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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
Sociolinguistics is the study of the social language variation inevitable in all societies, be they closed and uniform or diverse and multicultural. Language and culture are so closely tied that it is nearly impossible to discuss language variation without also understanding its relation to culture. As humans, we judge each other constantly on the basis of the way we talk, we make sweeping generalizations about people's values and moral worth solely on the basis of the language they speak. Diversity in language often stands as a symbol of ethnic and social diversity. If someone criticizes our language we feel they are criticizing our inmost self. This course introduces students to the overwhelming amount of linguistic diversity in the United States and elsewhere, while at the same time making them aware of the cultural prejudices inherent in our attitude towards people who speak differently from us. The class involves analysis and discussion of the readings, setting the stage for exploration assignments, allowing students to do their own research on linguistic diversity. No prerequisites. Fall semester. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
When sociologists look at culture they look at things like people's leisure activities, consumption patterns, style, membership in subcultural groups, and the arts. A common thread throughout most of these studies of culture is how social class and culture intersect. For example, how do people's class backgrounds influence their forms of cultural expression in terms of their leisure activities, their beliefs, their personal style, or whom they want to hang out with This course will explore these issues, focusing on class as a common theme. Specific topics include: the role of artists and people's development of aesthetic taste in the arts; social forces that push us towards conformity or towards individualism; subcultural groups; and how people make distinctions between themselves and those who they describe as "other." Alternate years. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
The use of imprisonment as a form of criminal punishment is only about as old at the United States. By 2003, nearly 7 million people in the United States were under correctional supervision. How should we understand the growth of this form of criminal punishment In what ways is it similar to other methods to react to and to attempt to control unwanted behavior What are the social impacts of these formal institutions of social control What insights can a sociological approach offer on these questions In this course, we examine these developments in the processes and organization of social control, with particular attention to how formal institutions of social control compare to informal social control. We study and evaluate sociological theories of criminal behavior to understand how social forces influence levels of crimes. We examine recent policies and their connections to inequality along with the processes that lead to criminalization, to determine if there is a political nature to crime control. Finally, we compare the development of formal, bureaucratic systems of social control and informal methods of social control, paying attention to the social and political implications of these developments. Alternate years. (4 credits) Intermediate Courses:
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4.00 Credits
What is social about sexuality Sexuality and its components (desire, pleasure, love, the body) is something more than a personal or individual characteristic. It is socially constructed. Sexuality has been configured during different historical time periods as sin, as a means of fostering alliances between powerful families, as perversion, as a means to pleasure, as a symbol of love, and as personal identity. These different sexual configurations are connected with larger social-historical trends such as the development of capitalism, the use of rationalized technologies, and the expansion of scientific-medical discourse. In this course, we explore how sexuality has been constructed through history. We examine how categories shape our understanding of sexuality such as male/female, heterosexual/homosexual/queer. We also will address issues such as child sexuality, prostitution, images of sexual minorities in the media and heteronormativity. Alternate years. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
This course explores historical and contemporary perspectives on racial and ethnic groups in American society, including African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, European Americans, and Americans of Middle Eastern descent. The goal is to develop an understanding of socio-historical forces that have shaped the lives of racial and ethnic groups in America. Every year. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
The course provides an introduction to US affirmative action policies in education and employment. The first section surveys the historical development of affirmative action in public schools and universities, evaluates alternative approaches to fostering diversity in higher education, and examines the most recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action in college admissions. The second major focus of the course is the origins and evolution of affirmative action in employment. This latter section provides an overview of the dynamics of racial and gender discrimination in employment and how affirmative action policies have endeavored to institutionalize equality of opportunity in labor markets. Alternate years. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
This class explores women's lives in the Middle East. Issues such as the role of women in Islam and the Middle East, their portrayal in the West, nationalism, feminism, and power and patriarchy will be emphasized. Alternate years. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
Nonprofit organizations are important elements of the public sphere. They are one of the principal means by which we generate, concentrate, and channel our humanitarian and civic impulses. Sociological perspectives on nonprofit organizations presented in this course combine historical and contemporary accounts of the political, economic, and culture dimensions of the third sector: the universe of private associations devoted to public purposes. Some of the learning goals are to develop an understanding and appreciation of: the legal frameworks that specify the permissible activities of nonprofit organizations; the ethical dilemmas that nonprofit organizations and professionals encounter as they envisage and strive to fulfill their service mission; theoretical scholarship aimed at explaining and justifying the diverse roles of nonprofits organizations in US society; and the historical evolution of the relationship between the nonprofit, governmental, and commercial sectors. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
This course examines and applies some of the methods of social science research by covering three main sets of topics: the broad methodological questions posed by philosophy of social science, the manners in which social scientists develop research design to generate relevant evidence, and methods with which social scientists analyze data. For both the research design and analysis sections, we will concentrate on quantitative research, learning how to use statistical software. Every year. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
This class introduces students to the methodologies and analytic techniques of fieldwork and ethnography: participant observation, interviewing, and the use of documents. Students will read exemplary, book-length studies and will conduct an extensive field research for their final project. Alternate years. (4 credits)
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