The article “When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?” from Smithsonian Magazine explores the history of gender-specific colors in children’s clothing. It’s a short and accessible reading that could be used to discuss various sociological topics.
Category: Readings
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois
This is a collection of essays written by W.E.B. Du Bois, originally published in news and literary magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly. The essays were published together in book form in 1903. Du Bois was one of the first American Sociologists. The ebook can be accessed here.
Reading | “The Promise” from The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills
C. Wright Mills’ “The Promise” (Chapter 1 of his 1959 book The Sociological Imagination) is a great introduction to the concept of the sociological imagination and a sociological perspective.
Sociological Theory Readings
Karl Marx, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” (Chapter 1 “Bourgeois and Proletarian” is a good excerpt)
Thought.Co, Major Sociological Theories (by Ashley Crossman) — This is a list of major sociological theories/theoretical approaches with links to ThoughtCo articles on each.
Readings on Culture
Horace Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” — This is a classic article for SOC 100 students that helps to explain and understand ethnocentrism.
FacingtheFuture.org has also prepared a Nacirema lesson with a short excerpt from the full article that can be useful and turned into a low-stakes, in-class (or online in breakout rooms) assignment.
Reading | “The Social Self” by George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead, “The Social Self” — This is a short overview of Mead’s concept of the social self and the “I” and “me”.
Readings on Social Interaction
Erving Goffman, “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” — This is a classic work by Goffman that gives an overview of his theory of social interaction. This is a link to the whole book, but an excerpt could be assigned.
Erving Goffman, “On Face-Work” — This is a short, fairly accessible piece by Goffman.
Reading | “The McDonaldization of Society” by George Rizter
George Ritzer, “The McDonaldization of Society” (Introduction), a reading about Groups and Organizations
Readings on Deviance and Crime
Emile Durkheim, “The Functions of Crime” — This is a brief overview of the functionalist understanding of crime and deviance.
Readings on Social Class
Visualizing Social Stratification in the US, Thoughtco.com — This is a useful overview of social stratification with charts/data.
Forced Out: For Many Poor Americans Eviction Never Ends, Matthew Desmond, The New Yorker — This is an excellent, accessible excerpt from Desmond’s book Evicted that gives a good overview of structural causes of poverty and housing insecurity.
