John J. Macionis is a professor of sociology and Prentice Hall Distinguished Scholar. His areas of interest include social stratification, social change, social problems, politics, policy, deviance and conformity and urban sociology. Since coming to Kenyon in 1978, Professor Macionis has taught courses in all these areas. He has also taught in Kenyon's Integrated Program in Humane Studies (IPHS) and served as the program's director.
Professor Macionis has expanded his learning about U.S. society by participating in programs of academic study abroad. In 1981, he directed the GLCA European Term, traveling with students to Yugoslavia, Holland and England. In 1988, he joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea, keying his courses to the ship's visits to a dozen Asian and African countries as it circled the globe. In 1994, Professor Macionis completed a second round-the-world voyage, visiting half a dozen new countries and directing the program's global education course…
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John J. Macionis is a professor of sociology and Prentice Hall Distinguished Scholar. His areas of interest include social stratification, social change, social problems, politics, policy, deviance and conformity and urban sociology. Since coming to Kenyon in 1978, Professor Macionis has taught courses in all these areas. He has also taught in Kenyon's Integrated Program in Humane Studies (IPHS) and served as the program's director.
Professor Macionis has expanded his learning about U.S. society by participating in programs of academic study abroad. In 1981, he directed the GLCA European Term, traveling with students to Yugoslavia, Holland and England. In 1988, he joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea, keying his courses to the ship's visits to a dozen Asian and African countries as it circled the globe. In 1994, Professor Macionis completed a second round-the-world voyage, visiting half a dozen new countries and directing the program's global education course required of all students. In 2005 and 2009, he traveled to Ecuador and Peru, exploring both large cities and remote Inca settlements.
Macionis is the author of the most widely used textbooks in sociology, which are published by Pearson/Prentice Hall. In recent years, he has undertaken the study of spiritual shamanism as part of both his academic and personal journey. Macionis is also an active environmentalist, who currently serves as the president of the board of directors of the Lake George Land Conservancy in New York's Adirondack Mountains. His personal interests include hiking, swimming and tennis. Music has been a lifelong passion: Macionis has played in a number of pop bands since his college days and he still enjoys playing oldies rock and roll. He recently released his fourth CD of oldies music.
Education
1975 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of Pennsylvania
1971 — Master of Arts from University of Pennsylvania
1970 — Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University
Courses Recently Taught
SOCY 101
Human Society
SOCY 101
This course introduces students to the field of sociology through the study of energy and power in several of their conceptual forms: as social levers of oppression and inequities, as the physical capacity behind economic development and material accumulation, and as complicated and contested cultural symbols of tremendous consequence for the natural and social worlds. The course looks at human labor and energy as interwoven dimensions of western society, and uses theories of power as lenses for understanding five case studies: The production and consumption of sugar; The contemporary cotton apparel industry; Mass incarceration in the United States; Appalachian coal and Global Climate Change. Students may take only one introductory-level course. Students are expected to take an introductory-level course to enroll in area and core courses in sociology. Offered every year.
SOCY 220
Problems, Politics and Policy: The Political Construction of Social Problems and Their Solutions
SOCY 220
Why do some issues become "social problems" while others do not? For example, each year auto accidents claim the lives of three times as many people as violent crime, yet we see crime rather than cars or driving as a "problem." The course begins by explaining how problems emerge as a result of claims-making within the political arena by social movements or interested publics. We then consider what kinds of issues are defined as problems by political conservatives, liberals, libertarians and radicals, and what policies are viewed as appropriate responses or solutions. These political dynamics will be illustrated with discussion of a number of issues, including inequality of income and wealth, racial and gender inequality, crime, abortion, the aging of the U.S. population and the state of the physical environment. The course provides students with an opportunity to prepare an in-depth political analysis of one issue of choice. This counts toward the institutions and change requirement for the major. Prerequisite: 100-level sociology course or permission of instructor.
SOCY 223
Wealth and Power
SOCY 223
People in the United States are keenly aware of social differences, yet few have a very precise understanding of "social class," the magnitude of social inequality in U.S. society, or why social inequality exists at all. This course provides a semester-long examination of social stratification — a society’s unequal ranking of categories of people in historical, comparative, theoretical and critical terms. The historical focus traces the development of social inequality since the emergence of the first human societies some 10,000 years ago; the Industrial Revolution; and, more recently, the Information Revolution. The comparative focus explores how and why societies differ in their degree of inequality, identifies various dimensions of inequality, and assesses various justifications for inequality. Attention is also given to the extent of social differences between high- and low-income nations in the world today. The theoretical focus asks how and why social inequality comes to exist in the first place (and why social equality does not exist). This course offers a true diversity of political approaches, presenting arguments made by conservatives, liberals, libertarians and radicals about the degree of inequality in the United States and in the world. This counts toward the institutions and change requirement for the major. Prerequisite: 100-level sociology course or permission of instructor.
SOCY 240
Sociology of Crime and Deviance
SOCY 240
Our common sense tells us that certain acts are "wrong"; that particular persons who engage in them are "deviant." But common sense suggests little about how and why a particular act or actor comes to be understood in this way. The objective of this course is to explore the significance of deviance and crime within social life. We carry the distinction between being different, being deviant and being criminal throughout the semester. This course provides a substantial introduction to criminology, with consideration of the social characteristics of offenders and victims, crime rates, and various justifications of punishment. This course should be of interest to students within many majors who are concerned with theoretical, practical and ethical questions concerning the concepts of good and evil as foundations of human society. This counts toward the institutions and change or culture and identity requirement for the major. Prerequisite: 100-level sociology course or permission of instructor. Offered every other year.
SOCY 493
Individual Study
SOCY 493
Individual study is an exception, not a routine, option, with details to be negotiated between the student(s) and the faculty member, along with the department chair. The course may involve investigation of a topic engaging the interest of both student and professor. In some cases, a faculty member may agree to oversee an individual study as a way of exploring the development of a regular curricular offering. In others, the faculty member may guide one or two advanced students through a focused topic drawing on his or her expertise, with the course culminating in a substantial paper. The individual study should involve regular meetings at which the student and professor discuss assigned material. The professor has final authority over the material to be covered and the pace of work. The student is expected to devote time to the individual study equivalent to that for a regular course. Individual studies will be awarded 0.5 units of credit. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline.
Academic & Scholarly Achievements
2011
Sociology (13th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010);
Society: The Basics (11th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011).
2011
Sociology, Seventh Canadian edition (with Linda Gerber, Prentice Hall Canada, 2011).
2011
Society: The Basics, Fifth Canadian Edition (with S. Mikael Jansson and Cecelia M. Benoit, Prentice Hall Canada, 2011).
2010
Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross Cultural Readings in Sociology (edited, with Nijole V. Benokraitis, 8th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010).
2010
Social Problems (4th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010).
2010
Cities and Urban Life, 5th edition, (with Vincent N. Parrillo, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010).
2009
Sociology: A Global Introduction (4th edition, with Ken Plummer, Pearson Education Limited, 2009).
2007
Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross Cultural Readings in Sociology, Second Canadian Edition (with Nijole V. Benokraitis and Bruce Ravelli, Prentice Hall Canada, 2007).