SO 302A - Elective Courses in Sociology Social Problems

Institution:

Merrimack College

Subject:

Description:

“The difficulty, in sociology, is to manage to think in a completely astonished and disconcerted way about things you thought you had always understood” Pierre Bourdieu. On Delegation and Political Fetishism. Language and Symbolic Power (1991). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p. 207. This course will focus on sociological explanations of social problems in contemporary American society. A primary focus of this course is the social construction of social problems, in other words — who defines a social problem, how, when, and why? Specific topics we will examine include: poverty and unequal access to resources, unemployment and underemployment, drug use, environmental issues, racism, and sexism. Throughout the course, we will consider the following questions: How do we as a society define what constitutes a social problem? What are the roles of powerful groups in a society in determining what is a social problem? How does the existing social structure actually perpetuate social problems? Prerequisite: SO 201A or consent of the instructor. Satisfies the social science distribution requirement. Three hours a week.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.merrimack.edu

Phone Number:

(978) 837-5000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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