Sociology 19. Reinventing Boston: The Changing American City
Catalog Number: 9395
Christopher Winship
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 1–2:30. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
American cities have changed in extraordinary ways. Once projected to be doomed to a future of blight and decay, Boston has become a model of urban renaissance. Using Boston as a case, this course considers issues of: technology booms, economic change and inequality, political governance, elite relations, cultural institutions, race and ethnic relations, immigration, gentrification and suburbanization. Weekly guest speakers. Requirements: 3 short group papers and individual term paper.
Note: May be counted for introductory concentration requirement or secondary field, if letter-graded.
Sociology 22. Careers and Love in America
Catalog Number: 7997
Mary C. Brinton
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Familiarizes students with central issues and theoretical perspectives regarding gender inequality in the workplace. Focuses first on long-term changes in women’s economic participation and in the gendered division of labor as societies undergo processes of industrialization and post-industrialization, then more specifically on the US and on recent changes in workplace inequality and in the family-work interface.
Note: May be counted for introductory concentration requirement, if letter-graded.
[Sociology 24. Introduction to Social Inequality]
Catalog Number: 9417
Jason Beckfield
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines individual and structural explanations for the generation and maintenance of inequality in the US with comparisons to other societies. The consequences of inequality for individuals and groups are studied.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. May be counted for introductory concentration requirement, if letter-graded.
Sociology 25. Introduction to the Sociology of Organizations
Catalog Number: 3609
David L. Ager
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Introduces the sociological study of formal organizations. Surveys basic concepts, emphases, and approaches. Attention given to processes within organizations, as well as to relationships between organizations and their environments. Topics include bureaucracy, leadership and power in organizations, interorganizational networks, and coordination among organizations.
Note: May be counted for introductory concentration requirement, if letter-graded.
[Sociology 60. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity]
Catalog Number: 4114
Mary C. Waters
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines race and ethnic relations in the US from a theoretical, historical, and comparative perspective. Explores the emergence of racial and ethnic minorities through such historical processes as colonialism, slavery, and immigration. Studies the current relations among racial and ethnic groups in the US.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. May be counted for introductory concentration requirement, if letter-graded.
[*Sociology 67. Visualizing Social Problems In Documentary Film and Photography]
Catalog Number: 8622
Tamara Kay
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores social problems as they are presented and constructed in documentary film and photography. Topics include crime an deviance, poverty, race and gender inequalities, environmental degradation, immigration, urbanization and globalization, and war and terrorism. Examines a variety of documentary film and photography genres such as historical, biographical, ethnographic, satire, and political expose. Compares the processes by which filmmakers and photographers engage in social documentation.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Limited enrollment. May be counted for introductory concentration requirement, if letter-graded.
*Sociology 95 (formerly *Sociology 96j). Research for Nonprofits - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 0136
Christopher Winship
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Fall: W., 4–5:30; Spring: Tu., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 9
Supports students in carrying out a research project for a nonprofit organization that they are currently working with or have an interest in. Examines how research is used in the nonprofit sector. Course combines guest lectures, discussion, and student project presentations.
Note: There will be a required discussion meeting lasting 1 hour immediately following the course presentation each week. Both concentrators and non-concentrators are welcome to apply. First meeting required. Students should bring a completed copy of the enrollment form (available on the course website) to the first class meeting.
[*Sociology 96r. Community Based Research]
Catalog Number: 7425
Christopher Winship
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Fall: W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 6, 7
One of the few courses at Harvard that integrates students’ participation in activities outside the University with course work. Course integrates readings with hands-on research projects in the Boston area. Topics vary; refer to course website for details. Previous topics have included: immigration, marginalization, adolescents, civic activity.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Both concentrators and non-concentrators are welcome to apply. Required first meeting.
Sociology 97. Tutorial in Sociological Theory
Catalog Number: 5079
Jason A. Kaufman
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to sociological theory, providing a critical understanding of selected classical and contemporary theorists, including Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Parsons, Foucault, Butler, Bourdieu, and Giddens.
Note: Required of concentrators, ordinarily sophomores, and secondary concentrators. Required first organizational meeting.
*Sociology 98. Junior Tutorial
Catalog Number: 5943 Enrollment: Limited to 8.
Jason A. Kaufman and members of the department (fall and spring term). Filiz Garip, Michèle Lamont, and Helen Beckler Marrow (spring term).
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Fall: Tu., 3–5; Spring: Tu., 3–5; M., 4–6; M., 10–12; Tu., 1–3.
Small group research projects centered on common topics that vary by seminar and year. The topic in the Fall term is Residential Segregation and Urban Neighborhoods. In Spring, tutorial topics will include internal and international migration, racism and anti-racism.
Note: Required of and limited to concentrators, ordinarily juniors.
Prerequisite: Sociology 97.
*Sociology 99. Senior Tutorial
Catalog Number: 6237
Jason A. Kaufman and members of the Department
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Supervision of theses or other honors projects.
Note: Limited to concentrators, ordinarily seniors. In addition, students of Sociology 99 may also participate in a fall term only, optional, regularly scheduled weekly group seminar for consultation and discussion about choice of problems, possible data, and research procedures.
Prerequisite: Sociology 98.
Sociology 109. Leadership and Organizations
Catalog Number: 8260 Enrollment: Limited to 80. Enrollment by lottery.
David L. Ager
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Focus on the sociological study of leadership emphasizing leadership in organizational settings. Topics covered: how leadership, power, influence, and social capital are interrelated; organizations as complex social systems; politics and personalities in organizational life; organization design and culture; leadership of organizational change and transformation; and creating sustainable organizations.
Note: Open to students in all fields. Course relies heavily on the case study method for learning similar to the approach used at the Harvard Law and Business Schools.
[*Sociology 119. Learning from Social Settings: Observing and Talking to People: Conference Course]
Catalog Number: 2570
David L. Ager
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines the practice of conducting qualitative research: collecting, analyzing, and interpreting original observational and interview data. Emphasis will be on the development of skills that are employed by academics and practitioners (e.g. consultants, teachers, medical professionals, organizational leaders) to conduct qualitative field research in organizations and other social settings. Specifically the course will focus on negotiating entry, observation and note taking, interviewing, data analysis, and reporting of data.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Sociology 128. Models of Social Science Research
Catalog Number: 5979
Mary C. Waters
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Reviews sociological methods and the questions to which each is best suited. Readings exemplify statistical, ethnographic, and historical approaches. Stresses logic and reasoning, not particular statistical methods.
Note: Required of concentrators, ordinarily Sophomores, and secondary concentrators.
Sociology 129. Education and Society
Catalog Number: 6298
Mary C. Brinton
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Examines the key role played by the education system in reproducing and transforming modern society. The course considers what purposes education serves; to what extent factors such ability, effort, intelligence and luck determine educational success; why educational attainment is socially stratifies by social class origin, gender, ’race’ and ethnicity; and how educational attainment and outcomes are shaped by differences in character and quality between and within schools.
[Sociology 143. Love & Intimacy]
Catalog Number: 0013
Neil Gross
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Investigates transformations in family life, intimacy, and sexuality over the last half century. Special attention is given to social theorists who consider the relation between such changes and the nature of contemporary society.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Sociology 153. Media and the American Mind
Catalog Number: 8867
Jason A. Kaufman
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 1. EXAM GROUP: 6
Explores American society through the lens of its various media, including but not restricted to television, theatre, literature, and music. Topics include class and cultural consumption, the business dynamics of the art world, the co-optation and subversion of dominant art forms, the impact of information networks on social structure and social development, and the power of advertising and mass media. Designed to be both fun and informative. Appropriate for sociology concentrators and non-concentrators alike.
Sociology 155. Class and Culture - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 8934
Timothy Nelson
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
Examines the intersection of social class and culture--both popular culture and "culture" in the anthropological sense. Focus on "class consciousness" as well as the cultural views of the class system, how social class is embedded in various high and popular cultural products such as art, music books, movies and material goods, and finally the question of how class is reproduced through culture. There will be several short research/analysis projects.
*Sociology 156. Quantitative Methods in Sociology
Catalog Number: 8958
Peter V. Marsden
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Introduces quantitative analysis in social research, including principles of research design and the use of empirical evidence, particularly from social surveys. Descriptive and inferential statistics, contingency table analysis, and regression analysis. Emphasis on analysis of data and presentation of results in research reports.
Note: Required of and limited to Sociology concentrators, ordinarily sophomores.
Sociology 160. Medicine, Health Policy and Bioethics in Comparative and Global Perspective: Conference Course
Catalog Number: 3456 Enrollment: Limited to 18.
Mary-Jo Del Vecchio Good (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Complements Sociology 162. Examines the culture and political economy of biomedicine and health care institutions in the US and internationally. Analysis of current debates on medical education and the new professionalism; clinical narratives, the medical imaginary and the biotechnical embrace; cultural diversity, disparities and inequalities in medical and mental health care; medical error and quality of care; just use of societal resources; and bioethical dilemmas in clinical practice, medical missions and interventions, and international research and health policies.
[Sociology 162. Medical Sociology]
Catalog Number: 5801
Mary-Jo Del Vecchio Good (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores current topics in medical sociology organized around the theme of global and local environments of risk and trust in medicine and health care. Examines how medical education, knowledge, practice, research, technology, and health policies are culturally shaped and institutionally organized. Analyzes the culture and political economy of American medicine through comparative and global perspectives, utilizing country specific illustrations and global health examples.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Sociology 165. Inequalities in Health Care
Catalog Number: 8272
Mary Ruggie (Kennedy School)
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 3. EXAM GROUP: 8
Asks why certain social groups are at greater risk for more severe health problems (eg., infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, cancer) and yet receive unequal health care in the US. Examines selected health disparities around the world and what best practices foster adequate delivery of healthcare services, mutual respect between patient and provider, and healthy living.
*Sociology 167. Visualizing Rights and Social Change in Documentary Photography and Film - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 6911 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Tamara Kay
Half course (fall term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
Explores role of documentary photography and film in promoting rights and advocating social change, particularly in the realm of human rights. Examines history of documentary film and photography in relationship to politics and the development of concerns in sociology with inequality and social justice. Looks at how individual documentarians, non-profit organizations and social movements use film and photography to further their goals and causes. A variety of documentary film and photography genres such as historical, biographical, ethnographic, satire, and political expose will be examined and compared to processes by which filmmakers and photographers engage in social documentation.
Sociology 171. Sociology of Crime and Punishment - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 9922
Bruce Western
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 2. EXAM GROUP: 7
The U.S. penal population now numbers more than 2.2 million people and nearly a third of all African American men will be sentenced to prison at some time in their lives. This course studies these and other crime and criminal justice trends, analyzing them from a sociological perspective. From this perspective crime and state responses to crime are historically variable and often rooted in conflicts over the status of marginal social groups.
Sociology 174. Contemporary Central Asian Societies - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 5060
Laura L. Adams
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
A sociological introduction to Central Asia, focusing on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and also including nearby Muslim societies such as Afghanistan and Xinjiang in Western China. Explores contemporary topics such as religion, politics, civil society, globalization, gender, demography, migration, and culture.
Sociology 176. Immigration and the Transformation of American Society
Catalog Number: 5953
Mary C. Waters
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 1. EXAM GROUP: 4
How are new immigrants and their children being incorporated into the US? How is American society changing as a result of immigration? Examines social, cultural, economic, political, and linguistic trends. Focuses on the US, with comparisons to other immigrant receiving countries.
Sociology 179. Crime, Justice, and the American Legal System
Catalog Number: 3962
Anthony A. Braga
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 5
Examines the causes and consequences of the crime problem in America. Key actors in the legal system, such as police, courts, and prisons will be covered and the role of these institutions in crime prevention will be assessed. Particular attention will be paid to drugs, guns, gangs and other urban crime problems as well as controversial topics in criminal justice, such as racial profiling and the death penalty.
Note: Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as CCJ-103.
*Sociology 184. Freedom in America: An Historical Sociology: Conference Course
Catalog Number: 9740
Orlando Patterson
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Examines the social construction and practice of freedom in America from early colonial times to the present. Freedom explored not simply as an idea, but as a cultural system that both shapes and is shaped by changing socio-economic contexts. Special attention paid to the ways in which constructions of freedom vary by class, gender and ethnicity, and the role of slavery, the revolution, the civil war, and the Civil Rights movement in the development of this ideal.
[Sociology 189. Law and Social Movements]
Catalog Number: 2421
Tamara Kay
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores the relationship between law and social movements in the US (with some international and transnational comparisons). Analyzes how the law shapes and structures social movements, how social movements mobilize the law to create social change, and how they engage in legal reform. Examines and compares a variety of social movements including the civil rights, human rights, labor rights, environmental, anti-globalization, women’s rights, and indigenous rights movements.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Sociology 190. Life and Death in the US: Medicine and Disease in Social Context
Catalog Number: 0021
Nicholas A. Christakis (Medical School, FAS)
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 3. EXAM GROUP: 8
Explores how biological and social factors jointly conspire to determine the health of individuals and populations. Examines how medical care, social networks, and socioeconomic inequality influence illness, recovery, and death.
*Sociology 191. The Politics of Law, Labor and Globalization in the Americas
Catalog Number: 1423 Enrollment: Limited to 28.
Tamara Kay
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
Examines the history of U.S.-Latin American union relations and traces the development and strategies of labor movements in Latin America in relationship to different political regimes, economic development policies, labor laws and labor rights. Focuses also on the effects of globalization and regional economic integration on workers and labor movements in the Americas, focusing on the impacts of regional governance institutions, trade, and immigration. Explores the limitations and possibilities for labor transnationalism in response to globalization, and efforts to frame labor rights as human rights across the Americas.
*Sociology 193. Crime, Community, and Public Policy: Conference Course
Catalog Number: 8651
Anthony A. Braga
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Examines criminal justice from the perspective of local communities. Questions of how local communities affect and are affected by crime and criminal justice will be addressed. A central concern will be the discussion of characteristics of neighborhoods that lead to high rates of criminality and how federal, state, and local policies not directly concerned with crime policy may nonetheless bear on crime rates. The City of Boston will be used as a laboratory in which to study these issues.
Sociology 194. Knowledge Production & Evaluation in the Social Sciences: Conference Course - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 6917
Michèle Lamont
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Focus on ethnographic and historical research on practices of knowledge making, use and evaluation in the social sciences. We will survey frontier literatures in science studies to consider potential for cross-fertilization and future empirical investigation. The overall goal will be to study similarities and differences in social processes across disciplines and potential for coordinated research agendas.
*Sociology 203a. Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
Catalog Number: 3315
Christopher Winship
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–12. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Matrix approach to regression analysis with an emphasis on the assumptions behind OLS. Instrumental variables, generalized least squares, probit and logit models, survival analysis, hierarchical linear models, and systems of equations are studied.
Note: Required of, and ordinarily limited to, first-year graduate students in Sociology.
Prerequisite: Sociology 202 or basic course in regression analysis.
[*Sociology 203b. Analysis of Longitudinal Data: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 1860
Peter V. Marsden
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Treats longitudinal design and methods for the statistical analysis of longitudinal data with an emphasis on the analysis of change in discrete variables. Includes introduction to time series analysis. Statistical theory and practical applications covered.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Primarily for graduate students in sociology.
Prerequisite: Sociology 203a.
Sociology 204. Sociological Theory: Seminar
Catalog Number: 6189
Michèle Lamont
Half course (fall term). M., 10–12. EXAM GROUP: 3, 4
Introduction to the ideas of and socio-intellectual contexts that were formative for Tocqueville, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Simmel, and Mead. Consideration of their significance for contemporary sociological theory.
Note: Required of and limited to first-year graduate students in Sociology.
Sociology 206. The Sociology of Development: Seminar
Catalog Number: 9026
Martin K. Whyte
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3.
Examines debates surrounding the nature of the process of economic development. Major attention is devoted to rival theories of where and why development occurs and to a variety of social consequences of economic development.
*Sociology 208. Contemporary Theory and Research: Seminar
Catalog Number: 6080
Mary C. Brinton
Half course (spring term). W., 10–12. EXAM GROUP: 3, 4
Develops tools for the construction of sociological theory. Compares major contemporary sociological theories and their applications. Emphasis is placed on adjudicating among competing explanations based on evidence and critical assessment of a theory’s logic.
Note: Required of and limited to first-year graduate students in Sociology.
*Sociology 209. Qualitative Social Analysis: Seminar
Catalog Number: 1198
Orlando Patterson
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Examines approaches to non-numerical data used by social scientists to obtain valid, reliable, and meaningful insight into the social world through the analysis of ethnographic field notes, interview transcripts, and archival and other interpretative data.
Note: Required of and limited to first-year graduate students in Sociology.
*Sociology 210. Issues in the Interpretation of Empirical Evidence: Seminar
Catalog Number: 2882
Stanley Lieberson
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Special problems occur in the interpretation of either qualitative or quantitative results based on non-experimental data--whether from surveys, historical research, or field work. These issues differ from those that can be resolved through statistical solutions.
[Sociology 217. Sociology of Families and Kinship: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8522
Martin K. Whyte
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines research on family patterns, combining a focus on how family patterns vary and change over time and how individuals differ in their experience of life course transitions, such as marriage, divorce, and retirement.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
*Sociology 221. Immigration, Identity and Assimilation: Seminar
Catalog Number: 9699 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Mary C. Waters
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Examines the experiences of recent immigrants and their children — the second generation. Review of Economic, political, and social assimilation, and ethnic identity formation. Discussion of recent theories and research on the link between identity and economic assimilation.
Sociology 224. Organizational Analysis: Seminar
Catalog Number: 8202
Frank Dobbin
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Reviews classical and contemporary theories of organizations, including ecological, institutional, resource dependence, transaction-cost, agency theory, learning theory, and organizational culture. Examines phenomena at multiple levels from the establishment to the organizational network or field.
[Sociology 225. Historical Sociology: Studying Continuity and Change: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8750
Orlando Patterson
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Examines the main approaches to the interface of history and sociology. Major theoretical traditions and methodological strategies (both quantitative and qualitative) are appraised mainly through the exploration of exemplary studies.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Sociology 231. Neighborhood Effects and Community-Level Social Processes
Catalog Number: 6611
Robert J. Sampson
Half course (spring term). M., 4–6.
Examines contemporary research on the role of neighborhoods in modern city life. Topics include segregation and neighborhood social isolation; social networks and trust; spatial forms of racial inequality; and the role of institutions in generating collective action.
[Sociology 236. Selected Topics in Culture and Inequality]
Catalog Number: 0582
Michèle Lamont
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to cultural sociology, particularly as it intersects with the study of inequality. Topics: Symbolic boundaries, cultural capital, cultural consumption, identity, race and class cultures, anti-racism, cultural repertoires, explanation, interpretation, and comparative research strategies.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[Sociology 237. Contemporary Chinese Society: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 4320
Martin K. Whyte
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A seminar devoted to the intensive analysis of a particular aspect of contemporary Chinese society. This year the focus will be on trends in inequality and stratification in China.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Sociology 243. Economic Sociology
Catalog Number: 2022
Filiz Garip
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Introduction to economic sociology at the graduate level. Surveys economic inequality and the ways that economic behavior and outcomes are shaped by social institutions such as markets, networks, organizations, the family, the state, and culture.
*Sociology 249. “Race,” Culture, and Social Structure: Seminar
Catalog Number: 5727
Orlando Patterson
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines socio-economic and cultural dimensions of racial inequality in the US. External and institutional factors accounting for inequality and internal problems will be examined. Political and economic consequences of various policies aimed at reducing inequality such as affirmative action will be explored, giving attention to family structure and gender relations and to the policies relating to them.
*Sociology 255. Social Stratification: Seminar
Catalog Number: 3839
Jason Beckfield
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Examines theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding the sources, structure and consequences of persistent social inequalities.
*Sociology 260. The Sociology of Global Health - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 6585
Mary-Jo Del Vecchio Good (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Examines the historical transformation and social organization of the modern global health movement, its political economy and diverse cultural contexts. Cases include institutional architecture and financing, medical humanitarianism, mental health, and gender /reproductive health initiatives.
Note: Instructor’s permission required.
[Sociology 263. Globalization and Comparative Inequality]
Catalog Number: 6503
Jason Beckfield
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar focuses on the intersection of globalization, in its diverse forms, and inequality, in comparative and cross-national perspective. We begin by reviewing the basic conceptualizations of globalization, including its economic, political, social, and cultural dimensions. After developing an understanding of the various forms and definitions of globalization, we then turn to consider how globalization can be connected to inequality. We conclude by exploring the implications of research on globalization and inequality for the normative debate that animates so much contemporary writing on globalization.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[Sociology 266. Social Foundations of Justice]
Catalog Number: 1660
Christopher Winship
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Why and how do people come to see a situation as just. This research seminar explores work in sociology, psychology, political science, and philosophy. The goal is for students to launch their own research project.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[*Sociology 271. Sociology of Culture: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 5401
Jason A. Kaufman
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Reviews contemporary themes and approaches in the sociology of culture. Topics will include media and mass society; class, culture, and power; the production of culture; neo-institutionalism; culture and cognition; macro-theories of social change; and methodology.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
*Sociology 275. Social Network Analysis: Seminar
Catalog Number: 6899
Peter V. Marsden
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Concepts and methods for studying social structure using social networks. Approaches to collecting network data; data quality; graph-theoretic, statistical, and visual approaches to analyzing network data, including blockmodels and multidimensional scaling.
*Sociology 296a. Proseminar on Inequality and Social Policy I
Catalog Number: 6231 Enrollment: Limited to 18.
Bruce Western
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Deals with the causes of economic inequality, including demand for various kinds of skills, the supply of such skills, cultural differences, political attitudes, political institutions, and living arrangements.
Note: Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as HLE-511. Meets at the Kennedy School.
*Sociology 301. Special Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 4017
David L. Ager 5142, Jason Beckfield 5612, Mary C. Brinton 4567, Nicholas A. Christakis (Medical School) 4459, Frank Dobbin 4622, Kathryn Edin (Kennedy School) 5952, Filiz Garip 5887, Mary-Jo Del Vecchio Good (Medical School) 7721, Neil Gross 4975 (on leave fall term), Christopher Jencks (Kennedy School) 2160, Jason A. Kaufman 2147, Tamara Kay 5611, Michèle Lamont 4634, Stanley Lieberson 1937, Peter V. Marsden 1797, Orlando Patterson 1091, Robert J. Sampson 4546, Theda Skocpol 1387 (on leave spring term), Jocelyn Viterna 5860, Mary C. Waters 1498, Bruce Western 5763, Martin K. Whyte 3737, William Julius Wilson 2401, and Christopher Winship 3189
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
*Sociology 302. Direction of Doctoral Dissertations
Catalog Number: 5021
Members of the Department
*Sociology 303a. Advanced Topics in Quantitative Research
Catalog Number: 5636
Christopher Winship 3189
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines current methodological scholarship in the social sciences with an eye to assessing its quality and potential for advancing quantitative methods. Recently published and unpublished work by local scholars examined.
*Sociology 304. Culture and Social Analysis Workshop
Catalog Number: 2809
Michèle Lamont 4634
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). M., 4–6.
A venue for those working on topics such as meaning-making, identity, collective memory, symbolic boundaries, cultural capital, class cultures, popular culture, media, disciplinary cultures, and the impact of culture on inequality.
*Sociology 305. Teaching Practicum
Catalog Number: 0259
David L. Ager 5142
Half course (fall term). Tu., 5–7 p.m.
Note: Required of and limited to graduate students in Sociology. Attendance at first meeting is required.
*Sociology 306r. Colloquium in Sociology
Catalog Number: 4818
Peter V. Marsden (fall term) and Tamara Kay (spring term)
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). M., 12–2.
Provides a forum for advanced graduate students for presentation of their research. Only graduate students in sociology may register for credit. Students registered for credit must make a seminar presentation during the term.
*Sociology 307. Workshop on Inequality and Social Policy III
Catalog Number: 0137
William Julius Wilson 2401
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
Students develop previously completed papers from Sociology 296a or 296b into professional presentations and publishable articles, critique peer papers across disciplines, and discuss presentations of national experts.
Note: Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as HLE-513.
Prerequisite: Sociology 296a or 296b (or HLE-511 or HLE-512 at the Kennedy School) or by permission of instructor.
*Sociology 308. Workshop on Economic Sociology
Catalog Number: 0086
Frank Dobbin 4622
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). W., 3:30–5.
Presentations and discussions of new research by members of the community and visiting scholars. Students are exposed to the major paradigms in the field, and see how research articles are developed and refined.
*Sociology 309. Migration and Immigrant Incorporation Workshop
Catalog Number: 9932
Mary C. Waters 1498
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Bi-weekly colloquium for graduate students that examines international migration and the incorporation of migrants into host societies . Students participate in meetings and present original work in progress.
*Sociology 310 (formerly Sociology 201). Sociological Research Design
Catalog Number: 0085
Frank Dobbin 4622
Full course. W., 12–2.
Guides students through the process of producing an original research paper of high quality. Readings and discussion cover the identification of appropriate research problems, the nature of causal reasoning, and data analysis and write-up.
Note: Required of, and ordinarily limited to, second-year graduate students while writing the qualifying paper.
[*Sociology 311. Family and Childhood Research Workshop]
Catalog Number: 1062
Martin K. Whyte 3737
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Spring: Th., 12–2.
A venue for the presentation of works-in-progress by those with an interest in family formation and dissolution, child well-being, youth development, and the impact of the social environment on families and children.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
*Sociology 390. Health and Social Structure - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 6282
Nicholas A. Christakis (Medical School) 4459
Full course (indivisible). Th., 1–3.
Considers advanced topics in how supra-individual factors, such as social networks, neighborhoods, and health care organizations, contribute to individual health and longevity. Students undertake a substantial piece of original research.