Course Syllabi, Resources, and Instructional Material on the Sociology of Culture by R.

Martorella; D. Papademas; Y. Schlesinger; V. Zolberg

Review by: Kathryn Baker
Teaching Sociology, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), pp. 573-575
Published by: American Sociological Association
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573
of education. Therearefive sectionsin thisguide:a
reportof a surveyof instructorsof sociologyof
education courses;asetof sampleinstructional aids,
includingclass assignments,films andvideos;an
annotatedbibliography of sociologyof education
textbooks;a bibliography of resourcesforthesoci-
ologyof education; anda setof syllabiforsociology
of educationcourses.
In the firstsection,TedWagenaarreportsthe
resultsof a 1988surveyof instructors of sociology
of educationcourses.He also comparesthe 1988
resultswiththosefroma similar1983surveycon-
ductedfor the secondeditionof the sourcebook.
Wagenaar's commentary, whileinteresting, haslim-
ited use as an instructional resource.The survey
resultsshowthatthereis a greatdealof diversityin
sociologyof educationcourses,muchof whichmay
be attributable to thedualmasters(schools/colleges
of artsandsciences,ontheonehand,andschools/col-
legesof education,on theother)thatthesecourses
oftenserve.Sociologyof educationcoursesvaryin
dimension,rangingfromstructure(suchas level,
size, length,and instructional method)to content
(suchasstratification, andschools
socialization,
theory,
asorganizations). Healsoconcludes thatnotmuchhas
changedbetween1983 and 1988.Becauseof the
self-selected samples,though,it is difficultto draw
generalizable conclusions abouteitherthenature ofthe
sociologyof education coursein 1988or changesin
thecoursebetween1983and1988.
Thesecondsection,whichincludessampleas-
signments,projects,andexercisesfor sociologyof
educationcourses,is handy,althoughmanyof the
entriesarerepeatedfrom the 1983 editionof the
sourcebook. Thedetailsof these(forexample,de-
batingwhethercompulsoryschoolingshouldbe
abolished)arenot of greatvaluebecausetheyare
dependent bothonthelevelof thecourseandonthe
specificcoursecontentStill,theseexercisescanbe
a springboard fornewideasaboutassignments that
go beyond"compareandcontrast/functional and
conflicttheoriesof education."
In thethirdsection,EdithKingbrieflyreviews
ninerecentlypublishedsociologyof educationtext-
books,manyof whicharerevisededitionsof books
that were reviewedin the 1983 editionof the
sourcebook. Herreviewshighlight changesinthenew
editions.I thinkitishelpfultosummarize thecontents
andorientations of recenttexts,butI wouldfindit
difficultto chooseamongthesebookson thebasisof
thesereviews. Therearelegitimate differencesofopin-
ion amongsociologistsof education on suchfunda-
mentalissuesas theextentto whicheducation
repro-
ducesthesocialclassstructure in Westersociety,as
wellasontherelativeemphasisthatdifferent aspects
of thesociologyof education shouldreceiveinabasic
course.Evenlengthy, reviewsmightnotcon-
detailed
veydifferences amongtextsthatmaybe imprtantto
potential instructors.
I foundthefinalsection,containingcoursesyl-
labi,to be the mostusefulpartof the sourcebook.
Theeditorsinclude13 differentsyllabifor sociol-
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TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY
ogy of educationcourses,contributed by a diverse
setof domesticandforeigninstructors. Twoaspects
of thesesyllabiareworthnoting.First,severalhave
beencontributed by veryseniorfiguresin thefield.
It is instructiveto see how highly respectedre-
searchers, whomayneverhaveconsideredwriting
textbooks,organizetheirvisionsof the field and
selectreadingstorepresent thoseperspectives.Sec-
ond,thesesyllabidiffersubstantially fromone an-
other.Whilethereis considerable overlapamong
instructorsinthetopicalareasthattheycoverintheir
courses,the readingsvarywidely.As a set, these
syllabishouldhelpquellinstructors'concernsabout
constructing the one best syllabusor course.The
diversityof thesesyllabiencouragesflexibleand
creativethinkingabouthowto developa courseon
thesociologyof education.
This sourcebookwill be most useful to in-
structorswhoseprimaryfields of interestdo not
includethesociologyof education. Thesourcebook
can help such instructorsto develop credible
sociologyof educationcoursesthatarelively and
comprehensive andthatprovidesufficientbreadth
and depthof coverageof the commonlyagreed
upon elementsof the field. This sourcebookis
likely to be an extremelyvaluableresourcefor
thispurpose.
Thesourcebook maynotbe asusefultoinstruc-
torswhodefinethemselvesas sociologistsof edu-
cation.Such instructors probablyhave relatively
firmideasaboutwhatshouldbe coveredin a soci-
ology of educationcourseandhave a familiarity
withtheliterature thatcanguidetheorgani7ation of
such a course.They are also more likely to be
attunedto therelativestrengthsandweaknessesof
the availabletextbooksandotherinstructional re-
sourcesdescribedinthesourcebook. I countmyself
in thiscamp,yet I leared a greatdealfromreading
abouthow my colleaguesfromaroundthecountry
organize theirsociology of educationcourses.
AaronM. Pallas
TeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversity
CourseSyllabi,Resources,andInstructionalMa-
terialon theSociologyof Culture.R. Martorella,
D. Papademas,Y. Schlesinger,and V. Zolberg,
eds. American Sociological Association Teaching
Resources Center. 1989. $10.50 member/$13.50
non-member.
This teaching aid for the sociology of culture
consists of a listing of contributors, eight short
essays aboutthefield, a section suggestingpossible
class projects andresources,37 course syllabi, and
eight bibliographies.Each of these sections will be
reviewed, followed by a general assessment of the
usefulness of this teaching aid.
BOOKREVIEWS 574

Thelist of contributorsis moderatelyimpress- excluded.Additionally,only two syllabi are in-

ive andincludesmost of the majorcontemporary cludedin this subsection,whichbarelybeginsto
Americansociologistsin this areaanda coupleof do justiceto thisareaof study.Similarly,the sub-
Canadians.The listingof contributors, however, sectionon masscommunications seemsto straya
leavesout manyof the actualcontributors. While bit. For instance,this subsectioncontainssome
thismaynotbe animportant point,I foundit to be courseswhich focus on the link betweenmass
indicativeof the lack of attentionandeffortthat mediaandpopularcultureor thecommunications
wentintothefinalproduction of thisprojectwhich revolutionandthearts,butothersareentitled"Pub-
is notparticularlywell-organized andbadlyin need lic OpinionandMassCommunications" or"Soci-
of editing.RobertBellahandDanielBell arenota- ology of Mass Communications." Moreover,the
blynotamongthecontributors, andHowardBecker categorization into areasdoes not representwhat
contributes toonlyonesection:projectsuggestions. most studentsof culturewouldexpectto see; the
The sectioncontainingthe statementsof the subsectionentitled"Politicsand Policy" seems
fieldis perhapsthemostusefulpartof thisteaching particularlyout-of-placeand containsa hodge-
guide.A set of threeinterrelated essays arequite podge of coursetitles rangingfrom "Organiza-
good.Thefirstof theset,by Greenfield(Harvard), tionalChangein the Arts"to "PowerandCulture
proposesthatculture,symbolicreality,pervades in Contemporary SocialTheory."Perhaps"Gen-
everyaspectof sociallife andis, consequently, best eral Culture,""The Arts,"and "MassCulture,"
seenas ananalytical"perspective" ratherthanas a followedby somemorespecializedsubsectionson
substantive specialtyarea.Thesecondof theset,by "PoliticsandArt,""Cultural Institutions,""Culture
Goldfarb(New School),takesthe oppositestand, andSocialStructure," and"Culture andOrganiza-
suggestingthatthe sociologyof cultureoughtto tion"wouldhaveallowedthesyllabito be catego-
delimititself to the studyof creators,producers, rizedintomoreinterallyconsistent units.
distributors,andconsumersof art.Thethirdof the Thecollectionof syllabimakesit apparent that
set, by Zolberg(New School),discussestheseop- thesociologyof culturedoesnotexhibitaconsistent
positepositionsandrecommends thatthesociology corecontentandthatthisinconsistency is probably
of culturebe a "capacious field"whichincludesboth moretruefor thesociologyof culturethanfor any
GreenfeldandGoldfarb's approaches andothersas othersubjectareain sociology.Themajorproblem
well.Anessayby Richard Peterson(Vanderbilt) of- withcourseson cultureis thatthefield is so large
fersa usefulwayof categorizing workin thisarea, andso diversethatto presenta fairlycomprehens-
distinguishing betweenvariousperspectives on the ive,well-organized surveyof thisfieldis extremely
social creationof symbolicrealityand symbolic difficulty.Therearealmostnobooksthatattemptto
worksandbetweentwocontrasting perspectives of providea sophisticated surveyof the field;other
the social impactor functionof symbolicreality subdisciplines aboundwithsuchtexts.Theshortre-
versus integration).
(distinction/differentiation An view by Peterson(1979)in theAnnualReviewof
essaybyWuthnow (Princeton)is alsousefulforsituat- Sociology,Wuthnowet al. (1984),and Wuthnow
ingthecurrent studyofculture.Theotheressaysareless (1987)maybe theexceptions, buteventheseworks
buttheonesI'vementioned,
interesting, alongwitha donotgo farinsystematically presentingthefield.
few otherssuchas Wuthnow's recentdiscussionin Moreover,a greatdealof thesubjectmatterin
Footnotes, shouldgenerate interestandhelpteachers the textunderreviewis verydense.Themajority
andstudents organizethefieldin a manageable way. of readingsareshortselectionsfromverydifficult
Therearefew innovativeor particularly good books.Gettingstudentstocomprehend thesewith-
ideasin the sectionon class projects.Exceptfor out thehelp of someverygood reviewssystema-
severalprojectsuggestionscontributed by Becker, tizingthefieldis not aneasy task.Courses,there-
manyof thesuggestions offeredbyothersaregeared fore, are forcedto focus on some componentof
towardunsophisticated studentsandshowverylit- cultureas a subjectfor analysisorto selectone or
tle insightorimagination. Forinstance,oneproject moreapproachesto cultureas an analyticalcon-
consistsof a visitto anartmuseumorthegift shop cept Twenty-sixof the 37 syllabi are narrowly
of an artmuseum;anothersuggeststhatstudents focused:sixteenof theseaddress"thearts"orsome
investigatehow blacksor womenareportrayed in particularart form,two address"massculture,"
magazines. fouraddress"masscommunications," andtwoad-
The coursesyllabi section demonstratesex- dress"science"or"technology." Of theremaining
ceedinglyhighdiversity acrosscourses,eventhough two,oneis entitled"PowerandCultureinContem-
specific,well-definedareaswithinthe domainof poraryTheory,"andtheotheris entitled"Cultural
thesociologyof culture,suchasreligionandsports, Critique." Of the 11"generalculture"syllabi,two
arepurposelyexcluded.Theauthorshaveincluded arefairlylimitedtoAmericanculture(bothpopular
coursesranging from"General Culture,"'The Arts," cultureandthe arts),andanotheris a muchbetter
"PoliticsandPolicy,""MassCommunications and courseon "thearts"thanarethosecontainedin the
Media/Popular Culture," to"TheSociologyof Sci- subsectionentitled"TheArts."Theremaining nine
ence."Theircategorizationseems overly broad. coursesyllabiare "general"and attemptto deal
Like sportsandreligion,the sociologyof science withcultureas a theoretical perspective ratherthan
is a highlyspecializedareathatshouldhavebeen as a particular subjectarea.Theyarehighlyvaried.

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575 TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY

Some are immenselyunwieldy;some are too I writethis reviewfromthe perspectiveof a

sketchy to communicatethe substanceof the facultymemberenteringthe excitingworldof in-
course,buta few arepotentiallyveryuseful. ternships.I amin a department thathassuccessful
Thesectioncontainingbibliographies consists internshipprogramsin criminology,gerontology,
of threereadinglists for graduatelevel culture andsocialwork.Wewantto developappliedsoci-
comprehensives, one bibliographyon mass com- ologicalresearchintemships.I, therefore, readthe
munications,andfourbibliographies fromrecent handbooklookingforstrategiesandtipsfordevel-
articles.Onlyoneof thesehasa generalfocus-the opinga research-oriented internship.I wasnotdis-
bibliography from WuthnowandWitten's"New appointed.
Directionsin the Studyof Culture," AmericanSo- This 11-chaptervolume could be subtitled
ciologicalReview1988. Otherbibliographies are "All You Ever Wantedto Know About Intern-
availablein severalof thecoursesyllabi.Unfortu- ships-And ThenSome."This editedcollection
nately,the bibliographies do not do a muchbetter of 12 authorsexamines five major issues: 1)
job of categorizingthefield;whileonebibliography theoreticalbases for the developmentof intern-
is dividedintoareas,mostaremerelyalphabetized ship programs;2) the impactof internshippro-
listings. gramson students,the department,andthe uni-
Ingeneral,thisteachingresourcemaybe more versity;3) techniquesfor attractingstudentsinto
helpfulforconstructing a courseon someaspectof internshipprograms;4) techniquesfor develop-
culturethanfor developinga generalcourseon ing internships;and 5) methodsfor monitoring
cultureas an analyticalperspective.One explana- andevaluatingstudents'internshipexperiences.
tionfor thisis thatall of theauthors'contributions All 11 chaptersfocus on at least one of these
arein theareasof "thearts"and"masscommuni- issues, andmostcommenton severalissues.
cations."Anotherexplanationis thatthe field of Facultyattempting tojustify"experiential, job-
cultureis undergoinga greatdeal of changein related"internships withina liberalartsinstitution
perspective,butno clearparadigmshiftshaveyet orfacultytryingto incorporate a liberalartseduca-
emerged(otherthan Bourdieu's).Althoughthis tionwithinaprofessional settingwillfindChapters
teachingaid maybe, in part,a responseto recent 1, 2, and11helpful.Thefirstchapterdescribesthe
interestandchangein thisfield, it is too earlyto traditional, yet false,polarization betweenliberal
capturethese in most of the coursesyllabi.My artseducationandtechnicaltraining.Greenargues
criticismis not intendedto implythatthisis not a that"concreteexperienceandabstract conceptual-
usefulresourcefor teachingthe sociologyof cul- izationshouldnotbe thoughtof as polaropposites
ture,but I thinka new teachingresource,which butratheras complementary phasesof theknowl-
betterreflectsrecentchanges,willsoonberequired. edge creationprocess"(p. 7). ParillaandHesser
Next time,the authorsshouldbe less orientedto- expandon this themein Chapter2 by examining
wardcultureas "thearts"or as "popularculture" the twingoalsof intemships(learningexperience
and morein touchwith the changingtheoretical andcareerdevelopment)withinan historicalper-
terrain.For example,thereis almostno attention spective.Altman,Salem,andGrabarek buildonthe
paidto theareaof organizations andculturein the liberalarts/careerism themein Chapter11. They
compiledsyllabi (with the exceptionof one by statethatinternships mayservea thirdpurpose-
Brain,Gieryn,andZaret),althoughWuthnowand the encouragement of students'publicandsocial
Witten(1988)havetwelvecitationstothisliterature responsibilities.
in theirarticle"New Directionsin the study of The impactof the internshipon the student,
Culture." All of thesecitationsreferto workspub- and universityservesas the primary
department,
lishedin thelastsevenyears.Thisis animportant focusof Chapters 3,4, and10.InChapter 3, Kelleher
omissionnotonlybecausethereis somesignificant discussestheopportunities inteships offerfacultyin
new work in this areabut becausethis level of termsof communitycontactsand illustratesthe
analysis should prove useful in bridging the development ofa"community actionleaningmodel."
micro/macrogap that has plaguedthe study of Chizeckdescribesthe need for linksbetweenthe
cultureandis now beingseriouslyaddressed. intemshipprogramandthe institution's missionin
Chapter 4. She notes that interships require a stable
KathrynBaker administrative baseandincentivesfor the develop-
BattelleResearchCenter mentof facultyandstudentparticipation. InChapter
University of Arizona 10, Schultzexamines problems inthe "administration,
development, andevaluation processof theintemship
course" (p.124).Heexamines theintershipinrelation
todepartmental policies(forexample, communication
betweenstudent,agencyandfacultysupervisor, and
The InternshipHandbook: Development and Ad- corpensation). He describesmodelsfororganizing
ministrationofInternship Programs in Sociology. andcoordinating intemships (the"solofacultydirec-
R.S.SalemandB. Altman,eds.Washington, DC: tor"andthe"departmental-supportive" model).The
ASA Teaching Resources Center. 1990. 156 issueof matchingindividual studentsto intemships
pages.$11.00member/$15.00non-member. is alsodiscussed.

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