11 - 20 of 220 results for: SOC

An overview of the major forms of inequality in American society, their causes and consequences. Special attention will devoted to to public policy associated with inequality.

This course will trace China's winding path to the present through two radically different periods: the revolutionary changes and upheavals in the middle of the 20th century, and the shift to market reform and rapid economic development after 1980. We will examine the formation of China's first modern nation-state out of a long period of internal war, and how that form of government has evolved in the decades since. The main focus of the first half of the course is on the Mao era, and in particular the two famous upheavals of that period - the Great Leap Forward and subsequent famine, and the decade-long upheavals of the Cultural Revolution. In the second half, we will explore the surprising shift toward market reform and openness to the outside world after 1980, and the economic growth and social changes that followed. In addition to accessible readings, the course will feature documentary films, dramatic productions by Chinese directors, memoirs and fiction by Chinese authors, and classroom discussion. Students will gain an in depth background for understanding China's role in current world affairs, and a good foundation for further coursework on contemporary China.

The seminar introduces students to major themes connected to the immigrant experience, including identity, education, assimilation, transnationalism, political membership, and intergroup relations. There will also be some attention given to research methodology. The seminar addresses these themes through reading ethnographies that document the everyday experience of immigrants and immigrant communities, broadly defined, in the United States. The course readings primarily come from more contemporary ethnographic research, but it will also include a sampling of ethnographies that examine the experience of previous waves of immigrants. Student participation will include in-class discussions of readings, short written responses to readings, and a final paper in which students draw on original ethnographic research that they conduct during the quarter. By the end of the quarter, students will be able to identify the social, political, and economic forces that shape the immigrant experience. More importantly, students will understand HOW these forces enter the immigrant experience in everyday life.

Over the past few decades, social movements have increasingly relied on social movement participants leveraging internet technologies in mobilization, coordination, and public outreach to assist in their movement goals. How have new online tools such as social media and digital connectivity changed the processes of contemporary social movements? This course uses a sociological perspective to examine the ways social movements have adapted to online technologies to critically think about how the internet has altered traditional forms of social movement mobilization. The first half of the course is an introduction and review of traditional social movement literatures, while the second half is focused on different contemporary social movements where the internet played an important role, including the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ equality, feminism and the #MeToo movement, and most recently, the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Students will be encouraged to think about the ways in which social movement processes have been accelerated and/or changed due to the effects of online technologies.

This Introductory Seminar reviews the history of social network studies, investigates how networks have changed over the past hundred years and asks how new technologies will impact them. We will draw from scholarly publications, popular culture and personal experience as ways to approach this central aspect of the human experience.

Where does the food you eat come from? How does it get to your plate? Where does it go when you don't finish it? And why are those particular items on your plate in the first place? How and what we eat is a vastly overlooked part of everyday life, and yet comes with huge personal, societal, and environmental effects, both positive and (quite often) negative. But this isn't indicative of personal moral failings or ignorance - rather, the food system was designed this way. And it leaves many of us without choice or consent around what we put into our bodies and how our actions impact those around us, thereby exacerbating social and health inequities. This class will uncover the secret workings of the global food system and introduce students to movements and efforts towards creating a more just food future for all. We will center on the concept of 'food justice,' which includes all ideas and practices that strive to eliminate exploitation and oppression within and beyond the food system. This trajectory will take us through understandings of economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological life, both now and in the past, providing students with a unique opportunity to gain interdisciplinary knowledge of food systems. For instance, we will learn about how historical and modern-day activists and scholars draw on movements for economic, gender, racial, climate, and environmental justice, and explore the possibilities for both reformative and transformative food politics. Finally, because food production, consumption, and activism are all highly tangible practices, the class will engage in field trips to the Stanford O'Donohue Family Farm, Stanford Food Institute's Teaching Kitchen, and a local Bay Area farm to get hands-on experience with what it means to eat more ethically.

Join us for an immersive speaker series that delves into the core of American democracy. Prominent figures from a range of politic, business, foreign policy, academia, and media will analyze the implications of the 2024 elections and the challenges our nation faces. Led by James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, explore topics such as harnessing the power of AI responsibly, addressing climate change at various levels, strengthening commitments to democracy and voting rights, safeguarding youth from the impacts of social media and technology on mental health, and ensuring accountability for wealth disparities. This series will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the elections and the broader American political landscape.

Join us for an extraordinary journey into the heart of American democracy as we explore critical issues facing our nation in the run-up to the 2024 US elections, the most consequential American elections - for our country and the world - in our lifetime. Led by James Steyer, Adjunct Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Education, and Founder and CEO, Common Sense Media, this captivating speaker series will feature some of America's most prominent leaders in politics, business, foreign policy, academia, and the media.

Today, for the first time in history, a majority of people live in cities. By 2050, cities will hold two-thirds of the world's population. This transformation touches everyone, and raises critical questions. What draws people to live in cities? How will urban growth affect the world's environment? Why are cities so divided by race and by class, and what can be done about it? How do cities change who we are, and how can we change cities? In this class, you will learn to see cities in new ways, from the smallest everyday interactions on a city sidewalk to the largest patterns of global migration and trade. We will use specific examples from cities around the world to illustrate the concepts that we learn in class. The course is intended primarily for freshmen and sophomores.