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 041a, Sociology of Social Control and Criminal Justice. Philip Smith.

Exploration of the criminal justice system from a sociological perspective. Special attention to transformations in social control arising with the onset of modernity. Topics include policing, courts, the law, and prisons; costs and benefits of various contemporary solutions to the problem of social control; and the role of power and culture in shaping current policy and activity. Readings from the works of Durkheim, Foucault, and Weber as well as from more current writings in the fields of criminology, legal studies, and social theory. Enrollment limited to freshmen.

SOCY 110b, Human Societies. Bernhard Giesen.

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 115a, Contemporary American Society. Julia Adams, Ron Eyerman, Philip Gorski, Karl Ulrich Mayer.

Examination of the central tensions and dynamics in American society at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Attention to the major fault lines in American society and how they are experienced; how social structures shape social landscapes. Use of sociological theory to inform understandings of how the national past shapes present and future possibilities in American society. Topics include inequality and stratification, religion, urban poverty, the politics of family, popular culture, welfare and warfare, ethnicity and community, and America and the world.

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.

SOCY 130a, Social Problems. Peter Stamatov.

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 133a, Computers and Society. Scott Boorman.

The impact of computers on social behavior, organizational life, and human consciousness. The computer’s effects on law, medicine, and business; problems of power, social control, and inequality; the computer’s threat to humanistic culture; fashioning law and ethics appropriate to the computer age. No prior experience with computers required.

SOCY 134a, Sex and Gender in Society. Jennifer Bair.

Exploration of the relationship between sex, gender, sexuality, and society. Questions of how sex and gender shape the way individuals experience the world and how these identities are shaped by social structures and processes. Topics include sexual inequality; sex, gender, and the body; gender and work; gender and the state; and masculinity.

SOCY 141b, Sociology of Crime and Deviance. Philip Smith.

An introduction to sociological approaches to crime and deviance. Review of the patterns of criminal and deviant activity within society; exploration of major theoretical accounts. Topics include drug use, violence, and white-collar crime.

SOCY 143a, Race and Ethnicity. Averil Clarke.

An introduction to the study of race and ethnicity from a sociological perspective. Focus on how racial and ethnic differences are constituted and affect individual life outcomes. Attention to both local and national communities, as well as the political and economic bases of ethnic and race relations in the history of the United States.

SOCY 151a, Foundations of Modern Social Theory. Ron Eyerman (Sp).

Major works of social thought from the beginning of the modern era through the 1920s. Attention to social and intellectual contexts, conceptual frameworks and methods, and contributions to contemporary social analysis. Writers include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Open to all students without prerequisite. Spring term offered in Beijing, China. For application procedures see under Peking University-Yale University Joint Undergraduate Program.

SOCY 152b, Topics in Contemporary Theory. Peter Stamatov.

Overview of developments in social theory since the 1950s, including structural functionalism, hermeneutical approaches, interactionist and phenomenological perspectives, rational choice, network theory, the new institutionalism, and theories of globalization. Examination of the work of influential theorists. Open to all students without prerequisite.

SOCY 160a, Methods of Inquiry. Hannah Brückner.

Basic methods of social research ranging from fieldwork and ethnography to survey research and content analysis of written or visual materials. Hands-on experience in designing and implementing a research project.

SOCY 161b, Survey Methods. Averil Clarke.

Exploration of theory and practice of survey design, including conceptualization, measurement issues, sample design, questionnaire construction, interviewing, data analysis, publication of results, and limitations and ethical aspects of survey research. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) used as an example of an ambitious and innovative survey design.

SOCY 166b, Method and Practice of Field Work. Elijah Anderson.

A practical introduction to theoretical and methodological issues in qualitative sociology. Recommended preparation: SOCY 160a.

SOCY 168a, Historical Approaches in Sociology. Christopher Rhomberg.

General theoretical and methodological problems of doing research in historical sociology. Topics include the uses of theory, research design, archival investigation, types of evidence, narrative genres, and strategies of historical argument.

SOCY 183b, Urban America. Christopher Rhomberg.

Introduction to urban sociology and to the study of American urban society over the past half century. Emphasis on the economic, political, and cultural dimensions of urban growth and inequality; processes of class, racial, and ethnic group formation; urban social problems and policy; and local community organization and politics.

SOCY 196a, Urban Sociology. Elijah Anderson.

M 1.30-3.20 WHC B-02 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.

The prerequisite for intermediate courses is one introductory Sociology course or permission of the instructor.

SOCY 219a, Economic Sociology. Jennifer Bair.

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 224a, Marriage and Family. Averil Clarke.

Sociological approaches to the study of the family, emphasizing both historical and recent change. Topics include social, economic, demographic, and cultural dimensions of family life; families and households in a global perspective; influence of public policy on family life; alternative institutional arrangements for sexual and emotional care and reproductive labor; family roles, responsibilities, and obligations over the life span.

SOCY 306a, Empires and Imperialism. Peter Stamatov.

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

EPE335/SOC314b, Social Inequality. Karl Ulrich Mayer.

A study of social and economic inequalities based on race, gender, and social class; such inequalities as a dimension of individual life chances and life aspirations as well as of the structure and organization of societies. Discussion of theoretical, political, empirical, and methodological issues.

SOCY 320a, Knowledge in Society. Ulrich Schreiterer.

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 327a, Sociological Views on Modern Art. Ulrich Schreiterer.

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.

Examination of normative and sociological theories of civil society and of empirical studies of its culture. Attention to organizations such as polls, mass media, law, and office, which provide ways of partially institutionalizing civil society. The civil rights movement and multiculturalism as illustrations of struggles inside the civil sphere. Discussion of whether a global civil society is possible.

SOCY 335b, Sociology of Education. Ulrich Schreiterer.

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

W 9.25-11.15 PRP8 119 III; Not Cr/D/F  So  (0); Permission of instructor required.
Examination of approaches to developing explanatory theories in contemporary sociology with an emphasis on mid-range theory aimed at addressing specific empirical questions. Approaches include rational choice, game theory and social (or endogenous) interaction models. The course also covers 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.

Advanced Sociology courses are open to students who have completed one intermediate course and any other specified requirement, or by permission of the instructor. Preference is given to Sociology majors in their junior and senior years

SOCY 340b, Social Studies of Science and Technology. Bonnie Kaplan.

Comparison of philosophical/normative and sociological/descriptive approaches to science and technology. Examination of philosophy of science (from Popper to Bhaskar), social studies of science (from Mannheim to Latour), philosophy of technology (from Heidegger to Habermas) and sociology of technology (from Beck to Woolgar). Topics include rationalism vs. relativism, internalism vs. externalism, constructivism vs. realism, “science wars,” ethnography of science, techno-science, and risk society.

SOCY 342b, Labor, Power and American Society. Christopher Rhomberg.

Study of the historical development, current condition, and future prospects of unions and the labor movement in the United States. Special emphasis on issues of class, race, gender, and politics related to economic organization, workers’ rights, welfare state policy, and social movements.

SOCY 344a, Religious Pluralism and Democratic Politics. Philip Gorski.

T 9.25-11.15 III WLH 204; Not Cr/D/F  So  (22); Permission of instructor required
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 345b, Laughter, Garbage and Collective Identity. Bernhard Giesen.

W 2.30-4.20 WLH 014 III; Not Cr/D/F  So  (0); Permission of instructor required
Examination of seemingly diverse issues such as the cultural meaning of garbage, disgust and impurity, the social mechanisms of laughter and the ritual and symbolic construction of collective identity and belongingness.

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

W 1.30-3.20 SML 207; III; Not Cr/D/F  So  (0); Permission of instructor required
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 352b, Material Culture and Iconic Consciousness . Jeffrey Alexander.

Exploration of how and why modern and postmodern societies have continued to sustain material symbolism and iconic consciousness. Study of theoretical approaches to debates about icons and symbols in philosophy, sociology, linguistics, pyschoanalysis, and semiotics. Use of case studies to analyze modern iconography in advertisements and branding, food and bodies, nature, fashion, celebrities, popular culture, art, and politics.

SOCY 355a, 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 363a, Genocide and Ethnic Conflict. Jasmina Besirevic Regan.

An exploration of genocide and violent ethnic conflict in the past fifty years, including contributory historical and political elements. Consideration of ways to prevent or resolve such conflicts. Discussion of identity, religion, class, and nationhood as related to violence and conflict. Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia used as case studies to develop an analytical framework.

SOCY 366b, Race, Racisms and Social Theory. Alondra Nelson.

Historical and theoretical issues deriving from the comparative study of races and racisms, with special attention to the relationship between the category of “race” and the development of the human sciences. A core consideration of “race” as a problem in the sociology of knowledge is supplemented by material from other disciplines: history, philosophy, economics, politics, and literature.

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

Examination of citizenship and civic engagement in historical and theoretical perspective. Exploration of citizenship as an instrument of social closure, as a determinant of social policies, as a normative ideal in political philosophy, and as a model for political participation. Discussion of debates on the decline of civic participation and on the emergence of global civil society.

SOCY 368b, Islamic Terrorism between the Two Worlds: The West versus Muslim Societies. F. Khosrokhavar.

The scope, goals, and rationale of Islamic terrorism in the world today; the effects of various social actors, globalization, and ideologies. Limits and new insights of different types of analysis.

SOCY 385b, Race, Gender and the African-American Experience. Averil Clarke.

Exploration of how the social constructs of race and gender affect individual and collective black experiences within major social institutions such as education, family, criminal justice, media and entertainment, politics, and the economy. Analysis of the ways in which these institutions produce and are constituted by race and gender inequality. Focus on theories of discrimination and on social movements that both differentiate and unite the black experience along gender lines.

SOCY 471a, Individual Study. Hannah Brückner.

Individual study for qualified juniors and seniors under faculty supervision. To register for this course, each student must submit a written plan of study approved by the adviser to the director of undergraduate studies.

SOCY 472b, Individual Study. Hannah Brückner.

Individual study for qualified juniors and seniors under faculty supervision. To register for this course, each student must submit a written plan of study approved by the adviser to the director of undergraduate studies.

SOCY 491a, Senior Essay and Colloquium for Nonintensive Majors. Hannah Brückner.

Independent library-based research under faculty supervision. To register for this course, students must submit a written plan of study approved by a faculty adviser to the director of undergraduate studies no later than the end of registration period during the last term of the senior year. The course meets biweekly, beginning on Tuesday, September 11, in the fall term and Tuesday, January 15, in the spring term.

SOCY 492b, Senior Essay and Colloquium for Nonintensive Majors. Hannah Brückner.

Independent library-based research under faculty supervision. To register for this course, students must submit a written plan of study approved by a faculty adviser to the director of undergraduate studies no later than the end of registration period during the last term of the senior year. The course meets biweekly, beginning on Tuesday, September 11, in the fall term and Tuesday, January 16, in the spring term.

SOCY 493a + b, Senior Essay and Colloquium for Intensive Majors. Hannah Brückner.

Independent research under faculty direction, involving empirical research and resulting in a substantial paper. Workshop meets biweekly to discuss various stages of the research process and to share experiences in gathering and analyzing data. The first meeting is on Tuesday, September 18, in the fall term and Tuesday, January 22, in the spring term.