Sociology 317 will examine the sociology of emotions from a constructionist and interactionist perspective. In it, we will address such issues as (1) what emotions are and where they come from, (2) the relationship and difference between feeling an emotion and expressing an emotion, (3) how we often "work" to ensure that we are feeling what we think we should be feeling, and (4) how we learn which emotions are viewed as appropriate to feel or express at different times and places and in front of different audiences.

The course will focus on the following topics: (1) feeling rules, emotion management (emotion work), and emotional labor (here, we will discuss Hochschild's classic study of the emotional experiences of university students, flight attendants, and bill collectors, as well as other examples); (2) the social construction of emotion, including variations in emotional experience and display across culture and time (here, we will cover Clark's detailed analysis of sympathy, as well as studies of grief and maternal love); (3) emotions and the built environment, including place attachments (here, we will discuss attachments to communities, dwellings, and other sorts of sites, as well as the loss experienced when such attachments are disrupted); and (4) emotional subcultures, including sports subcultures and gender subcultures (here, we will cover Lois's study of the experiences of "search and rescue" volunteers).

Sociology 317 falls into the substantive area of "Microsociology" for the Sociology Major Requirements. There are no prerequisites for the course. Sociology 317 fulfills the upper-division General Education Category E (Integrated Person) requirement. Students must attend the first two class meetings (Feb. 1 and 3) or they risk being dropped from the course. Permission to repeat the course must be granted by the instructor.

Required Texts

Hochschild, Arlie Russell. 2003. The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, Twentieth Anniversary Edition . Berkeley : University of California Press.

Clark, Candace. 1997. Misery and Company: Sympathy in Everyday Life . Chicago : University of Chicago Press.

Lois, Jennifer. 2003. Heroic Efforts: The Emotional Culture of Search and Rescue Volunteers . New York : New York University Press.

Additional Assigned Readings (to be made available on hard copy and electronic reserve at SSU library)

Course Assignments & Weighting of Final Course Grade

Paper #1: 25%

Exam #1 (Midterm): 25%

Paper #2: 25%

Exam #2 (Final): 25%

DEPARTMENT NEWS

KATZ JOINS DEPARTMENT

C. WRIGHT MILLS AWARD APPLICATION 07-08