Department of Sociology

SOCY 015b, Social Relations and Society. Hannah Brückner.

A study of how social roles and social status are constituted by social relations in everyday life; how boundaries between groups of people are constructed and maintained; and how group membership structures the opportunities and well-being of individuals. Consideration of the conditions under which individuals and groups engage in collective action and the resulting characteristics of contemporary societies. May count toward the Sociology major as an intermediate course.

SOCY 086a, Chinese Society Since Mao. Deborah Davis.

An overview of the major social institutions in contemporary China, with a focus on the changing relationship between individual and society. Use of print and visual sources to explore the social consequences of China's recent retreat from socialism and its rapid integration into the global economy. May count toward the Sociology major as an intermediate course.

SOCY 092b, Health, Culture and Society. Alondra Nelson.

A study of conceptions of health, using race, ethnicity, class, and gender as primary categories of inquiry. Emphasis on analytical paradigms for understanding the relationship between biological and sociocultural definitions of health, illness, and disease. Topics include human rights, social justice, illness narratives, and community health. Enrollment limited to Freshmen. May count toward the Sociology major as an intermediate course. Also: AFAM 092b.

SOCY 110b, Human Societies. Staff.

An introduction to the sociological imagination — that is, the ways in which a sociologist recognizes and analyzes the underlying social structures that condition our interactions with each other and with groups, institutions, and society as a whole. Classical social theory applied to issues of race, gender, family structure, crime and deviance, poverty, technological change, the “culture wars,” and other contemporary issues.

SOCY 118 01 (21724), Numbers and Society. Richard Breen, Hannah Brückner, Vida Maralani.

Overview of quantitative approaches in the social sciences. Topics include social networks, demography, and social inequality and mobility.

SOCY 121b, The Sociological Imagination. Julia Adams.

Introduction to the study of modernity and sociology. Topics include the dramatic rise of capitalism and colonialism, new forms of social inequality, the advent of democracy and bureaucracy, and the contested role of religion in modernity. Readings from contemporary writings on postmodern social life that are informed by, and react against, the classical sociological tradition. Preference to freshmen and sophomores.

SOCY 130a, Social Problems. Staff

Examination of social problems as a constituent part of public discourse. Overview of theories of social problems. Attention to the role of organizations and media of mass communication in the production of social problems and in the elaboration of policies to address these problems domestically and globally.

SOCY 131b, Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture. Ron Eyerman.

An introduction to sociological perspectives on the arts and popular culture. Topics include the relationship between culture and society; the role and meaning of the arts from a sociological perspective; mass culture and the culture industry; culture and commerce, art, and politics. Analysis of artworks, classical and popular music, film, and literature. Offered in Beijing, China. For application procedures see under Peking University-Yale University Joint Undergraduate Program.

SOCY 140b, Four Giants of the Modern World: A Comparison of Societies. Deborah Davis.

An introduction to comparative sociology through study of selected issues in contemporary China, France, Japan, and the United States. Focus on the relationships between individuals and society across the life course. Topics include the transition from school to work, marriage and parenthood, and support of the elderly.

SOCY 150a, New Haven and the American City. Douglas Rae, Alan Plattus, Elihu Rubin.

New Haven as a window on the problems and promise of American urbanism. New Haven compared with New York, New Orleans, Louisville, Cleveland, Houston, Denver, and San Francisco. Emphasis on the historical development of transportation, manufacturing, housing, governance, and culture. Problems of planning, education, class, and race.

SOCY 196a, Urban Sociology. Elijah Anderson.

(Not offered in 2009–2010.) III; Not Cr/D/F So  (0)
An introduction to the sociological study of cities, reviewing its early history in Europe and in North America, particularly in Philadelphia and Chicago.

SOCY 198b, Health Social Movements. Alondra Nelson.

Examination of how and why groups coalesce around issues of health and illness. Issues include racial discrimination and health; women“s health and reproductive rights; sickle-cell anemia; environmental justice; breast cancer; and HIV/AIDS.

SOCY 210, Sociology of the Welfare State. Julia Adams.

SOCY 214b, Gender Inequality. Hannah Brückner.

Survey of theory and research on gender inequality. Topics include the dimensions of gender inequality; work, fertility, and family; status quo and social change; gender and the welfare state; women in higher education; and labor market inequality in cross-national comparison.

SOCY 218a, Youth and Social Change in South Africa. Abebe Zegeye.

The role of young people in the history of postcolonial Africa. The South African liberation struggle used as a case study. Historical review of the youth-led Soweto Uprising, with an assessment of first-hand evidence of participants; the rise of Black Consciousness ideology; youthful confrontation with and reaction to major social threats such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, and gender inequality.

SOCY 219a, Economic Sociology. Staff.

An introduction to the field of economic sociology, with attention to understandings of economic institutions and processes. Focus on the works of Karl Marx and Max Weber. Neoclassical economic theories contrasted with neoclassical sociological theories of economic, political, and ideological outcomes, including processes of globalization and racial identity formation.

SOCY 306a, Empires and Imperialism. Peter Stamatov, Samuel Nelson.

Empire as a territorial organization of political power. Comparison of empires in historical periods from antiquity to European overseas expansion in the fifteenth through twentieth centuries, and in different geographic contexts in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Economic, political, and cultural theories of imperialism, colonialism, and decolonization.

SOCY 316b, Genocide Studies: The African Experience. Abebe Zegeye.

Examination of the social foundations of and changes in knowledge regimes, epistemic cultures, and the value of knowledge. Topics include discursive orders, disciplines, and experts; the economic significance of knowledge; and dynamics of innovation, property rights, and the governance of science.

SOCY 320a, Knowledge in Society. Staff

Examination of the social foundations of and changes in knowledge regimes, epistemic cultures, and the value of knowledge. Topics include discursive orders, disciplines, and experts; the economic significance of knowledge; and dynamics of innovation, property rights, and the governance of science.

SOCY 324a, African Americans and Social Thought. Alondra Nelson.

Exploration of historical and contemporary writings by theorists of African American life, focusing on kinship, root-seeking, and diaspora.

SOCY 325b, Civil Society in China. Deborah Davis.

Discussion of the social and political consequences of China's entry into the global economy. Focus on patterns of inequality and the success of individuals and communities seeking greater social autonomy and political freedoms.

Prerequisite: at least one course focused on China after 1911. Knowledge of modern Chinese desirable but not necessary. Optional discussion section conducted in Chinese.

SOCY 327a, Sociological Views on Modern Art. Staff.

Exploration of sociological approaches to the analysis of art worlds and works of art. Discussion of visual art as a social field. Topics include the role of artists, markets, and institutions; modernity and avant-garde; art consumption as positional good; art as a self-regulating communicative system; the demise of beauty and the sublime as aesthetic concepts; and conceptual (minimal) art and the work of Gerhard Richter as beacons of postmodernity.

SOCY 330a, Civil Society and Democracy. Jeffrey Alexander.

Normative and sociological theories of civil society and its role in democracy, with special attention to cultural discourses. The 1960s civil rights movements, the 1980s gay and lesbian movement, and more recent controversies over immigration; the role of mass media; power and the 2008 presidential election; issues of global civil society.

SOCY 335b, Sociology of Education. Staff.

Exploration of the central issues surrounding educational organization and policies, drawing on both theoretical conceptions and empirical evidence. Topics include the social stratification and segmentation of schools and colleges, inequalities and equity, governance and accountability, market forces and choice, institutional reforms, and strategic change.

SOCY 337b, Urban Poverty and Policy. Iván Szelényi.

Aspects of urban poverty such as unemployment, homelessness, welfare dependence, isolation, and educational deprivation in the context of recent, current, and proposed policies.

SOCY 338a, Building Social Theory for Empirical Analysis . Richard Breen.

(Not offered in 2009-2010.)
In this course we will focus on some formal approaches to studying social interactions and building empirically testable models of sociological phenomena. Much of the course deals with game theory, in both its classical and evolutionary varieties, and we look in detail at some examples of sociological game theory and at how evolutionary game theory has developed into the approach sometimes called social, or endogenous, interaction models. We spend some time looking at these endogenous interaction models and their variants, such as diffusion and threshold models. Finally we look briefly at the use of agent based models and other simulation techniques in building models of social phenomena. The emphasis throughout is on applications: that is to say, the construction of explanatory models and their testing against empirical data.

SOCY 344b, Religious Pluralism and Politics. Philip Gorski.

(Not offered in 2009-2010) III WLH 204; Not Cr/D/F  So  (22)
Consideration of the proper place for religious communities within democratic polities and the role that faith should play in politics. Review of the normative visions advanced by social and political philosophers (liberal, conservative, communitarian, and multicultural) in light of the historical experiences of pluralistic democracies (especially the United States and India, but also France and Germany).

SOCY 348a, Consumption and Chinese Culture. Deborah Davis.

(Not offered in 2009–2010.) III; Not Cr/D/F  So  (0)
Examination of how and why consumption and consumer behavior have varied in China since 1949, both to gain a broad overview of six decades of social change and to trace the shifting balance of power between Chinese citizens and the communist party-state. Extensive use of primary and online sources.
Optional discussion section conducted in Chinese.

SOCY 353a, Technology, Identity, and Culture . Alondra Nelson.

The social dynamics of information technology, focusing on issues of labor, class, gender, and race. Readings are drawn from the sociology of scientific knowledge, sociology of science and technology, and contemporary cultural theory.

SOCY 355b, Classical Social Theory: The Marx Weber Debate. Iván Szelényi.

Close reading of critical texts by Marx and Weber. Evaluation of the authors“ differences and similarities.

SOCY 367b, Citizenship and Civic Engagement. Peter Stamatov.

Citizenship as a complex phenomenon; an instrument of social closure, a determinant of social policies, a normative ideal in political philosophy, and a model for political participation. Meaning and forms of citizenship and civic engagement in historical and theoretical perspective. Debates on the decline of civic participation and on the emergence of global civil society.

SOCY 395a, Wealth and Poverty in Modern China. Deborah Davis.

Discussion of how access to property, capital, education, and political power have affected poverty and the distribution of wealth in China since 1911, with emphasis on contemporary inequality and social stratification. Extensive use of documentary and online sources. Optional discussion section conducted in Chinese..