JAN 8
Marx: Commodities (25)
Marx: The General Formula for Capital (32)
Gilman: The Dependence of Women (139)
Week 2 – RELIGION (society as/and the divine)
TUES JAN 13
Weber: Excerpt from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (pdf)
THURS JAN 15
Durkheim: Primitive Classification (56)
Du Bois: Excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk
(pdf)
Gilman: Excerpt from His Religion, and Hers (pdf)
Week 3 – SOCIETY (social organization, social reproduction)
TUES JAN 20
Durkheim: What Is a Social Fact? (43)
Weber: Bureaucracy (82)
Marcuse: One-Dimensional Man (426)
⤷ Midterm prompt distributed for sane writing
THURS JAN 22
Bourdieu: Excerpt from The Logic of Practice (pdf)

4. Week 4 – GROUPS and SELVES (groupness, struggle, individuals)
TUES JAN 27
Simmel: Conflict as the Basis of Group Formation (114)
Martineau: Political Non-Existence of Women (130)
Omi/Winant: Status of the Concept of Race (364)
Brubaker: Ethnicity without Groups (398)
THURS JAN 29
Mead: Excerpts from Mind, Self, and Society (pdf)
Collins: Toward an Afrocentric Feminist
Epistemology (334)
Fanon: The Fact of Blackness (pdf)
Week 5 – BODIES (sex and sexes)
TUES FEB 3
Foucault: Incitement to Discourse (pdf)
Butler: Excerpts from Gender Trouble (pdf)
➪Midterm due Mon Feb 2 at 10:00 a.m. on Classroom
THURS FEB 5
Moore: Whatever Happened to Women and
Men? (pdf)
Week 6 – INTERACTION (structures of interaction)
TUES FEB 10
Mead: Fusion of “I” and “Me” in Social Activities (179)
Schultz: Indirect Social Relationships (255)
Blumer: Society as Symbolic Interaction (242)
THURS FEB 12
Goffman: Excerpts from The Presentation of Self in
Everyday Life (pdf)
Week 7 – PHENOMENOLOGY (the everyday world as problematic)
TUES FEB 17
Garfinkel: Excerpts from Studies in Ethnomethodology (pdf)
THURS FEB 19
Pollner: Mundane Reasoning (pdf)
Week 8 – CULTURE (way and life, relativity, debates)
TUES FEB 24
Geertz: Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight (pdf)
Weber: “Objectivity” in Social Science and Social Policy
(68)
THURS FEB 26
Kuper: Culture Wars (pdf)
⤷ Final prompt distributed for sane writing

5. Week 9 – CULTURE (power/discourse/distinction)
TUES MAR 3
Crehan: Anthropology and Culture: Some Assumptions
(pdf)
THURS MAR 5
Bourdieu: Excerpts from Distinction (pdf)
Week 10 – POWER (selves and institutions)
TUES MAR 10
Foucault: Excerpts from Discipline and Punish (pdf) ➪Final due Sun Mar 15 at 1:00 p.m. on
Classroom