SOCIOLOGY 8001 – SOCIOLOGY AS A
PROFESSION
Fall
2005 Thursday 2:45-4:00 Room 1109 Social Sciences
course page: www.soc.umn.edu/~uggen/8001.htm
Professor
Christopher Uggen
1160
Social Sciences: 624-4016
Office:
Wednesday 11:30-1 or appointment.
www.chrisuggen.com
DESCRIPTION
Welcome to Sociology as a Profession and to
OBJECTIVES
1.
Provide practical information about sociology and academic life.
2.
Introduce resources or refamiliarize you with resources likely to be useful
to you.
3.
Discuss presentations by student and faculty in
department seminars.
4.
Provide a safe place to ask questions and make comments.
5.
Foster an environment promoting creativity and the free and
good-humored exchange of ideas.
By design, there are no
scheduled readings assigned for this course. For some topics, you will
visit websites, see a list of publications on a topic, or examine some “ambient”
materials that cross our paths this year. For example, we will all examine the
American Sociological Association Code of Ethics as part of
our discussion of professional conduct.
REQUIREMENTS
1.
Be there. Show up for each departmental seminar (4-5:15 Tuesdays) and
each of our class meetings. Unless otherwise noted, the only preparation
I expect is that you ask yourself what you would like to know about each topic
before and during course meetings.
2.
Be interactive. Participate in our discussions and in the departmental
seminars. Make it a goal to speak at least once in each meeting.
3.
Be yourself. I do not want you to just “learn about” the professional world of
sociology. Instead, you need to start taking the role of a professional
sociologist. To do so, you will need to make some accommodation to the
professional world but at the same time keep your heart -- capitalizing on your
own assets and ideas.
1. The course is graded on an “S” or “N” basis, indicating satisfactory or “not
satisfactory” performance. Your course grade will be determined solely by your
participation. If you attend and participate regularly you will pass the
course.
2. It is best to avoid incompletes in this
and other classes. If something pulls you out of class for several weeks, you
may be able to make up particular sessions next year. If at all possible, avoid
delaying your progress by taking an incomplete.
3. Other basics:
a. If you have a disability, we can make
the appropriate accommodations.
b. If you experience harassment
of any sort, including sexual or racial harassment, please alert Uggen
or the Chair or Director of Graduate Studies.
c. If you have questions about academic
honesty, plagiarism, or other issues, please bring them to my
attention.
4. Teaching Philosophy (attached)
5. Department Policies (attached)
TENTATIVE OUTLINE
1.
September
8: research, teaching and service
a.
“who I am and how you can be too” (I’m kidding!)☺
i.
fostering creativity
ii.
secret advantage
b.
power and purity
i.
your advisors and committees
ii.
ranks and positions in department and university
c.
pulse check on resource use and interests
i.
literature: sociological abstracts, social science citation
index
ii.
data: ICPSR, GSS, NES…
iii.
professional associations: ASA, SWS, ASC…
d.
blogs and websites
2.
September
15: the academic sociologist
a.
types of institutions
b.
social and political environments
i.
public sociology and public discourse
c.
social networks
d.
developing your own professional identity
3.
September
22: continue academic and begin the nonacademic sociologist
a.
government
b.
NGOs
c.
private
4.
September
29: professional associations
a.
online resources
b.
general and specialty
c.
national, plus local, regional, and international
d.
student membership
5.
October
6: funding and paying for your research
a.
“you lucky ****s!” -- internal support for
b.
external research support
6.
October
13: developing collaborative relationships as a graduate student
a.
student/student
b.
student/faculty
c.
faculty/faculty
d.
interdisciplinary
e.
interplanetary
7.
October
20: preparing your CV
a.
local and national audiences
b.
when can I put something on my CV?
c.
things best left unsaid…
d.
to blog or not to blog?
8.
October
27: presenting your work, part I
a.
local and national sociology meetings
b.
local and national specialty meetings
c.
underinvestment in oral presentations
9.
November
3: panel and evaluations
a.
midterm evaluations for fall course
b.
ballots for student choice in spring course
10. November 10: journal publication,
part I
a.
publishability and “sloppiness”
b.
peer review – blind and public
i.
offering constructive feedback to colleagues
c.
generalist journal hierarchies
d.
specialist journal hierarchies
11. November 17: questions and
concerns for the DGS
a.
DGS visits
12. November 24: thanksgiving (no
class)
13. December 1: book publication
a.
edited volumes
b.
preparing a book prospectus
14.
Spring
Seminar: professional ethics and responsibilities, part I
a.
research and teaching ethics
b.
the ASA ethics code
c.
why other professional associations may not have an ethics code.
15.
Spring
Seminar: the job market
a.
job talks
b.
teaching portfolios and talks
c.
letters and references
d.
role transition and life of a new faculty member
16.
Spring
Seminar: the grad webpage
Uggen's Teaching Goals and Philosophy
1.
Respect for Students.
The other points are really a
subset of this one. Education is a service industry, but you cannot simply
purchase a unit of education the way you would buy other commodities. Instead,
you must devote time and energy to learning. I respect those students who must
make work, family, or other commitments their top priority. Nevertheless, to
benefit from the class and to be rewarded with a high grade, you must find time
to do the work.
2. Procedural Justice or Fairness.
In my non-statistics classes, I
typically grade exams and papers anonymously (by identification numbers rather
than names) to avoid favoritism or other biases. Universal standards and strict
deadlines are the best way I know to provide equal opportunities for all
students.
3. High Standards for Excellence.
I reserve grades of A for outstanding
work that engages course materials with original thought and creativity or a
mastery of technical skills. You can receive a B by doing all of the work well
and a C by meeting all course
requirements.
4. Opportunities for Independent Work.
All must meet the basic
requirements. For those wishing to engage the material at the highest level, I
allow flexibility for more ambitious projects.
5. Responsiveness and Accountability.
You will have the opportunity to
evaluate me and to critique the course in time for me to make changes that will
benefit you. If you think I have
failed to live up to the principles or philosophies here listed, please let me
know about it.
6. Accessibility.
I will be available to you during
office hours and flexible in scheduling appointments outside these hours (including nights and weekends if
necessary).
7. Openness to Diverse Perspectives.
Sharing your experiences and
understandings (publicly or privately) enriches the course for your fellow
students, especially when you disagree with me.
8. Enthusiasm for the Subjects I Teach and for Teaching as a Vocation.
I cannot expect you to really
engage the course materials if I am bored with them. Therefore, I will make
every effort to make the texts, lectures, and assignments current, relevant,
and intellectually engaging.
9. Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes.
I teach: (1)
technical and life skills that will benefit you inside and outside of the
classroom; (2) abstract and concrete knowledge about the social world; and, (3)
attitudes promoting the free and good-humored exchange of ideas.