SUNY College at Old Westbury
Department of Sociology

SY 4540 Contemporary Sociological Theory
also known as
SY 4540 Theories of Dead (mostly) White Men

Prof. Heller
hellerj@oldwestbury.edu
 
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C-320, Tower C-2 in Academic Village

Hours: 1:30- 2:30 pm, M/W and
     by appointment

   
Assignments
PLEASE REFER TO THE PRESENTATION SCHEDULE FOR READINGS.

COMPOSE A GOOD reader response for each reading.

for Wednesday, April 16

STUDY!!
for Monday, March 31

Please read the four excerpts in Chapter 5 (from
"The Methodological Position…" by Blumer, "Presentation of Self…" by Goffman, "Working on Feeling" by Hochschild and The Managed Heart also by Hochschild)
, and complete a reader response for each of them. 
 

for Wednesday, March 26

If you were unable to find the Freud reading over spring break (hard to believe!), please find it HERE (click), read it and complete a reader response to it.  Also for Wednesday, please read the introductory material in Chapter 5 and prepare a thoughtful reader response to the that. 

There will be FOUR (4) readings due on Monday, so I suggest getting started on some of those sooner rather than later (each needs a reader response).
 


for Monday, March 24

Please read the chapter available HERE (click) about Freudian theories of human action.  Apologies for not making this available sooner, but I had some frustrating difficulties scanning the reading.

or CLICK HERE
 


for Wednesday, March 12

Please read the the introductory material in Chapter 4, as well as the excerpts by Homans and Blau.  Please complete a reader response for each of the two readings - one for Homans and one for Blau).

 

for Monday, March 10

No new readings - take the weekend off?  Maybe take a look at Chapter 4 (on exchange theory), which I will talk about in class on Monday, or get ahead on the readings for Wednesday.

 

for Wednesday, March 5

Study all readings in preparation for the first midterm, which is on Wednesday.  The text/rader and the two distributed readings (by Weber and du Bois) will be allowed in the exam, but NO CLASS NOTES.
 

for Monday, March 3

Study all readings AS IF the first midterm were on Monday, and bring all and any questions to class - so I can try to answer them, and in that way hopefully helping everyone do better on the REAL exam, which will be on Wednesday, 3/5.
 

for Wednesday, February 27

Read the three readings contained in Chapter 3: by Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse.  For each one, write a thoughtful reader response (to be your seventh, eighth and ninth responses).  For each of the three readings, select one or two ideas and - in less than one, double-spaced typed page - respond to it (or them) in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-written way.  Please avoid summarizing, and avoid extensive quotation.
 

for Wednesday, February 25

Read the introductory materials in Chapter 3: and after selecting one or two ideas and - in less than one, double-spaced typed page - respond to it (or them) in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-written way.  Please avoid summarizing, and avoid extensive quotation.
 

for Wednesday, February 20

Read the three readings contained in Chapter 2: two by Parsons and one by Merton.  For each one, write a thoughtful reader response (to be your seventh, eighth and ninth responses).  For each of the three readings, select one or two ideas and - in less than one, double-spaced typed page - respond to it (or them) in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-written way.  Please avoid summarizing, and avoid extensive quotation.
 

for Wednesday, February 13

Read the first part of Chapter 2 in the Appelrouth and Edles book (pp. 21-27), and complete your sixth reader response:  Select one or two ideas in the reading and, in less than one, double-spaced typed page, respond to it (or them) in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-written way.  Please avoid summarizing, and avoid extensive quotation.
 

for Monday, February 11

Read the distributed piece by W.E.B. du Bois, and complete your fifth reader response:  Select one or two ideas in the reading and, in less than one, double-spaced typed page, respond to it (or them) in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-written way.  Please avoid summarizing, and avoid extensive quotation.
 

for Wednesday, February 6

1- BUY THE BOOK (if you still haven't)

2 - Send an email to hellerj@oldwestbury.edu that includes your name (if you still haven't)

3 - Read the distributed piece by Max Weber, and Complete your fourth reader response:  Select one or two ideas in the reading and, in less than one, double-spaced typed page, respond to it (or them) in a thoughtful, intelligent and well-written way.
 


for Monday, February 4

1- BUY THE BOOK (if you still haven't)

2 - Send an email to hellerj@oldwestbury.edu that includes your name (if you still haven't)

3 - Complete your third "reader response":  if, for the second "reader response" you responded to the ideas of Marx, please complete a similar response to the ideas of Durkheim; likewise, if your second response was about Durkheim, your third response should respond to some aspect of the theories of Karl Marx.  In both cases, consider what you know about these theorists as you recall them from your Classical Theory course.  Se below for details of what your response should contain.
 


for Wednesday, January 30

1- BUY THE BOOK (if you haven't already)

2 - Send an email to hellerj@oldwestbury.edu that includes your name (if you haven't already)

3 - Complete your second "reader response":  this time, I'm asking you to respond to some aspect of the theories of EITHER Karl Marx or Emile Durkheim, as you recall them from your Classical Theory course: in less than one double-spaced and type-written page, respond to some idea, concept or aspect of their theories.  Make your response thoughtful, interesting, well-written and be sure that it engages with the ideas from the theorist you have selected; do NOT summarize a theory - respond to it.
 


for Monday, January 28

1- BUY THE BOOK

2 - Read Chapter 1 in Appelrouth and Edles

3- Send an email to hellerj@oldwestbury.edu that includes your name

4 - Complete your first "reader response" to Chapter 1:  respond, in less than one double-spaced and type-written page, to some idea, concept or aspect of the reading.  Make your response thoughtful, interesting, well-written and be sure that it engages with at least some ideas from the reading.