This course examines the relationship between social problems and social science. Students will learn how social scientists describe, diagnose, and solve social problems. We will also develop a critical understanding of how social-science approaches to social problems can be, and have been, misused.
In our first module, we will examine the development of social-scientific theories about social problems. In the second module, we will discuss how neighborhoods, social networks, and culture shape crime and racial inequality. Additionally, we will cover how our understanding of the relationship between crime and racial inequality has evolved since the mid-twentieth century. In our last planned module, we will explore how social policies originally intended to solve social problems—including the "carceral turn" in American criminal justice and the transformation of the American welfare state in 1996—have created problems of their own.
The topic of the final module is open. Students will collectively decide the subject of, and assigned materials for, the last section of the class.
Law is everywhere. Law permits, prohibits, enables, legitimates, protects, and prosecutes. Law shapes our day-to-day lives in countless ways. This course examines the connections and relationships of law and society using an interdisciplinary social science approach. As one of the founders of the Law and Society movement observed, "law is too important to leave to lawyers." Accordingly, this course will borrow from several theoretical, disciplinary, and interdisciplinary perspectives (such as sociology, history, anthropology, political science, critical studies, and psychology) in order to explore the sociology of law and law's role primarily in the American context (but with some attention to international law and global human rights efforts). The thematic topics to be discussed include law and social control; law's role in social change; and law's capacity to reach into complex social relations and intervene in existing normative institutions and organizational structures.
Mode of Instructions: Remote synchronous lecture for 3 hours per week, and 2 - 3 hours of asynchronous discussion on Canvas per week. Cross-listed with Legal_ST 206-0
Our climate is rapidly changing. Rising sea levels and increasing ocean acidity, higher temperatures, more droughts, melting glaciers, wilder weather patterns, and mounting environmental disasters mean that climate change is increasingly visible in our daily lives. What role does human society play in these changes, and what consequences does society suffer as these changes occur? This course is an introduction to environmental sociology during which we will employ an intersectional, sociological perspective to look beyond the scientific basis for environmental problems to understand the social roots of environmental issues. We will cover a variety of topics in environmental sociology, including new directions in sustainable development and how actors such as corporations, the media, and social movements impact public opinion and environmental issues. Further, we will critically examine the gendered, racial, and socioeconomic production of disparate environmental risks.
This course is an introduction to research methods from a sociological point of view. It aims to show how sociologists (and related social scientists) do research. We will examine fundamental concepts in research design (from sampling to bias), many different types of methods (from experiments to surveys), research ethics, and the benefits and limitations of various methodological approaches. In this hands-on course, we will learn about various methods, research ethics, and the fundamentals of research design by interacting with scholarly articles and practice and by looking at how social science research factors in our everyday lives (from social media posts to stories on the nightly news). A capstone project includes development of a full research proposal. This course is conducted completely online.
We all interact with organizations. You are interacting with an organization right now. Much of everyday life, whether it is school, work, shopping, or eating occurs within the context of organizations. The goal of this course is to teach you to think analytically about the organizations you interact with. We will examine why organizations are the way they are, how scholar's understandings of organizations have changed over time, and how scholars today think about organizations.
Can you imagine getting through a single day without interacting with any digital technologies? Is there any job today that does not involve digital devices in some way? Meanwhile, our online activities increasingly shape who we are, how we are governed, and how value is created by major technology companies. From scrolling on TikTok and ordering food online to working, learning, and accessing health care, digital technologies are deeply embedded in everyday life.
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) mark both an intensification and expansion of this trend. While digital technologies are often portrayed as offering unprecedented access, convenience, efficiency, and even solutions to entrenched social problems, such visions of a techno-utopia invite skepticism. Will they truly realize those promises seamlessly, without inviting new social challenges, inequalities, or interference with freedom? In fact, the creation and application of technologies are always shaped by social relations, historical trajectories, human agency, and ongoing negotiation among diverse stakeholders.
This course examines the development of digital technologies and their far-reaching social consequences. Throughout the course, students will examine key sociological ideas and real-world cases to understand how digital technologies are created, used, and contested. Topics include the rise of digital platforms and AI; changes in work, labor, and the gig economy; new forms of management and workplace surveillance; digital precarity and inequality; power reconfiguration; online expression and data politics; and the promises and challenges of digital health. Rather than viewing technology as neutral or inevitable, the course emphasizes how social structures and institutions impact technological outcomes.
Designed for undergraduates from a wide range of majors who are interested in the study of digital technologies and society, this course combines accessible readings, engaging discussions, and global perspectives. No prior background in sociology or technology studies is required. By the end of the quarter, students will have a clearer understanding of how digital technologies shape society and will be better equipped to think critically about the digital world they interact with every day—not just how it works, but who benefits, who is left out, and why.
