Summer 2016 - SA 304 D100
Social Control (S) (4)
Class Number: 2840
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
May 9 – Jun 20, 2016: Wed, Fri, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Dany Lacombe
lacombe@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
This course examines how the organization of control (formal and informal) affects both individuals and society. It will investigate how control takes form, how it functions, the ideologies supporting it, and the resistance it produces. We will ask the following questions: who are the agents of social control; who or what do they control; and how do they control?
COURSE DETAILS:
In this course students will explore the relationship between social control, freedom and the self. Drawing on the work of Erving Goffman, Michel Foucault, and Ian Hacking among others, you will examine how practices of observation, normalization, classification and confession affect the self.
This course is also a problem-based course, a course where you learn directly from experience. To this effect, students will have access to the professor’s ethnographic and interview data. These data sets cover two different research projects on social control: the treatment of incarcerated sex offenders and the life story of Mac, a lifer. As part of their learning experience, students will actively participate in the process of academic research by discovering how to interpret and analyze primary data. If possible, students will also interview one of my research subjects. Central to the investigation is the making-up of individuals into rehabilitated self. How free are these individuals trying to improve themselves? How socially controlled is their confession?
Grading
- Tests (2 x 30% each) 60%
- Public speaking about weekly readings: 10%
- Group written report on research subject 1: 20%
- Class Participation: 10%
NOTES:
Late assignments will receive deductions of 10% per day. No extensions will be granted unless students have legitimate reasons (eg. illness) and can provide supporting documentation.
For this course to be successful, students must be highly motivated to work individually and with others on the development of a research project. You must be willing to actively engage with the data, the professor and other students as a significant portion of your grade is based on a group project and oral communication. Please note: a large part of your work is done in the classroom. If you do not like working with others in a classroom setting, this course is not for you.
REQUIREMENTS:
Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned an N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy:
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐ S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Course readings will be available through Canvas and the SFU Library.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site contains information on what is meant by academic dishonesty and where you can find resources to help with your studies. There is also a section on tutoring.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS