51 - 60 of 228 results for: SOC

How do we make sense of a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, and where social problems like climate change, democratization, human rights, and economic stability are increasingly global in their scope? How have international institutions attempted to regulate these processes and maintain social order? Why have recent social and political movements in an increasing number of countries targeted globalization as a source of their society's problems? In this course, we will explore how globalization is as an economic, political, and cultural process that shapes major social problems in today's world. To do so, we will draw on a range of theories and interdisciplinary research in economics, political science, and sociology.

This course introduces students to theories and perspectives from the social sciences relevant to understanding the role of education in relation to structures of gender differentiation, hierarchy, and power. It familiarizes students with and enables them to critically evaluate research on the status of children, adolescents, and young adults around the world and their participation patterns in various sectors of society, particularly in education. Students will gain research skills by designing social science-based research proposals on topics of their choosing that relate to gender and education from global and/or comparative perspectives. Attendance on the first day of class is a requirement for enrollment.

(Graduate students register for 236) This course explores major issues and debates in the sociology of law. Topics include historical perspectives on the origins of law; rationality and legal sanctions; normative decision making and morality; cognitive decision making; crime and deviance, with particular attention to the problem of mass incarceration; the "law in action" versus the "law on the books;" organizational responses to law, particularly in the context of sexual harassment and discrimination in education and employment; the roles of lawyers, judges, and juries; and law and social change with particular emphasis on the American civil rights movement. Special Instructions: Students are expected to attend a weekly TA-led discussion section in addition to lecture. Sections will be scheduled after the start of term at times when all students can attend. Paper requirements are flexible. Cross listed with the Law School ( LAW 7511). See "Special Instructions" in course description above. Elements Used in Grading: Class participation, paper proposal, three short papers and a final paper (see syllabus for details).

We are used to thinking about diseases and illnesses as biological problems that need medical solutions. For example, suppose that a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer. Their cancer has an immediate, biological cause (genetic mutation) that we point to, and their doctor has an immediate, medical treatment (chemotherapy) that we can employ. This is how we think about health and practice medicine: focusing on the immediate causes and symptoms for one individual. Sociologists, however, view these situations differently, instead considering the social contexts of these diseases and thinking about the health of populations rather than of individuals. For example, perhaps they grew up in a town whose drinking water was poisoned by a local chemical factory, and this greatly increased their risk of getting cancer. How did circumstances throughout their life - many outside their control - like their socioeconomic status, government policies and local politics, and their access to medical care affect their eventually getting cancer? In this course, we will introduce key concepts from the sociology of health and illness - including fundamental causes of disease, health disparities, social determinants of health, social stress, social capital, the social construction of illness, medicalization, health care delivery, the structure of health care systems, and public policy - to examine the social causes and contexts of disease and illness. How do social conditions affect our health? What even are "diseases" or "illnesses"? Who gets sick, and who stays sick? What is medicine and health care, and how do we decide who gets them? We will apply these theoretical concepts and frameworks to these questions to understand how health and illness are not only biological processes occurring within individuals but also social processes between people, groups, and institutions.

A course devoted to understanding how people are faring as the country's health and economic crisis unfolds. The premise of the course is that, as important and valuable as surveys are, it's a capital mistake to presume that we know what needs to be asked and that fixed-response answers adequately convey the depth of what's happening. We introduce a new type of qualitative method that allows for discovery by capturing the voices of the people, learn what they're thinking and fearing, and understand the decisions they're making. Students are trained in immersive interviewing by completing actual interviews, coding and analyzing their field notes, and then writing reports describing what's happening across the country. These reports will be designed to find out who's hurting, why they're hurting, and how we can better respond to the crisis. Students interested should submit the following application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdOZsnpOCg4zTRbVny0ikxpZEd1AFEEJh3K9KjvINyfbWMGw/viewformnnThe course is open to students who have taken it in earlier quarters, with repeating students allowed to omit the training sessions and, in lieu of those sessions, complete additional field work and writing. Field work will include unique interviews with new participants each lab period, along with corresponding coding, analyses, and reports.

What does public interest technology look like in practice? Each week, a guest speaker will present a case study of their work to improve government and public systems through innovative methods, data-driven efforts, emerging technology, and human-centered design. Students will reflect on the practicalities, ethics, and best practices of public interest technology work.

Sociologists study taken-for-granted social categories and systems, like gender, to understand how they shape our lives. In this course, we will learn sociological approaches to understanding and studying gender. We will critically examine how gender structures society and reproduces inequality. To do this, we will use a multi-level approach, examining gender at the individual, interactional, and structural level. We will apply this framework to multiple areas of social life, including the self, the family, school, and work. This introductory course is designed to cover a range of topics in the sociology of gender, providing a baseline for further study. You will actively participate in class, bringing your own experiences while building your sociological imagination. Through a combination of lectures, in-class discussions, and papers, students will strengthen their academic analysis and writing skills.

(Graduate students register for 245.) Race and ethnic relations in the U.S. and elsewhere. The processes that render ethnic and racial boundary markers, such as skin color, language, and culture, salient in interaction situations. Why only some groups become targets of ethnic attacks. The social dynamics of ethnic hostility and ethnic/racial protest movements.

(Graduate students register for 247.) How have the definitions, categories, and consequences of race and ethnicity differed across time and place? This course offers a historical and sociological survey of racialized divisions around the globe. Case studies include: affirmative action policies, policies of segregation and ghettoization, countries with genocidal pasts, invisible minorities, and countries that refuse to count their citizens by race at all.