SOCIOL 98/198

Off-Script Sociology: Outsiders within the Syllabus

Sp 2018 | University of California, Berkeley

Facilitators: Alex Coffin, Thomas Magloña II, Luzylar Wu

30 students max.
***Previous exposure to sociological theory not required***

| Course Description |
Have you ever experienced frustration with the canon in sociological theory whom we asked to
study time and time again? Have you ever yearned to read and think about perspectives that are
not those of a handful of old white men? We introduce you to a Sociological Theory course
designed just for you (and many other curious and critical students on campus). In this course
syllabus, you will encounter the theory of outsiders—or the outsiders within the syllabus, using
the term coined by Patricia Hill Collins—those who are not sufficiently represented in our
classrooms, and unrightfully so. Starting with critical questions about the “Big Three” of
Sociology (Marx, Durkheim, Weber), we will quickly move on to the authors that, at least in this
class, matter more. We will be guided by Angela Davis’ book Women, Race, & Class and explore
each of these axes of stratification using the lens of Davis and other non-canon theorists. Lastly,
we will arrive at queer theory that will question the norms of racist heteropatriarchy in
sociological canon. We will read some famous and some not so famous theorists in academe
such as Fanon, Baldwin, Said, Collins, bell hooks, Lorde, Esteban Muñoz, Moraga and
Anzaldúa, Connell among many others. The goal of this course is to expand knowledge of
sociological theory and, thereby, decenter the canonical theorists, even if only for a semester!

| Course Expectations |
Each week students will be required to read about 20-30 pages of sociological theory. The
readings are listed below, and the course will cover most important excerpts from these texts.
Reading of the full texts will be recommended, but not required. The class meets once a week for
1.5 hours. During the class, there will be small group discussions about the reading and some
material prepared to discuss the theory in relation to the “real world problems.” We are going to
focus on learning the material through discussion rather than lectures, although some important
concepts and themes will be introduced by the facilitators. Each week, students will have to
prepare discussion questions in groups and summarize the readings in front of the class. End of
semester project will be in a form of an essay that the students will present during the last class.
 Grading breakdown:
Attendance: 20%
Posting new discussions online: 10%
In-class discussion: 20%
3 journal entries (1-pg): 30%
Final Project: 20%

Max 10% extra credits possible: 10 online responses to discussions.

70% required for passing.

For a passing grade in class (P) students have to accumulate more than 70%. Students are
excused two absences. One extra absence can be made up with an extra assignment. Final project
is required.

The first class will meet the third week of instructions. Therefore, there are 12 classes in total.
The number of classes was counted including all academic and administrative holidays. We
counted every Wednesday as the day of class. Syllabus subject to change.

| Course Calendar |

- Introductions -

Week 1
1/31
Introductions to Sociological Theory and the Canon & Logistics
Introduction of the texts

Alatas, Syed Farid & Sinha, Vineeta, Sociological Theory Beyond the Canon
“Introduction: Eurocentrism, Androcentrism and Sociological Theory”

Week 2
2/7
R.W. Connell "Why is Classical Theory Classical?" American Journal of Sociology 102(6):
1511-1557. http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~pmclean/mcleanp_01_920_313_connell.pdf

Recommended:
Julian Go, 2016, Postcolonialism and Social Theory. Oxford University Press.

- Women and Race –

Week 3
2/14
Angela Davis, Women, Race, & Class, Pp. 30-48. “The Anti-Slavery Movement and the Birth of
Women’s Rights”.

bell hooks Ain't I a Woman

Week 4
2/21
Moraga and Anzaldúa, This Bridge Called my Back
https://monoskop.org/images/e/e2/
Moraga_Cherrie_Anzaldual_Gloria_eds_This_Bridge_Called_My_Back_Writings_by_R
adical_Women_of_Color-Kitchen_Table_Women_of_Color_Press.pdf

Angela Davis, Women, Race, & Class, Pp. 87-99. “The Meaning of Emancipation According to
Black Women”.

Week 5
2/28

Excerpts from Audre Lorde Sister Outsider

http://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Audre-LORDE-Zami-A-New-
Spelling-of-My-Name...-Sister-Outsider...-Undersong-Chosen-Poems-Old-and-New.pdf

Week 6
3/7
Angela Davis, Women, Race, & Class, Pp. 3-30. “The Legacy of Slavery: Standards for a New
Womanhood”.

Patricia Hill Collins excerpts from Black Feminist Thought

 Week 7
3/14

Edward Said, 1979, "The Scope of Orientalism: Knowing the Oriental." Chapter 1 in
Orientalism. Vintage gBooks.

Franz Fanon Black Skins, White Masks excerpts: Franz Fanon, 1994, pp. 1-7, 92-100. New York:
Grove Press.

http://abahlali.org/files/__Black_Skin__White_Masks__Pluto_Classics_.pdfChapter 5, Chapter
1, Chapter 4 recommended.

Angela Davis, Women, Race, & Class, Pp. 172-202. “Rape, Racism and the Myth of the Black
Rapist”.

Week 8
3/21
Angela Davis, Women, Race, & Class, Pp. 99-110. “Education and Liberation: Black Women’s
Perspective”.

James Baldwin Notes of a Native Son, pp. 587-594:

http://www.csudh.edu/ccauthen/570f15/baldwin.pdf

***End of Semester Assignment: 3+ Page Essay Project Given***

Essay Project: pick one of the scholars that we studied (or the ones from Week 13-15) and
interpret a current issue via their lens. Or compare two scholars from our syllabus on one topic.
Creative projects welcome.

||| SPRING BREAK |||

3/28

Week 9
4/4
Angela Davis, Women, Race, & Class, Pp. 149-172. “Communist Women”.

Week 10
4/11
Alexander, Ronni, “Exploring intersections of indigeneity, feminism and security “
 - Queerness -
Week 11
4/18
María Lugones: Heterosexualism and the Colonial Modern Gender System (187-207) https://
www.jstor.org/stable/4640051

Qwo Li Driskill – Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and
Literature

Week 12
4/25
Last Class.
Presentation and discussion of essays.

Recommended:
Roy, Ananya. 2010. City Requiem, Calcutta: Gender and the Politics of Poverty.

Week 13 (RRR week)r

5/2
Optional class. Further discussion of readings.

***Further Recommended Readings***

Stuart Hall, "Cultural Identity and Disapora"
L. Сantú, NA Naples - The sexuality of migration: Border crossings and Mexican immigrant men
SL Morgensen - Spaces between us: Queer settler colonialism and indigenous decolonization
BG Beemyn, S Rankin - The lives of transgender people
Edward E. Curtis IV, Muslims in America: A Short History (2009)
Zain Abdullah, “Negotiating Identities: A History of Islamization in Black West Africa”, Journal of
Islamic Law and Culture, 10/1 (2008), pp. 5-18
Samuel Martinez, International Migration and Human Rights: The Global Repercussions of U.S. Policy,
2009
Jessica Hutchings and Clive Aspin – Sexuality and the Stories of Indigenous People
Meenakshi Gigi Durham – “Cunstructing the “New Ethnicities”: Media, Sexuality, and Diaspora Identity
in the Lives of South Asian Immigrant Girls”, 2004
Sharon Lim-Hing. 2000. “Dragon Ladies, Snow Queens, and Asian-American Dykes: Reflections on
Race and Sexuality.” Pp 296-299 in Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on
Racism, Antisemitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism, and Classism edited by Maurianne Adams
et al. New York: Routledge.
Sudhir Kakar – Intimate Relations: Exploring Indian Sexuality
Note: Any other recommended readings will be posted on the BCourses Course Site under Files.