Mullis, Mon. 1-4, Max: 10
Content: This course is an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics for univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Topics to be covered include summarizing evidence with graphs and numbers, developing and assessing composite measurements, generalizing from a sample to a population, and determining the relationship between two or more variables. The course will prepare you to understand and evaluate research reports in social science publications and in the news media. It will also enable you to do original research of your own. You will learn how to ask meaningful questions of quantitative data and to draw sound conclusions from the evidence you produce. The overall goal of the course is to increase your statistical literacy and prepare you to take additional courses in statistics and research methods.
Particulars: Exams, computer assignments
SOC 501: Research Methods-Design
Franzosi, TTh 1-2:30, Max: 10
Content: Sociologists, as social "scientists," have a fundamental concern with methods. The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the three most common methodological approaches used in Sociology: comparative-historical, interpretive, and multivariate analysis. It will outline the fundamental features, advantages, and disadvantages of each research method. The course will also introduce students to the basic jargon of methodology: research design, variables, operationalization, causality, hypothesis testing, models. It will focus on the relationship between theory and method (looking at Galileo's work) and on the relationship between research questions and methods as these come together in the research design. The roots of the quality versus quantity debate will be explored (going back to the Newton and Goethe debate!). Most importantly, the rhetoric of science will be analyzed in light of sociologists' obsession with methods ("A methodological pestilence," in Max Weber's expression).
Texts: There will be a packet of readings (selected book chapters and journal articles) and several methodological texts and monographs. Likely sources include the following:
Liebow, Elliot. 1993. Tell Them Who I Am: the Lives of Homeless Women. New York : Free Press.
Rossi, Peter. 1989. Down and Out in America . The Origins of Homelessness. Chicago : University of Chicago Press.
Robert Alford. The Craft of Inquiry. Theories, Methods, Evidence. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
Howard S. Becker. 1998. Tricks of the Trade. How to Think About Your Research While You Are Doing It. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Weber, Max. 1949. The Methodology of the Social Sciences. Translated and Edited by Edward A. Shils and Henry A. Finch. With a Foreword by Edward A. Shils. New York : The Free Press.
Emile Durkheim. 1938. The Rules of Sociological Method. New York : Free Press.
Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York : Aldine.
Sandra Harding. 1991. Whose Science? Whose Knowledge? Thinking From Women's Lives . Ithaca , NY : Cornell University Press.
Arthur L. Stinchcombe. 1968. Constructing Social Theories. New York : Harcourt, Brace & World.
C. Wright Mills. 1959. The Sociological Imagination. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
McCloskey, Donald N. 1985. The Rhetoric of Economics. Madison : University of Wisconsin Press.
Edmondson, Ricca. 1984. Rhetoric in Sociology. London : McMillan.
Particulars: There will be weekly homework assignments. Students will be expected to produce a final 6-8 page research proposal (a brief sketch will be due at mid-semester).
SOC 514: Bureaucratic Organizations
Archibald, Mon., 9-12, Max: 10
Content: Economic theories of complex formal organizations tend to create a highly stylized view of the world of organizations. For example, they assume that organizations maximize profits, that output levels are a function of a limited number of input factors, that organizations are rational, and make rational decisions based on complete information about conditions affecting inputs and outputs. In contrast, sociological theories raise a number of provocative counter assumptions, such as: organizations satisfice rather than maximize, organizational rationality may be ritualistic, profits are not the only goals organizations seek, organizations are social, political and cultural systems, organizational efficiency is an iron cage constraining participants, organizations are breeding grounds for social institutions, and organizations are reified symbolic interactions. This graduate-level course exploits these and other contrasts by providing students with a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical and empirical literature on complex organizations. We will use a loose historical framework to examine various research paradigms detailing characteristics of organizations ranging from business firms, banks, factories, and hospitals to armies, governments, schools, prisons, labor unions, political parties and non-profits. Students are encouraged to apply their understanding of this unique sociological perspective by developing their own organizational research projects.
Particulars: Weekly memos, class presentations, and a paper
SOC 521: Social Movements & Revolutions
Werum, Friday, 1:30-4:30, Max: 10
Content: What causes social movements? Under which conditions do they succeed or fail? Why and under which conditions do individuals participate? How is the rise and decline of social movement "cycles" related to economic trends, developments in certain social institutions, or cultural and ideological shifts? How do we define social movements and "countermovements"?
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to classical and contemporary theories about social movements. In addition, we will cover a range of 20th-century movements, focusing mostly on the U.S. and Western Europe. During the first month, students will become familiar with micro-level as well as macro-level theoretical traditions, such as relative deprivation, rational choice, resource mobilization, and frameworks that bridge traditional theoretical divides and address issues related to, e.g., recruitment and participation or the role of the state. Movements covered include the labor movement and the "new" left/student movement of the 1960s, the civil rights movement, the women's movement (various phases), the lesbian/gay rights movement, and environmental/peace movements.
Throughout the course, we will deal with the so-called "theory-method-data-link." In other words, students will learn how other researchers have pursued their empirical/substantive interests. Our ability to answer specific questions is shaped by the specific movement we study, the time period/historical context in which it occurred, plus inevitable data constraints and methodological choices. In the process of the course, students will become familiar with various methodological approaches to the study of social movements (both qualitative and quantitative).
By the end of the semester, students should be familiar with theoretical and methodological issues surrounding social movement research. They should also have a clear historical understanding of social movements in this country and abroad. Each student will write a research paper due at the end of the semester. Most students will write a grant proposal, But depending on the student's academic status, this can also be an expansion of ongoing research (for instance a dissertation chapter).
Particulars: regular attendance, 2 in-class presentations, 1 grant proposal.
SOC 552: Structural Aspects of Social Interaction (Same as PSYC 533)
Johnson, Wednesday 1:30-4:30, Max: SOC=7; PSYC=3; TOTAL=10
Content: This course examines theories that address how status, power, and legitimacy processes operate in small group interaction. We will see the development and extension of theories in the status, power, and legitimacy areas, as well as review the empirical support for these theories. We will discuss the various possible new directions in the groups and networks literatures. The status characteristic, gender, will be emphasized, but other status characteristics will be given attention as well.
Particulars: Short critiques and a research paper
SOC 561: Sociology of the Arts
Dowd, Wednesday, 6-9 p.m., Max: 10 (permission required for registration purposes)
Content: Sociological consideration of the arts has a long history. It extends back to the works of such classical writers as Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel and weaves its way to contemporary work by such scholars as Paul DiMaggio, Wendy Griswold, and Tia DeNora. In this advanced seminar, we seek a purchase on this literature by attending to a number of themes and exemplar works within these themes. As a result, we will examine theoretical traditions associated with those listed above as well as such scholars as Pierre Bourdieu and Theodor Adorno. We will also explore such topics as artistic careers, cultural capital, and the globalization of the arts.
Text: Online reserves.
Particulars: Weekly memos; term paper.
SOC 585: Communities and Crime
Griffiths, Tuesday, 4-7 p.m., Max: 10
Content: This seminar will focus on the role of communities as important geographic and social contexts for crime and delinquency. We will examine the growing literature on the social organization of neighborhoods as facilitators of and/or protectors against crime and violence. Core debates in this literature center on two overarching themes. The first concerns the varied methodologies employed to study communities and crime. We will explore the differences between both qualitative and quantitative approaches, definitional concerns including the modifiable areal unit problem, the ecological fallacy, and issues in determining causality or direction of effect. The second theme centers on the range of theoretical approaches applied to the problem of communities and crime. Such concepts as social disorganization, cultural transmission, social capital, collective efficacy, community strain, and social control amongst others will be considered. Both of these larger themes will be emphasized in readings and discussion throughout the term.
Particulars: Participation in leading seminar discussions; reaction papers; term paper
SOC 585: Comparative Racialization
Forman, Monday 5:30-8:30 p.m., Max: 10
Content: Please check with Department for details OR see our web site after 03/01/2008
SOC 585: Introduction to Qualitative Methods
Scott, Thursday 4-7 p.m., Max: 10 (permission required for preregistration purposes)
Content: This introduction to qualitative methods begins with a brief overview of the traditions of qualitative methods. We examine research design issues including: developing research questions, selecting methods, and mixed methods approaches. We then examine the collection, coding, and presentation of qualitative data (focusing on in-depth interviews, observation, and document research). We will be concerned with practical issues that arise at different stages of the research process, reviewing empirical studies that employ these methods, and gaining research experience by carrying out small-scale studies involving qualitative social analysis.
Particulars: Students will be required to complete 3 short exercises and one research proposal
SOC 585: Introduction to Political Economy and Global Analysis
Hicks, Wednesday, 1-4 p.m., Max: 10
Content: This course is intended as comprehensive introduction to the field of Comparative Political Economy and Global Analysis (previously Comparative Political Economy and Development). Sub-field introduced will include class analytical political economy, elementary rational choice theory, comparative historical analysis, world systems theory, inequality and development, and world polity and world culture theory.
Particulars: Requirements include active class participation; presentations on readings; short essay assignments; term paper. Readings will consist principally of readings made electronically available, but these may be complemented by a few hard copies of articles and by books."
SOC 725: Sociology of Mortality (Same as RLSR 730)
Tipton, Thursday 7-10 p.m., Max: 3
Content: This seminar studies the relationship between the distinctive moral ideals and experience of social life and its varied institutional arrangements, including the moral implications of social modernization for conceiving persons individually and evaluating their globally structured relations. It maps diverse moral logics and constituencies across cultural traditions seen as continuities of conflict over socially shared ways of life. It probes the social processes of producing, distributing, receiving and contesting moral meaning; and its role in inspiring social action and judging social institutions to shape social conflict as well as order. The course charts the sociology of morality as a field by marshaling thematically related works in sociology and social theory, moral and political philosophy, comparative religious ethics and anthropology to span classical theories and recent empirical studies of contemporary American moral life, including racial and gender inequality, public participation, religious conflict, hard work and romantic love.
Texts: Readings include works by Aristotle, Adam Smith, Rousseau; Marx, Weber, Durkheim; John Meyer, Bourdieu, Walzer, Seyla Benhabib, Mary Douglas, Geertz, Bellah, Ann Swidler, Nina Eliasoph and William JuliusWilson.
Particulars: Ph.D. seminar; term paper, class presentations.
SOC 767: Teaching Sociology
Agnew, Friday 9-12, Max: 10 (permission required for registration purposes)
Content: The seminar is designed to help prepare you for your first (or next) teaching assignment and enhance your effectiveness as a teacher. These goals will be achieved through a) reading the literature on teaching and learning; b) the observation of classroom processes; c) active participation in the seminar sessions; d) practice in teaching; and e) the preparation of your own course materials (e.g., syllabus, textbook selection, sample exam questions, sample lectures and discussions). The primary text will be Tools for Teaching (Davis), supplemented by a collection of readings.
Particulars: Contact Dr. Agnew before May 9, 2008 for special instructions.