Provisional University Bulletin (2026-2027)

• Minor
• Major (BA)
• Master of Arts
• Doctor of Philosophy

Undergraduate Major

The undergraduate curriculum provides students with the tools for understanding and critical analysis of a broad array of institutions and cultures, from the everyday level of interpersonal and community interaction to large-scale political and social systems and public policies. Students are engaged as active learners and encouraged to develop knowledge that can make a difference in the world, including the potential for leadership development and action for social justice.

Undergraduate study in sociology prepares students for a wide array of careers in human services, education, law, health, public service, communications, business, and social-change organizations.

Graduate Program in Sociology

The general objective of the graduate program is to educate students in the major areas of sociology while promoting specialization in several. The program presents students with three options. The first option is a doctoral program designed for students who intend to devote themselves to teaching and research in sociology. Students pursuing the PhD may, by satisfying certain requirements, also receive the MA, or may earn a joint MA in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The second option is a terminal joint MA in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; the third option is a joint PhD in Social Policy (Heller School for Social Policy and Management) and Sociology.

Undergraduate Major

Sociology focuses on core questions of group and societal organization to explore how order is maintained and how social change occurs. Our department seeks to develop what C. Wright Mills referred to as the “sociological imagination,” by investigating how broader social forces shape life trajectories, how social categories such as race, class, gender, and sexuality structure social experiences, and how individuals and groups confront, and sometimes alter, institutionalized systems of power.

Sociological inquiry is central to many of Brandeis’ interdisciplinary programs, including Health: Science, Society, and Policy; International and Global Studies; Peace, Conflict, and Coexistence Studies; Religious Studies; Social Justice and Social Policy; and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The department focuses on five core areas: theory and methods; gender and feminist studies; institutions, culture and religion; sociology of health and illness; and politics and social change. In each of these areas, students integrate critical scholarly analysis, foundational research techniques, and “hands-on” experiential learning to hone their abilities to engage in the community and the world as active, self-reflective change agents.

Knowledge

Students completing the major in Sociology will understand how to:

1. Recognize the ways in which social contexts shape individual and group behavior.
2. Rigorously engage with core questions of inequity, identity, justice, and social meaning.
3. Relate sociological frameworks to pressing social, economic, and political issues and policies.
4. Locate the ways in which Sociology as a professional discipline develops and considers major questions, concepts, theories, and methodologies.

Core Skills

The Sociology major emphasizes core skills in critical thinking, theory development, research design, data collection and analysis, and writing. Sociology majors from Brandeis will be well prepared to:

1. Creatively identify, confront, and assess issues of sociological significance in a range of real-world settings.
2. Understand, develop, and extend theoretical frameworks for critically and systematically engaging with social phenomena.
3. Employ established principles of research design, data collection and analysis to rigorously address empirical research questions.
4. Clearly communicate theories, ideas, and analyses, both orally and in writing.

Social Justice

The Sociology curriculum provides graduates with knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society. Conceptions of justice, in particular the relationship between theory and action, are at the heart of the Brandeis Sociology experience. Sociology majors will have ample opportunity to:

1. Recognize and understand how structural, cultural, and relational contexts shape systems of power, access, and inequity.
2. Develop a reflexive and ethical sense of how diversity operates in social settings
3. Respectfully engage with ethnic, religious, cultural, and political difference.
4. Collaborate with local agencies and communities to develop strategies to address pressing issues.

Graduate Program in Sociology

Master's in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Sociology focuses on core questions of group and societal organization to explore how order is maintained and how social change occurs. Our department seeks to develop what C. Wright Mills referred to as the "sociological imagination" by investigating how broader social forces shape life trajectories, how social categories such as race, class, gender, and sexuality structure social experiences, and how individuals and groups confront, and sometimes alter, institutionalized systems of power. Since its founding, the department has enjoyed a distinct intellectual culture that links the key normative questions of democracy, social justice and the good life to critical social thought and qualitative research methods.

Students completing the MA program in Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies will develop the following competencies:

Knowledge

1. Develop familiarity with key theories and debates in Sociology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
2. Relate sociological perspectives to social, economic, and political issues and policies.

Core Skills

1. Understand and extend theoretical frameworks for critically and systematically producing knowledge about social phenomena.
2. Map links between Sociology and other disciplines relevant to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and think in a cross-disciplinary fashion.
3. Conceptualize and design research projects, conduct data collection according to established principles, and engage in rigorous analysis.
4. Critically evaluate research in the field.
5. Conduct scholarly and professional activities according to ethical standards.

Social Justice

1. Gain knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society.
2. Recognize and understand how structural, cultural, and relational contexts shape systems of power, access, and inequity.
3. Develop a reflexive and ethical sense of how diversity operates in social settings.
4. Be an informed and critical consumer and producer of sociological knowledge.

Master's in Passing in Sociology

Students completing the MA in passing in Sociology will develop the following competencies:

Knowledge

1. Develop familiarity with key theories and debates in Sociology.
2. Recognize the ways in which Sociology as a professional discipline develops and considers major questions, concepts, and methodologies.
3. Develop expertise in at least one established subfield in Sociology.

Core Skills

1. Understand and extend theoretical frameworks for critically and systematically producing knowledge about social phenomena.
2. Conceptualize and design research projects, conduct data collection according to established principles, engage in rigorous analysis, and clearly write about research findings.
3. Critically evaluate research in the field.
4. Conduct scholarly and professional activities according to ethical standards.
5. Ask clear research questions, situate them in appropriate literatures, and articulate their theoretical and empirical significance.
6. Master oral communication and writing skills that allow for the clear and compelling communication of knowledge to academic peers, students in the classroom, and/or other constituents outside the academy.

Social Justice

1. Gain knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society.
2. Recognize and understand how structural, cultural, and relational contexts shape systems of power, access, and inequity.
3. Develop a reflexive and ethical sense of how diversity operates in social settings.
4. Be an informed and critical consumer and producer of sociological knowledge.

PhD in Sociology

Sociology focuses on core questions of group and societal organization to explore how order is maintained and how social change occurs. Our department seeks to develop what C. Wright Mills referred to as the "sociological imagination" by investigating how broader social forces shape life trajectories, how social categories such as race, class, gender, and sexuality structure social experiences, and how individuals and groups confront, and sometimes alter, institutionalized systems of power. Since its founding, the department has enjoyed a distinct intellectual culture that links the key normative questions of democracy, social justice and the good life to critical social thought and qualitative research methods.

Our program boasts three main areas of study and expertise: gender and feminist studies; medical sociology; and culture and social change. We oblige our students to formulate questions of social and analytical importance in "big picture" terms and submit these questions to the test of rigorous research. With considerable expertise in ethnographic, interview, comparative and historical methods, our center of gravity has remained the qualitative analysis of institutional change.

Students completing the PhD program in Sociology will develop the following competencies:

Knowledge

1. Develop familiarity with key theories and debates in Sociology.
2. Develop expertise in at least three established subfields in Sociology.

Core Skills

1. Understand, develop, and extend theoretical frameworks for critically and systematically producing knowledge about social phenomena.
2. Conceptualize and design research projects, conduct data collection according to established principles, and engage in rigorous analysis.
3. Ask clear research questions, situate them in appropriate literatures, and articulate their theoretical and empirical significance.
4. Master oral communication and writing skills that allow for the clear and compelling communication of knowledge to academic peers, students in the classroom, and/or other constituents outside the academy.
5. Conduct scholarly and professional activities according to ethical standards.

Social Justice

1. Gain knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society.
2. Recognize and understand how structural, cultural, and relational contexts shape systems of power, access, and inequity.
3. Develop a reflexive and ethical sense of how diversity operates in social settings.
4. Be an informed and critical consumer and producer of sociological knowledge.

PhD in Social Policy and Sociology

Students completing the PhD program in Social Policy and Sociology will develop the following competencies:

Knowledge

1. Develop familiarity with key theories and debates in Sociology.
2. Map links between Sociology and Social Policy, and think in a cross-disciplinary fashion.
3. Develop expertise in at least two established subfields in Sociology and one Social Policy concentration.

Core Skills

1. Understand, develop, and extend theoretical frameworks for critically and systematically producing knowledge about social phenomena.
2. Make knowledge usable and useful for policymakers and practitioners. 
3. Conceptualize and design research projects, conduct data collection according to established principles, and engage in rigorous analysis.
4. Ask clear research questions, situate them in appropriate literatures, and articulate their theoretical and empirical significance.
5. Master oral communication and writing skills that allow for the clear and compelling communication of knowledge to academic peers, students in the classroom, and/or other constituents outside the academy.
6. Conduct scholarly and professional activities according to ethical standards.

Social Justice

1. Gain knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society.
2. Recognize and understand how structural, cultural, and relational contexts shape systems of power, access, and inequity.
3. Develop a reflexive and ethical sense of how diversity operates in social settings.
4. Be an informed and critical consumer and producer of sociological and policy-oriented knowledge.

Students can declare their major at any time. A sociology major is especially appealing to students interested in understanding the workings of society and human interaction. Students are encouraged to take SOC 1a early in their major.

The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, as specified in an earlier section of this Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to the sociology program.

Sarah Mayorga, Chair
Sociology of race and racism. Urban sociology. Latinx sociology. Whiteness studies. Qualitative methods.

Rachel McKane
Environmental justice. Environmental sociology. Urban sociology. Political economy. Quantitative and spatial methods.

Laura J. Miller
Sociology of culture. Mass communication. Urban sociology. Consumers and consumption. Cultural movements.

Chandler Rosenberger
Nationalism. Ethnicity. Sociology of culture. Sociology of religion. Political dissent and democratization.

Sara Shostak 
Sociology of health and illness. Science and technology studies. Environmental sociology. Research methods.

Michael Strand, Director of Graduate Studies
Social theory. Culture, morality, knowledge, and historical sociology. Economic sociology.

Siri Suh, Undergraduate Advising Head
Sociology of health and illness. Sociology of reproduction. Critical studies of global health. Science and technology studies (STS). Research methods. Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gowri Vijayakumar
Sociology of gender and sexuality. Social movements. Labor and labor movements.

Derron Wallace
Sociology of education. Race and ethnicity. Immigration. Social class. Masculinities. Inequality and identities.

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)

Thomas Shapiro (Heller)
Stratification. Race.

Five semester courses are required for the minor, including the following:

1. SOC 1a.
2. SOC 10b.
3. SOC 18a, SOC 36b, SOC 46b, SOC 81a, SOC 82a, or SOC 140a.
4. Two additional sociology electives.
5. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the minor.
6. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.

Students must fulfill the following requirements: completion of nine semester courses, which must include:

1. SOC 1a. This course should be taken early in the curriculum.
2. SOC 10b.
3. SOC 18a, SOC 36b, SOC 46b, SOC 81a, SOC 82a, or SOC 140a.
4. Six additional sociology electives.
5. No more than two courses from study abroad may count toward the major requirements.
6. Foundational Literacies: As part of completing the Sociology major, students must:
   • Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing one of the following: SOC 113a, SOC 123a, SOC 131b, SOC 146b, SOC 148b, SOC 151b, SOC 179a, or ED 170a.
   • Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing one of the following: SOC 112b, SOC 116b, SOC 127a, SOC 130a, SOC 138a, SOC 147a, SOC 169b, or ED 170a, or any OC-designated course from any program in the Division of Social Sciences
   • Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing one of the following: SOC 18a, SOC 36b, SOC 81a, SOC 82a, SOC 110a, or SOC 140a.
7. No more than two courses cross-listed in sociology may count toward the major requirements.
8. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the major.
9. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.
10. Students may apply an internship course (either SOC 89a, SOC 92a, SJSP 89a, or WMGS 89a) only once toward the requirements for the major.
11. Honors candidates are required to take SOC 99a and b (Senior Research) in addition to the nine sociology courses. Enrollment in SOC 99a and b requires a minimum overall GPA of 3.20, or a 3.50 in sociology.

Program of Study

A Master's degree in Sociology can be earned in-passing as part of on-going work for the sociology PhD. Students who have completed MA requirements can apply for the MA degree at any point beyond the first year of residency.

To fulfill program requirements, students must complete eight courses. 

1. At least five of these courses must be taken in the Sociology Department at Brandeis. 
2. One course must be one full year of SOC 300a. 
3. At least two other courses must be Sociology graduate seminars (courses numbered 200 or higher). 
4. One of the eight required courses must be in research methods.
5. One of the eight required courses must be in social theory.

In addition to the above coursework, students must have fully completed and submitted the publishable paper required of all PhD students.

Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement for the Master's degree.

A Master's degree in Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies can be earned either as a "stand-alone" degree or in passing as part of on-going work for the sociology PhD (at any point beyond the first year).

Program of Study

1. WGS 205a, the foundational course in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
2. One course in feminist research methodologies (WGS 208b, or the Feminist Inquiry course offered through the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality (GCWS)).
3. Two elective graduate courses in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: one inside and one outside the sociology department. Normally, only one of these courses may be a Directed Reading course.
4. Three graduate sociology courses: one theory, one outside the area of gender, and one elective, which could be a directed reading.
5. One additional elective graduate course.
6. Completion of a Master's research paper of professional quality and length (normally twenty-five to forty pages) on a topic related to the joint degree. The paper will be read by two faculty members, one of whom is a member of the Sociology department, and one of whom is a member of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies core or affiliate faculty. In consultation with the primary advisor, a student may register for WGS 299a/b, "Master’s Project." However, this course may not count toward the eight required courses.

Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement for the joint Master's degree.

Residence Requirement

One year (in-person). The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

Program of Study

Students entering the PhD program in sociology are expected to complete 48 credits of coursework, distributed as follows:

1. Four semesters of the program’s SOC 300a (Thinking Like a Sociologist).
2. Either SOC 200a or SOC 204a.
3. SOC 203b, 252a, or another graduate seminar in research methods offered by the Brandeis sociology department.
4. Eight other courses:

• At least three should be graduate seminars (numbered 200-229) offered by the Brandeis sociology department.
• Up to two of the courses can be directed readings (230a). 
• Up to three courses anywhere else (preferably grad-level courses, though can be undergraduate enhanced courses. Can also be courses in other departments, or courses in the consortium). If a student wishes to take a course numbered 100-199, the student must enhance it for graduate credit. See the GSAS Special Notes on Registration in Undergraduate Courses and the Sociology Department Graduate Handbook for details.

The initial program of study is arranged in consultation with the graduate student’s adviser. Consideration will be given to graduate work done elsewhere, but formal transfer credit is assigned only after the successful completion of the first two semesters of study. Students may petition for up to 20 transfer credits from previously completed graduate-level coursework. Each spring, students are required to complete self-evaluation forms that are reviewed by the department faculty to monitor progress.

Publishable Paper

As they near the end of coursework, students will write a single-authored publishable research paper, and submit it to a peer-reviewed academic journal.  The paper should be based on original empirical research and/or theoretical development, and be of professional quality and length.  Students will choose two faculty members of the Sociology Department, one of whom is designated as chair, to guide and review the project. Both faculty readers must approve the completed paper. This requirement can be completed any time before the end of the student’s eighth semester in the program.  The paper need not be accepted for publication in order for the requirement to be met. 

Third-year students will have the option of presenting works in progress once each semester to the Approaches to Sociological Research pro-seminar (SOC 300a) to discuss and gather feedback on their publishable papers.

Teaching Requirement

It is required that all PhD students participate in undergraduate teaching. This typically means working as teaching assistants in collaboration with individual professors. PhD students are required to serve as teaching assistants for six semesters. All students also have an opportunity to develop the craft of teaching through teaching workshops within the department and the Center for Teaching and Learning. Please see the GSAS section on Teaching Requirements for more details.

Residence Requirement

The minimum in-person residence for the PhD is three academic years.

Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement for the PhD.

Qualifying Examinations

The specific planning, evaluation, and accreditation of a student's course of study will be in the hands of each student's Qualifying Portfolio and Defense (QPD) Committee, comprising two Brandeis sociology faculty members. Along with the student, this committee will lay out a general course of study designed to meet the interests and needs of the student. Upon formulation of the plan, the student will choose either an oral exam, a take-home written exam, or a portfolio for each of two QPD areas, as selected by the student from the current listed sections of the American Sociological Association. 

The specific details of each completion option are as follows. Each completion option will include a comprehensive reading list developed with the QPD area supervising faculty, and each completion option will include a syllabus drafted by the student in their QPD area:

Portfolio

Will additionally include a literature review written by the student. Will include a 45 minute portfolio discussion at the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting in the candidate’s field with questions about their portfolio materials from supervising faculty, after which time the supervising faculty will determine if the student’s portfolio passes.

Oral exam

Will additionally include a 45 minute oral exam with the supervising faculty member to be held during the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting. The format is as follows: Students will submit five questions to supervising faculty, of which the faculty member will pick two. The faculty member will also add one question of their own. Students will have a maximum of 15 minutes to answer each question during the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting, after which time the supervising faculty will determine if the student’s oral exam passes.

Take-home Written Exam

Will include a three-day (72-hour) work period to answer questions at home from supervising faculty in a written document. The student should email their written answers to the supervising faculty at the end of the 72-hour period. Barring an emergency during the 72-hour period, if students are late submitting their answers to the supervising faculty member, they will fail the take-home written exam. Students will submit five questions to the supervising faculty, of which the faculty member will pick two. The faculty member will also add one question of their own for a total of three questions. Students should complete their answers to these questions in no more than 20 total double-spaced pages (inclusive of answers to all three questions), using no smaller than 11-point font & 1-inch margins. Works cited/references list do not count toward the total number of pages. At the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting, the supervising faculty will have 45 minutes to discuss written answers with the student, asking questions and for further elaborations, after which time the supervising faculty will determine whether the student’s take-home written exam passes.

The Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting should be completed by May 15 of the student’s third year, by which point all course requirements must also have been fulfilled. Supervising faculty can decide whether the student will do either an oral exam or a take-home written exam by December 1 of the student’s third year if portfolio completion appears, in their estimation, to be unlikely by the May 15 deadline.

Dissertation and the Final Oral Examination

A dissertation prospectus should be submitted by May 1 of the student’s fourth year in the PhD program. The dissertation prospectus committee should consist of two members from the sociology department faculty. Final composition of the Dissertation Committee must include at least three faculty members: two members of the Sociology Department faculty and an outside reader, chosen with the advice of the Dissertation Committee members, from another department or from outside the university. Graduate Committee approval must be secured before a defense can be scheduled, at least one month before the dissertation defense. The outside reader should hold a PhD, though exceptions may be possible according to the Graduate School requirements. At least two weeks before the dissertation defense, the student must submit to the Graduate School the Dissertation Defense Calendar Submission form. The PhD dissertation may be accepted by the program upon the recommendation of the dissertation examination committee. To be granted the degree, the student is required to defend the dissertation in a public final oral examination.

The PhD in social policy and sociology is a joint degree of the Department of Sociology and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. This option is available to students only after completion of at least one year of PhD study at the Heller School or in the sociology department (admission is not guaranteed).

Program of Study

Students enrolled in the joint PhD program in social policy and sociology are expected to complete 76 credits of coursework, distributed as follows:

1. Either SOC 200a or SOC 204a.
2. At least three other formal graduate seminars (numbered 200-229) offered by the Brandeis sociology department.
3. Four additional courses offered by the Brandeis sociology department, either graduate seminars, independent readings (SOC 230a/b), or upper-division (numbered 100-199) courses.
4. Students must participate in SOC 300a, Approaches to Sociological Research, during each semester they are completing coursework—at least two years—following matriculation into the Joint Degree program.
5. At least nine courses must be taken within the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. A list of required courses is available from the Heller PhD program.
6. Students are also required to take a noncredit doctoral seminar at the Heller School for at least four semesters following matriculation into the joint degree program.

Residence Requirement

The minimum in-person residence for the joint degree of Doctor of Philosophy in social policy and sociology is three academic years.

Teaching Requirement

All joint PhD students must participate in undergraduate teaching. This typically means working as a teaching assistant, in collaboration with individual professors, for at least one semester.  All students also have an opportunity to develop the craft of teaching through teaching workshops within the department and the Center for Teaching and Learning. Please see the GSAS section on Teaching Requirements for more details.

Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement for the joint PhD degree.

Qualifying Examinations

Each student must complete a "comprehensive paper" as required in the Heller School curriculum. Students must also show competence in two areas of sociology, as certified through the Qualifying Portfolio and Defense process. The specific planning, evaluation, and accreditation of a student's course of study will be in the hands of each student's Qualifying Portfolio and Defense (QPD) Committee, comprising two Brandeis sociology faculty members. Along with the student, this committee will lay out a general course of study designed to meet the interests and needs of the student. Upon formulation of the plan, the student will choose either an oral exam, a take-home written exam, or a portfolio for each of two QPD areas, as selected by the student from the current listed sections of the American Sociological Association. 

The specific details of each completion option are as follows. Each completion option will include a comprehensive reading list developed with the QPD area supervising faculty, and each completion option will include a syllabus drafted by the student in their QPD area:

Portfolio

Will additionally include a literature review written by the student. Will include a 45 minute portfolio discussion at the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting in the candidate’s field with questions about their portfolio materials from supervising faculty, after which time the supervising faculty will determine if the student’s portfolio passes.

Oral exam

Will additionally include a 45 minute oral exam with the supervising faculty member to be held during the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting. The format is as follows: Students will submit five questions to supervising faculty, of which the faculty member will pick two. The faculty member will also add one question of their own. Students will have a maximum of 15 minutes to answer each question during the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting, after which time the supervising faculty will determine if the student’s oral exam passes.

Take-home Written Exam

Will include a three-day (72-hour) work period to answer questions at home from supervising faculty in a written document. The student should email their written answers to the supervising faculty at the end of the 72-hour period. Barring an emergency during the 72-hour period, if students are late submitting their answers to the supervising faculty member, they will fail the take-home written exam. Students will submit five questions to the supervising faculty, of which the faculty member will pick two. The faculty member will also add one question of their own for a total of three questions. Students should complete their answers to these questions in no more than 20 total double-spaced pages (inclusive of answers to all three questions), using no smaller than 11-point font & 1-inch margins. Works cited/references list do not count toward the total number of pages. At the Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting, the supervising faculty will have 45 minutes to discuss written answers with the student, asking questions and for further elaborations, after which time the supervising faculty will determine whether the student’s take-home written exam passes.

The Qualifying Portfolio Defense meeting should be completed by May 15 of the student’s third year in the joint program, by which point all course requirements must also have been fulfilled. Supervising faculty can decide whether the student will do either an oral exam or a take-home written exam by December 1 of the student’s third year if portfolio completion appears, in their estimation, to be unlikely by the May 15 deadline.

Dissertation and the Final Oral Examination

A dissertation prospectus should be submitted by May 1 of the student’s fourth year in the joint degree program. The dissertation committee should consist of five members—two faculty members each from the sociology department and the Heller School, and one outside member. The joint PhD dissertation may be accepted by the sociology department and the Heller School upon the recommendation of the dissertation committee. To be granted the degree, the student is required to defend the dissertation in a public final oral examination.

Every student whether or not currently in residence, must register at the beginning of each term. All sociology graduate students will be evaluated by the graduate committee, with input from the sociology faculty at large, each spring. Before this evaluation, each student must complete a self-assessment, which will be included as part of the evaluation discussion. At this evaluation the records of all graduate students will be carefully reviewed with reference to the timely completion of coursework and non-course degree requirements, the quality of the work and research in progress, the student’s overall academic performance in the program, and, if applicable, teaching.

SOC 1a Order and Change in Society
[ deis-us ss ]

Prerequisite: First year undergraduate standing, or instructor permission.

An introduction to the sociological perspective, with an emphasis on an analysis of problems of social order and change. Topics include gender, work and family, poverty and inequality, race and ethnicity, democracy, social movements, community, and education. Usually offered every year.

SOC 10b Sociological Theory
[ ss ]

Priority enrollment given to Sociology majors and minors. May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 100b in prior years.

Introduces students to the main ideas, practices, and purposes of sociological theory. Analyzes the major ideas of key theorists, ranging from Karl Marx to Patricia Hill Collins. Discusses the role that concepts play in sociological research. Explores how theory can not only be used for explanation and interpretation, but also for changing the world. Usually offered every year.

SOC 18a Observing the Social World: Doing Qualitative Sociology
[ dl ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 118a in prior years.

Observation is the basis of social inquiry. What we see--and by extension, what we overlook or choose to ignore--guides our understanding of social life. This class focuses on how to conduct a qualitative research study, including literature review, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and coding and analysis. Usually offered every year.

SOC 36b Historical and Comparative Sociology
[ dl ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 136b in prior years.

Explores the relationship between sociology and history through examples of scholarship from both disciplines. Using historical studies, the course pays close attention to each author's research strategy. Examines basic research questions, theoretical underpinnings and assumptions, and uses of evidence. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 55b Protest, Politics, and Change: Social Movements
[ deis-us ss ]

Introduces major sociological theories about leadership, political context, culture, and identities in social movements in transnational perspective. Examines historical and contemporary cases of social movements through the lenses of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Usually offered every year.

SOC 56b Sociology of Celebrity
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 156b in prior years.

Ahh celebrity. Fame, money and bling, right? But have you ever wondered how it actually works? What celebrity is, how celebrities are made and why we are so obsessed with them? In this course, we will answer these questions. In the process, you will learn the sociological concepts and theories related to popular culture, mass media, social psychology, social inequality, and power. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 82a Quantitative Methods in Sociology
[ dl qr ss ]

Introduces students to practical applications of statistical methods in sociology. Emphasizing hands-on learning with the statistical programming language R, the course equips students with tools to analyze and interpret social data. Topics include data management, data visualization, theoretical and operational definitions, levels of measurement, hypothesis testing, probability, t-tests, linear regression, and logistic regression. Students will apply these techniques to a range of sociological questions, developing skills to investigate social patterns and inequalities across diverse contexts. No prior experience with statistics or R is required. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 83a Sociology of Body and Health
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 189a in prior years.

Explores theoretical considerations of the body as a cultural phenomenon intersecting with health, healing, illness, disease, and medicine. Focuses on how gender, race, class, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape individual and population health. Usually offered every year.

SOC 84a Health, Community, and Society
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 191a in prior years.

Reviews sociological theories of medicine as an institution of social control. Explores the relationships between social inequalities and health disparities. Examines how race and gender ideologies are embedded in medical and public health practice and knowledge production. Usually offered every year.

SOC 92a Internship and Analysis in Sociology

Combines off-campus experience and social scientific inquiry. Under the supervision of a faculty sponsor, students apply sociological methods of analysis to an internship experience. Students develop a specific plan of study with a faculty member in the relevant field prior to undertaking the internship. Open to sociology majors with adequate related prior course work and with permission of the instructor. Usually offered every year.

SOC 93a Research Internship

Research under the supervision of a Brandeis Sociology faculty member. Usually offered every year.

SOC 98a Individual Readings and Research in Sociology

Individual readings and reports under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.

SOC 98b Individual Readings and Research in Sociology

Yields half-course credit. Individual readings and reports under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.

SOC 99a Senior Research

Seniors who are candidates for degrees with honors in sociology register for this course and, under the direction of a member of the faculty, prepare an honors thesis on a suitable topic. Usually offered every year.

SOC 99b Senior Research

Seniors who are candidates for degrees with honors in sociology register for this course and, under the direction of a member of the faculty, prepare an honors thesis on a suitable topic. Usually offered every year.

AAAS/SOC 177a The Other African Americans: Comparative Perspectives on Black Ethnic Diversity
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took AAAS 177a in prior years.

Explores the identities, immigration and integration of Black Africans and Afro-Caribbeans in the United States and United Kingdom from interdisciplinary perspectives. It examines intra-racial and inter-ethnic similarities and differences, conflicts and collaborations that animate the lived experiences of native and new Blacks. Usually offered every second year.

HIST/SOC 170b Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.

Explores historical and contemporary debates about gender and sexuality in South Asia; revisits concepts of "woman," "sex," "femininity," "home," "family," "community," "nation," "reform," "protection," and "civilization" across the colonial and postcolonial periods. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 102a Analyzing Digital Media

Yields half-course credit.

Surveys show that the skill employers seek most in prospective hires is the ability to analyze data. This class teaches students how to gather and study online text, such as comments in discussion group threads, in order to reveal significant trends in tastes and opinions. By mapping public conversations and weighing the relative importance of different concerns, students will be able to help firms, non-profits, and social services address the needs of a range of potential clients. No previous coding experience is required. Usually offered every year.

SOC 104a Sociology of Education
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines the role of education in society, including pedagogy, school systems, teacher organizations, parental involvement, community contexts, as well as issues of class, race, and gender. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 110a Latinx Sociology
[ deis-us dl ss ]

Focuses on the sociology of Latinx communities within the United States. The course will cover a variety of topics that are of interest to sociologists, including race, gender, sexuality, class, family, immigration, and activism. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 111a Cognitive Sociology
[ ss wi ]

How do our brains shape our perception of reality? How does a preference for the familiar shape our perceptions of new situations? How does culture shape brain function and thus minds? This course will examine how we use culture and conversation to sustain and change how we think and the societies in which we live. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 112b Social Class and Social Inequality
[ oc ss ]

Presents the role of social class in determining life chances, lifestyles, income, occupation, and power; theories of class, inequality, and globalization; selected aspects of social class and inequality; and connections of class, race, and gender. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 113a Sociology of Love
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Examines the concept of love in sociological theory and research, through the lenses of race, economy, gender, sexuality. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 113b Sociology of Race and Racism
[ deis-us ss ]

Provides an introduction to the study of race and racism and focuses on specific socio-historical issues surrounding racial inequality in the United States. A variety of media to examine topics such as the institutionalization of white privilege, the social construction of "otherness", racial formation processes, and racial segregation are used" Usually offered every third year.

SOC 114a Sociology of Disasters
[ ss ]

Disasters are not simply “natural” – they emerge from human decisions, social structures, and inequalities that shape who is most at risk and who has the resources to recover. This course examines how and why disasters unfold in multiple contexts, from hurricanes and wildfires to industrial accidents. Together we will interrogate key concepts such as resilience, risk society, slow violence, and disaster capitalism, and consider how governments, corporations, and communities shape both vulnerability and recovery. Students will engage with a range of materials and methods including ethnographies, survivor narratives, disaster maps and spatial data, and risk indices. By the end of the course, students will understand how disasters are socially produced and what they reveal about power, inequality, and justice in a world of escalating climate crisis. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 115a Masculinities
[ ss ]

Men's experiences of masculinity have only recently emerged as complex and problematic. This course inquires into concepts, literature, and phenomenology of many framings of masculinity. The analytic schemes are historical, sociological, and social-psychological. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 116b Social Inequalities in the Media
[ deis-us oc ss ]

Using sociological theories of media, students will examine how difference is constructed across race, gender, and sexuality and how those representations are connected to larger processes of inequality. Students are expected to complete a research project on media representations. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 118b Sociology of Global Health
[ djw ss ]

Draws on sociological perspectives to trace the historical and political development of the field of global health, and to understand various global health approaches, actors, techniques, and disease distributions. Centers anti-racist, feminist, and decolonial scholarship in tracing the colonial origins of global health and identifying persistent inequities not only in health outcomes, but also in the administration of global health resources. Although we touch on various chronic and infectious diseases, we focus in particular on two persistent global health inequities: malaria and maternal mortality. In the aftermath of the 2025 dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), this class explores possibilities for a more equitable organization and distribution of global health resources and knowledge. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 119b Migration and Displacement in the Middle East
[ djw ss ]

Examines migration and displacement in the modern Middle East from the late Ottoman period to the present. It explores how war, nation-state formation, citizenship regimes, and economic forces have shaped refugee movements, labor migration, and diasporas. Through regional case studies, the course analyzes how states manage mobility and difference, as well as how migrants and refugees navigate systems of governance and belonging. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 121a Inequality and Environmental Justice in the City
[ deis-us ss ]

Offers critical perspectives on the causes and consequences of structural and environmental inequality in U.S. cities. Examines the historic policies and practices that have created and maintained racially segregated neighborhoods and the ongoing impacts of these practices on communities and the environments they live in. Evaluates strategies for promoting environmental justice is disinvested neighborhoods. Usually offered every year.

SOC 123a Countercultures and Cultural Change
[ ss wi ]

Countercultures consist of symbols and practices that are deployed to repudiate conventional ways of life. This class explores the emergence of countercultures, how they are expressed, the ways in which they decline, and when they lead to cultural change. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 124a Gender, Sexuality, and Globalization
[ djw ss ]

Introduces theories of gender, sexuality, and transnational feminism. Uses sociological research to examine labor, social movements, politics, and culture in global perspective, emphasizing Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 125b Self and Society: Who Am I Really?
[ ss ]

What is a self? Are you your biographical story? The sum of your identities? How you present yourself? This social-psychological course delves into these questions experientially, using sociological, psychological, and religious conceptualizations of selfhood to investigate who you really are. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 126a South Asian Diasporas
[ deis-us ss ]

SOC 127a Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
[ nw oc ss ]

Examines three sources of identity that are influential in global affairs: religion, ethnicity and nationalism. Considers theories of the relationship among these identities, especially "secularization theory," then reviews historical examples such as Poland, Iran, India, and Pakistan. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 129a Sociology of Religion
[ deis-us ss ]

An introduction to the sociological study of religion. Investigates what religion is, how it is influential in contemporary American life, and how the boundaries of public and private religion are constructed and contested. Usually offered every year.

SOC 133b Sociology of Reproduction
[ ss ]

Explores reproduction as a social and biological set of meanings and processes through which racial, national, gender, and socio-economic inequalities have been amplified, reconfigured and contested across time and place. It locates individual reproductive experiences and outcomes in regional, national and global contexts. Usually offered every year.

SOC 146a Mass Communication Theory
[ ss ]

An examination of key theories in mass communication, including mass culture, hegemony, the production of culture, and public sphere. Themes discussed include the nature of media effects, the role of the audience, and the extent of diversity in the mass media. Usually offered every year.

SOC 146b Nationalism and Globalization
[ ss wi ]

In an age of globalization, why does nationalism thrive? Are globalization and nationalism rivals, strangers or possibly partners? Students will trace the emergence of nationalism while also examining globalization's impact on societies such as the United States, Russia, China, and India. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 148b The Sociology of Information: Politics, Power, and Property
[ ss wi ]

Examines the claim that information is a key political and economic resource in contemporary society. Considers who has access to information, and how it is used for economic gain, interpersonal advantage, and social control. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 149b Social Production of Food
[ ss ]

Examines the social context influencing the everyday and industrial production of food and its cultural meanings. Includes a consideration of debates related to food preferences, the work of food preparation and production, and efforts to commodify and regulate food. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 150a HIV/AIDS, Society, and Politics
[ ss ]

Uses social science research and film in historical perspective to explore the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Topics include gender and sexuality, global inequalities, social movements, the "AIDS industry," and public policy related to HIV/AIDS. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 150b Culture of Consumption
[ ss ]

Examines the historical development and social significance of a culture of consumption. Considers the role of marketing in contemporary society and the expression of consumer culture in various realms of everyday life, including leisure, the family, and education. Usually offered every year.

SOC 151b Morality and Capitalist Society
[ ss wi ]

Is the economy moral? Is it just, fair, or equitable? Is it even vulnerable to moral judgements? Living in a capitalist society, these questions become very important. This course examines them by introducing students to sociological ways of understanding the economy and morality. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 157b Urban Sociology
[ ss ]

A comprehensive introduction to the sociological study of urban areas. Key topics will include urban renewal, gentrification, segregation, and policing. Through a variety of lectures, discussions, assignments, and in-class projects, students will develop a deeper understanding of urban dynamics and the role of sociological inquiry in addressing pressing urban issues. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 162a Intellectuals and Revolutionary Politics
[ ss ]

Can you change a society by changing its culture? How do writers, painters, and bloggers give their countries new visions of justice -- or even revenge? This class studies the ideas behind revolutions, who creates them, and why. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 168a Democracy and Inequality in Global Perspective
[ ss ]

Can democracy survive great inequalities of wealth and status? In authoritarian countries, does inequality inspire revolution or obedience? What role does culture play in determining which inequalities are tolerable and which are not? Cases usually include the United States, India, and China. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 175b Environmental Movements: Organizations, Networks, and Partnerships
[ ss ]

Studies environmental movement organizations and field strategies, national advocacy organizations, as well as community-based and civic approaches to environmental problem solving. Case studies draw from sustainable and climate resilient cities, watersheds, coastal adaptation, forests, ecosystem restoration, environmental justice, renewable energy, and the greening of business. May be combined with internships and action research. Usually offered every year.

SOC 179a Sociology of Drugs in America
[ ss wi ]

Explores the use, misuse, and control of drugs in the United States, both legal medications and illicit "street" drugs. Examines pressing contemporary debates and dilemmas surrounding drugs in contemporary America, including the opioid crisis. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 187a Race, Health and Medicine in the African Diaspora
[ ss ]

Offers critical perspectives on race, medicine, health, and illness in the African Diaspora. Specifically, we explore how intertwining ideologies of race and gender have contributed to the (mis)management of illness and health in populations of African descent from the periods of slavery and colonization until the present day. Usually offered every year.

SOC 194a Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
[ ss ]

Examines sociological approaches to mental health and illness. The focus is on the history, definitions, social responses and consequences of conceptualizations and treatment of mental illness. This will include some discussion of social factors related to mental disorder and types of mental health treatment. Usually offered every year.

GSAS 360c Article Publication Workshop

Full year course. Yields two credits per semester. Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. May be repeated for credit. Students should check with their departments about whether or not the course will fulfill any degree requirements.

Open to PhD, including ABD, and MA students in all Humanities, Arts, and Humanistic Social Sciences graduate programs.

This proseminar/workshop will meet every other week and introduce graduate students to the larger philosophy, as well as the nuts and bolts, of academic publication. Each student should come to the class with an academic journal article project in mind and aim to send out the article to a journal by the end of the year (or earlier!). We will workshop the papers in class, and peer review will be an essential component of coursework. Discussions will be general as well as field-specific.

SOC 200a Contemporary Social Theory

Covers major paradigms in contemporary social analysis ranging from action theory, habitus and field, and ritual theory, to recent models in cultural sociology, the network society and globalization in Europe and the United States. Works by, Bourdieu, Collins, Giddens, Touraine, Foucault, Castells, and others are covered. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 203b Field Methods

Provides an introduction to the methodology of sociological field research in the Chicago School tradition. Readings include theoretical statements, completed studies, and experiential accounts of researchers in the field. Includes exercises in specific methods and procedures of data collection and analysis. Each student will design and conduct his/her own independent research project. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 204a Foundations of Sociological Theory

Studies classic theoretical texts that have been foundational for sociology. Particular attention is paid to works of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. Identifies questions and perspectives from these theorists that continue to be relevant for sociological thinking and research. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 212b Theories of the State

Reviews classic and contemporary theorizations of the state in sociology, with an emphasis on its relationship to race, gender, sexuality, and capitalism. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 213b Survey Research Methods

Prerequisite: Graduate status in a social science discipline.

Provides an understanding of the principles of survey research design, analysis, and interpretation. Prepares students to be able to use and interpret survey research across a variety of areas of inquiry. Emphasizes the development/analysis of quantitative data, but includes discussion of the use of qualitative data. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 215a Science and Technology Studies

Develops tools to analyze the social organization of science, knowledge, and technology as well as the technoscientific dimensions of social life. While centered on science and technology, the frameworks we explore apply broadly to any domain involving knowledge and expertise. We will examine the cultural, political, and material dimensions of how knowledge is produced, circulated, and contested by tracing debates within Science and Technology Studies (STS). Core questions include: Why do we believe what we believe? How do science and technology both shape and reflect power, inequality, and identity? How do different epistemic cultures coexist, collide, or collaborate? The seminar emphasizes discussion and student-led engagement with foundational texts and contemporary scholarship, ranging from laboratory practices, quantification, and expertise to ignorance, undone science, multispecies relations, health and embodiment, genomics, and the war on science. By the end of the course, students will gain conceptual tools for critically analyzing knowledge controversies across diverse social domains. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 217a Sociology of Health and Illness

Provides a selective overview of theories and topics in medical sociology. Although the primary focus will be on medicine, health, and illness in the US, the course will also address global health as a field of sociological study. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 220a Sociology of Race and Racism

Introduces students to major sociological approaches to studying race and racism, as well as contemporary empirical research on racial inequality. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 221a Environmental Sociology

Provides a selective consideration of major approaches, theoretical debates, and topics that shape the field of environmental sociology. Environmental sociology is a field of inquiry that focuses on the relationship between society and the biophysical environment. Potential topics include: nature and capitalism, the nature of cities, risk and disasters, gender and the environment, critical environmental justice, settler colonialism and anti-colonial perspectives, among others. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 221b Sociology of Culture

Surveys theoretical perspectives and substantive concerns in sociological studies of culture. Examines debates regarding how to define and study culture, and considers the ways in which culture is related to power, stratification, integration, identity, and social change. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 224a Urban Sociology

Investigates sociological approaches to studying urban life and city form. Considers characteristics that shape social interaction, inequality, and opportunities for work, residence, and leisure in cities. Topics include the nature of community, the persistence of segregation, and cultural expressions of urbanism. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 228b Gender and Sexuality in Transnational Perspective

Examines the ways in which gendered and sexual dynamics can illuminate transnational processes, such as humanitarian projects, social movements, and financial globalization, and the ways in which comparative and transnational approaches can enhance the study of gender and sexuality, using recent, primarily ethnographic and qualitative research in sociology. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 229a Economic Sociology

Engages with economic sociology from a variety of standpoints, including how sociology provides alternatives to mainstream economics. Potential topics include valuation, institutions, morality and markets, capitalism, neoliberalism, culture and economy, polity and economy, credit and debt, commodification, technology, and performativity, among others. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 230a Readings in Sociological Literature

Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. May be repeated for credit. Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

SOC 230b Readings in Sociological Literature

Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. May be repeated for credit. Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

SOC 252a Quantitative and Computational Methods in Sociology

Prerequisite: Instructor permission required.

Explores core concepts and practical applications of statistical and computational methods within the field of sociology. The course emphasizes hands-on learning using the statistical programming language R. Students will be introduced to a range of topics and concepts including but not limited to data management, data presentation, theoretical and operational definitions, measurement level, hypothesis testing, normal distribution, probability, t-tests, chi-square, correlation, linear regression, and logistic regression. Towards the end of the semester, we will also (briefly) explore some computational methods that may be of interest to both qualitative and quantitative sociologists including text analysis, network analysis, and spatial analysis. In this course students will learn to apply quantitative and computational methods to sociological research questions. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 292a Master's Graduate Internship

Usually offered every year.

SOC 294b Paper Preparation

Independent study for MA students working on a final paper or project. Usually offered every year.

SOC 298a Independent Study

Independent study under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.

SOC 300a Thinking Like a Sociologist

Yields half-course credit. Required of all Sociology and Social Policy/Sociology PhD students for four semesters during the first two years of their course of study, and open to MA students in Sociology/WGS.

A seminar designed to introduce students to the professional aspects of being a sociologist, including what it means to think sociologically, the process of developing a sociological project, career paths in sociology, and optional workshopping of work in progress. Usually offered every semester.

SOC 392a Graduate Internship

Graduate internship for PhD candidates. Usually offered every year.

SOC 392g Graduate Internship

Yields quarter-course credit. Instructor permission required.

SOC 401d Dissertation Research

Independent research for the PhD. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

ED 170a Race, Power, and Urban Education
[ deis-us oc ss wi ]

Examines the nature of urban schools, their links to the social and political context, and the perspectives of the people who inhabit them. Explores the historical development of urban schools; the social, economic, and personal hardships facing urban students; and challenges of urban school reform. Usually offered every year.

SOC 112b Social Class and Social Inequality
[ oc ss ]

Presents the role of social class in determining life chances, lifestyles, income, occupation, and power; theories of class, inequality, and globalization; selected aspects of social class and inequality; and connections of class, race, and gender. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 116b Social Inequalities in the Media
[ deis-us oc ss ]

Using sociological theories of media, students will examine how difference is constructed across race, gender, and sexuality and how those representations are connected to larger processes of inequality. Students are expected to complete a research project on media representations. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 127a Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
[ nw oc ss ]

Examines three sources of identity that are influential in global affairs: religion, ethnicity and nationalism. Considers theories of the relationship among these identities, especially "secularization theory," then reviews historical examples such as Poland, Iran, India, and Pakistan. Usually offered every second year.

AAAS/SOC 177a The Other African Americans: Comparative Perspectives on Black Ethnic Diversity
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took AAAS 177a in prior years.

Explores the identities, immigration and integration of Black Africans and Afro-Caribbeans in the United States and United Kingdom from interdisciplinary perspectives. It examines intra-racial and inter-ethnic similarities and differences, conflicts and collaborations that animate the lived experiences of native and new Blacks. Usually offered every second year.

IGS 130a Crossing Borders: Mobility and Displacement in a Global Age
[ ss ]

Introduces students to the social, cultural, religious, political, and economic forces that shape global migration today. We follow migration flows across borders and assess their implications for the migrant, the state, and the global economy. Case studies include refugees and asylees whose rights are protected by international law. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 164b Sociology of the American Jewish Community
[ dl ss ]

A survey exploring the demographics, social dynamics, needs, and interests of the contemporary American Jewish community. Draws on social science texts, statistical studies, and qualitative research. Usually offered every year. Usually offered every year.

SOC 56b Sociology of Celebrity
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 156b in prior years.

Ahh celebrity. Fame, money and bling, right? But have you ever wondered how it actually works? What celebrity is, how celebrities are made and why we are so obsessed with them? In this course, we will answer these questions. In the process, you will learn the sociological concepts and theories related to popular culture, mass media, social psychology, social inequality, and power. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 104a Sociology of Education
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines the role of education in society, including pedagogy, school systems, teacher organizations, parental involvement, community contexts, as well as issues of class, race, and gender. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 110a Latinx Sociology
[ deis-us dl ss ]

Focuses on the sociology of Latinx communities within the United States. The course will cover a variety of topics that are of interest to sociologists, including race, gender, sexuality, class, family, immigration, and activism. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 111a Cognitive Sociology
[ ss wi ]

How do our brains shape our perception of reality? How does a preference for the familiar shape our perceptions of new situations? How does culture shape brain function and thus minds? This course will examine how we use culture and conversation to sustain and change how we think and the societies in which we live. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 116b Social Inequalities in the Media
[ deis-us oc ss ]

Using sociological theories of media, students will examine how difference is constructed across race, gender, and sexuality and how those representations are connected to larger processes of inequality. Students are expected to complete a research project on media representations. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 123a Countercultures and Cultural Change
[ ss wi ]

Countercultures consist of symbols and practices that are deployed to repudiate conventional ways of life. This class explores the emergence of countercultures, how they are expressed, the ways in which they decline, and when they lead to cultural change. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 125b Self and Society: Who Am I Really?
[ ss ]

What is a self? Are you your biographical story? The sum of your identities? How you present yourself? This social-psychological course delves into these questions experientially, using sociological, psychological, and religious conceptualizations of selfhood to investigate who you really are. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 126a South Asian Diasporas
[ deis-us ss ]

SOC 127a Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
[ nw oc ss ]

Examines three sources of identity that are influential in global affairs: religion, ethnicity and nationalism. Considers theories of the relationship among these identities, especially "secularization theory," then reviews historical examples such as Poland, Iran, India, and Pakistan. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 129a Sociology of Religion
[ deis-us ss ]

An introduction to the sociological study of religion. Investigates what religion is, how it is influential in contemporary American life, and how the boundaries of public and private religion are constructed and contested. Usually offered every year.

SOC 146a Mass Communication Theory
[ ss ]

An examination of key theories in mass communication, including mass culture, hegemony, the production of culture, and public sphere. Themes discussed include the nature of media effects, the role of the audience, and the extent of diversity in the mass media. Usually offered every year.

SOC 149b Social Production of Food
[ ss ]

Examines the social context influencing the everyday and industrial production of food and its cultural meanings. Includes a consideration of debates related to food preferences, the work of food preparation and production, and efforts to commodify and regulate food. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 150b Culture of Consumption
[ ss ]

Examines the historical development and social significance of a culture of consumption. Considers the role of marketing in contemporary society and the expression of consumer culture in various realms of everyday life, including leisure, the family, and education. Usually offered every year.

SOC 151b Morality and Capitalist Society
[ ss wi ]

Is the economy moral? Is it just, fair, or equitable? Is it even vulnerable to moral judgements? Living in a capitalist society, these questions become very important. This course examines them by introducing students to sociological ways of understanding the economy and morality. Usually offered every second year.

ED 170a Race, Power, and Urban Education
[ deis-us oc ss wi ]

Examines the nature of urban schools, their links to the social and political context, and the perspectives of the people who inhabit them. Explores the historical development of urban schools; the social, economic, and personal hardships facing urban students; and challenges of urban school reform. Usually offered every year.

SOC 111a Cognitive Sociology
[ ss wi ]

How do our brains shape our perception of reality? How does a preference for the familiar shape our perceptions of new situations? How does culture shape brain function and thus minds? This course will examine how we use culture and conversation to sustain and change how we think and the societies in which we live. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 113a Sociology of Love
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Examines the concept of love in sociological theory and research, through the lenses of race, economy, gender, sexuality. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 123a Countercultures and Cultural Change
[ ss wi ]

Countercultures consist of symbols and practices that are deployed to repudiate conventional ways of life. This class explores the emergence of countercultures, how they are expressed, the ways in which they decline, and when they lead to cultural change. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 146b Nationalism and Globalization
[ ss wi ]

In an age of globalization, why does nationalism thrive? Are globalization and nationalism rivals, strangers or possibly partners? Students will trace the emergence of nationalism while also examining globalization's impact on societies such as the United States, Russia, China, and India. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 148b The Sociology of Information: Politics, Power, and Property
[ ss wi ]

Examines the claim that information is a key political and economic resource in contemporary society. Considers who has access to information, and how it is used for economic gain, interpersonal advantage, and social control. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 151b Morality and Capitalist Society
[ ss wi ]

Is the economy moral? Is it just, fair, or equitable? Is it even vulnerable to moral judgements? Living in a capitalist society, these questions become very important. This course examines them by introducing students to sociological ways of understanding the economy and morality. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 179a Sociology of Drugs in America
[ ss wi ]

Explores the use, misuse, and control of drugs in the United States, both legal medications and illicit "street" drugs. Examines pressing contemporary debates and dilemmas surrounding drugs in contemporary America, including the opioid crisis. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 18a Observing the Social World: Doing Qualitative Sociology
[ dl ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 118a in prior years.

Observation is the basis of social inquiry. What we see--and by extension, what we overlook or choose to ignore--guides our understanding of social life. This class focuses on how to conduct a qualitative research study, including literature review, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and coding and analysis. Usually offered every year.

SOC 36b Historical and Comparative Sociology
[ dl ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 136b in prior years.

Explores the relationship between sociology and history through examples of scholarship from both disciplines. Using historical studies, the course pays close attention to each author's research strategy. Examines basic research questions, theoretical underpinnings and assumptions, and uses of evidence. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 82a Quantitative Methods in Sociology
[ dl qr ss ]

Introduces students to practical applications of statistical methods in sociology. Emphasizing hands-on learning with the statistical programming language R, the course equips students with tools to analyze and interpret social data. Topics include data management, data visualization, theoretical and operational definitions, levels of measurement, hypothesis testing, probability, t-tests, linear regression, and logistic regression. Students will apply these techniques to a range of sociological questions, developing skills to investigate social patterns and inequalities across diverse contexts. No prior experience with statistics or R is required. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 110a Latinx Sociology
[ deis-us dl ss ]

Focuses on the sociology of Latinx communities within the United States. The course will cover a variety of topics that are of interest to sociologists, including race, gender, sexuality, class, family, immigration, and activism. Usually offered every third year.

HIST/SOC 170b Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.

Explores historical and contemporary debates about gender and sexuality in South Asia; revisits concepts of "woman," "sex," "femininity," "home," "family," "community," "nation," "reform," "protection," and "civilization" across the colonial and postcolonial periods. Usually offered every second year.

POL/WGS 125a Gender in American Politics
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took POL 125a in prior years.

Provides an overview of the many ways that gender and sex shape American politics. While the primary focus of this course is on women's roles in the American political system as activists, citizens, candidates, and elected officials, we also think more expansively about how gender, gender identity, and gender-expression interact with politics, policy, and political behavior. Covers historical context and contemporary developments in women's political activity. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 113a Sociology of Love
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Examines the concept of love in sociological theory and research, through the lenses of race, economy, gender, sexuality. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 115a Masculinities
[ ss ]

Men's experiences of masculinity have only recently emerged as complex and problematic. This course inquires into concepts, literature, and phenomenology of many framings of masculinity. The analytic schemes are historical, sociological, and social-psychological. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 124a Gender, Sexuality, and Globalization
[ djw ss ]

Introduces theories of gender, sexuality, and transnational feminism. Uses sociological research to examine labor, social movements, politics, and culture in global perspective, emphasizing Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 133b Sociology of Reproduction
[ ss ]

Explores reproduction as a social and biological set of meanings and processes through which racial, national, gender, and socio-economic inequalities have been amplified, reconfigured and contested across time and place. It locates individual reproductive experiences and outcomes in regional, national and global contexts. Usually offered every year.

AMST 55a Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in American Culture
[ ss ]

Provides an introductory overview of the study of race, ethnicity, and culture in the United States. Focuses on the historical, sociological, and political movements that affected the arrival and settlement of African, Asian, European, American Indian, and Latino populations in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Utilizing theoretical and discursive perspectives, compares and explores the experiences of these groups in the United States in relation to issues of immigration, population relocations, government and civil legislation, ethnic identity, gender and family relations, class, and community. Usually offered every year.

ED 170a Race, Power, and Urban Education
[ deis-us oc ss wi ]

Examines the nature of urban schools, their links to the social and political context, and the perspectives of the people who inhabit them. Explores the historical development of urban schools; the social, economic, and personal hardships facing urban students; and challenges of urban school reform. Usually offered every year.

HIST 181b Red Flags/Black Flags: Marxism vs. Anarchism, 1845-1968
[ ss ]

From Marx's first major book in 1845 to the French upheavals of 1968, the history of left-wing politics and ideas. The struggles between Marxist orthodoxy and anarchist-inspired, left Marxist alternatives. Usually offered every third year.

HS 110a Labor, Work, and Inequality
[ ss ]

Examines what economic and social factors drive inequality in terms of conditions at work, from wages to discrimination to worker voice, and how these conditions are connected to business decisions, government policies, union and worker advocacy, and worker norms and beliefs. Usually offered every year.

IGS 110a Religion and Secularism in French & Francophone Culture
[ hum ss ]

Tackles the persistent power of religion in France and its former colonies despite common ideals of secular nationalism. Through literature and film we will study the historical and contemporary cultural wars waged around the French notion of 'laïcité' -- its confrontation with Islam, but also the experiences of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants.

SOC 55b Protest, Politics, and Change: Social Movements
[ deis-us ss ]

Introduces major sociological theories about leadership, political context, culture, and identities in social movements in transnational perspective. Examines historical and contemporary cases of social movements through the lenses of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Usually offered every year.

SOC 112b Social Class and Social Inequality
[ oc ss ]

Presents the role of social class in determining life chances, lifestyles, income, occupation, and power; theories of class, inequality, and globalization; selected aspects of social class and inequality; and connections of class, race, and gender. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 113b Sociology of Race and Racism
[ deis-us ss ]

Provides an introduction to the study of race and racism and focuses on specific socio-historical issues surrounding racial inequality in the United States. A variety of media to examine topics such as the institutionalization of white privilege, the social construction of "otherness", racial formation processes, and racial segregation are used" Usually offered every third year.

SOC 121a Inequality and Environmental Justice in the City
[ deis-us ss ]

Offers critical perspectives on the causes and consequences of structural and environmental inequality in U.S. cities. Examines the historic policies and practices that have created and maintained racially segregated neighborhoods and the ongoing impacts of these practices on communities and the environments they live in. Evaluates strategies for promoting environmental justice is disinvested neighborhoods. Usually offered every year.

SOC 146b Nationalism and Globalization
[ ss wi ]

In an age of globalization, why does nationalism thrive? Are globalization and nationalism rivals, strangers or possibly partners? Students will trace the emergence of nationalism while also examining globalization's impact on societies such as the United States, Russia, China, and India. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 148b The Sociology of Information: Politics, Power, and Property
[ ss wi ]

Examines the claim that information is a key political and economic resource in contemporary society. Considers who has access to information, and how it is used for economic gain, interpersonal advantage, and social control. Usually offered every third year.

SOC 162a Intellectuals and Revolutionary Politics
[ ss ]

Can you change a society by changing its culture? How do writers, painters, and bloggers give their countries new visions of justice -- or even revenge? This class studies the ideas behind revolutions, who creates them, and why. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 168a Democracy and Inequality in Global Perspective
[ ss ]

Can democracy survive great inequalities of wealth and status? In authoritarian countries, does inequality inspire revolution or obedience? What role does culture play in determining which inequalities are tolerable and which are not? Cases usually include the United States, India, and China. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 175b Environmental Movements: Organizations, Networks, and Partnerships
[ ss ]

Studies environmental movement organizations and field strategies, national advocacy organizations, as well as community-based and civic approaches to environmental problem solving. Case studies draw from sustainable and climate resilient cities, watersheds, coastal adaptation, forests, ecosystem restoration, environmental justice, renewable energy, and the greening of business. May be combined with internships and action research. Usually offered every year.

AAAS/SOC 177a The Other African Americans: Comparative Perspectives on Black Ethnic Diversity
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took AAAS 177a in prior years.

Explores the identities, immigration and integration of Black Africans and Afro-Caribbeans in the United States and United Kingdom from interdisciplinary perspectives. It examines intra-racial and inter-ethnic similarities and differences, conflicts and collaborations that animate the lived experiences of native and new Blacks. Usually offered every second year.

AMST 55a Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in American Culture
[ ss ]

Provides an introductory overview of the study of race, ethnicity, and culture in the United States. Focuses on the historical, sociological, and political movements that affected the arrival and settlement of African, Asian, European, American Indian, and Latino populations in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Utilizing theoretical and discursive perspectives, compares and explores the experiences of these groups in the United States in relation to issues of immigration, population relocations, government and civil legislation, ethnic identity, gender and family relations, class, and community. Usually offered every year.

ED 170a Race, Power, and Urban Education
[ deis-us oc ss wi ]

Examines the nature of urban schools, their links to the social and political context, and the perspectives of the people who inhabit them. Explores the historical development of urban schools; the social, economic, and personal hardships facing urban students; and challenges of urban school reform. Usually offered every year.

ENVS 130a Environmental Politics in Latin America
[ djw ss ]

Provides an overview of socioenvironmental issues in Latin America. Explores the relationship between nature and development, and specifically, what difference climate change makes and to whom in the region. Topics include conservation, colonialism, indigenous rights, gender, socio-environmental movements, and North-South and regional inequalities. Usually offered every year.

HIST 181b Red Flags/Black Flags: Marxism vs. Anarchism, 1845-1968
[ ss ]

From Marx's first major book in 1845 to the French upheavals of 1968, the history of left-wing politics and ideas. The struggles between Marxist orthodoxy and anarchist-inspired, left Marxist alternatives. Usually offered every third year.

HS 110a Labor, Work, and Inequality
[ ss ]

Examines what economic and social factors drive inequality in terms of conditions at work, from wages to discrimination to worker voice, and how these conditions are connected to business decisions, government policies, union and worker advocacy, and worker norms and beliefs. Usually offered every year.

HS 125a Contemporary Antisemitism: Policy Analysis and Research

Examines contemporary antisemitism and programs/policies designed to address anti-Jewish hatred. Course content is multidisciplinary, drawn from political science, social psychology, and sociology. Students will have an opportunity to collect/analyze their own data and develop a policy analysis. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 114b Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[ ss ]

An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 192b Sociology of Disability
[ ss ]

In the latter half of the twentieth century, disability has emerged as an important social-political-economic-medical issue, with its own distinct history, characterized as a shift from "good will to civil rights." Traces that history and the way people with disabilities are seen and unseen, and see themselves. Usually offered every year.

IGS 110a Religion and Secularism in French & Francophone Culture
[ hum ss ]

Tackles the persistent power of religion in France and its former colonies despite common ideals of secular nationalism. Through literature and film we will study the historical and contemporary cultural wars waged around the French notion of 'laïcité' -- its confrontation with Islam, but also the experiences of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants.

IGS 130a Crossing Borders: Mobility and Displacement in a Global Age
[ ss ]

Introduces students to the social, cultural, religious, political, and economic forces that shape global migration today. We follow migration flows across borders and assess their implications for the migrant, the state, and the global economy. Case studies include refugees and asylees whose rights are protected by international law. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 150b Israeli Civil Society: Diversity, Democracy, and Justice
[ djw hum ]

Civil society sustains democracy. It is where alternative futures are imagined, social boundaries are forged and contested, and identities are negotiated. As societies are becoming increasingly diverse and divided, and less stable and safe – civil society is where people organize, dream, and act. The Israeli civil society offers a fascinating case study for understanding the links between identity, organizations, and society. Through the Israeli context, we explore how national, ethnic, gender, cultural,  differences are constructed and managed in diverse and divided societies; understand how civic engagement shapes the future of democracy; and learn about the complexity and diversity of Jewish identity, in Israel and the diaspora. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 164b Sociology of the American Jewish Community
[ dl ss ]

A survey exploring the demographics, social dynamics, needs, and interests of the contemporary American Jewish community. Draws on social science texts, statistical studies, and qualitative research. Usually offered every year. Usually offered every year.

POL/WGS 125a Gender in American Politics
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took POL 125a in prior years.

Provides an overview of the many ways that gender and sex shape American politics. While the primary focus of this course is on women's roles in the American political system as activists, citizens, candidates, and elected officials, we also think more expansively about how gender, gender identity, and gender-expression interact with politics, policy, and political behavior. Covers historical context and contemporary developments in women's political activity. Usually offered every second year.

WGS 89a When Violence Hits Home: Internship in Domestic Violence

Combines fieldwork in domestic and sexual violence prevention programs with a fortnightly seminar exploring cultural and interpersonal facets of violence from a feminist perspective. Topics include theories, causes and prevention of rape, battering, child abuse, and animal abuse. Internships provide practical experience in local organizations such as rape crisis, battered women's violence prevention, and child abuse prevention programs. Usually offered every fall.

WGS 208b Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Research Seminar

Examines theories and practices of women's, gender, and sexuality studies as produced in various disciplines and in interdisciplinary ways, to offer students a historical and contemporary awareness, and to allow students to understand and critically analyze feminist scholarship across a range of disciplines. By the end of class, students will produce a set of research questions or proposal that will help them conceptualize their own independent research projects. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 114b Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[ ss ]

An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 192b Sociology of Disability
[ ss ]

In the latter half of the twentieth century, disability has emerged as an important social-political-economic-medical issue, with its own distinct history, characterized as a shift from "good will to civil rights." Traces that history and the way people with disabilities are seen and unseen, and see themselves. Usually offered every year.

SOC 83a Sociology of Body and Health
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 189a in prior years.

Explores theoretical considerations of the body as a cultural phenomenon intersecting with health, healing, illness, disease, and medicine. Focuses on how gender, race, class, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape individual and population health. Usually offered every year.

SOC 84a Health, Community, and Society
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 191a in prior years.

Reviews sociological theories of medicine as an institution of social control. Explores the relationships between social inequalities and health disparities. Examines how race and gender ideologies are embedded in medical and public health practice and knowledge production. Usually offered every year.

SOC 150a HIV/AIDS, Society, and Politics
[ ss ]

Uses social science research and film in historical perspective to explore the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Topics include gender and sexuality, global inequalities, social movements, the "AIDS industry," and public policy related to HIV/AIDS. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 179a Sociology of Drugs in America
[ ss wi ]

Explores the use, misuse, and control of drugs in the United States, both legal medications and illicit "street" drugs. Examines pressing contemporary debates and dilemmas surrounding drugs in contemporary America, including the opioid crisis. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 187a Race, Health and Medicine in the African Diaspora
[ ss ]

Offers critical perspectives on race, medicine, health, and illness in the African Diaspora. Specifically, we explore how intertwining ideologies of race and gender have contributed to the (mis)management of illness and health in populations of African descent from the periods of slavery and colonization until the present day. Usually offered every year.

SOC 194a Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
[ ss ]

Examines sociological approaches to mental health and illness. The focus is on the history, definitions, social responses and consequences of conceptualizations and treatment of mental illness. This will include some discussion of social factors related to mental disorder and types of mental health treatment. Usually offered every year.