SOCI 365.01	William Hoynes
Class, Culture, and Power	Fall 2004
Office: 306B Blodgett Hall	P.O. Box 552; ext. 7013
Office Hours: Monday: 3:00 - 4:00 pm Thursday: 1:30 - 3:00 pm	e-mail: wihoynes@vassar.edu

This course explores the terrain between Marxist Sociology and Cultural Studies, examining the complex relationship between class and culture in contemporary society. Departing from versions of Marxism that identify economic relations as the fundamental social determinant, we will study culture as an arena where power relations are constructed, reproduced, and contested. This line of inquiry will focus on the ways that socially shared beliefs both constrain and provide resources for action by human agents.

Course Texts (available in the college store)

Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction (Harvard University Press, 1984).

Fischer, Frank. Citizens, Experts, and the Environment (Duke U. Press, 2000).

Flacks, Richard. Making History (Columbia U. Press, 1988).

Kelley, Robin D. G. Race Rebels (The Free Press, 1994).

Lasn, Kalle. Culture Jam (Quill, 2000).

Lamont, Michele. The Dignity of Working Men (Harvard U. Press, 2000).

Paules, Greta Foff. Dishing It Out (Temple University Press, 1991).

Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance (Yale U. Press, 1990).

Willis, Paul. Learning to Labor (Columbia University Press 1981).

(Additional articles will be distributed in class.)

Requirements
1.	Attendance and Participation. (Remember, this class is a seminar; it is not a lecture. I expect each of you to come prepared to contribute.)
2.	Weekly Commentaries, 1-2 pages, due at the beginning of class each week. You may either submit a hard copy of your commentary in class or e-mail it to me prior to class. (You may take one "pass" during the semester, electing not to submit a commentary that week. Don't worry... I'll keep track.)
3.	Lead a Class Discussion. In pairs, students will serve as discussion leaders each week (beginning September 21), steering the class through the assigned readings. Each of you will serve in this role once during the semester. More details in class.
4.	Final Paper on a topic of your choice, approximately 20 pages, due at the end of the term. Brief paper proposals will be due in early November.

SOCI 365.01 Class, Culture, and Power Spring 2004 COURSE SCHEDULE
	Introduction
August 31	Read: Thompson, "Preface" from The Making of the English Working Class (handout
Part I:	Theoretical Frameworks
September 7	(1) Ideology, Class, and Culture Read: "Antonio Gramsci" (handout) Hall, "The Problem of Ideology: Marxism Without Guarantees" (handout)
September 14	(2) Marxism and Cultural Studies/Professionals and Class Power Read: Garnham, "Political Economy and Cultural Studies" (handout) Grossberg, "Cultural Studies vs. Political Economy" (handout) Derber, selection from Power in the Highest Degree (handout)
Part II:	Working Class Cultures, Cultural Capital, and Expertise
September 21	Read: Willis, Learning to Labor, entire book.
September 28	Read: Lamont, The Dignity of Working Men, entire book
October 5	Read: Bourdieu, Distinction, Introduction, Chapters 1, 4, 5, 7, 8
October 12	Read: Fischer, Citizens, Experts & the Environment, Parts I, II, III
	October Break: October 16 - 24
Part III:	Class, Culture, and Resistance
October 26	Read: Scott, Domination & the Arts of Resistance, entire book.
November 2	Read: Paules, Dishing It Out, entire book.
November 9	Read: Kelley, Race Rebels, Introduction, Chapters 1-4, 7-8.
Part IV	Politics, Culture, and Everyday Life
November 16	Read: Flacks, Making History, Introduction, Chapters 1,2,3,6
November 23	Read: Lasn, Culture Jam, entire book
Part V:	Whither Marxist Theory and Class Analysis?
November 30	Read: Kellner, "The End of Orthodox Marxism" (handout) Zandy, "Introduction" to Liberating Memory (handout) Film: "Sociology is a Martial Art" (Pierre Carles, Director, 2001)