----to become aware of new concepts and
ideas
----to give form and names to vague
impressions and narrowly understood
experiences
----Learn we are taught a WAY to think, as
well as WHAT to think
----Unlearn some definitions of familiar
ideas
----Learn some new ideas to think with
----Learn sociological consciousness
----Learn the difference between BELIEF
(desire) and REALITY (is)
----Learn that "commonsense" (as a way and
what to think) is limited
----How to develop the capacity to:
----------locate
----------evaluate
----------digest...and
----------utilize new information
----NOT to merely accumulate and store
so-called "facts"
----Rather, to ask NEW questions about new
and familiar things
----In short, to learn about THINKING itself
as a process of "doing"
----------an activity every bit as "physical"
as exercising or manual labor
----to develop the "skill of controversy with
oneself"
----to NOT just take the "now" as the ONLY
perspective
----to situate realities and events in a
process over time
----being and becoming
----WITHOUT condoning OR condemning
beforehand
----Understanding something or someone ON
THEIR OWN TERMS and NOT through the filter of
your agreement or disagreement
----Experiencing a "genuine clash of
viewpoints"
----you will be asked to "bracket" your
current values
----------to hold them aside in order to give
way to inquiry and analysis
----------when course is over...to let them
back in and mix with what you've learned
----NOT to instill in you a specific set of
values or beliefs
----BUT RATHER, to help you discover:
----------WHAT you believe
----------WHY you hold those beliefs
----------HOW you argue for them
----------HOW you apply them
----In other words, to develop a
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS about yourself and
society
----to transcend personal situations
----to step back from day-to-day concerns and
routines
----to understand HOW alternatives come
about
----to consider the likely consequences of
taking alternatives or not
----to become comfortable with the "art of
personal decision-making
----"Introductory" does not mean "simple"
or "easy"
----Philosophical and Theoretical issues are
practical matters concerning our lives
----It is way past time to stop dishing out
"pabulum"
----I will respect you and your intelligence
by presenting "meaty" issues and ideas
----------If the course content seems to be
"above you"...maybe that says more about your
previous educational experiences than about
how "upper level" this introductory course
is
----Preconceptions of what it "should be"
depend on whom you've been talking to
----------you will get different
"sociologies" from different sociologists
1. SOME will be CONTENT-ORIENTED---merely
descriptive of society...as if the "is" is
what "ought to be"
2. SOME will be MORE ANALYTICAL of the
"is"---realizing that society is a matter of
perception and definition
3. SOME will be
CRITICALLY-ORIENTED---seeing the "is" as it
is and promoting change where necessary
----The course you're about to take is a
combination of all these...and more
----------We will critically describe and
analyze society in order to understand the
"is" in order to learn how to change social
reality to better reflect the need of human
beings...rather than the needs of a
"system"