Course Syallbus
SOCB58H3: Sociology of Culture
Monday: Ten-Noon, SW 143
Instructor:
TA:
Clayton Childress
Diana Miller cchildress@utsc.utoronto.ca diana.miller@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Mon, 12:15-1:15
MW 309
The sociological study of culture has had a long and curious history. Long ago some sociologists either ignored culture or minimized its importance. Then in the mid-20th century the study of culture became dominant. After that culture was largely ignored again, until about 30 years ago when culture was brought
“back in,” although at this point nobody is quite sure what that means for the future study of culture. If culture is “everything” and “everywhere” what exactly isn’t culture, and do we actually need a subfield in sociology to study it if everyone is already studying it anyway? Does this course sound confusing? Does it sound like something you’d best run away? Please don’t.
You need not worry. Culture is both the norms, values, and rituals that you celebrate and hold dearly, and the one’s that you take for granted as “common sense.”
Culture is a mental map or schema that you use to make sense of the world and your place in it. Culture is a “way of life.” Appeals to culture can be used to keep things from changing, or to change things. Culture is also material objects such as books, movies, art, and fashion, as well as physical practices such as singing or dancing.
Culture is produced and culture is consumed. This is a course about how culture –which is both within you and all around you –works, doesn’t work, and why.
Required Text
* Wray, Matt. 2014. Cultural Sociology: An Introductory Reader. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
Goals and Objectives
*Students will be able to display comprehension of major theories and perspectives in the sociological study of culture, both historical and contemporary.
*Students will be able to apply theories from these subfields to real-world settings and examples.
*Students will leave the course with an analytic “tool-kit” for studying the
Monday: Ten-Noon, SW 143
Instructor:
TA:
Clayton Childress
Diana Miller cchildress@utsc.utoronto.ca diana.miller@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Mon, 12:15-1:15
MW 309
The sociological study of culture has had a long and curious history. Long ago some sociologists either ignored culture or minimized its importance. Then in the mid-20th century the study of culture became dominant. After that culture was largely ignored again, until about 30 years ago when culture was brought
“back in,” although at this point nobody is quite sure what that means for the future study of culture. If culture is “everything” and “everywhere” what exactly isn’t culture, and do we actually need a subfield in sociology to study it if everyone is already studying it anyway? Does this course sound confusing? Does it sound like something you’d best run away? Please don’t.
You need not worry. Culture is both the norms, values, and rituals that you celebrate and hold dearly, and the one’s that you take for granted as “common sense.”
Culture is a mental map or schema that you use to make sense of the world and your place in it. Culture is a “way of life.” Appeals to culture can be used to keep things from changing, or to change things. Culture is also material objects such as books, movies, art, and fashion, as well as physical practices such as singing or dancing.
Culture is produced and culture is consumed. This is a course about how culture –which is both within you and all around you –works, doesn’t work, and why.
Required Text
* Wray, Matt. 2014. Cultural Sociology: An Introductory Reader. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
Goals and Objectives
*Students will be able to display comprehension of major theories and perspectives in the sociological study of culture, both historical and contemporary.
*Students will be able to apply theories from these subfields to real-world settings and examples.
*Students will leave the course with an analytic “tool-kit” for studying the