SOCIOLOGY

CRN	90166	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC 101
Title	Introduction to Sociology
Professor	Amy Ansell
Schedule	Mon Wed 10:00 am - 11:20 am OLIN 204

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the sociological perspective. Its goal is to illuminate the way in which social forces impinge on our individual lives and affect human society. The course is organized into four main parts. In the first, key sociological concepts and methods will be introduced via the study of the fathers of sociology: Durkheim, Weber, and Marx. In the second part, we will examine the significance of various forms of social inequality, particularly those based on class, race, and gender. We will then survey several important social institutions: the family, the economic order, the political order, education, and religion. The fourth and final part of the course will focus on the inter-related issues of ideology, social movements, and social change.

CRN	90190	Distribution	C/E
Course No.	SOC 120
Title	Social Stratification and Inequality
Professor	Yuval Elmelech
Schedule	Tu Th 10:00 am - 11:20 am OLIN 101

Related interest: MES

Why do some people have more wealth, more power, and receive greater respect than others? What are the sources of this inequality? Is social inequality inevitable? Is it undesirable? This course examines the ways by which socially-defined categories of persons (e.g., women and men, Blacks and Whites, rich and poor, native- and foreign-born) are unevenly rewarded for their social contributions. Sociological theories are used to explain how and why social inequality is produced and maintained, and how it affects the well being of individuals and social groups. The course will focus on two general themes. The first deals with the structure of inequality while studying the unequal distribution of material and social resources (e.g., earnings, wealth, occupations). The second examines the processes that determine the allocation of people to positions in the stratification system (e.g. education, intelligence, parental wealth, gender, race).

CRN	90167	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC 203
Title	The History of Sociological Thought
Professor	Michael Donnelly
Schedule	Tu Th 10:00 am - 11:20 am OLIN 203

This course retraces the origins of modern social theory in the aftermath of the democratic revolutions in America and France and the capitalist Industrial Revolution in Britain. Readings are drawn in particular from the major works of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel. The course thereby introduces many of the enduring themes of sociology: alienation and anomie; social disorganization and community; class conflict and solidarity; secularization and the decline of traditional religion; bureaucracy, division of labor, and professional expertise. The course aims to assess both the contributions of classical sociologists to subsequent social science, and their political or ethical aspirations to criticize, reform, or revolutionize modern society.

CRN	90168	Distribution	E
Course No.	SOC 205 Q course
Title	Introduction to Research Methods in the Social Sciences
Professor	Yuval Elmelech
Schedule	Tu Th 1:30 pm - 2:50 pm OLIN 306 / HDRANX 106

Related interest: MES

The aim of this course is to enable students to understand and use the various research methods developed in the social sciences, with an emphasis on quantitative methods. The course will be concerned with the theory and rationale upon which social research is based, as well as the practical aspects of research and the problems the researcher is likely to encounter. The course is divided into two parts. In the first, we will learn how to formulate hypotheses and research questions, how to choose the appropriate research method for the problem, and how to maximize chances for valid and reliable findings. In the second part, we will learn how to perform simple data analysis and how to interpret and present findings in a written report.

CRN	90169	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC 210
Title	Sociology of Race
Professor	Amy Ansell
Schedule	Mon Th 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 202

Cross-listed: AADS, American Studies, MES

Race continues to divide our social world and to shape our sense of identity as individuals and as a nation. This course surveys recent work in the sociology of race, with a special focus on the progress and challenges of the post-civil rights era United States. Topics include: race theory, race and stratification, race identity and representation, trends in racial attitudes, race and politics, new racism, and the social construction of whiteness.

Prerequisite: Sociology 101 or permission of instructor.

CRN	90411	Distribution	C
Course No.	SOC 213 / HIST
Title	Immigration and Contemporary American Society
Professor	Joel Perlmann
Schedule	Tu Wed 5:00 pm - 6:10 pm OLIN 204

Cross-listed: American Studies, History, MES

Related Interest: AADS

The recent immigration to the United States is as large a movement of peoples as any in American history. This course examines the contemporary immigration, in terms of the dynamics of contact between the immigrants themselves and the society they have entered. We will explore where the immigrants come from, how and why they come; the radically different ways they enter the American economy (many, as in the past, entering at the bottom but many others entering into solidly middle-class positions); how they seek to preserve, or in some cases shed, cultural distinctiveness and ethnic unity; and how the children of the immigrants are faring. We will also examine the changes in American politics and law that made the immigration possible; the political movements that have opposed the immigration; the social and public policy issues involved in how immigrants actually influence the larger American society -- in both economic terms (drain or boon?) and in cultural terms (the evolution of multicultural and assimilatory tendencies). Finally, we will examine the experience of the largely-non-white immigrant population with American racial divisions, as well as competition and alliances between immigrants and native-born blacks. Readings will be from social science, memoirs, fiction, policy debates, etc.

CRN	90170	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC 310
Title	Cultural Studies: A Sociological Perspective
Professor	Amy Ansell
Schedule	Wed 1:30 pm - 3:50 pm OLIN 309

Cultural studies is an exciting new interdisciplinary area of study that offers great potential for confronting such important contemporary sociological issues as multiculturalism, nationalism, leisure, media/ideology, and sexuality. Cultural studies meets the sociological perspective in its focus on the link between cultural representations, symbols and practices and the establishment, critique and maintenance of relations of power and inequality. By confronting a wide range of topics - from postcolonialism to youth subcultures, from queer theory to rock-n-roll, from the new racism to the politics of mugging - this course will introduce students to the distinctive theory and method of cultural studies.

CRN	90191	Distribution	C
Course No.	SOC 338
Title	Welfare States in Comparative Perspective
Professor	Michael Donnelly
Schedule	Wed 10:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 304

Cross-listed: Political Studies

PIE Core Course

"The era of big government is over." Is it? If so, with what consequences? This course retraces the main lines of development of the welfare state, examining the social demands and political conflicts out of which "welfare" emerged, and the values and principles which have subsequently informed welfare policies. The course proceeds, secondly, to consider debates and conflicts over the scope and aims of welfare states during the last two decades. It ends, finally, by considering innovative policy ideas to reform the welfare state or bring it into line with changing realities. Case studies will be drawn from Sweden, Germany, Britain, Italy, and the USA; comparison of the limited, piecemeal approach of the US with more comprehensive European social democracy will be a consistent focus. The policy arenas to be discussed will include youth unemployment and job sharing; equal opportunity for women; the social integration of marginalized groups; flexible time regimes; and the challenge of an aging population.

CRN	90375	Distribution	C
Course No.	SOC 350
Title	The Prison Complex
Professor	Scott Christianson
Schedule	Thur 4:00 pm - 6:20 pm OLIN 308

Cross-listed: American Studies

Why does the US resort to imprisonment more than any other nation in the world? What happens in prisons? This course will examine the historical, economic and social foundations of America's prison policy; imprisonment's role in American society; the nature of the prison system; prison culture; the politics of imprisonment and the prison-industrial complex; the death penalty; prison reform efforts; and future directions. Special attention will also be devoted to global imprisonment issues and human rights. The course work will include discussions with prison officials, former inmates, relatives of prison persons, prison scholars, reformers, and at least one field trip to a maximum-security prison, as well as close readings of texts and the use of films, radio and other media.