31 - 40 of 255 results for: SOC

Causes, effects, and solutions to various forms of corruption in business and politics in both developing regions (e.g. Asia, E. Europe) and developed ones (the US and the EU).

This course is designed to examine sports from a sociological perspective and to develop a greater understanding of the impact of sports on societies and individuals. We will analyze sports and sporting cultures using several theoretical frameworks such as functionalism, conflict theory, critical theory, feminist theory, and an internationalist perspective. This course will address questions such as: What role do sports have in society? How can we understand the importance societies place on sports? How are social inequalities replicated or challenged through sports? How do sports influence individuals and the construction of a social reality?

(Graduate students register for 214.) The sociological approach to production, distribution, consumption, and markets, emphasizing the impact of norms, power, social structure, and institutions on the economy. Comparison of classic and contemporary approaches to the economy among the social science disciplines. Topics: consumption, labor markets, organization of professions such as law and medicine, the economic role of informal networks, industrial organization, including the structure and history of the computer and popular music industries, business alliances, capitalism in non-Western societies, and the transition from state socialism in E. Europe and China.

The Great Recession (2007-2009), one of the most socially significant events of our time. This course will cover the economic, social, cultural, and political consequences of the recession. We will address its impact on: inequality; job prospects for college graduates; trust in the government; the 2012 presidential election; marriage; child birth; and immigration. We examine the rise of protest movements during the recession period, such as Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party, and explore the idea of "class warfare". Class will feature several guest speakers and will focus on developing a general understanding of trends emerging in these events.

How does a corporation¿s practice of religion affect your employment? How do your personal data become a corporation's private property? How does corporate behavior reinforce the marginalization of certain populations? The answers to these questions have varied as society's conceptualization of corporations evolved from simple, legal fiction to rights and responsibilities similar to those of humans. In this seminar, we critically examine relationships between corporations and citizens, and analyze the idea of corporation as citizen. Through careful reading, discussion, reflection, and writing, you will understand how corporations are socially constructed and in turn regulate social behavior. We will empower each other to thoughtfully question and possibly change our relationships with these major actors in economic sociology.

In this Age of Obama, why are we still talking about legal remedies to racial inequality? This course will explore this question from an interdisciplinary perspective, focusing on perspectives from law and social science. Students will read both actual Supreme Court opinions as well as foundational works in the sociology of race and law. Through readings and discussion, students will leave this course with 1) a background in the historical role of the law in relation to race; 2) an understanding in how law¿s role in the maintenance of racial inequality has evolved; and 3) an ability to articulate their own views on why we are and whether we should be still talking about race, using both theory and empirical evidence to support their views. Specifically, students will be able to answer this question: ¿Is it appropriate for law to attempt to remedy racial inequality?¿

Seminar for advanced undergraduates and all graduate students.

Human trafficking is more than a crime and a human rights violation; it reveals the complex interactions of social norms, policies, and actions. In this course, we will consider norms of sexuality and morality in relation to sex trafficking and consenting sex workers, politics and labor policy in relation to labor trafficking and day workers, and political consumerism as a form of collective action in relation to fair trade. Specific topics include the impact of legalized prostitution on human trafficking, the effects of the annual US-released Trafficking In Persons report on international migrant labor laws, and the question of whether or not fair trade is fair. This seminar will provide students opportunities to think critically about society and to collaborate as researchers and activists on the issue of human trafficking.

(Graduate students register for 217A.) The transformation of Chinese society from the 1949 revolution to the eve of China's reforms in 1978: creation of a socialist economy, reorganization of rural society and urban workplaces, emergence of new inequalities of power and opportunity, and new forms of social conflict during Mao's Cultural Revolution of 1966-69 and its aftermath.