(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

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 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 81a Methods of Social Inquiry
[ dl qr ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 181a in prior years.

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.

SOC 82a Applied Research Methods
[ dl qr ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 182a in prior years.

Provides an introduction to research methods and quantitative analysis commonly used in sociology. Using quantitative data, the class explores how higher education reflects the social stratification found in U.S. society. Participants will read peer-reviewed journal articles; design their own survey and analyze the results; and conduct analysis on a national data set focused on education. The course assumes no prior knowledge of research methods, but it does assume a curiosity about why we conduct research, how research studies are designed, and a willingness to analyze the results of different research studies. 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.

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

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 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 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 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 oc 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 ]

Examines South Asian diasporas in sociological perspective, in relation to colonialism, globalization, and racialization. Usually offered every third 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.

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 130a Families, Kinship and Sexuality
[ oc 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.

SOC 131b Writing Activists' Lives: Biography, Gender, and Society
[ ss wi ]

This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Explores the relationship between individual lives, historical period, structures of inequality, and social change by examining the lives of activists in the U.S. It uses the biographical method to pose questions about voice, positionality, evidence, and “truth.” Usually offered every third 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 140a Investigating the Past: Historical Methods in Sociology
[ dl ss ]

Examines the ways historical questions are posed and answered within sociology. Using the case of U.S. history, it evaluates sources of evidence from the federal government, land maps, Native American accounts, African American oral histories, written documents and personal narratives. Usually offered every third 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 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 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.

SOC 155b 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 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.

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

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 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.

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 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

Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.

SOC 230b Readings in Sociological Literature

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.

SOC Oral Communication

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 124a Gender, Sexuality, and Globalization
[ djw oc 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 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 130a Families, Kinship and Sexuality
[ oc 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.

SOC Institutions, Communities, and Culture

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.

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 ]

Examines South Asian diasporas in sociological perspective, in relation to colonialism, globalization, and racialization. Usually offered every third 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.

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 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 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.

SOC Writing Intensive

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 131b Writing Activists' Lives: Biography, Gender, and Society
[ ss wi ]

This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Explores the relationship between individual lives, historical period, structures of inequality, and social change by examining the lives of activists in the U.S. It uses the biographical method to pose questions about voice, positionality, evidence, and “truth.” Usually offered every third 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 Digital Literacy

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 81a Methods of Social Inquiry
[ dl qr ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 181a in prior years.

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.

SOC 82a Applied Research Methods
[ dl qr ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 182a in prior years.

Provides an introduction to research methods and quantitative analysis commonly used in sociology. Using quantitative data, the class explores how higher education reflects the social stratification found in U.S. society. Participants will read peer-reviewed journal articles; design their own survey and analyze the results; and conduct analysis on a national data set focused on education. The course assumes no prior knowledge of research methods, but it does assume a curiosity about why we conduct research, how research studies are designed, and a willingness to analyze the results of different research studies. 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.

SOC 140a Investigating the Past: Historical Methods in Sociology
[ dl ss ]

Examines the ways historical questions are posed and answered within sociology. Using the case of U.S. history, it evaluates sources of evidence from the federal government, land maps, Native American accounts, African American oral histories, written documents and personal narratives. Usually offered every third year.

SOC Gender and Family

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.

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.

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 oc 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 130a Families, Kinship and Sexuality
[ oc 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.

SOC 131b Writing Activists' Lives: Biography, Gender, and Society
[ ss wi ]

This course counts toward the completion of the joint MA degree in Sociology & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Explores the relationship between individual lives, historical period, structures of inequality, and social change by examining the lives of activists in the U.S. It uses the biographical method to pose questions about voice, positionality, evidence, and “truth.” Usually offered every third 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 Political and Social Change

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.