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The Sociology Colloquium is a semimonthly seminar held throughout the academic year, in which distinguished scholars present their cutting-edge research findings. Enrollment for credit, and regular attendance, is required for all first and second year Sociology doctoral students.

Where do people's political attitudes and behaviors come from, and how can they be changed? Social and psychological factors powerfully influence political views, and research in this area can help to understand our often confusing political landscape. Understanding the causal architecture of political attitudes and behavior is essential for taking effective political action, especially in this time of deep and growing political divides. In this class we will read and discuss cutting-edge research from social psychology, sociology, political science, and beyond on topics such as polarization, persuasion, social activism, inequality, racial prejudice, and populism. Enrollment for SOC 298 is by permission of instructor.

This is a course in the design of social research, with a particular emphasis on research field (i.e., non-laboratory) settings. As such, the course is a forum for discussing and developing an understanding of the different strategies social theorists employ to explain social processes, develop theories, and make these theories as believable as possible. In general, these issues will be discussed in the context of sociological research on organizations, but this will not be the exclusive focus of the course. A range of topics will be covered, for example: formulating and motivating research questions; varieties of explanation; experimental and quasi-experimental methods, including natural experiments; counterfactual models; conceptualization and measurement; sampling and case selection; qualitative and quantitative approaches. This course is particularly oriented toward developing an appreciation of the tradeoffs of different approaches. It is well suited to Ph.D. students working on qualifying papers and dissertation proposals.