CRN	14208	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC 101
Title	Introduction to Sociology
Professor	Yuval Elmelech
Schedule	Tu Th 3:00 pm - 4:20 pm OLIN 205

Cross listed: American Studies, Environmental Studies

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, and education. The fourth and final part of the course will focus on the inter-related issues of socialization, ideology, social movements, and social change.

CRN	14209	Distribution	C
Course No.	SOC 130
Title	Sociology of Education
Professor	Yuval Elmelech
Schedule	Tu Th 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 202

Cross-listed: American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, SRE

Related interest: AADS

What is the role of education in preparing students for the next stages of life? How do schools serve the needs of other social institutions, such as the family and the labor market? What are the long-term consequences of gender, racial, and ethnic differences in education? The aim of the course is to introduce students to sociology of education as a field of study, to present the relationships between education and other social institutions, and to develop critical thinking regarding the educational issues studied. After an overview of the main sociological theories of education, the class examines topics such as education and socialization; achievement and social success; education and ethnic inequality; segregation and desegregation; parental resources and achievement; gender roles and gender inequality; education, marriage and family formation.

CRN	14211	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC 203
Title	The History of Sociological Thought
Professor	Michael Donnelly
Schedule	Mon Wed 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 204

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	14134	Distribution	A/C
Course No.	SOC / PS 229
Title	What’s Left? What’s Right? The Rise and Fall of the Modern Ideological Spectrum.
Professor	David Kettler
Schedule	Mon Wed 1:30 pm - 2:50 pm OLIN 107

Sociology and Political Studies come together in the study of ideologies. Do classifications of Left and Right really help us to classify conflicting outlooks on globalization or other aspects of the North-South divide, for example? What about political teachings associated with one or another kind of intense religious commitment? Where/how does “identity politics” fit in the familiar scheme?

The main contents of this course will be a historically-grounded account of the ideological spectrum from left to right, as it dominated both political discourse and sociological analysis in the twentieth century. Beginning with the emergence of political ideology as a distinctive cultural-political form, primarily in the “liberalism” of the anti-authoritarian political parties symbolized by the European revolutionary dates of 1789, 1830, and 1848, as well as in their “conservative” counter-formations, the study will take up as well several varieties of socialism, nationalism, progressivism, and radical alternatives further to the “left” and “right” of the ideological field. This historical and analytical overview will be followed by the question whether the twentieth-century picture of the ideological field still applies as we move into the current epoch.

CRN	14210	Distribution	C
Course No.	SOC 332
Title	Seminar on Social Problems
Professor	Yuval Elmelech
Schedule	Wed 1:30 pm - 3:50 pm OLIN 205

Cross listed: AADS, American Studies, Human Rights, SRE

We often read shocking stories about children in poverty, segregated and failing schools, family dissolution, and numerous other problems in contemporary American society. While these accounts provide a sensational and superficial treatment of various social problems, what do researchers really know about the causes of and solutions for these problems? This seminar provides a critical survey and analysis of the research on various issues relating to the analysis of social problems in the U.S. Topics include: schools and education; poverty and welfare policy; crime and violence; teenage pregnancy and abortion; gender inequality; racial segregation and discrimination; ethnicity and immigration; work and socioeconomic attainment. The course will also provide framework for developing the skill of academic writing, and the appropriate use of theories, research questions and hypotheses. In particular, the seminar will serve students who are developing their skills for senior projects and other advanced students.

CRN	14213	Distribution	C
Course No.	SOC 338
Title	Welfare States in Comparative Perspective
Professor	Michael Donnelly
Schedule	Tu 1:30 pm - 3:50 pm OLIN 306

Cross-listed: Human Rights, 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.