Whether it be how we predict what a friend will say before they say it, or choose the best time to come to lunch, we are all theorists in the truest sense of the word– we are processing information, creating patterns, and then testing our ideas through experience and observation. There is nothing more important about published, academic theory than the everyday theory we create. In this class, we will learn how to do what we already know, exploring the concepts of local knowledge, social constructionism, structuralism, and functionalism in our own lives. We will have exercises where we will both apply these theories to our experiences (and critique them!) and develop our own theoretical approaches to social interaction in small groups. We will have a discussion and critique of their ideas. We will end class by testing these theories in a variety of settings both real and imagined, discussing how important everyday theorizing/knowledge is and suggesting ways that it can both empower people and challenge social structures to bring about meaningful change.