Fall 2011 Review and the Upcoming Semester

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Andy

I did not use this blog as much as I thought I would, and not as much as I feel I should have. Almost didn’t use it at all, at least not for reflecting on things learned in class or from reading.

Overall, however, last semester was stellar! Classical sociological theory was great; I read The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and many other things by Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Goffman…  Globalization also went well; it was mainly a review of assorted literature on globalization-related topics. There wasn’t much theory and many of the topics could have their own individual courses. I quickly picked up on the stats class (SPSS!) and downloaded GSS datasets to play with during my night shifts in housing. This coming semester I’ll be tutoring SPSS, stats, and possibly writing in the tutoring centers.

Courses for next semester include: contemporary sociological theory, research methods, race and ethnicity, and social stratification.

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Semester-so-far Review and Midterms (end of week 7)

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Andy

Almost two months have passed since starting at CSUCI and I am in the midst of reading, midterms, essays, and projects.

The SPSS course midterm happend two weeks ago and went super well. My Globalization and Development course’s midterm was yesterday (Thursday); it was all essay, open notes, and the questions were selected from seven given to us for review last weekend. We only had to select three of five options. The Classical Sociological Theory midterm is this coming thursday, mainly on Marx and Weber and the development of sociology from Saint Simone and Compte through Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Freud, Nietzsche.

More on these courses and tests soon.

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Fall 2011 Update (starting week 3)

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Andy

I’m fully enrolled in all my classes, including the Globalization one where I was on the waitlist. Globalization is, so far, my most intellectually stimulating class. There is much to write about it, along with my Classical Sociological Theory class. The SPSS class is low-key so far, but perhaps some analysis of the General Social Survey will prove interesting.

Living on a college campus again has taken some transition. The context is certainly different; I feel age is the largest change. I started UCSD when I was 18 as opposed to 24 at CSUCI. People on my floor are all 21+ and we are allowed to drink freely, which is another context shift. The post about the “Sociology of Parties” from Creative Sociology intrigues me and might appear here in the future.

Further details and thoughts to follow.

I have noticed the phrase “And whatnot” used semi-frequently over the past week. Might be because I’ve primed myself to notice it. This happened recently with “That’s so funny,” as well.

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Fall 2011 Course Books

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Andy

Most sociology courses involve a fair deal of reading, and, I’m assuming, paper writing. My books for Fall 2011 are all decently reviewed on Amazon, if that means anything. (I wonder if there are websites dedicated to reviewing textbooks, or at least some other random sociology blog that reviews textbooks.)

SOC 303: This is the stats/quantitative research course. The text is Adventures in Social Research with SPSS, followed by the version of SPSS we are using. It’s rated 4.5 stars, but the reviews lack substance; though, it evidently comes with a student copy of SPSS… for Windows—I run Mac OS X Lion. The author is Earl R. Babbie, who wrote the research methods text I used at Moorpark College.

SOC 420: Classic sociological theory! First text is Four Sociological Traditions, by Randall Collins, rated 3.5 stars, and evidently good at distilling the four major sociological branches. Which are… conflict theory, rational theory, functionalism, and symbolic/micro interactionism. (I think.) The second text is The Discovery of Society, by Collins and Michael Makowsky. This one is rated 5 stars. The third texts are Souls of Black Folks, by DuBois; Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, by Erving Goffman; and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, by Weber. It’s the “third” because we select one of them.

SOC 448: Globalization: The Transformation of Social Worlds. 4 stars. Evidently readable, inclusive of many different views.

For an unrelated course, COMP 102, which is web development: Web Development and Design Foundations with XHTML, 5th Edition. Reviewers give it 4.5 stars and say it’s simple and effective, includes both coding and design practices, and has an accompanying hands-on exercise site.

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New School Year

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Andy

I look forward to starting my next semester at CSU Channel Islands in two Mondays. The majority of my classes this fall will be upper division sociology, including:

SOC 303: Statistical Applications in the Social Sciences. This course goes into quantitative methods, statistical techniques and literacy, and such things. I think we will be using SPSS, a stats/research program often used in the social sciences.

SOC 420: Classical Sociological Theory. Traces the development of sociology, focusing on 19th to mid-20th century developments, i.e. Durkheim, Weber, DuBois, Marx…

SOC 448: Globalization and Development. Goes into analysis of and theories about globalization and its effects on economic, cultural, and political systems.

I will write more throughout the semester—hopefully once a week or more—and attempt to synthesize and summarize information from lectures, reading, research, and whatnot. This is the CSUCI sociology department homepage.

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The Start of Something

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Andy

Hey there! I’m Andy.

This week I’ve started a couple blogs and rebooted another one. And it’s only Tuesday. This week is a blogging week! One is about writing, another is more personal, and this one is about sociology.

Sociology is good stuff.

I will be attending CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) this fall, majoring in sociology. CSUCI is in a nook of Camarillo, California, nestled up to the Santa Monica Mountains. I recently finished (most of) my GE at Moorpark College.

My intention with this blog is to clarify my academic interests, hone my writing, and develop my analytical skills. I’ve long admired the various blogs at The Society Pages, along with other academic blogs, and want to join in on the fun.

Definitely looking forward to where this goes.

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