Course Description: This course introduces the fundamental methods of formal inquiry into the social world. It offers definitions of the “social world” from the points of view of several social sciences and unravels the assumptions and methods of study of each. Emphasis is placed on comparing and contrasting the basic assumptions of sociology, political science, psychology, economics, and history by demonstrating how each social science approaches questions about the social world, particularly those involving normality, social inequity, and power. The consequences of choosing one particular social science over another to conduct research in the social world are examined. Emphasis is placed on student participation in and production of weekly seminars.
(Model Syllabus)
INTRODUCTORY UNIT:
UNIT 1. ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR: A SOCIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND MASS MEDIA PERSPECTIVE
This unit is designed to give the student a representation of how the social sciences analyze human interaction patterns. There is, of course, no single perspective in the social sciences but a multi-faceted set of orientations representing sociology, communication, psychology, economics, and political science. In this section an attempt will be made to examine what is normal and abnormal behavior. An attempt will be made to run psychopathology through the "social world" arena by examining the many-sided orientations of the discipline.
Week 1: A Psychological Approach
Monday. Instructors will present and discuss the DSM-IV and offer answers to questions such as Why do we study abnormal behavior? What are the dominate psychological views of abnormal? What scientific models are used to investigate abnormal behavior? For background, students will read the first chapter in Wilson et al (1997) Abnormal Psychology: Integrative perspective.
Wednesday. Instructors will present and debate Paula Caplan's piece "They say your crazy: How the world's most powerful psychiatrist decide who is normal" and" Risenhan's "Being sane in an insane world".
Friday. Students will discuss what is abnormal and normal behavior based on personal anecdotes and readings and suggest what is appropriate behavior and inappropriate behavior on SBU's campus. An SBU counselor will assist in the discussion. Snippets from relevant films like: David and Lisa, Brown eyes and Blue eyes, and Cuckoo's nest will be introduced to spur discussion. The purpose of Friday's meeting will be to allow the students to integrate Monday and Wednesday's lectures. The clear focus of this meeting will be on the questions of why we need to differentiate humans as normal and abnormal and what function it serves?
Week 2: A Sociological View.
Monday. Instructors will emphasize an article written by Holzer et al (1996): Ethnicity, social status, and Psychiatric diagnosis. The curious correlations between race and mental illness and social economic status and mental illness will be highlighted.
Wednesday. Instructors will summarize Kenig's Who pays? Who plays? Who cares? A case study in applied sociology, political economy, and community mental health center movements. Also, they will present a cross-cultural sociological perspective of what is abnormal, which will Emphasize sexual behavior, traditional values, heterosexual and homosexual behavior. (Richardson's Sociology, 1996)
Friday. Students will compare and contrast Week 1 and Week 2 readings. A highly contested debate should begin. The students will have had an appropriate dose of two "social world" perspectives and a need for an integrative debate. An invited speaker might aid the integration by discussing applied sociology and mental health.
Week 3: A Political View of Abnormal Behavior.
Monday. Instructors will supply a foundation for readings such as Gelya’s "Culture, Psychiatry, and Politics" and Bayer's (1987) "Homosexuality and American Psychiatry".
Wednesday. Lectures on the politics of diagnosis will be delivered and Jeanine Grobe's "Beyond Bedlam: Contemporary women discuss surviving psychiatric diagnosis" will be summarized.
Friday . Students will discuss readings and offer their own insights into how political ideology can influence what is perceived as normal and abnormal. Debates that began in weeks 1 and 2 should enlarge and heat up with three, not simply two, perspective to integrate. An invited speaker or video on the politics of abnormality will be introduced to facilitate the integration.
Week 4: Economics and Mass Media: Capitalistic Perspectives on Abnormality.
Monday. Instructors will lecture on "Finance for community care Health economics of schizophrenia: From Gowanda state hospital to the streets of New York".
Wednesday. Instructors will lecture on topic such as "Mental health and the cost dimension." or "Economics and mental health (Gilchrist)taking music out of noise: Understanding cost variations in psychiatric settings".
Friday. Through a mechanism such as a case study, students will discuss what we should pay for mental health and in so doing, thoroughly explore the impact of economics on mental health. A central question will be "Does one’s political ideology influence economic intervention".
TEXT
Al-Issa, I. (1995), Culture and mental illness: An international perspective. Madison: International University Press.
J. Beecham, & D Chisholm, (1995). Mental health economics. Taken from Measurement for Mental Health. ( 555-70). London: John Wing Publishers.
P. Caplin, (1992). They say you’re crazy, How the world’s most powerful psychiatrist decide who is normal, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 309-322.
DSM-IV American Psychiatric Association (1994).
G. Frank, (1987). Homosexuality and American Psychiatry, Culture, Medicine and Politics, New York: Norton.
S. Kenig, (1991). Who plays? Who pays? Who cares? A case study in applied sociology, political economy and the community health movement. New Jersey: Baywood Publishing.
M. Moscarelli, (1995), The economics of schizophrenia. Chichlester: John Wiley and Sons.
Neugebaurer, L. & Dohrenwend, P. (1980). Mental Illness and socioeconomic status. Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, 22, 45-67.
Risenhan, R. (1972). Being sane in an insane world. New York: Winston/Wiley.
Schwartz, H.I. (1994). Biological Psychology under fire: The undue influence of government, the media, and special interests. Boston: American Psychiatric Press.
Spitzer, R. L. (1989). On pseudoscience in science: Logic in remission and psychiatric diagnosis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 44, 23-45.
Szasz, T. S. (1963). Law, Liberty and Psychiatry. New York: Macmillan.
UNIT 2. WHY IS THERE SOCIAL INEQUITY?
The specific aim of this unit is to introduce students to the ways societies make inequality an accepted aspect of everyday life. Some form of a natural state of equality is not assumed considering people vary in many ways. However, such differences do not explain the degrees of inequality found in contemporary societies.
In the United States inequality is primarily expressed in differences in wealth. To understand those differences some understanding of the wealth involved in the US economy will be explored. The focus of that exploration will be on the Nation Debt, Budget Deficit Reductions, Treasury Bills, and Interest Rates.
Students should come away from this section with an understanding of the ways our society maximizes the opportunities of particular groups while others receive minimum opportunities.
Week 1: (Assumes two lecture classes and one discussion section.)
Monday and Wednesday lecturers will cover the following:
Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) defined. GDP for selected countries.
Per Capita Gross National Product (PCGNP) PCGNP for selected countries. The Meaning of living in a society with a PCGNP of $ 22,000 compared to a society with a PCGNP of $500 or $600.
Social stratification ranking people in a patterned way.
Variables used to rank people: age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, place of residence, educational achievement, occupation, income, special talents (Congressional Medal of Honor, MVP, etc.) and WEALTH.
Distribution of income and wealth in the US
Friday discussion section. Prior to class students will do as many squats with one hand touching the floor in two minutes they can. They will then do as many push-ups as possible in two minutes. Then, the catch: to score themselves, they will multiply the number of squats they did by their weight, and will do the same for push-ups.
Next, students will try to answer the questions, "Does one assume that males are stronger and can get a higher score?" How much higher? While a student using a lap top distributes the scores, the section leader will have students explain why they think the scores will turn out one way or another. Students will be asked to consider ways they have been taught to give one group or another extra opportunities to exhibit strength.
Week 2:
Monday and Wednesday lecturers will cover the following topics:
Schooling and inequality. IQ as a measure of intelligence. Description of an IQ distribution, (Mean and Standard Deviation)
The relation between IQ and academic achievement in grammar school, high school and college.
Blaming the victim, "Ceremonies of Degradation" What do kids think of them selves when they find out they don't meet the "standard"?
Robert Coles on how Blacks deflated their own identities in favor of Whites during the 60's. Studies of children who fail?
Connections with the unit on abnormality: When a child find out that he or she is not like the kids in the text book, not like the kids on TV, not like the kids who live on the other side of town, how do they define their differences?
Life styles of the poor, and the rich. Family differences (e.g., "Tally's Corner" by Elliot Labow). Recreational differences. Neighborhood differences. Role models.
Friday section. Students will be asked to visit a super marker and make a list of things they could buy that would meet the food requirements of two 28 year old adults and two 4 and 5 year old children. They must then incorporate their weekly food bill into a monthly budget that will provide for the hypothetical family. They should assume that the husband is the only income earner with an hourly wage of $7.00 per hour during a 40 hour week. Discuss budget problems, i.e. health care, transportation, home ownership, opportunities for children.
Week 3
Monday and Wednesday lecturers will cover the following topics:
Current federal budgets and interest rates such as:
Arguments for balanced or surplus budgets.
Arguments for deficit budgets
Current budget reductions.
Trickle-down economics
Government Income, who pays more?
Tax rates and capital gains.
Budget deficits and T. Bills
World competition for capital.
Winners and losers.
Friday discussion. Through the mechanism of a film or case study, students will discuss the implications of the data presented at Monday and Wednesday’s lectures for jobs, day care, affordable housing, health care and educational reorganization.
TEXT
Banfield, E. 1970. The Unheavenly City
C. D.Batson, , 1987. Prosocial motivation: Is it ever truly altruistic? In L.
(Ed) Berkowitz, Advances in experimental social psychology (vol. 20), pp 65-122. Orlando, FL: Academic Press
J. Blau, 1992. The visible poor.
R. Cherry, 1989. Discrimination: Its economic impact on blacks, women and Jews.
K. Davis, & W. Moore, 1945. "Some principles of stratification. "American Sociological Rev, 10, 242-247.
H Gans,. 1971. "The uses of poverty: the poor pay for all" Social Policy, Summer 20-24.
C. Jenks, 1994. The Homeless.
J. Kozol 1991. Savage inequalities: Children in America's Schools.
J.Rawls, 1972). A theory of justice. Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press
M. Tumin, 1953. "Some Principles of Stratification" Amer. Soc. Rev. 387-167.
E. Walster, Walster, G, & Berscheid, E. 1978. Equity: Theory and Research, New York: Allyn & Bacon.
W. J. Wilson, 1980. The declining significance of race.
D. Wrong, 1988. Power: Its forms, bases, and uses.
UNIT 3. WHAT IS SOCIAL POWER?
Guiding Conceptualizations
The unit will be thirteen class periods.
Power is conceptualized as relations among four variables: the individual, the group, the class, and the state.
The unit will be somewhat integrated with the unit on abnormality and the unit on social inequality.
Modes of inquiry ( both a traditional and modern) will be presented in each section.
This conforms to the stated goal of discovering how different modes of social inquiry generate different descriptions and different conclusions.
5) Higher education at SBU is the focus of analysis for student projects reported during the Friday seminars.
A. Introduction
Day 1: Lecture Class
The unit will be introduced by instructors who will emphasize concepts of power, concepts of the state, and the contextual nature of the interrelationship. Show that methods of inquiry into these relationships change through time and the conclusions drawn are affected by the particular method.
Link the current discussion on power to previous units on social inequality and abnormality.
Norman P. Barry. An Introduction to Modern Political Theory 3rd ed., Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1995.
B. The Individual and the State
Day 2: Lecture Class
Instructors will conceptualize the individual as the independent variable and the state as the dependent variable (i.e., individual power affecting state behavior), and they will introduce the readings on traditional modes of inquiry.
Readings on Traditional Modes of Inquiry:
John Locke. The Second Treatises of Government, edited by Thomas P Peardon.
Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, Liberal Arts Library, l952.
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, edited by Herbert Schneider. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, Liberal Arts Library, 1958.
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay. The Federalist Papers edited by Clinton Rossiter, New York: New American Library, l961.
Day 3: Lecture Class
Instructors will elaborate and extend themes started in Day 2 and introduce the readings on modern modes of inquiry.
Readings on Modern Modes of Inquiry:
James David Barber. Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House, 3rd ed., Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, l985.
Ted Robert Gurr. Why Men Rebel, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hannah Arendt. On Revolution, New York: Viking Press, 1963.
Angus Campbell et. al. The American Voter, New York, Wiley, l960.
Walter Stone. Republic at Risk: Self-Interest in American Politics, Pacific Grove:Brooks/Cole Publishing, l990.
Day 4: Seminar Class
The Individual and the State: The student will examine their professors’ grading, testing methods, attendance policies, and requirements in order to conceptualize themselves in a classroom power relationship. Results of this relationship may be stress, binge drinking, depression or other aspects of abnormality. Course content, student/professor behavior, class conduct may reveal evidence of social inequality effecting individual behavior.
C. Class and the State
Day 5: Lecture Class
Instructors will now turn the tables on students and conceptualize economic class as the independent variable and the state as the dependent variable (i.e., class power effecting state behavior), and they will revisit readings on traditional modes of inquiry.
Readings on Traditional Modes of Inquiry:
Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto edited. A.J.P. Taylor, London: Penguin Books, l975.
Karl Marx. "Philosophical and Economic Manuscripts," in The Marx-Engels Reader edited. by Robert C. Tucker, New York: W. W. Norton, 1972.
V. I Lenin. "Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism," in The Lenin Anthology,
edited by Robert C. Tucker, New York: W.W. Norton, l975.
Day 6: Lecture Class
Themes raised in day 5 will be continued and the readings on modern modes of inquiry will be revisited.
Readings on Modern Modes of Inquiry:
G. William Domhoff. The Power Elite and the State, New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 1990.
William Greider. Who Will Tell The People: The Betrayal of Democracy, New York: 1992.
Day 7: Seminar Class
Seminar assistants will guide discussions and student presentations on "Class and the State: What makes an elite school?" Students will make presentations reporting tuition, endowments, federal aid, reputation, admissions standards, board memberships at various elite schools.
D. The Group and the State
Day 8: Lecture Class
On the 8th day, instructors will conceptualize the group as the independent variable and the state as the dependent variable (i.e., group power effecting state behavior), and they will provide a foundation for the readings on traditional modes of inquiry.
Readings on Traditional Modes of Inquiry: :
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay. The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, New York: The New American Library, l961.
Day 9: Lecture Class
Instructors will conceptualize the group as the independent variable and the state as the dependent variable (i.e., group power effecting state behavior), and they will provide a foundation for the readings on modern modes of inquiry.
Readings on Modern Modes of Inquiry:
Robert Dahl. "A Critique of the Ruling Elite Model," American Political Science Review, l958.
Jack L. Walker. Mobilizing Interest Groups in America, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, l991.
Kenneth R. Hoover. The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking 2nd ed., New York: St. Martin’s Press, l980.
Day 10: Lecture Class
The Group and the State: Students will analyze various groups on campus and their attempt to influence administrative (state) decisions. Behavior of specific groups may reveal abnormality. The relative power of each group may reveal a degree of social inequality.
E. The State and the Society
Day 11: Lecture Class
When conceptualizing the state as the independent variable and the society (individual, class, and group) as the dependent variable, instructors will show, through traditional modes of inquiry, how state power has effects social behavior.
Reading on Traditional Modes of Inquiry:
Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince, New York: The Modern Library, l950.
Day 12: Lecture Class
When conceptualizing the state as the independent variable and the society (individual,
class, and group) as the dependent variable, instructors will show, through modern modes of inquiry, how state power has effects social behavior.
Readings on Modern Modes of Inquiry:
Hans J. Morganthau. Politics Among Nations, 5th ed., New York: Alfred A. Knopf; 1964.
Max Weber. "Bureaucracy," in H.H. Gerth and C. W. Mills (eds.), From Max Weber, Philadelphia: Fortress, l968.
James Nolan, The Therapeutic State: Justifying Government at Century’s End, New York: New York University Press, l998.
Day 13: Seminar Class
The State and Society: Students will do an analysis of administrative (state) power at SBU as a form of power that functions independently of the power assumed to be held by individuals, groups, and classes. Faculty/student/staff response to administrative power may reveal abnormal behavior on the part of those effected. Impact of power may be differentiated by position within the system (social inequality).
Readings from Political Science:
Hannah Arendt. On Revolution, New York: Viking Press, 1963.
Norman P. Barry. An Introduction to Modern Political Theory 3rd ed., Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1995.
James David Barber. Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House, 3rd ed., Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, l985.
Kenneth Bruffee, (1993). Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge. Baltimore: Johs Hopkins University Press.
Angus Campbell et. al. The American Voter, New York, Wiley, l960.
Robert Dahl. "A Critique of the Ruling Elite Model," American Political Science Review, l958.
William Domhoff. The Power Elite and the State, New York: Aldine De Gruyter,
William Greider. Who Will Tell The People: The Betrayal of Democracy, New York: 1992.
Ted Robert Gurr. Why Men Rebel, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay. The Federalist Papers edited by Clinton Rossiter, New York: New American Library, l961.
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, edited by Herbert Schneider. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, Liberal Arts Library, 1958.
Kenneth R. Hoover. The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking 2nd ed., New York: St. Martin’s Press, l980.
I Lenin. "Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism," in The Lenin Anthology, edited by Robert C. Tucker, New York: W.W. Norton, l975.
John Locke. The Second Treatises of Government, edited by Thomas P Peardon. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, Liberal Arts Library, l952.
Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince, New York: The Modern Library, l950.
Hans J. Morganthau. Politics Among Nations, 5th ed., New York: Alfred A. Knopf; 1964.
Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto edited. A.J.P. Taylor, London: Penguin Books, l975.
Karl Marx. "Philosophical and Economic Manuscripts," in The Marx-Engels Readeredited. by Robert C. Tucker, New York: W. W. Norton, 1972.
James Nolan, The Therapeutic State: Justifying Government at Century’s End, New York: New York University Press, l998.
Walter Stone. Republic at Risk: Self-Interest in American Politics, Pacific Grove:Brooks/Cole Publishing, l990.
Max Weber. "Bureaucracy," in H.H. Gerth and C. W. Mills (eds.), From Max Weber, Philadelphia: Fortress, l968.
Jack L. Walker. Mobilizing Interest Groups in America, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, l991.
Readings from Psychology:
Cialdini, R. B. (1988). Influence: Science and Practice. Boston: Scott Foresman.
French, J. R. P., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in Social Power. Ann Arbor MI: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
McClelland, D. C. (1975). Power: The Inner Experience. New York: Irvington.
Moscovici, S. (1980). Toward a theory of conversion behavior. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (vol. 13). New York: Academic Press.
Pfeffer, J. (1991). Managing with power. Boston: Harvard Business School.
Podsakoff, P. M., Schriesheim, C. A. (1985). Field studies of French and Raven's bases of power: Critique, re-analysis, and suggestions for future research. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 387-411.
Salancik, G., & Pfeffer, J. (1974). The bases and uses of power in organizational decision making. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19, 452-473.
Thibaut, J. W., & Kelley, H. H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. New York: Wiley.
References on Scientific Methods and Epistemology:
Anderson, W. T. (1990). Reality isn't what is used to be. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Bailey, K. D. (1991). Methods of Social Research. New York: Free Press.
Berger, P. L., & Luckman, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: a treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Garden City: Doubleday.
Gieryn, T. F., & Figert, A. E. (1990). Ingredients for a theory of science in society: O-rings, ice water, C-clamp, Richard Feynman, and the press. Inc.
Cozzens & T. F. Gieryn (Eds.), Theories of Science in Society (pp.. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Latour, B. (1987). Science in action: how to follow scientists and engineers through society. Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press.
Nelkin, D. (1987). Selling science: how the press covers science and technology. New York: W.H. Freeman.
Ravetz, J. R. (1971). Scientific knowledge and its social problems. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Rosnow, R. L., & Rosenthal, R. (1996). Beginning Behavioral Research. New York: Prentice Hall
Tuchman, G. (1978). Making news: a study in the construction of reality. NewYork: The Free Press.