| UNIVERSITY
OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
SPRING 2003 COURSE OFFERINGS
Undergraduate
Courses | Graduate
Courses | CGS Courses
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
SOC 001-001 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
Sociology provides a unique way to look at human behavior and the
world. Sociology is the systematic study of the groups and societies
in which people live. In this introductory course, we examine and
analyze how social structures and cultures are created, maintained,
and most importantly, how they affect behavior. The course deconstructs
our taken for granted world of social interactions and behaviors
and examines what theory and research can tell about human social
behavior.
MW 11 - 12 GELLES
201 - REC F 12 - 1 STAFF
202 - REC F 11 - 12 STAFF
203 - REC W 10 - 11 STAFF
204 - REC M 10 - 11 STAFF
SOC 003-001 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL
The study of deviance and social control is a major topic of sociology.
The first part of the course examines different types of deviance-crime,
mental illness, and juvenile delinquency, different explanations
which have been forwarded to explain them-functionalism, labeling
theory, and opportunity structures. The second part of the course
examines different approaches to social control and the effects
of incarceration and decarceration.
TR 3 - 4:30 NOAKES
SOC 004-401 SOCIOLOGICAL AND POLICY PERSPECTIVES ON FAMILIES
This course provides an introduction to sociological perspectives
on families and public policies aimed at families. The course begins
with a brief overview of theoretical perspectives on families and
family patterns and change over the last century. The second part
of the course focuses on the private family–the one in which
we live most of our personal lives. Focusing on the contemporary
United States, we will explore variation in families by gender,
race and ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. We will consider:
who marries and who doesn’t; who cohabits and who doesn’t;
who divorces and who doesn’t; who does the housework and who
doesn’t. In the last section of the course, we will consider
issues involving the public family, in which adults perform tasks
that are important to society (i.e. rearing children, caring for
the elderly). We will examine how society (i.e. taxpayers) provides
for families that cannot provide for themselves (welfare), and how
society regulates family behavior (sexuality and teen childbearing).
Throughout the course, we will critically examine the data
and research on families and the interpretation and presentation
of research on families by the media.
TR 12 - 1:30 NOAKES
Top
SOC 007-401 POPULATION AND SOCIETY
This course is an introduction to major topics in the study of
population and the field of demography. In the first part of the
course, the main focus will be two major sources of population change,
fertility and mortality, and the social mechanisms behind these
changes. Throughout the course, we will focus on issues that have
interesting contemporary resonance such as AIDS, environmental degradation,
migration and urbanization, reproductive health and population policies
in a range of contexts. the role of gender in shaping health and
policy is emphasized. Demographic methods and tools such as rates,
the life table and measures of reproduction will be covered.
Syllabus
MWF 10-11 GHUMAN
SOC 009-301 SOCIETY AT PLAY: CONTEMPORARY LEISURE AND LIFESTYLES
This class is an exploration into various aspects of our modern
lifestyles and what these can teach us about who we are, how we
live and how we participate in our society. On the personal level,
our leisure and lifestyle communicate to others how we see and define
ourselves and how we want others to see us. Our tastes and preferences
through which we form our individual and group identities express
our social class, age, gender, race, ethnicity, and other backgrounds
and experiences. At the same time, our personal choices of body
decoration, dining, or hobbies expose the subtle logics and meanings
of our contemporary consumer culture. Others like the new Kimmel
Center for Performing Arts, Fresh Fields, coffee shops, shopping
malls, or tattoo parlors offer themselves as case for analytical
scrutiny, as do Disney movies, the Simpsons, or films like Pretty
Woman. By developing sensitivities for critically evaluating our
own way of life we will learn to articulate and integrate these
experiences within a larger arena of consumer culture. Syllabus
MW 1:30-3 BAJC
SOC 011-401 URBAN SOCIOLOGY
A comprehensive introduction to the sociological study of cities.
Topics will include theories of urbanism, methods of research, migration,
history of cities, gentrification, poverty, urban politics, suburbanization
and globalization. Philadelphia will be used as a recurring example,
though the course will devote attention to cities around the U.S.
and the world.
W 2 - 5 HODOS
SOC 041-301 PERSPECTIVES ON INEQUALITY
Freshman Seminar
This course will introduce social-science perspectives on inequality
primarily in contemporary societies. We will examine both the distribution
of social rewards as well as processes for the allocation of these
rewards. Topics include the influences on individual success of
education; race and gender, and structural and organizational factors.
Acquaintance with stratification theory and quantitative methods
is not required. Course requirements are a) active class participation;
b) locating issues involving inequality in the newspaper (or online);
c) a midterm exam; d) a final exam; e) one short essay due before
the midterm; and f) a short project report after the midterm.
Syllabus
TR 10:30-12 JACOBS
SOC 100-001 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
This course provides an introduction to research methods in sociology.
We will examine the link between social theory and research, the
logics of qualitative and quantitative research, research design,
human subjects regulations, research ethics, and the uses and misuses
of social research. Students will gain exposure to various research
methods and perspectives through in-class assignments and exercises.
The course will include a brief introduction to SPSS, a statistical
software package for the social sciences.
MWF 11 -12 GODLEY
Top
SOC 100-002 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
This course provides an introduction for undergraduates to research
methods in the social sciences. The course covers major research
designs-experiments, surveys and case studies,- as well as specific
data collection techniques like participant observation, interviewing,
survey administration, and historical and unobtrusive methods. Students
will discuss research ethics and data analysis and will also have
the opportunity to craft a formal research proposal as part of a
group project.
TR 12 - 1:30 HODOS
SOC 104-401 SOCIOLOGY OF SEX: COMPARATIVE STUDY
Social scientists have argued that sexuality is not an unchanging
biological reality or universal natural force, but a cultural construct,
shaped by economic, social, and political processes and therefore,
like society itself, historical, that is, variable in both time
and space. This seminar follows this approach by exploring cultural
construction of sexuality as it evolved from Greek antiquity to
contemporary U.S.A., and its relationship to gender, class, political
hierarchies, religion, ideology, and science. How the meaning of
sexuality, codes of sexual regulation and sexual politics have varied
over time with changing circumstances. Syllabus
W 2-5 MORAWSKA
SOC 112-401 DISCRIMINATION: SEXUAL & RACIAL
(Satisfies Society General Requirement)
This course is concerned with the structure, the causes and correlates,
and the government policies to alleviate discrimination in the United
States. The central focus of the course is on employment discrimination
by race and gender. After a comprehensive overview of the structures
of labor markets and of nondiscriminatory reasons for the existence
of group differentials in employment and wages, various theories
of the sources of discrimination are reviewed and evaluated. Actual
government policies and alternatives policies are evaluated in light
of both the empirical evidence on group differences and the alternative
theories of discrimination. Syllabus
MW 3-4:30 MADDEN
SOC 118-401 SOCIOLOGY OF BIOETHICS
The Sociology of Bioethics explores the sociological approach to
bioethics. The Sociology of Bioethics is not a course in bioethics
itself; rather than discussing the merits of a position (Is assisted
suicide ethical?), we will ask how the debate has been framed, who
is promoting which arguments, why the debate has arisen now, and
how the issue is reflected in policy. In order to do so we will
make use of social science research, along with philosophical treatises,
legislation, and the popular media. The course is also not designed
as a comprehensive treatment of the field; it will focus instead
on choice topics that we will explore in depth. Our goal is to understand
the nature of the bioethics profession and its modes of argumentation,
and to explore the cultural, social, political, and professional
underpinnings of bio-ethical debates.
T 1:30-4:30 WOLPE
Top
SOC 120-001 SOCIAL STATISTICS
This course offers a basic introduction to the application/interpretation
of statistical analysis in sociology. Upon completion, you should
be familiar with a variety of basic statistical techniques that
allow examination of interesting social questions. We begin by learning
to describe the characteristics of groups, followed by discussion
of how to examine and generalize about relationships between the
characteristics of groups. Emphasis is placed on the understanding/interpretation
of statistics used to describe and make generalizations about group
characteristics. In addition to hand calculations, you will also
become familiar with using PCs to run statistical tests.
TR 1:30-3 CHARLES
SOC 122-401 SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER
In this course, gender is studied in a comparative perspective
using examples from Germany. Current gender theory emphasizes the
division of labor, power, social control, violence, and ideology
as structural and interactional bases of inequalities among men
and women of different social classes and racial ethnic groups instead
as an individual trait or outcome of childhood socialization. Gender
is an organizing principle of society and its institutions like
culture, economy, politics, and the family. How gender is constructed
varies across time and space. What is considered “natural”
for a woman (or a man) to do in one society is conceived as inappropriate
in another. But there are not only differences between societies
but also within societies – race and class interact with gender
resulting in different norms. Syllabus
TR 9-10:30 ROTH
SOC 126-001 CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
An outline of theoretical positions developed after and sometimes
from the classical theoretical traditions. Includes: from the Marxian
revival to postmoderism; globalization and world-system theory;
neo-Weberian state-centered theory of social change and revolution;
conflict theory and social movement theory. Rise of exchange theory
and rational choice; network theory and economic sociology. Sociology
of culture, French structuralism, and the social construction of
reality. Development of micro-sociological theories: followers of
symbolic interaction; Goffman and interaction ritual theory; ethnomethodology;
sociology of emotion.
TR 3-4:20 COLLINS
Top
SOC 137 SOCIOLOGY OF THE MEDIA & POPULAR CULTURE
This course focuses on the relationship between media, culture
and society, and provides an overview of mass communication organization,
content, audiences and effects. The media are discussed in relation
to their institutional, economic, social, and cultural contexts.
The course examines a variety of popular cultural forms (e.g., advertising
images, romance novels, news, talk shows) and looks closely at media
texts, media production and media consumption as cultural practices.
The course also addresses the issues of media representation of
minorities and the consequences the images have for the minority
and the majority. Two important questions that will be addressed
are: How do the mass media influence how we think of ourselves and
others, and what impact do they have on social/cultural power and
stratification? This course is about changing our position as “mere”
consumers of mass media and popular culture and making us into critics;
meaning that we approach our culture critically and analytically,
not in order to denounce it, but in order to understand the ways
it works on us and the ways we are implicated in it. It is about
understanding how our culture represents us and how we are represented
in it.
001 - LEC MW 1 - 2 SAMPER
002 - LEC MW 3 - 4
201 - REC W 6 - 7 STAFF
202 - REC W 5 - 6 STAFF
203 - REC F 11 - 12 STAFF
204 - REC F 12 - 1 STAFF
205 - REC F 1 - 2 STAFF
NOTE: You MUST take BOTH THE LECTURE AND A RECITATION.
If you need to switch your recitation section, please make sure
there is an available slot BEFORE dropping your
section, as the SRS system may drop you from the course altogether
if you’re not registered for both lecture and recitation.
As slots become available, you may register for them through Penn
In Touch.
Top
SOC 221-001 SAMPLE SURVEY METHODS
What are the steps involved in designing and launching a survey?
What questions do we need to ask about design and collection procedures
when interpreting analyses based on survey data? Through discussions,
readings, demonstrations, and practical exercises, this course will
acquaint students with the principles and challenges of survey data
collection. We begin with a discussion of ethical responsibilities
in survey research. We discuss hypothesis formulation and operationalization,
study design, sampling, questionnaire and interview design, pre
testing, interviewer training and field management, code development
and coding of data, and data cleaning and management. We review
technological innovations in data collection, including recent developments
in computer-assisted interviewing and data entry. Throughout the
course, we emphasize practical aspects of data collection and the
particular challenges associated with research that crosses boundaries
of nationality, class, gender, language, and ethnicity. Syllabus
MW 3-4:30 HANNUM
SOC 229-401 SOCIOLOGY OF AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE
This course relies on a variety of sociological perspectives to
examine the role of popular culture in American life, with a particular
emphasis on the power and influence of the American mass media industry
both here and abroad, the relationship between cultural consumption
and social identity, and the everyday leisure activities of Americans,
from game playing to binge drinking. Specific course topics will
include the rise of tabloid TV talk shows; McDonald’s and
the global popularity of fast food; the marketing of Coca-Cola,
Nike and Starbucks; the culture of designer drug use in the American
rave scene; emergent issues concerning authenticity in hip-hop music;
the role of women in independent rock; the cultural reception of
Hollywood westerns and harlequin romance novels; and the Disneyfication
of the American city.
TR 12-1:30 GRAZIAN
SOC 230-401 ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Ethnographic study of the African American community. Selected
ethnographic and historical literature will be read and assessed,
with particular attention to substantive, conceptual, and methodological
issues. Topics will include the social significance of race, class,
tradition, residence, place, outlook, identity, poverty, among others.
M 2-5 ANDERSON
SOC 230-403 THE LEGAL PROFESSION
After the discussion of the sociology of professions, and the examination
of the various theories of Law and Society, this course will concentrate
on The Legal Profession. The student will explore what Lawyers do
and how that relates to their position in society at large. A cross-cultural
perspective on lawyers will be utilized to assess the different
roles they play in diverse societies. Thus, the practice of law
in the United States will be compared with that in Western and non-Western
societies. Issues such as lawsuits and legal rights, ethics of The
Legal Profession, legal services, women and The Legal Profession,
lawyers and politics, legal education, lawyers and international
relations will be addressed.
MW 4:30-6 FETNI
Top
SOC 233-001 CRIMINOLOGY
This introductory course examines the multi-disciplinary science
of law-making, law-breaking, and law-enforcing. It reviews theories
and data predicting where, when, by whom and against whom crimes
happen. It also addresses the prevention of different offense types
by different kinds of offenders against different kinds of people.
Police, courts, prisons, and other institutions are critically examined
as both preventing and causing crime. This course meets the general
distribution requirement.
R 3-6 SHERMAN
SOC 273-401 LAW, MEDICINE & PUBLIC POLICY
First the course will develop a perspective for viewing social
problems drawn largely on my own work as well as that of Gusfields
and Edelman. Next we will explore the domains to which a Physician’s
expertise is limited using Weber, Rosenberg and others. We will
then develop a perspective from anthropological and sociological
literature on the courts as public arenas for articulating Durkheimian
collective conscience. All of this theory building is in the first
half of the seminar. The second half of the course will involve
intensive case study of few dilemmas which have wended their way
through the courts. I intend to look at “Baby Doe Regulations”
and the Intensive Care Nursery; the problem of the cessation of
life- supporting treatment; the legitimacy of mass screen- be it
for genetic defects or substance abuse; and the propriety of surrogate
motherhood.
TR 10:30-12 BOSK
SOC 425-401 WOMEN AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM
General Honors
This seminar will explore the conditions under which women become
politically active and the relevance of gender to forms of activism,
organizational practices, and choice of issues. Using contemporary
and historical case studies, we will examine women’s activism
in feminist and anti-feminist movements and organizations; in single-sex
organizations devoted to a broad range of goals; and in mixed-gender
movements, including civil rights and trade unions.
W 2-5 LEIDNER
Top
SOC 430-402 ISLAM & SOCIETY IN THE CONTEMPORY MIDDLE
EAST
This course presents a sociological analysis of Islam as a key
factor in understanding contemporary Middle Eastern (ME) societies.
The course will address the significance of Islam in public and
domestic life. More specifically, the course will explore the influence
of religion on women, family, and community relations with other
religious and ethnic groups in Arab society. It will consider some
of the contemporary issues that face the Muslim Arab through series
of case studies: Muslim Brothers in Egypt, the status of women in
Saudi Arabia, political Islam in Algeria and Palestine, ethnic division
within Islam such as Shiite and Druze, and the Copts in Egypt as
a religious minority. Topics will include the concepts of Jihad,
Fundamentalism, Ahl al-Themah or Ahl al-Kitab (the two other monotheistic
religions, Christianity and Judaism), and Hijab (veil). The main
objective of the course is to explore the complexity of interrelations
between Islam and the state and other key aspects of the social
and political structures of Muslim societies.
R 1:30-4:30 IBRAHIM
SOC 430-403 RACE, COLONIALISM & METHODS
Critical perspectives in social sciences have been very critical
of the empirical assumptions of social science. This course will
examine the scientific claims of social science methodology by extending
the critical perspective to biases that may underlie research methods.
Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be covered. This
class will examine the impact of ideas regarding the impact the
nation of the ‘other’ on the development of research
methods. We will discuss good and bad practices within the context
of the historical developments of the methods.
W 2-5 ZUBERI
SOC 430-404 CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ISSUES
This course examines social issues in China in the period of market
reforms dating from 1978. The course is grounded in a social stratification
framework, meaning that issues related to social inequality are
the central focus. The course investigates key political, social
and economic changes associated with market reforms and their implications
for different segments of society. The first half of the course
surveys key dimensions of social stratification in China, including
geographic location of residence, sociopolitical and economic origins,
ethnicity, and gender. The second half of the course examines benefits
and costs of the reform period for social groups defined along these
lines, considering key developments in education, wealth, employment,
and health. The course closes with a discussion of challenges for
the future raised by recent trends in social inequality. Syllabus
T 1:30-4:30 HANNUM
SOC 430-405 MISTAKES, ERRORS, ACCIDENTS & DISASTERS
Medical mistakes, errors, accidents & catastrophes, are such
a ubiquitous form of social life that they might be said to be normal.
This course will examine what makes an error or accident “normal”.
We will look at how organizations explain mishaps and at what policies
organizations adopt to prevent accidents. In addition, we will look
at how organizations“plan” to manage “worst-case
scenario” catastrophes. Empirical cases to be examined include:
The Challenger Launch decision, error in medicine, oil spills, and
leaks at nuclear power plants.
T 1:30-4:30 BOSK
Top
SOC 431-401 MODERN MEXICAN SOCIETY
An introduction to social, political, and economic organization
of modern Mexico. This course traces to evolution of Mexico’s
fundamental societal institutions from their birth during the Mexican
Revolution of 1910, through their flowering during the 1950's and
1960's, to recent changes under neo liberal administrations. The
course ends with a discussion of Mexico’s transition to democracy
and the election of the first opposition President in 80 years.
T 2 - 5 MASSEY
GRADUATE
LEVEL COURSES
SOC 530-401 ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Ethnographic study of the African American community. Selected
ethnographic and historical literature will be read and assessed,
with particular attention to substantive, conceptual, and methodological
issues. Topics will include the social significance of race, class,
tradition, residence, place, outlook, identity, poverty, among others.
M 2-5 ANDERSON
SOC 530-402 GRAD PRACTICUM IN ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS
Satisfies the graduate
program's qualitative methods requirement.
This course is designed to introduce graduate students to basic
approaches to ethnographic and other qualitative methods, including
participant observation, open-ended interviewing, field documentation,
comparative case sampling, narrative analysis analytic induction
and theory reconstruction. Students will learn to apply these methods
through a regularly assigned set of field exercises, and will be
expected to complete a semester-long project based on intensive
fieldwork at a research site of their choosing. In addition, we
will examine both classic and contemporary exemplars of ethnographic
research in the sociological discipline as well as work that successfully
combines ethnography with quantitative data analysis. This course
satisfies the qualitative methods requirement in the Sociology Department
graduate program.
T 3-6 GRAZIAN
SOC 530-403 RACE, COLONIALISM & METHODS
Critical perspectives in social sciences have been very critical
of the empirical assumptions of social science. This course will
examine the scientific claims of social science methodology by extending
the critical perspective to biases that may underlie research methods.
Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be covered. This
class will examine the impact of ideas regarding the impact the
nation of the ‘other’ on the development of research
methods. We will discuss good and bad practices within the context
of the historical developments of the methods.
W 2-5 ZUBERI
Top
SOC 530-404 CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ISSUES
This course examines social issues in China in the period of market
reforms dating from 1978. The course is grounded in a social stratification
framework, meaning that issues related to social inequality are
the central focus. The course investigates key political, social
and economic changes associated with market reforms and their implications
for different segments of society. The first half of the course
surveys key dimensions of social stratification in China, including
geographic location of residence, sociopolitical and economic origins,
ethnicity, and gender. The second half of the course examines benefits
and costs of the reform period for social groups defined along these
lines, considering key developments in education, wealth, employment,
and health. The course closes with a discussion of challenges for
the future raised by recent trends in social inequality. Syllabus
T 1:30-4:30 HANNUM
SOC 531-401 MODERN MEXICAN SOCIETY
An introduction to social, political, and economic organization
of modern Mexico. This course traces to evolution of Mexico’s
fundamental societal institutions from their birth during the Mexican
Revolution of 1910, through their flowering during the 1950's and
1960's, to recent changes under neo liberal administrations. The
course ends with a discussion of Mexico’s transition to democracy
and the election of the first opposition President in 80 years.
T 2-5 MASSEY
SOC 536-001 QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY II
Registration REQUIRED for both
the Lecture and a Recitation section.
A course in applied linear modeling. Emphasis on the theory and
practice of multiple regression and analysis of variance, with extensions
to path analysis and other simultaneous equation methods. Extensive
practice in statistical computing using the SAS package. Syllabus
TR 12-1:30 ALLISON
201 - REC R 2 - 3 STAFF
202 - REC R 4 - 5 STAFF
SOC 545-401 HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY
Some of the most important theoretical questions of the social
sciences have been posed by scholars pursuing investigations at
the interceptions of sociology and history. How are these questions
formulated and answered? How important is a consideration of the
temporal nature of human actions and social structures and what
are its consequences for our understanding of social life? How does
the past "matter" to the present? The seminar addresses
these questions and reviews methods and research designs of some
of the most important works in historical sociology. Syllabus
R 1:30-4:30 MORAWSKA
Top
SOC 596-401 SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
This graduate seminar will introduce students to some of the key
theoretical and empirical work in the sociology of education. We
will focus around the question of stratification and how systems
of schooling maintain or alleviate inequality. The class will examine
classical approaches to schooling, schools as organizations, schools
and their effects on social mobility, (class, race, and gender)
stratification in achievement and attainment, tracking/ability grouping,
theories and empirical work on social and cultural capital, school
choice, and cross-national expansion of education.
T 2 - 5 KAO
SOC 611-301 STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS
Part 1 covers linear models with multiple equations and measurement
error. The emphasis will be on LISREL-type models with multiple
indicators of latent variables. Topics include classical test theory,
path analysis with unmeasured variables, introduction to matrix
algebra, confirmatory factor analysis, and the analysis of covariance
structures. Part 2 covers multilevel methods for longitudinal and
clustered data. Topics include fixed-effects models, random effects
and mixed models, GEE estimation, random coefficients models for
discrete data. Syllabus
TR 9-10:30 ALLISON
SOC 620-301 SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ll
This course is designed to aid students in the development of
a sociological dissertation and in professional socialization generally.
The course will have both pragmatic and intellectual aspects. We
will discuss the dissertation proposal, the presentation (written
and verbal) of scientific results, the development of curriculum
vitae, and strategies for a productive career. We will also discuss
the sociological approach to research, including a discussion of
sociology’s methodologies, enduring concerns, and models of
basic research. It is expected that third year graduate students
in Sociology will enroll in this class.
M 1:30-4:30 SCHNITTKER
Top
SOC 621-401 MORTALITY
The course focuses on the description and explanation of health
and mortality in human populations and their variability across
several dimensions such as age, time, place, social class, race
etc. The course includes general theories of health, mortality and
morbidity, investigations of mortality and related processes in
developing and especially developed countries, and discussions of
future mortality trends and their implications for individual lives
and the society at large. The course also includes advanced topics
such as the bio demography of mortality, research methods for the
study of mortality including methods to control for heterogeneity
and endowments, and methods for mortality forecasts.
R 9-12 KOHLER
SOC 623-401 WORKSHOP IN URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY
The ethnographic and sociological interpretation of urban life.
Conceptual and methodological issues will be thoroughly discussed.
Ongoing projects of participants will be presented in the “workshop”
format, thus providing participants the opportunity of learning
from and contributing to ethnographic work in progress. Selected
ethnographic works will be read and assessed.
W 2-5 ANDERSON
SOC 629-401 MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Mass communication viewed from a sociological perspective. An examination
of the sociology of the communicator, audience, content, effects,
flow and diffusion research, communication as a social process,
linkage between personal and mass communication.
W 1-3 WRIGHT
SOC 630-403 RACE, COLONIALISM & METHODS
Critical perspectives in social sciences have been very critical
of the empirical assumptions of social science. This course will
examine the scientific claims of social science methodology by extending
the critical perspective to biases that may underlie research methods.
Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be covered. This
class will examine the impact of ideas regarding the impact the
nation of the ‘other’ on the development of research
methods. We will discuss good and bad practices within the context
of the historical developments of the methods.
W 2-5 ZUBERI
Top
SOC 667- 301 SOCIAL INTERACTION
The dynamics of interpersonal interaction, especially in face-to-face
encounters over limited periods of time. Topics include: theory
of interaction ritual deriving from Durkheim, Mauss, Goffman and
their contemporary followers; rational choice and social exchange
theory, from Homans through contemporary formal models; ethnomethodology
and conversation analysis, including micro-ethnographic studies
of non-verbal bases of conversational analysis, interaction; sociology
of emotions, including theories of Scheff, Kemper, Hochschild and
Collins; symbolic interactionist theory and contemporary research
on the social nature of mind, cognition, and the self; relationship
between micro and macro levels of analysis.
R 9-12 COLLINS
SOC 702-401 AFRICA/AFRICAN DIASPORA
The emphasis on the course will be on readings, class discussions,
and seminars, to reflect ongoing discussions in the field. The curse
will focus on the historical and cultural relationship between Africans
and their descendants abroad. We will provide a series of readings
for background to each section. Requirements include: Regular reading
assignments, commentary on readings, and a paper/proposal.
R 1:30-4:30 ZUBERI
SOC 708-401 SEMINAR IN DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH ll
A second semester of an intensive course in preparing a major independent
research paper.
M 12-3 van de WALLE
SOC 796-401 DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL INTERRELATIONS
The course investigates economic and social determinants of fertility,
mortality, and migration and it discusses the effects of population
variables on economic and social conditions, including economic
and social development. Topics discussed in the course include:
How do economic changes affect marriage, divorce, and child bearing
decisions? How do households make decisions about transfers and
bequests? How can economic and sociological approaches be combined
in explanatory models of demographic change? How does immigration
to the U.S. affect the ethnic composition of the population, the
earnings of native workers, taxes on natives, and the macro-economy?
What causes the aging of populations, and how will population aging
affect the economies of industrial nations, and in particular, pension
programs like Social Security? What accounts for the rise in women’s
participation in the wage labor force over the past century? How
are family composition and poverty interrelated? Does rapid population
growth slow economic development in Third World countries? In addition
to these topics, the course also covers selected methods not included
in Dem/Soc 535/536 and 609.
M 9-12 KOHLER
Top
C G S COURSES
SOC 001-601 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
There are many different perspectives from which to look at the
world and ourselves in it. Sociology is one of them. This course
will teach you “sociological imagination” together with
basic concepts and major theories used in this discipline. In the
process, you will also be introduced to examples of good sociological
work.
T 6:30-9:10 MORAWSKA
SOC 135-601 LAW & SOCIETY
Analysis of the emergence of laws, role of the legal profession,
organization of courts, legislatures, and administrative agencies.
Examination of problems of women and the law, divorce laws, civil
liberties, differential access to the legal system, corruption and
lawlessness in the international system. Readings include research
reports, statutes, and cases.
M 6:30-9:10 FETNI
SOC 230-601 SOCIOLOGY OF MEDICINE & CULTURE
This course will take a cultural perspective on health, illness,
and medicine. Drawing from the fields of sociology, anthropology,
and social medicine, we will explore questions such as: What is
the relationship between culture and medicine? What is the culture
of biomedicine, and what impact does it have on health care? What
role does culture play in shaping our conceptions of health and
illness? Why is a sociological perspective on health, illness, and
medicine important or useful? Syllabus
W 5:30-8:40 HART
SOC 230-602 FOR TRAVEL’S SAKE? CONTEMPORARY
TOURISM IN THE GLOBAL WORLD
Tourism is one of the most pervasive, penetrating, and visible
activities the world over. It is fueled by the desire for novelty
and difference and propelled by the images and myths about exotic
places. At the same time, tourism is marked by fundamental imbalances
of power, reflects economic disparities, and provides grounds for
cultural conflict. From the holy sites of Jerusalem to the red districts
of Bangkok, tourism shapes politics, creates identities, manufactures
history, and commodifies heritage. Students are invited to think
critically about the pushes and pulls of the travel industry, its
forms of cultural contact, and the nature of tourist experiences.
Syllabus
T 5-8:10 BAJC
SOC 231-601 GENDER AND THE FAMILY
This course explores the extent to which the concept of the family
is a gendered social construction. We will consider how the institution
of the family reflects and perpetuates gender roles that are intrinsically
woven into the social norms of our society. The class will analyze
ideas about the family both as a cohesive unit and as a locus of
struggle between differentially-situated individuals within it.
We will take into consideration various theoretical perspectives
on the family, including feminist, conflict, and symbolic interactions.
Focusing on the contemporary United States, topics will include
the symbolic meaning of the wedding ceremony, marriage and its division
of labor, the differing ideals of fatherhood versus motherhood,
domestic violence, and alternative approaches to household formation.
Changing trends in cohabitation, single parenthood, fertility rates,
divorce and remarriage will be placed in a gendered context for
critical analysis. Syllabus
M 5-8:10 LUNDQUIST
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SOC 239-601 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
Religion is an important social phenomenon that contributes significantly
to shaping social institutions and our ideas about the world. This
course will provide students with an opportunity to think about
religious experience and religious organization in relation to the
larger society. Emphasis will be on readings, discussions and focused
observations that enrich our understanding of the social origins
of faith and expand our knowledge of faith traditions beyond our
own experience.
T 5-8:10 KUDLER
SOC 506-640 REPRESENTATIONS OF RACE, ETHNICITY
AND NATIONALITY IN MEDIA AND CULTURE
What roles do film, television, and other forms of popular culture
play in shaping and reflecting group differences on the basis of
race, ethnicity and nationality? This question will be the central
focus of this course that will examine a range of media representations
from Disney movies to cyberspace to The New York Times photojournalism.
Theoretical works complemented by empirical studies will help us
to explore the historical, political, economic and social conditions
that inform these representations. In turn, this course is designed
to examine how group differences are defined through acts of social
construction. We will also investigate the consequences of these
acts for social identities and experiences.
T 6-9:10 FISHMAN
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Last Modified:
24-Sep-2003
For updates, comments please contact:
saunderc@ssc.upenn.edu
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