This course is a broad introduction to the field of sociology. Course materials are designed to illustrate the distinctive features of the sociological perspective and to start you thinking sociologically about yourself and the broader social world. To think sociologically is to recognize that being embedded in the world constrains behavior, and that individuals are both social actors and social products. To think sociologically is also to recognize that our contemporary world, with its enduring cultural, political, and economic institutions, is as much a social product as we are. We will begin by covering theoretical and methodological foundations of the sociological perspective. We will go on to explore the concept of social stratification and will survey primary axes of social difference. In the second half of the course we will look more closely at how individuals relate to each other, how social inequality is enacted and reinforced in everyday life, and at the way in which the organization of social life shapes individuals and groups, such as through social networks, residential neighborhoods, schooling, families, and on-line communication.

Full details for SOC 1101 - Introduction to Sociology

This course will examine race and ethnic relations between Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in the United States. The goal of this course is for students to understand how the history of race and ethnicity in the U.S. affects opportunity structures in, for example, education, employment, housing, and health. Through this course students will gain a better understanding of how race and ethnicity stratifies the lives of individuals in the U.S.

Full details for SOC 1104 - Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Social Constructs, Real World Consequences

Full details for SOC 2031 - Population and Public Policy Copenhagen Field Study

This course surveys research on inequalities in education, income, wealth, prestige, occupation, political power, and health in the U.S. and other rich countries. How much inequality exists and why is it rising in some places? Do we live in a class society (and what does that mean)? How do families, aspirations, schools, social networks, employers, neighborhoods, and government policies shape who gets ahead and who falls behind? Why are education, jobs, and income distributed unequally by race, immigrant status, and gender? Throughout the course, we’ll discuss and evaluate evidence from administrative data, surveys, experiments, and qualitative studies.

Full details for SOC 2208 - Social Inequality

Population problems are central to societal change in numerous areas- inequality, immigration and diversity, race relations, family life, health and aging, and social welfare systems. This class explores the causes and consequences of population change, paying particular attention to how population processes interact with the social, economic, and political context in which they play out. Particular attention will be paid to contemporary debates unfolding in Europe, how population problems are defined, and the policies intended to solve them.

Full details for SOC 3620 - Population Controversies in Europe