This introductory course for first- and second-year students traces the development of modern social theory from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. It begins by examining the fundamental social institutions and values that characterize modern society and the Enlightenment in the works of Descartes, Locke, Dickens, Weber, and J.S. Mill: (1) rise of modern state, political democracy, and utilitarianism; (2) market economy, industrialization, and economic liberalism; (3) new class system and capitalism; (4) modern personality (self) and individualism; and (5) principles of natural science, technological reason, and positivism. The course then turns to the dreams and imagination of Romanticism in the nineteenth and twentieth century with its critique of modernity in the works of Marx (socialism), Freud (psychoanalysis), Camus and Schopenhauer (existentialism), and Nietzsche (nihilism). We will outline the development of the distinctive principles and institutions of modernity in the following works: Dickens, Hard Times, Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Science as a Vocation, Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Mill, On Liberty, Descartes, The Meditations Concerning First Philosophy, Freud, Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria and Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Camus, The Fall, Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation, and Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols. Prerequisites: first- and second-year students only. Offered every year.

This course introduces students to the field of sociology through studying the role of culture in society. We examine the connections between culture and society by following four major sociological traditions, and we combine theoretical discussions with concrete sociological studies. For the Conflict Tradition, we read Marx's writing on alienation as well as a study about the complex relationship between domestic help and their employers in contemporary America; for the Durkheimian Tradition, we discuss Durkheim's view of religion and morality while reading about why women turn to orthodox Judaism in New York City today; for the Utilitarian and Rational Choice Tradition, we discuss rational choice theory by examining a sociological and historical analysis of the rise of early Christianity; for the Microinteractionist Tradition, we explore the ideas of Goffman and Bourdieu through reading a French sociologist's ethnographic account of training to be a boxer in an African-American gym in Chicago. This course helps students develop a sociological imagination, as well as familiarity with research methods and social theory. Prerequisites: first- and second-year students only. Offered every year.

This introductory course explores the collective foundations of individual identity within the American experience. In what sense is the self essentially social? How are changes in identity attributable to the organization of experience throughout life? What are the effects of gender, race, and social class on consciousness? How have changes in American industrial capitalism shaped the search for self-worth? In what ways have science and technology altered our relationship to nature? What challenges to identity are posed by emerging events in American history, including immigration and the African Diaspora? How has the very advent of modernity precipitated our preoccupation with the question: "Who am I?" Situated as we are in a farming community, we will consider these questions of identity through an examination of local rural society. Students will conduct group research projects to connect our ideas to everyday life. Prerequisites: first- and second-year students only. Offered every year.

From our vantage point in the twenty-first century, we perceive that the nature and fate of American society is increasingly connected to the nature and fate of society in other parts of the world. But what is "society" and how does it change over time? How, exactly, does society shape the human experience and human behavior in the United States and elsewhere? And how can we understand the ties that bind society "here" to society "there"? Sociology crystallized in the nineteenth century to address big questions like these in light of the profound uncertainty and human suffering that accompanied the rise of industrial capitalism, rapid urbanization, and the consolidation of the centralized bureaucratic state. This course introduces students to the discipline by revisiting the work of early sociologists, then using the analytical lenses they developed to examine concrete cases of social change and globalization. Offered every year.

Sociologists study the intersection of private troubles and public concerns. We argue that participating in a vibrant public life is important to a free and democratic polity. But what is "the public?" Who belongs to it? And can public discussion and participation really affect social and political change? By examining the ways in which public life has changed since the middle ages to the present day, this course introduces the core theories, concepts, and approaches which form the basis of modern sociology. Students will explore the idea of America as "a nation of joiners," the sociology of a social gathering, the tensions inherent in the civilizing effects of modernity, the forces that exclude people from public life, and how we might innovate ways to make our publics -- and our democracies -- more inclusive. No prerequisites.

This mid-level course will examine social movements as attempts to bring about social change through collective action. The major goals of the course are: (1) to acquaint students with the sociological literature on social movements; (2) to examine the development, life cycle, and impact of several important social movements in the United States; (3) to examine issues of race, class, and gender within social movements; and (4) to develop students' skills in thinking sociologically about social discontent and social change. Substantively the course focuses primarily on U.S. social movements from the 1960s through today. This course also includes a service-learning component. Each student will work with a community agency two to three hours per week. Prerequisite: introductory sociology course (100 level) or permission of instructor. This course is the same as AMST 229D, listed in the American Studies Program. This course may be counted toward the major in American studies. Offered every two years.

This mid-level course will examine the various theories of ethics and social justice from the ancient Hebrew tradition of Torah and the prophets, New Testament writers Luke and Matthew, and medieval natural law, to modern discussions about social, political, and economic justice. We will explore how critical social theory has been applied within the political and economic context of modern industrial societies and how biblical and later religious teachings have been used as the basis for social ethics. Questions of justice, freedom, development, individualism, and alienation will be major themes in this study of capitalism, Christianity, and Marxism. Special emphasis will be on contemporary debates about the ethics of democratic capitalism from within both conservative theology and philosophy and radical liberation theology. Readings will be from the Bible, Papal encyclicals, the American Catholic bishops' letter on economics and social justice, Friedman, Novak, Baum, Miranda, Fromm, Pirsig, Schumacher, and N. Wolf. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. This course is also listed as RLST 380 and is team-taught with Professor Royal Rhodes.

This mid-level course focuses on the American legal system's effect on racial, ethnic, and minority groups in the United States as well as on the manner in which such groups have influenced the state of the "law" in this country. It is intended to stimulate critical and systematic thinking about the relationships among American legal institutions and selected racial, ethnic, and minority populations. The class will examine various social and cultural conditions, as well as historical and political events, that were influenced in large part by the minority status of the participants. These conditions will be studied to determine in what ways, if any, the American legal system has advanced, accommodated, or frustrated the interests of these groups. Through exposure to the legislative process and legal policymaking, students should gain an appreciation for the complexity of the issues and the far-reaching impact that legal institutions have on the social, political, and economic condition of racial, ethnic, and minority groups in America. The primary requirement of this course is completion of a comprehensive research project. Prerequisite: introductory sociology course (100 level) or permission of instructor. This course may be counted toward the law and society concentration, African diaspora concentration and the American studies major.

In this course--cross-listed in Asian Studies Programs, we deal with some of the fundamental questions in our global age: How do we understand a culture or society that is radically different from our own? This course has two parts. In the first half, we read theoretical texts such as Said's Orientalism, excerpts from Hegel's and Marx's writing on race and world history, recent work on the epistemology of ignorance, studies of religion from the East (Lopez and Masuzawa), as well as debates about the "clash of civilizations" (Huntington) and the "geography of thought" (Nisbett) in order to conceptualize the notion of "the Other" and our relationship with "the Other." In the second half, we focus on writings about Asia (Tibet, Japan, and China), such as travel writing, historical analysis, and fiction. By analyzing these accounts of the journey to the East, we learn to recognize the complex relationships we have with the cultural, religious, and social traditions that are radically different from our own, with the hope that we can develop a meaningful connection with them through reflective understanding. This course helps both sociology and Asian studies students theorize the complex and creative relationship between oneself and "the Other," and it is of use to students who have recently returned from study abroad (particularly Asia), as well as the ones who are preparing to go abroad. Prerequisite: introductory sociology course (100 level) or permission of the instructor. Offered every other year.

Knowing how to answer a question, including what constitutes good evidence and how to collect it, is a necessary ability for any sociologist, or for any student reading the sociological research of others. The primary goal is to understand when and how to use research strategies such as survey questionnaires, interviews, fieldwork, and analysis of historical documents. Students will conduct small-scale research projects using these techniques. This course is not intended for seniors, although it is required for all sociology majors. Students are advised, then, to enroll in this class as soon as they begin to consider majoring in Sociology. Prerequisites: introductory sociology course (100 level) and sophomore standing. Offered every year.

Hip hop music is, if nothing at all, about the life experiences of urban youth. From Melle Mel to Jay-Z, MCs have provided listeners with intimate details of what it means and how it feels to live in Urban America, especially in the portions of it that are poverty stricken. So what has hip hop taught us about urban communities in places like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta? What has it taught us about racial, class, and gendered dynamics that make up these locales? What has it taught us about macro-level structural forces and micro-level interactions that are responsible for the transformation of these urban spaces? These are some of the questions we will take on in this class. To do so, we listen to a number of "classic" hip hop albums and read a wide range of journalistic and scholarly writings about hip hop. In addition, we consult sociological works in urban sociology, including ethonographic works, to help us make sense of and evaluate what hip hop music says about urban America. Prerequisite: Foundation course in sociology.

This course examines the development of classical social theory in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In the first part, we will stress the philosophical and intellectual foundations of classical theory in the works of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Kant, and Hegel. We will examine how social theory integrated modern philosophy, classical political science (law), and historical political economy in the formation of a new discipline. Distinguishing itself from the other social sciences as an ethical science, classical sociology, for the most part, rejected the Enlightenment view of positivism and natural science as the foundation for social science as it turned instead to German idealism and existentialism for guidance. It also rejected the Enlightenment view of liberal individualism and utilitarian economics, and in the process united the ancient ideals of ethics and politics (Aristotle) with the modern (neo-Kantian) concern for empirical and historical research. The second part of the course will examine the classical analysis of the historical origins of Western society in the structures and culture of alienation (Marx), rationalization (Weber), and anomie and division of labor (Durkheim). At the methodological level, we will study the three different views of classical science: critical science and the dialectical method (Marx), interpretive science and the historical method of understanding and value relevance (Weber), and positivistic science and the explanatory method of naturalism and realism (Durkheim). Prerequisite: introductory sociology course (100 level) and one additional sociology course or permission of the instructor.

Social scientists have used comparative-historical methods to answer "big questions" about social and political phenomena. Indeed, focusing on historical patterns in small numbers of key cases, scholars have contributed canonical texts about democratization, revolutions, identity formation, and economic development (among others). Students will work closely with exemplary texts, learn and apply different techniques of causal inference, and explore the ongoing debate between comparative-historical methods and quantitative analysis. Prerequisite: SOCY 271 or permission of instructor.

This course is concerned with the social life of knowledge, particularly in the social sciences and humanities disciplines. We begin with questions such as: What are the social factors affecting the formation and production of knowledge? For instance, how is aesthetic knowledge legitimized? How does a new discipline (such as sociology and psychoanalysis in early twentieth century) establish its authority? How is the classification of race socially constructed? What is the gendered nature of knowledge? To answer these questions, we draw upon works of philosophers such as Kuhn and Hacking, as well as social theorists such as Foucault and Bourdieu, to formulate our theoretical framework. We then examine empirical studies by sociologists such as Becker, Lamont, Collins, and Abbott to understand how institutional structures, shifting disciplinary boundaries, professionalization, and power relations play important roles in the social life of knowledge. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and an introductory sociology course (100 level) or permission of the instructor. Offered every other year.

Recent years have seen the growing political importance of identity in the global south. Indigenous movements, religious and ethnic nationalism, and class-based identities have impacted the practice of democracy, relations between social groups, and transnational structures of power. But is what we see a detrimental splintering of identities and belongings or a new era of diversity and pluralism? What will latter-day identities do for democratization and social conflict? This course focuses on the political effects of identity in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Permission of instructor.

Contemporary scholar Cornel West notes that "the distinctive appeal of American pragmatism in our post-modern moment is its unashamedly moral emphasis and its unequivocally ameliorative impulse. In this world-weary period of pervasive cynicisms, nihilisms, terrorisms, and possible extermination, there is a longing for norms and values that can make a difference, a yearning for principled resistance and struggle that can change our desperate plight." This seminar explores the American pragmatist tradition and its implications for questions of personal identity and social activism in contemporary life. We begin with an investigation of the intellectual and social roots of philosophical pragmatism, including romantic idealism, evolutionism, progressivism, and the historical context of turn-of-the-century America. The course then turns to an intensive examination of the social thought of pragmatist George Herbert Mead, developing his ideas on human consciousness, the social origins of identity, and his moral vision of a democratic society. We then consider several American activist efforts rooted in the pragmatist tradition, including the settlement movement to aid European immigrants in the first decades of this century and the "Foxfire" experiments to aid public education of the last twenty-five years. The course closes with a consideration of pragmatism's relevance in a global context. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

This course is for students pursuing departmental honors. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair.