11618

SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology

Clement Thery

. T . Th .

11:50 -1:10 pm

OLIN 205

SSCI/DIFF

Cross-listed: American Studies, Environmental & Urban Studies Sociology is the systematic study of social life, social groups, and social relations. It is a perspective on human beings that places people in both their immediate and their historical context. This course will provide you with an introduction to the wide array of problems and research methods found in sociology. Sociology looks at many levels of social life, from everyday interactions to social inequality to massive historical processes. Sociologists study things as widely varied as race, the birth of capitalism, the social control of sexuality, urban legends, suicide, and prisons. The course aims to teach you to think sociologically about the world around you and to develop your ability to critically read and write about social research. One main goal is to become familiar with how sociologists ask and answer questions and to practice doing this yourself. Another goal is to develop basic familiarity with sociological concepts and research methods. A third goal is to learn how to read sociological texts and to evaluate their arguments. Class size: 22

11935

SOC 120 Inequality in America

Yuval Elmelech

. T . Th .

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 203

SSCI/DIFF

Cross-listed: American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Human Rights 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? Through lectures, documentary films and discussions, 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., prestige, income, occupation). 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). Class size: 22

11620

SOC 132 “Does it Take a Village?” Community and the American Imagination

Clement Thery

. T . Th .

4:40 -6:00 pm

OLIN 201

SSCI

Cross-listed: American Studies; Environmental & Urban Studies “Community” is an idea born out of nostalgia in 19^th century Europe. It became, however, a distinctive American idea. In the U.S., the notion of community has been shaped and re-shaped across time to help understanding – and solving? – pressing “social problems”. Scholars have evoked community to reduce crime, to tackle poverty among minorities, to assimilate immigrants into the larger society, to fight political apathy, to pacify social unrest in advanced capitalism, and to provide greater meaning to the modern individual through religious affiliation. The class explores how social scientists have defined time and again the murky idea of community to address social problems. Following the transformation of this idea, we see American society diagnosing itself; community is perceived as the solution to social dysfunctions and the ideal of a good society. Class size: 22

11625

SOC 213 Sociological Theory

Sarah Egan

M . W . .

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 203

SSCI

Cross-listed: Human Rights This class introduces students to classical and contemporary sociological theories. It considers foundational theories that emerged from the social upheavals of modernization in the 19th Century, including those of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, and DuBois. The course thereby introduces many enduring themes of sociology: alienation and anomie; social structure and disorganization; group conflict and solidarity; secularization and individualism; bureaucracy and institutions, the division of labor, capitalism, and the nature of authority. We then follow these conversations into the contemporary era, examining traditions such as functionalism, conflict theory, rational choice, symbolic interactionism, feminist theory, and critical theory, including thinkers such as G.H. Mead, Robert Merton, Pierre Bourdieu, JurgenHabermas, and Michel Foucault. Students will learn the key concepts of major theoretical approaches in sociology and will consider questions such as the relationship between theory and research, and the relationship of social conditions to the production of knowledge. Class size: 22

11626

SOC 232 Political Sociology

Sarah Egan

M . W . .

1:30 – 2:50 pm

OLIN 201

SSCI

Cross-listed: Human Rights Students will learn about the sociological study of politics, including such topics as the nature of power, the relationship of the state to other societal institutions, varieties of political and economic arrangements, mechanisms of political change, the obligations of citizenship and cosmopolitanism, and sources of authority and legitimacy. We will study classical sociological perspectives on state and society and theoretical reconsiderations of the state inspired by feminism and critical theory. Students will also consider challenges to the state posed by empirical processes such as neo-liberalism and globalization. Class size: 22

11936

SOC 247 The American Family

Yuval Elmelech

. T . Th .

3:10 -4:30 pm

OLIN 202

SSCI

Cross-listed: American Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies Why do people date and marry? How do we choose our partners? What explains the rise in childlessness? Do parents love their children equally? What causes the feminization of poverty? What effect does divorce have upon the success of children later in life? This course uses sociological literature to study these questions. Focusing primarily on family patterns in the United States, the course examines the processes of partner selection, the configuration of gender and family roles, and the interrelationships among family and household members. Topics include explanations of religious and racial/ethnic inter-marriage; household and work roles; divorce and remarriage; parenthood and single parenthood; aging and family transfers. Class size: 22

11621

SOC 268 A New Look at Gentrification

Clement Thery

M . W . .

11:50 -1:10 pm

HEG 308

SSCI

Cross-listed: American Studies, Environmental & Urban Studies

Gentrification has become one of the most remarkable features of many American cities. This course provides a review of the key scholarly work and debates on gentrification. The course is divided into two sections. In the first part we will explore the definition, explanations, and consequences of gentrification. Particular attention will be given to displacement of vulnerable residents and to local forms of resistance to gentrification. The second half will study key questions related to the “Right to the City” and to urban development. What are the political and economic tools that preserve the city’s social “mix”? Does gentrification contribute to urban development, broadly conceived in its cultural and economic dimensions? Does gentrification promote new economic circuits and new forms of social life? How can we balance demands for an affordable city and the process of urban development? Class size: 22

11623

SOC 322 A Sociological Classic: Middletown and America

Joel Perlmann

. . W . .

3:10 -5:30 pm

OLIN 107

SSCI/DIFF

Cross-listed: American Studies; Environmental & Urban Studies; History A close reading of Robert and Helen Lynd's Middletown and Middletown in Transition. The first volume was based on the work of a research team that lived for months in the "typical" American community of Middletown in the 1920s; the second volume was based on a similar, second study during the crisis of the Great Depression. The volumes try to understand all that is interesting in the social life of the community -- notably class structure and class relations; politics; courtship, family, childraising and schooling; entertainment, religion and other aspects of cultural life. These volumes have proven very durable, both in serving as a model that other community studies must confront and in providing an understanding of American society and culture in the twenties and thirties. Students will write a term paper based on this and other American community studies or on some aspect of America in the twenties and thirties highlighted by the Lynds' work.

Class size: 15

11622

SOC 332 Seminar on Social Problems

Yuval Elmelech

. . . . F

10:10 - 12:30 pm

OLIN 205

SSCI/DIFF

Cross listed: American Studies, Human Rights We often read alarming stories about segregated and failing schools, the proliferation of poor immigrant children, the weakening of the American family, 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 course provides a critical survey and analysis of the varied social and structural factors that facilitate and help perpetuate social problems in the U.S. Topics include: schools and education; wealth and poverty; lifestyle preferences; violence and abuse; social mobility; teenage childbearing; racial segregation; immigration and assimilation; gender inequality; 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, this seminar will serve social science majors and other advanced students who are developing their research and writing skills for term papers and senior projects. Fulfills American Studies Junior Seminar requirement. Class size: 15