Department of Sociology

Last updated: August 10, 2016 at 4:00 p.m.

Objectives

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 four 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 MA degree in Sociology; the third option is a terminal joint MA in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; the fourth option is a joint PhD in Social Policy (Heller School for Social Policy and Management) and Sociology.

Learning Goals

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 and Gender 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:

  • Recognize the ways in which social contexts shape individual and group behavior
  • Rigorously engage with core questions of inequity, identity, justice, and social meaning
  • Relate sociological frameworks to pressing social, economic, and political issues and policies
  • 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:

  • Creatively identify, confront, and assess issues of sociological significance in a range of real-world settings
  • Understand, develop, and extend theoretical frameworks for critically and systematically engaging with social phenomena
  • Employ established principles of research design, data collection and analysis to rigorously address empirical research questions
  • 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:

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

How to Become a Major

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 or 3b early in their major.

How to Be Admitted to the Graduate Program

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.

In addition, all prospective students are required to submit written material (papers, etc.) representative of their best work, which need not, however, be of a sociological nature.

Faculty

Karen V. Hansen, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
Sociology of family and kinship. Historical sociology. Sociology of gender class and race-ethnicity.

Wendy Cadge (on leave fall 2016)
Sociology of religion. Sociology of culture. Health and medicine. Immigration. Sexuality. Gender. Organizations. Research methods.

Peter Conrad
Sociology of health and illness. Deviance. Field methods.

Gordon Fellman
Marx and Freud. Social class. Peace, conflict, and coexistence studies. Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Empowerment. Psychoanalytic sociology. Masculinities.

Laura J. Miller, Director of Graduate Studies
Sociology of culture. Mass communication. Urban sociology. Consumers and consumption.

Shulamit Reinharz
History of women in sociology. Qualitative and feminist methodology. Group dynamics. Jewish women's studies.

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

Thomas Shapiro (Heller School)
Stratification. Race.

Sara Shostak
Sociology of health and illness. Science and technology studies. Body and society. Research methods.

Carmen Sirianni
Civic engagement and innovation. Environment and climate action. Collaborative governance. Public policy for democracy. Political sociology. Work. Organizations. Theory.

Michael Strand
Social theory. Culture, morality, knowledge, and historical sociology. Economic sociology.

Ana Villalobos
Sociology of family. Gender. Education. Qualitative research methods. Social psychology of the self.

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)

Requirements for the Major

Students entering Brandeis in the fall of 2016 or after must fulfill the following requirements: completion of nine semester courses, which must include:

A. SOC 1a. This course should be taken early in the curriculum.

B. SOC 100b.

C. SOC 181a. For academic year 2016-2017, students may substitute SOC 118a or SOC 182a for the methods requirement.

D. At least one course in three of the following four sub-areas:

Health, Illness, and Life Course
SOC 117b, 165a, 169b, 176a, 177b, 189a, 191a, 193a, 194a, 196a; ANTH 111a; HSSP 114b, 120bj, 192b.

Political and Social Change
SOC 111a, 112b, 119a, 123b, 141a 146b, 147a, 148b, 153a, 155b, 157a, 162a, 168a, 175b; AAAS 118b; AMST 55a; HS 110a, 143a; HIST 181b.

Gender and Family
SOC 115a, 117a, 124a, 125a, 130a, 131b, 132b, 137a, 138a; POL 125a.

Institutions, Communities, and Culture
SOC 104a, 104aj, 108bj, 116a, 120a, 120b, 122a, 125b, 126a, 127a, 129a, 146a, 147a, 149b, 150b, 151b, 152a, 154a, 156aj, 164a; AAAS 177a, 183b; IGS 130a; NEJS 164b.

E. Three additional sociology electives.

F. A minimum of six semester courses counted toward major credit must be taught by a member of the faculty from the Department of Sociology. (No more than two courses from study abroad may count toward the major requirements).

G. No more than two courses cross-listed in sociology may count toward the major requirements.

H. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the major.

I. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.

J. Students may apply an internship course (either SOC 89a, SOC 92a, SJSP 89a, or WMGS 89a) only once toward the requirements for the major.

K. 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.

Sociology Research Track

Students may also elect to participate in the Sociology Research Track, which provides concentrated training focused on professional sociological research. To enroll in the Research Track, students can meet with the department’s Undergraduate Advising Head at any point, though it is strongly encouraged that interested students declare prior to their final year at Brandeis. Students in the Research Track must complete the following requirements:

1. Earn a grade of B- or better in a Sociology research methods course (either SOC 118a, 136b, 181a, 182a, 182aj, or 183a). Students should complete this methods requirement by the end of their junior year, or successfully petition to fulfill the requirement during their seventh semester.

2. Successfully complete either a Senior Honors Thesis (SOC 99a and b) or a Senior Research Paper (SOC 98a or 98b).

3. Earn a grade of B- or better in the Sociology Capstone Seminar (SOC 199b). Research Track participants will receive major credit for the capstone course, as well as for SOC 98a or b or SOC 99b.

Additionally, Research Track participants will have opportunities to attend specialized meetings with visiting colloquium speakers and to give a guest lecture or presentation in an undergraduate Sociology course, the Approaches to Sociological Research graduate proseminar, and/or the New England Undergraduate Sociology Research Conference.

Special Notes Relating to Undergraduates

Joint graduate/undergraduate senior seminars are courses on advanced topics in sociology that are limited to twelve students. These courses are an opportunity for more in-depth study and are especially valuable for anyone considering graduate school. In ordinary circumstances, they will be accessible only to advanced undergraduates with adequate preparatory work (SOC 1a or SOC 3b and other sociology courses). Permission of instructor is necessary for undergraduates.

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

Admission to the stand-alone Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology has been suspended.

Program of Study
A Master's degree in Sociology 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). The stand-alone MA degree in Sociology is designed for completion in either two or three semesters, with the degree awarded at the next official University degree conferral after completion of residence and requirements. Each MA degree candidate will devise a specialized program with a faculty adviser.

To fulfill program requirements for either the stand-alone or in-passing MA, students must complete eight courses. At least five of these courses must be taken in the Sociology Department at Brandeis. One course must be the MA proseminar OR one full year of SOC 300a, (available to students working toward the in-passing MA.) At least two other courses must be Sociology graduate seminars (courses numbered 200 or higher) or joint undergraduate/graduate seminars. One of the eight required courses must be in research methods and one must be in social theory. The research methods and theory classes can be taken in any department with the approval of the Graduate Committee. One course must be an independent study through which students are working on their final project OR an exam preparation course which students enroll in the semester before they complete the MA exam. One course may be an internship (SOC 292a). For upper-division courses (numbered 100 or higher) to be given graduate level credit, they should be supplemented by additional meetings, readings, and/or written work; the form that this enhancement will take should be worked out with the course instructor in the first two weeks of the course.

All MA students will complete either a Master's project or the MA exam. Students completing the program in two semesters will take the exam. Students completing the program in three semesters will complete the project.

The MA exam is a take-home (72-hour) examination given in the last week of classes of the spring semester. Two Sociology Department faculty members, either from the Graduate Committee or selected by the Graduate Committee, will draft the exam. These same faculty members will read the exam, which will be graded on a pass/fail basis. The exam will include two questions that draw on the coursework students have taken in theory and research methods as well as on their substantive interests. Students will be notified of their grade on the exam within two weeks of handing in the essays. Any student who fails the exam will be given the option to retake it once – the following spring.

The MA project may be a research paper of professional quality and length or a project a student develops in consultation with her or his adviser and the Graduate Committee. Students completing a Master's project will choose two faculty members of the Sociology department, one of whom is designated as chair, to guide and review the project. Both faculty members must communicate their approval of the project to the department Graduate Administrator before the University deadline for certifying degree requirements.

Students enrolled in the stand-alone MA program will be assigned a faculty adviser when they begin the program. At the start of the first semester, students are required to submit their plan of study for the year (agreed on with their adviser) to the Graduate Committee for approval. They must submit an update to that plan, including more specific details about the final project or decision to take the MA exam, to the Graduate Committee before the end of the add-drop period of the spring semester.

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

Residence Requirement
Nine months. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

Requirements for the Joint Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Program of Study
A. WMGS 205a or another course designated as a graduate foundational course in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

B. One course in feminist research methodologies (WMGS 208b, the Feminist Inquiry course offered through the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies, or an alternate).

C. 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.

D. Three graduate sociology courses: one theory, one outside the area of gender, and one elective, which could be a directed reading.

E. One additional elective graduate course.

F. 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 WMGS 299, "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. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Program of Study
Students entering the PhD program in sociology are expected to complete six semesters of the program’s SOC 300a (Approaches to Social Research Proseminar). Credit for the sixth semester of SOC 300a is dependent on the student submitting a single-authored publishable research paper to a peer-reviewed academic journal. Students will additionally complete fourteen other courses. At least six of these courses must be formal graduate seminars offered by the Brandeis sociology department. One of those six seminars must be in social theory and one must be in research methods. Four additional courses must be completed within the Brandeis sociology department, either as graduate seminars, independent readings, advanced undergraduate/graduate seminars, or upper-division courses. The four remaining courses can be taken as the student chooses, including graduate courses at other Boston-area universities, in consultation with her or his adviser. 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 year of study. Each spring, students are required to complete self-evaluation forms that are reviewed by the department faculty to monitor progress.

Teaching Requirement
It is required that all PhD students participate in undergraduate teaching. This typically means leading discussion sections or otherwise working in collaboration with individual professors. PhD students receiving stipends are required to serve as teaching fellows or research fellows during their first eight semesters in residence. All students also have an opportunity to develop the craft of teaching through teaching workshops within the department and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Residence Requirement
The minimum residence for the PhD is three 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 three 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 completion of the plan, the student will take an oral qualifying examination covering general sociology and the areas of the student's special interests.

Dissertation and the Final Oral Examination
A dissertation proposal should be submitted soon after the QPD is completed. The dissertation committee should consist of three members from the sociology department faculty and an outside reader chosen with the advice of the committee members and approved by the graduate committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.

The PhD dissertation may be accepted by the program 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.

Requirements for the Joint Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Sociology

Admission to the Joint Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Sociology has been suspended.

Program of Study
Students must complete a total of twenty-one courses. Nine of these courses should be offered by the sociology department comprising at least four graduate seminars plus SOC 300a (Approaches to Social Research Proseminar), which is required during each semester of course work following matriculation into the joint degree program. At least one of these sociology courses must be in theory. Additionally, at least nine courses must be taken within the NEJS department. In NEJS, students in their first year are required to participate in a weekly for-credit graduate Proseminar (NEJS 231a) during the fall semester and a biweekly noncredit Proseminar in the spring. The remaining three courses are open to student choice with the approval of the student’s advisers.

Advising
Students are assigned advisers from the sociology department and from the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies department. Both advisers will work with the student to assure appropriate course coherency. An interdepartmental meeting between both advisers and the student should take place at least once a year.

Teaching Requirement
As part of the graduate training program in NEJS, all PhD students are required to fulfill five semester-length teaching fellow or research assignments during the first four years of their programs, serving as apprentices to faculty mentors. All incoming NEJS/SOC doctoral students are to take the university writing pedagogy seminar in their first year (preferably in their first semester). Students will serve as teaching fellows in at least one university writing course. In addition, the department holds an orientation program for all new students and sponsors colloquia on teaching. Their faculty mentors evaluate students' teaching fellow work each semester. Students' teaching portfolios are in part drawn from these evaluations.

Residence Requirement
Three years of full-time residence are required at the normal rate of at least seven term courses each academic year. Students who enter with graduate credit from other recognized institutions may apply for transfer credit. By rule of the Graduate School, a maximum of one year of credit may be accepted toward the residence requirement on the recommendation of the chair of the program.

Language Requirements
Candidates are required to establish competence in Hebrew and one modern language (normally French or German but depending on the area of research, another language may be substituted). Language examinations will be administered by the student's advisers. Statistics can be substituted for a modern language. Candidates are required to establish competence in statistics by successful completion of an appropriate Brandeis course in statistics.

Consortium
Students should also discuss with their advisers the desirability of taking courses at member institutions of the Boston Consortium.

Comprehensive Examinations and Graduate Accreditation
Before proposing and writing a doctoral dissertation, students must show competence in two areas of sociology through the Sociology qualifying process, pass a two-part written comprehensive examination in Jewish cultural literacy in the NEJS department, and pass an oral major field examination.

Candidates demonstrate Jewish cultural literacy in a two-part written examination, which has English and Hebrew components, and a follow-up oral examination. The Hebrew examination in primary sources is part of the cultural literacy examination. This examination gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their broad general knowledge of Jewish literature and cultures of the biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and early modern periods. The oral examination provides opportunity for further exploration following the written examination. Following the successful completion of the Jewish cultural literacy examinations, candidates demonstrate their particular field of expertise in contemporary Jewish societies through the oral major field examination.

The Qualifying Portfolio and Defense(QPD) is the sociology department equivalent to comprehensive examinations. Students elect two sociological areas of interest and, with the appropriate faculty member, create a contract of requirements for the completion of a portfolio in the specific area. The portfolio can include such items as completed courses, papers, independent readings, or bibliographies. Faculty advisers suggest readings, written work, or independent studies. When the QPD requirement is completed, there will be a comprehensive meeting to discuss the candidate's interests and direction in the field and the upcoming dissertation.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination
A dissertation proposal should be submitted to the dissertation committee soon after the comprehensive examinations and Sociology requirements are completed. The dissertation committee should consist of five members: two each from the Sociology and the NEJS departments and a fifth member from outside those departments. After approval of the proposal by the dissertation committee, it is submitted to the department faculties for approval. The dissertation committee must approve the dissertation and the student must successfully defend the dissertation at a final oral examination.

Requirements for the Joint Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Sociology

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 graduate study at the Heller School or in the sociology department (admission is not guaranteed).

Program of Study
Students entering the joint PhD program in social policy and sociology are expected to complete at least eight courses offered by the Brandeis sociology department (comprising at least four graduate seminars) plus the Approaches to Social Research Proseminar, which is required during each semester of coursework following matriculation into the joint degree program). At least one of these sociology courses must be in theory. Additionally, a minimum of 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. Students are also required to take a noncredit dissertation seminar at the Heller School for two semesters.

Students are assigned advisers from the sociology department and from the Heller School. Advisers in both departments work together with students to assure appropriate coherency in their program of courses. An interdepartmental meeting between advisers and students should take place at least once a year.

Residence Requirement
The minimum residence for the joint degree of Doctor of Philosophy in social policy and sociology is three years.

Teaching Requirement
All joint PhD students must participate in undergraduate teaching. This typically means leading discussion sections or otherwise working in collaboration with individual professors. PhD students also have an opportunity to develop the craft of teaching through teaching workshops within the department and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

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 (QPD) process (the sociology department equivalent of comprehensive exams). Students elect two areas of interest and develop a contractual set of requirements with a faculty member for each area. When both portfolios are completed, there is a meeting (typically one to two hours) to discuss the student's interests, directions in the field, and the upcoming dissertation.

Dissertation and the Final Oral Examination
A dissertation proposal should be submitted soon after the comprehensive examination and QPDs are completed. 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.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

SOC 1a Order and Change in Society
[ ss ]
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.
Ms. Cadge or Mr. Sirianni

SOC 3b Social Theory and Contemporary Society
[ ss ]
Provides an introduction to social theory and ways that core sociological concepts are used to understand social interaction, social problems, and social change. Students read classic works including, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Mead, as well as more recent empirical studies. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

SOC 90a Independent Fieldwork
Equivalent to four one-semester courses. Students taking it are expected to work out a plan of study for one semester with the help of two faculty members. This plan is to be submitted to the undergraduate committee of the department for approval. Usually offered every year.
Staff

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.
Staff

SOC 97b Group Readings and Research
Staff

SOC 98a Individual Readings and Research in Sociology
Individual readings and reports under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 98b Individual Readings and Research in Sociology
Individual readings and reports under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

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.
Staff

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.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

HS 143a Social Justice and Philanthropy
[ ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 143a in prior years.
Examines the role of philanthropy in American society including individual, institutional, and societal-level factors that affect philanthropic efforts to create social change and the relationship between social justice and philanthropy. Students explore philanthropy from both theoretical and practical perspectives using an academic framework grounded in sociological theory and a semester-long experiential learning exercise in real-dollar grantmaking. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 100b Introduction to Sociological Theory
[ ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 10b in prior years.
Introduces the student to the foundations of sociological and social psychological explanatory systems. Analyzes the major ideas of classical and modern authors and their competing approaches and methodologies--Durkheim, Weber, Mead, Du Bois, Goffman, Marcuse, Haraway, Barrett, Foucault, and others. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Strand

SOC 104a Sociology of Education
[ 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 year.
Mr. Wallace

SOC 111a Political Sociology
[ ss ]
Social and institutional bases of public life (social capital, interest groups, movements, communities, parties, urban regimes, collaborative governance) and relationships to politics and policy at local and national levels. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sirianni

SOC 112b Social Class and Social Change
[ ss ]
Presents the role of social class in determining life chances, lifestyles, income, occupation, and power; theories of class, inequality, and globalization; selected social psychological aspects of social class and inequality; and connections of class, race, and gender. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fellman

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.
Mr. Fellman

SOC 116a Work, Employment and Unemployment: Sociological Approaches
[ ss ]
Considers work, employment, and unemployment in the U.S. using a sociological framework. It offers a broad overview of the role work has played in society historically and currently, and the changing nature of work in the 21st century. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Chaganti

SOC 117a Sociology of Work and Gender
[ ss ]
Many people think gender differences in work are disappearing. Yet gender segregation by job type is pervasive and women predominate in the lower paid, lower status jobs, particularly in the care sector. Women are also still doing disproportional amounts of domestic and parenting labor at home, which exacts a great cost from them in the paid workforce. This course examines gender disparities in both paid an unpaid work, and how that affects women’s and men’s lives, work/family conflicts, and society at large. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lucas

SOC 117b Sociology of Science, Technology, and Medicine
[ oc ss ]
From the moment we are born, to when we die, our lives are shaped by science, technology, and medicine. This course draws on both historical and contemporary case studies to examine how science and medicine enter into our ideas about who we are as individuals and members of social groups (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity), understandings of health and illness, and ideals regarding what constitutes a good life, and a good death. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Shostak

SOC 118a Observing the Social World: Doing Qualitative Sociology
[ ss wi ]
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. We practice interviews, social observation and analysis of print and visual media. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Cadge or Ms. Shostak

SOC 119a Deconstructing War, Building Peace
[ ss ]
Ponders the possibility of a major "paradigm shift" under way from adversarialism and war to mutuality and peace. Examines war culture and peace culture and points in between, with emphases on the role of imagination in social change, growing global interdependence, and political, economic, gender, social class, and social psychological aspects of war and peace. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Fellman

SOC 120a Technology and Society
[ ss ]
Technologies are neither good nor bad, but are shaped by human interests and values, and shape us in return. Why and how does this happen, and how can we create the future we want? Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hackett

SOC 120b Globalization and the Media
[ ss ]
Investigates the phenomenon of globalization as it relates to mass media. Topics addressed include the growth of transnational media organizations, the creation of audiences that transcend territorial groupings, the hybridization of cultural styles, and the consequences for local identities. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

SOC 121b Religion, Gender, and Sexuality in America: A Sociological Approach
[ ss ]
Provides an introduction to the broad sociological studies of religion, gender, and sexualities; futhermore, it considers in depth how people's religious communities, practices, and identities both inform and are informed by gender and sexuality. Special one-time offering, spring 2017.
Ms. Clendenen

SOC 122a The Sociology of American Immigration
[ ss ]
Most of us descend from immigrants. Focusing on the United States but in a global perspective, we address the following questions: Why do people migrate? How does this affect immigrants' occupations, gendered households, rights, identities, youth, and race relations with other groups? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lucken

SOC 123b The Welfare State and Nonprofit America
[ ss ]
Studies major programs of the welfare state in social security, health, and welfare, as well as local nonprofits in youth development and other human services, national foundations, social entrepreneurism, AmeriCorps, and other forms of community service. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sirianni

SOC 124a Gender and Human Rights
[ ss ]
Examines the challenges and opportunities posed by framing women's rights within an international human rights discourse. Utilizes global case studies to explore how gender shapes major social structures, including education, work, the economy, the state and religion. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

SOC 125a Sport and Society: A Sociological Perspective
[ ss ]
Explores how the institution of sport relates to: other social institutions (such as religion or the media), the construction of social categories (like race, gender, class), and socio-cultural beliefs/values (e.g. positive socialization versus social problems. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

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.
Staff

SOC 127a Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
[ nw 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.
Mr. Rosenberger

SOC 129a Sociology of Religion
[ ss wi ]
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.
Ms. Cadge or Ms. Clendenon

SOC 130a Families, Kinship and Sexuality
[ ss ]
Counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Investigates changes in the character of American families over the last two centuries. A central concern will be the dynamic interactions among economic, cultural, political, and social forces, and how they shape and are reshaped by families over time. Particular attention is paid to how experiences of men and women vary by class, race, and ethnicity. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Hansen

SOC 131b Biography, Gender, and Society
[ ss ]
This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Through reading biographies of intellectuals, political leaders, artists and "ordinary" people and exploring the biographical method, this seminar investigates the relationship between everyday life, history, social patterns of behavior, and the sex/gender system. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Hansen

SOC 132b Social Perspectives on Parenting
[ ss ]
This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Explores how parenting, the seemingly most intimate and personal of experiences, is deeply influenced by economic structures and culture. Highlights gender: why childcare falls disproportionately to women, and how this affects the lives and outcomes of women and men, and society more broadly. Also addresses how racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and class differences correspond to different parenting experiences. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

SOC 136b Historical and Comparative Sociology
[ ss ]
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.
Mr. Rosenberger or Ms. Hansen

SOC 137a Gender and the Life Course
[ oc ss ]
Explores how individual development across the life course is shaped by gender and the interconnecting influences of historical period, social and cultural context, life stage, and the generational cohort into which a person is born. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

SOC 138a Sociology of Race, Gender, and Class
[ ss ]
Examines race, class and gender as critical dimensions of social difference that organize social systems. Uses a variety of media to analyze how race, class and gender as axes of identity and inequality (re)create forms of domination and subordination in schools, labor markets, families, and the criminal justice system. Usually offered every third year. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Wallace

SOC 141a Marx and Freud
[ ss ]
Examines Marxian and Freudian analyses of human nature, human potential, social stability, conflict, consciousness, social class, and change. Includes attempts to combine the two approaches. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fellman

SOC 146a Mass Communication Theory
[ ss wi ]
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.
Ms. Miller

SOC 146b Nationalism and Globalization
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: IGS 10a, SOC 1a, or SOC 3b.
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.
Mr. Rosenberger

SOC 146bj Nationalism and Globalization
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: IGS 10a, SOC 1a, or SOC 3b.
Examines the origins and nature of nationalism and ways in which nationalist competition among European powers contributed to globalization. Also in this course students will explore the adoption of nationalism in non-Western states and consequences for the next phase of globalization. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Rosenberger

SOC 147a Sustainable Cities and Communities
[ ss ]
Studies innovations in the U.S and around the world that enhance urban sustainability, healthy communities, environmental justice, climate resilience and adaptation. Grassroots sustainability and climate movements, as well as environmental, health, and urban planning practice are examined. May be combined with internships and action research. May be combined with internships and action research. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sirianni

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

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.
Ms. Miller

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.
Ms. Miller

SOC 151b Morality and Market Society
[ ss ]
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.
Mr. Strand

SOC 152a Urban Life and Culture
[ ss ]
An analysis of the social and cultural dimensions of life in urban environments. Examines how various processes, including immigration, deindustrialization, and suburbanization, affect neighborhoods, public spaces, work, shopping, and leisure in the city. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

SOC 153a The Sociology of Empowerment
[ ss ]
Course does not participate in early registration. Attendance at first class meeting mandatory. Students selected by essay, interview, and lottery.
This class combines reading, exercises, journal keeping, and retreats (including a weekend one) to address activism and how sociological constructs affect feelings of helplessness, futility, hope, vision, efficacy, hurt, fear, and anger. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Fellman

SOC 154a Community Structure and Youth Subcultures
[ ss ]
Examines how the patterning of relations within communities generates predictable outcomes at the individual and small-group level. Deals with cities, suburbs, and small rural communities. Special focus is given to youth subcultures typically found in each community type. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Schor

SOC 155b Protest, Politics, and Change: Social Movements
[ ss ]
Utilizes case studies of actual movements to examine a variety of approaches to contentious politics. Covers collective behavior, resource mobilization, rational choice, and newer interactive models. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Vijayakumar

SOC 156b Sociology of Celebrity
[ ss wi ]
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.
Mr. Strand

SOC 157a Sociology of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation
[ ss ]
An introduction to Jewish and Palestinian nationalisms; relevant sociological, political, religious, and resource issues; social psychological dimensions; and the conflict in world politics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fellman

SOC 162a Intellectuals and Revolutionary Politics
[ ss ]
Examines the role of intellectuals in modern politics, especially their relationship to nationalism and revolutionary movements. In reading across a range of political revolutions (e.g. in Central Europe, colonial Africa and Iran), students will have the chance to compare the relative significance of appeals to solidarity based on class, religion, ethnicity, and national identity. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Rosenberger

SOC 164a Existential Sociology
[ ss ]
Introduces existential themes in relation to the discipline of sociology and social psychology and evaluates selected theories on human nature, identity and interaction, individual freedom and social ethics, and the existential theory of agency and action. Mead, Sartre, Goffman, Kierkegaard, De Beauvoir, Elizabeth Beck, Taylor, and others will be considered. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 165a Living and Dying in America: The Sociology of Birth and Death
[ ss ]
Not open to first year students. Not open to students who had a death in their immediate family in the past year.
This course introduces the tools and concepts central to the sociological study of birth and death in the United States. It is discussion-based and includes guest speakers, field trips, and interactive assignments. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Cadge

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 include the United States, India, and China. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Rosenberger

SOC 169b Issues in Sexuality
[ oc ss ]
Not open to first-year undergraduate students. This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Explores dimensions of human sexuality. This course will take as its central tenet that humans are sexual beings and their sexuality is shaped by gender, class, race, culture, and history. It will explore the contradictory ways of understanding sexual behavior and relationships. The course intends to teach students about the social nature of sexual expression. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Cadge or Ms. Smollin

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 industry. May be combined with internships and action research. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sirianni

SOC 176a Nature, Nurture, and Public Policy
[ ss ]
Examines the impact of heredity or genetic theories of human problems on developing public policy, including the viability and validity of theories and evidence. Historical and contemporary cases such as gender, IQ, mental illness, and alcoholism are studied. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Conrad

SOC 181a Methods of Social Inquiry
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: SOC 1a or SOC 3b. Registration priority given to juniors and seniors.
Introduces students to qualitative and quantitative approaches to social research. Throughout the course emphasis is on conceptual understanding, with hands-on applications and exercises. No statistical or mathematical background is necessary. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Cadge

SOC 182a Applied Research Methods
[ qr ss ]
Provides hand-on training in social science research methodology, covering issues related to research design, data collection, and causal analysis within the context of a large-scale collaborative research project. Students will operate as a member of a research team with responsibility over a component of a broader project tied to real-world social justice initiative. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

SOC 189a Sociology of Body and Health
[ ss ]
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 experiences and opportunities for agency and resistance. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Shostak

SOC 191a Health, Community, and Society
[ ss ]
This course offers a 2-credit optional practicum.
An exploration into interrelationships among society, health, and disease, emphasizing the social causes and experience of illness. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Conrad

SOC 193a Environment, Health, and Society
[ ss ]
This course draws on sociological perspectives to examine two key questions: (1) How does social organization enter into the production of environmental health and illness? and (2) How do scientists, regulators, social movement activists, and people affected by illness seek to understand, regulate, and intervene in relationships between the environment and human health? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Shostak

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 second year.
Mr. Conrad or Mr. Gillespie

SOC 199b Senior Capstone Seminar: Sociology in the World
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to senior Sociology majors and graduate students.
Provides an opportunity for senior Sociology majors to consider in depth how sociologists engage with the research process to inform both academic and public debate over pressing social issues. Usually offered every year.
Staff

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

SOC 201a Classical and Critical Theory
Examines major contributions in the history of sociological thought and identifies critical connections between the classical statements and the modern complex reality; new critical theory and identity, social movements and globalization: from Hegel and Weber to Habermas, Marcuse, Foucault, Luhmann, Kellner, Melucci, Frazer, and others. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Strand

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.
Ms. Cadge or Ms. Shostak

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.
Ms. Miller or Mr. Strand

SOC 206b Advanced Topics in Family Studies
This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Studies Western European and American families and the historical processes that have shaped them, especially industrial capitalism, slavery, and immigration. Explores various controversies regarding the family: the family as an economic unit vs. a group of individuals with varying experiences; the shift of activity from primarily production to consumption; increased privatization vs. increased public intervention; recent changes in family structure and fertility patterns; and resolution of the double burden associated with the second shift for women. The course will take a different topical focus each time it is taught. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Hansen or Ms. Villalobos

SOC 208a Social Problems Theory and Research
Explores the role of social problems theory, with a strong emphasis on social constructionism. Also examines the development and dilemmas of constructionism and aligned approaches. Students are required to undertake independent studies of particular social problems. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Conrad

SOC 209b Social Movements
Provides a detailed examination of the literatures related to social movements and collective action. The focus is on reviewing past and current attempts to explain various aspects of contentious political activity, as well as introducing newly emerging explanatory models. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Vijayakumar

SOC 210b Gender, Class, and Race
Examines primarily gender, class, and race, but also addresses inequality as structured by citizenship status and sexuality. Examines how U.S. and other societies distribute resources accordingly, shape discourse and ideology, and foster individual and group identities. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Hansen

SOC 217a Problems and Issues in the Sociology of Health and Illness
Offers a sociocultural-historical-political perspective on the study of problems of health and illness. Accomplishes this by examining some of the basic assumptions underlying the way people conceive of and study issues in health care. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Conrad

SOC 218a Inequality and Health
Analyzes quantitative and qualitative studies of health outcomes, the social conditions that are related to the health of populations, and some of the mechanisms through which these patterns are produced. Explores implications for both research and policy. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Shostak

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.
Ms. Miller

SOC 222a Graduate Seminar on American Immigration
Provides graduate students with a sociological understanding of American immigration and frames this national experience within a broader framework of global migration. Graduate students design their own research agenda related to the topic of immigration. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lucken

SOC 225b Environmental Sociology, Politics, and Policy
Examines an array of social movements, civic and nonprofit organizations, professional and trade associations, and institutional and policy subfields within environmentalism, especially but not exclusively within the United States. We examine perspectives from sociology and related disciplines. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Sirianni

SOC 230a Readings in Sociological Literature
Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

SOC 230b Readings in Sociological Literature
Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

SOC 250a Master's Program Proseminar
Provides students in the Sociology MA program with professional workshops, talks given by visiting speakers, and opportunities to discuss research. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Miller

SOC 292a Master's Graduate Internship
Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 294a Exam Preparation
Exam preparation course for students preparing for the MA exam. Spring semester only. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 294b Paper Preparation
Independent study for MA students working on a final paper or project. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 300a Approaches to Sociological Research
Yields half-course credit. Required of graduate students for six semesters during the first three years of their course of study. Formerly offered as SOC 240a.
A seminar designed to guide graduate students through the process of producing sociological research. The course will be based on students' development of their own independent research and on considerations of larger professional issues related to research and publication. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Cadge, Ms. Hansen, or Mr. Strand

SOC 392a Graduate Internship
Graduate internship for PhD candidates. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 401d Dissertation Research
Independent research for the PhD. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

Cross-Listed in Sociology

AAAS 118b Race, Prisons and Social Justice
[ ss ]
Explores race, prisons and social justice from approximately the late nineteenth century to the present. It in particular examines the impact of the thirteenth amendment, the rise of the convict leasing, the prisoners' rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the rise and fall of the "decarceration" programs, and neo-conservative politics of law and order on the era of mass incarceration and on social inequality in America. Special one-time offering, spring 2016.
Ms. Lynch

AAAS 177a The Other African Americans: Comparative Perspectives on Black Ethnic Diversity
[ ss ]
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.
Mr. Wallace

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.
Staff

ANTH 81a Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork: Methods and Practice of Anthropological Research
[ ss wi ]
Formerly offered as ANTH 181aj.
Examines principal issues in ethnographic fieldwork and analysis, including research design, data collection, and ethnographic representation. Students will develop a focused research question, design field research, and conduct supervised fieldwork in a variety of local settings. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Anjaria or Ms. Ferry

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ nw ss wi ]
This course offers a 2-credit optional Experiential Learning practicum.
Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lamb

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.
Mr. Hulliung

HIST 183b Community and Alienation: Social Theory from Hegel to Freud
[ ss ]
The rise of social theory understood as a response to the trauma of industrialization. Topics include Marx's concept of "alienation," Tönnies's distinction between "community" and "society," Durkheim's notion of "anomie," Weber's account of "disenchantment," and Nietzsche's repudiation of modernity. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Hulliung

HOID 102b Knowledge and Power
[ hum ]
What is the relationship between knowledge and power? Using the work of Michel Foucault as a foundation, this course will explore the interweaving effects of power and knowledge in institutions and their systems of thought. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Gamsby

HS 110a Wealth and Poverty
[ ss ]
Examines why the gap between richer and poorer citizens appears to be widening in the United States and elsewhere, what could be done to reverse this trend, and how the widening disparity affects major issues of public policy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Shapiro

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 year.
Ms. Jefferson

HSSP 120bj Health Care Landscapes
[ ss wi ]
Through the lens of diabetes and obesity, students will explore the health landscape and gain insight into current "healthy environments", including how we are - or are not - addressing population health needs. Students will use a social determinants of health lens to critically analyze how our systems and environments (e.g. health care, food, schools, built environment/neighborhoods, community organizations and more) are situated within a context of local, national, and global inequities and struggles for justice. In using this lens, students will learn how to critically explore what impact race, gender, socioeconomic status, neighborhoods, and more have on health. Guest lectures, site visits, participatory discussion, hands-on experiences/assignments. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Rosenfeld

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.
Mr. Gulley

NEJS 164b The Sociology of the American Jewish Community
[ hum ss ]
Open to all students.
A survey exploring transformations in modern American Jewish societies, including American Jewish families, organizations, and behavior patterns in the second half of the twentieth century. Draws on social science texts, statistical studies, and qualitative research; also makes use of a broad spectrum of source materials, examining evidence from journalism, fiction, film, and other cultural artifacts. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Fishman

POL 52a Basic Statistics for Social and Political Analysis
[ qr ss ]
Provides a foundation in statistics focusing on descriptive statistics, inference, hypothesis testing and the basics of regression analysis. Becoming familiar with basic statistics will help you to prepare for a career as a social scientist. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Corral

POL 125a Women in American Politics
[ ss ]
Addresses three major dimensions of women's political participation: social reform and women-identified issues; women's organizations and institutions; and women politicians, electoral politics, and party identification. Covers historical context and contemporary developments in women's political activity. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Greenlee

SJSP 89a Social Justice, Social Policy Internship
To obtain an internship for the fall term, students should discuss their placements with the SJSP internship supervisor by April 1.
Supervised internship in a social justice, social service, social policy, or social research organization. Students will meet as a group and will complete research assignments. Usually offered every year in the fall semester.
Ms. Stimell

WMGS 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.
Ms. Hunter

Courses of Related Interest

POL 200b Quantitative Methods for Social Science
Open to GSAS students.
Introduces graduate students in the social sciences to statistics and quantitative methods, including purposes and objectives of statistical inference, graphical and visual display of data, significance testing, and regression analysis. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

WMGS 208b Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Research Seminar
Formerly offered as WMGS 198a.
Examines theories and practices of feminist scholarship and introduces interdisciplinary methodologies in order to guide students in designing and completing an independent research project. Usually offered every year in the spring.
Ms. Brainerd and Ms. Brooten