Sociology
Department Office: 501A Knox; 212-854-2973
http://www.sociology.columbia.edu
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Teresa Sharpe, 501 Knox; ts2785@columbia.edu
Director of Academic Administration and Finance: Teresa Aguayo, 501 Knox Hall; 212-854-9890; ta2015@columbia.edu
Student Program Coordinator: Kiamesha Wilson, 501A Knox; kw2510@columbia.edu
Sociology is the study of associational life. In examining patterns of association, sociologists explore the interactions of people, communities, and organizations. In this sense, sociology is not the study of people; it is the study of the relationships among people. This study includes the associations between people and the products of human interaction, such as organizations, technologies, economies, cities, culture, media, and religion. In the kinds of questions it asks, sociology is a deeply humanist discipline and sociologists demand the analytic rigor of scientific investigation.
In training students in our department, we encourage them to ask big questions and we work to give them the tools to provide answers. These tools might mean ethnographic observation, pouring through historical archives, looking at census data, analyzing social networks, or interviewing people in various walks of life.
As a bridging discipline that seeks the scientific exploration of questions that matter to human communities, such as inequality and social injustice, sociology addresses many of the same areas of life as our neighboring social science disciplines. Yet we often approach these areas quite differently. For example, problems of economic and political life are a central concern to sociologists. Rather than explore these as independent or particular features of society, we seek to embed them within the complex whole of the social world. Students will find the Department of Sociology to be a broad, demanding department that provides its students with the conceptual and methodological tools to make sense of the opportunities and social problems of the global communities in which we live.
Grading
A letter grade of C- or better is needed in all Sociology courses in order to satisfy the program requirements.
Departmental Honors
In order to be considered for departmental honors, majors must have a minimum GPA of 3.6 overall and 3.8 in courses in the Department of Sociology. In addition, students must produce an exceptional honors thesis in the two-semester Senior Seminar (SOCI UN3995-SOCI UN3996 Senior Seminar).
In order to register for the Senior Seminar, students must have completed SOCI UN3010 Methods for Social Research and have had their research project accepted by the faculty member teaching the Senior Seminar. Submissions of research projects are due by May 1 preceding the seminar. Normally no more than 10% of graduating majors receive departmental honors in a given academic year.
Professors
- Peter Bearman
- Courtney Bender (Religion)
- Yinon Cohen
- Jonathan R. Cole
- Thomas A. DiPrete
- Gil Eyal
- Priscilla Ferguson (emerita)
- Todd Gitlin (Journalism)
- Shamus Khan (Chair)
- Bruce Kogut (Business)
- Jennifer Lee
- Bruce Link (School of Public Health)
- Debra C. Minkoff (Chair, Barnard)
- Alondra Nelson
- Aaron Pallas (Teachers College)
- Jonathan Rieder (Barnard)
- Saskia Sassen
- Seymour Spilerman
- David Stark (also School of International and Public Affairs)
- Julien Teitler (Social Work)
- Diane Vaughan
- Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh
- Amy Stuart Wells (Teachers College)
- Bruce Western
- Andreas Wimmer
Associate Professors
- Elizabeth Bernstein (Barnard)
- Jennifer Lena (Teachers College)
- Mignon Moore (Barnard)
- Emmanuelle Saada (French and Romance Philology)
- Josh Whitford (Director of Graduate Studies)
Assistant Professors
- Maria Abascal
- Debbie Becher (Barnard)
- Christel Kesler (Barnard)
- Yao Lu
- Adam Reich
- Carla Shedd
- Van Tran
- Dan Wang (Business School)
Lecturers
- Denise Milstein
- Teresa Sharpe
On Leave
- Prof. Stark, (2018-2019)
- Prof. Spilerman, (Spring 2019)
Major in Sociology
The major in sociology requires a minimum of 30-31 points as follows:
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Core Courses | ||
The following three courses are required (10 points): | ||
The Social World | ||
Social Theory | ||
Methods for Social Research | ||
Elective Courses | ||
Select six courses (20-21 points) in the Department of Sociology, to include at least three lecture courses (2000- or 3000-level, 3 points each) and at least two seminars (4 points each). The sixth course could be either a lecture course (to a total of 30 points) or a seminar (to a total of 31 points). For students taking the two-semester Senior Seminar, the sixth course must be a seminar. Some examples of electives include: * | ||
SOCI UN3020 | Social Statistics | |
SOCI UN3213 | Sociology of African American Life | |
SOCI UN3235 | Social Movements: Collective Action | |
SOCI UN3490 | Mistake, Misconduct, Disaster | |
SOCI UN3285 | Israeli Society and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | |
SOCI UN3264 | The Changing American Family | |
SOCI UN3900 | Societal Adaptations to Terrorism | |
SOCI UN3914 | Seminar in Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility | |
SOCI UN3931 | Sociology of the Body | |
SOCI UN3974 | Sociology of Schools, Teaching and Learning | |
SOCI UN3995 | Senior Seminar | |
SOCI UN3996 | Senior Seminar |
* | These may include the two-semester Senior Seminar (SOCI UN3995-SOCI UN3996). |
Concentration in Sociology
The concentration in sociology requires a minimum of 20 points as follows:
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Core Courses | ||
The following three courses are required (10 points): | ||
The Social World | ||
Social Theory | ||
Methods for Social Research | ||
Elective Courses | ||
Select three courses (10 points) in the Department of Sociology, one of which must be a seminar. Some examples of electives include: | ||
SOCI UN3900 | Societal Adaptations to Terrorism | |
SOCI UN3914 | Seminar in Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility | |
SOCI UN3915 | Stigma and Discrimination | |
SOCI UN3931 | Sociology of the Body | |
SOCI UN3974 | Sociology of Schools, Teaching and Learning | |
SOCI UN3985 | Queer Practice | |
SOCI UN3995 | Senior Seminar | |
SOCI UN3996 | Senior Seminar |
Fall 2018
SOCI UN1000 The Social World. 3 points.
Identification of the distinctive elements of sociological perspectives on society. Readings confront classical and contemporary approaches with key social issues that include power and authority, culture and communication, poverty and discrimination, social change, and popular uses of sociological concepts.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN1000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 1000 | 001/63667 | T Th 11:40am - 12:55pm 417 International Affairs Bldg |
Teresa Sharpe, Kamiya Kumar | 3 | 190/200 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN1000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 1000 | 001/26786 | M W 11:40am - 12:55pm 417 International Affairs Bldg |
Adam Reich | 3 | 250/250 |
SOCI UN3000 Social Theory. 3 points.
BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Reason and Value (REA)., BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC I)., BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Ethics and Values.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
Required for all sociology majors. Prerequisite: at least one sociology course of the instructor's permission. Theoretical accounts of the rise and transformations of modern society in the19th and 20th centuries. Theories studied include those of Adam Smith, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Max Weber, Roberto Michels. Selected topics: individual, society, and polity; economy, class, and status: organization and ideology; religion and society; moral and instrumental action.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3000 | 001/75555 | M W 10:10am - 11:25am 313 Fayerweather |
Gil Eyal | 3 | 70/75 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 3000 | 001/01266 | T Th 4:10pm - 5:25pm 504 Diana Center |
Deborah Becher | 3 | 53/70 |
SOCI UN3010 Methods for Social Research. 4 points.
Prerequisites: SOCI UN1000 The Social World or Instructor Permission
Required for all Sociology majors. Introductory course in social scientific research methods. Provides a general overview of the ways sociologists collect information about social phenomena, focusing on how to collect data that are reliable and applicable to our research questions.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3010
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3010 | 001/21551 | M W 4:20pm - 5:35pm 102a Green Hall Law Building |
Maria Abascal | 4 | 58/70 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3010
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 3010 | 001/02425 | M 4:10pm - 5:25pm Room TBA |
Marnie Brady | 4 | 70/70 |
SOCI 3010 | 001/02425 | W 4:10pm - 5:25pm 504 Diana Center |
Marnie Brady | 4 | 70/70 |
SOCI UN3011 METHODS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH - DISC. 0 points.
Prerequisites: SOCI UN1000
Section Discussion for SOCI UN3010, METHODS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3011
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3011 | 001/28252 | Th 6:10pm - 7:00pm 509 Knox Hall |
Eugene Grey | 0 | 27 |
SOCI 3011 | 002/17213 | Th 6:10pm - 7:00pm 509 Knox Hall |
Katharine Khanna | 0 | 31 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3011
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 3011 | 001/73705 | M 1:10pm - 2:00pm 307 Pupin Laboratories |
Estela Diaz | 0 | 11/30 |
SOCI 3011 | 002/08994 | M 6:10pm - 7:00pm 307 Pupin Laboratories |
0 | 18/30 |
SOCI UN3285 Israeli Society and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. 3 points.
The purpose of the course is to acquaint students with Israeli society through the lens of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The underlying assumption in this course is that much of the social, economic, political, and cultural processes in contemporary Israel have been shaped by the 100-year Israeli- Arab/Palestinian conflict.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3285
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3285 | 001/71414 | M W 8:40am - 9:55am 503 Hamilton Hall |
Yinon Cohen | 3 | 28/50 |
SOCI UN3324 Global Urbanism. 3 points.
CC/GS/SEAS: Partial Fulfillment of Global Core Requirement
Using classical texts about cities (do they still work for us?) and on the diverse new literatures on cities and larger subjects with direct urban implications, we ill use a variety of data sets to get a detailed empirical information, and draw on two large ongoing research projects involving major and minor global cities around the world (a total of over 60 cities are covered in detail as of 2008). Students will need to register for a discussion section as well; details to be announced.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3324
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3324 | 001/63205 | M W 6:10pm - 7:25pm 501 Schermerhorn Hall |
Saskia Sassen | 3 | 161/189 |
SOCI UN3675 Organizing Innovation. 4 points.
This course examines major innovations in organizations and asks whether innovation itself can be organized. We study a range of forms of organizing (e.g., bureaucratic, post-bureaucratic, and open architecture network forms) in a broad variety of settings: from fast food franchises to the military-entertainment complex, from airline cockpits to Wall Street trading rooms, from engineering firms to mega-churches, from scientific management at the turn of the twentieth century to collaborative filtering and open source programming at the beginning of the twenty-first. Special attention will be paid to the relationship between organizational forms and new digital technologies.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3675
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3675 | 001/68266 | T Th 10:10am - 11:25am Davis International House |
David Stark | 4 | 72/90 |
SOCI UN3909 Deviance and Social Control. 4 points.
In this seminar. we will trace the historic shifts in causal theories of deviance and their significance for the societal response. The readings are classics of social research that have been of great historical impact. They range from the early focus on individual pathologies to sociological explanations, the most recent being attempts to understand deviance as a product of organization factors that result in harmful outcomes. Examples are Katrina, the 2008 financial crisis, and school shootings.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3909
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3909 | 001/23916 | M 2:10pm - 4:00pm 1102 International Affairs Bldg |
Diane Vaughan | 4 | 12/20 |
SOCI UN3914 Seminar in Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility. 4 points.
This is an undergraduate seminar in social stratification. The course focuses on the current American experience with socioeconomic inequality and mobility. The goals of the course are to understand how inequality is conceptualized and measured in the social sciences, to understand the structure of inequality in the contemporary U.S., to learn the principal theories and evidence for long term trends in inequality, to understand the persistence of poverty and the impact of social policies on American rates of poverty, and to understand the forces that both produce and inhibit intergenerational social mobility in the U.S. Given the nature of the subject matter, a minority of the readings will sometimes involve quantitative social science material. The course does not presume that students have advanced training in statistics, and any readings sections that contain mathematical or statistical content will be explained in class in nontechnical terms as needed. In these instances, our focus will not be on the methods, but rather on the conclusions reached by the author concerning the research question that is addressed in the text.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3914
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3914 | 003/74829 | T 4:10pm - 6:00pm 509 Knox Hall |
Thomas DiPrete | 4 | 15/18 |
SOCI UN3936 Sociology and the Public. 4 points.
Prerequisites: Sociological Imagination (SOCI UN1202) or The Social World (SOCI UN1000) (not required).
This seminar will examine the practice of and-for those interested-allow for some engagement in "public sociology." Public sociology is defined, accurately, on Wikipedia as "a subfield of the wider sociological discipline that emphasizes expanding the disciplinary boundaries of sociology in order to engage with non-academic audiences"; and as a sometimes controversial "movement" that "aims to revitalize the discipline ... by leveraging its empirical methods and theoretical insights to contribute to debates not just about what is or what has been in society, but about what society might yet be."
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3936
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3936 | 001/66163 | W 2:10pm - 4:00pm C01 Knox Hall |
Joshua Whitford | 4 | 16/20 |
SOCI UN3982 Social and Political Development in Contemporary China. 4 points.
Not offered during 2018-19 academic year.
This course provides an introduction to the major social issues in contemporary China. It does not intend to survey a general Chinese history but rather to discuss important thematic issues since 1949. The focus is on the post-Mao era. A number of important subjects are discussed, including the state politics in pre-reform China since the 1949 revolution, China’s shift to market reforms since 1978, the current state of rural China, the impact of economic development on social life, various forms of inequalities, the massive rural to urban migration, rising social protests, social relations, family organization, and various population issues.
After taking this course, students are expected to gain not only factual knowledge of the Chinese society but also a general understanding of social transition and inequalities, based on which some students may develop their own research interests.
SOCI UN3995 Senior Seminar. 4 points.
Prerequisites: required methods and theory courses for the major, and the instructor's permission.
Students wishing to qualify for departmental honors must take W3996y. Students carry out individual research projects and write a senior thesis under the supervision of the instructor and with class discussion. Written and oral progress reports.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3995
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3995 | 002/65340 | |
Courtney Bender | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 003/70019 | |
Todd Gitlin | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 004/62838 | |
Jennifer Lena | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 005/73977 | |
Aaron Pallas | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 007/15567 | |
Michael Schudson | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 008/18587 | |
Julien Teitler | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 009/17925 | |
Dan Wang | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI 3995 | 010/20388 | |
Amy Wells | 4 | 0/20 |
SOCI UN3998 Individual Study I. 1-6 points.
Prerequisites: open only to qualified majors in the department; the director of undergraduate studies' permission is required.
An opportunity for research under the direction of an individual faculty member. Students intending to write a year-long senior thesis should plan to register for C3996 in the spring semester of their senior year and are strongly advised to consult the undergraduate studies as they plan their programs.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3998
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3998 | 002/20505 | |
Peter Bearman | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 003/72631 | |
Yinon Cohen | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 004/21462 | |
Jonathan Cole | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 005/11789 | |
Thomas DiPrete | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 006/67958 | |
Gil Eyal | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 008/61229 | |
Shamus Khan | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 009/70303 | |
Bruce Kogut | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 010/75830 | |
Bruce Link | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 011/60925 | |
Yao Lu | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 012/70748 | |
Denise Milstein | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 013/62211 | |
Alondra Nelson | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 014/28435 | |
Jo Phelan | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 015/14788 | |
Adam Reich | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 016/63393 | |
Saskia Sassen | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 017/65921 | |
Teresa Sharpe | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 019/67908 | |
Seymour Spilerman | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 020/61345 | |
David Stark | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 021/63889 | |
Van Tran | 1-6 | 1/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 022/14369 | |
Diane Vaughan | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 024/18357 | |
Joshua Whitford | 1-6 | 0/50 |
SOCI 3998 | 026/74682 | |
Andreas Wimmer | 1-6 | 0/50 |
Spring 2019
SOCI UN1000 The Social World. 3 points.
Identification of the distinctive elements of sociological perspectives on society. Readings confront classical and contemporary approaches with key social issues that include power and authority, culture and communication, poverty and discrimination, social change, and popular uses of sociological concepts.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN1000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 1000 | 001/63667 | T Th 11:40am - 12:55pm 417 International Affairs Bldg |
Teresa Sharpe, Kamiya Kumar | 3 | 190/200 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN1000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 1000 | 001/26786 | M W 11:40am - 12:55pm 417 International Affairs Bldg |
Adam Reich | 3 | 250/250 |
SOCI UN2240 Economy and Society. 3 points.
An introduction to economic sociology. Economic sociology is built around the claim that something fundamental is lost when markets are analyzed separately from other social processes. We will look especially at how an analysis of the interplay of economy and society can help us to understand questions of efficiency, questions of fairness, and questions of democracy.
SOCI UN3000 Social Theory. 3 points.
BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Reason and Value (REA)., BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC I)., BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Ethics and Values.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
Required for all sociology majors. Prerequisite: at least one sociology course of the instructor's permission. Theoretical accounts of the rise and transformations of modern society in the19th and 20th centuries. Theories studied include those of Adam Smith, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Max Weber, Roberto Michels. Selected topics: individual, society, and polity; economy, class, and status: organization and ideology; religion and society; moral and instrumental action.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3000 | 001/75555 | M W 10:10am - 11:25am 313 Fayerweather |
Gil Eyal | 3 | 70/75 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3000
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 3000 | 001/01266 | T Th 4:10pm - 5:25pm 504 Diana Center |
Deborah Becher | 3 | 53/70 |
SOCI UN3009 Contemporary Social Theory. 3 points.
This is a survey class that will familiarize students with the most important theoretical developments in post-war sociology.
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3009
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3009 | 001/26944 | M W 6:10pm - 7:25pm 413 Kent Hall |
Andreas Wimmer | 3 | 13/60 |
SOCI UN3010 Methods for Social Research. 4 points.
Prerequisites: SOCI UN1000 The Social World or Instructor Permission
Required for all Sociology majors. Introductory course in social scientific research methods. Provides a general overview of the ways sociologists collect information about social phenomena, focusing on how to collect data that are reliable and applicable to our research questions.
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3010
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3010 | 001/21551 | M W 4:20pm - 5:35pm 102a Green Hall Law Building |
Maria Abascal | 4 | 58/70 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3010
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 3010 | 001/02425 | M 4:10pm - 5:25pm Room TBA |
Marnie Brady | 4 | 70/70 |
SOCI 3010 | 001/02425 | W 4:10pm - 5:25pm 504 Diana Center |
Marnie Brady | 4 | 70/70 |
SOCI UN3011 METHODS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH - DISC. 0 points.
Prerequisites: SOCI UN1000
Section Discussion for SOCI UN3010, METHODS FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
Fall 2018: SOCI UN3011
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCI 3011 | 001/28252 | Th 6:10pm - 7:00pm 509 Knox Hall |
Eugene Grey | 0 | 27 |
SOCI 3011 | 002/17213 | Th 6:10pm - 7:00pm 509 Knox Hall |
Katharine Khanna | 0 | 31 |
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3011
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
SOCI 3011 | 001/73705 | M 1:10pm - 2:00pm 307 Pupin Laboratories |
Estela Diaz | 0 | 11/30 |
SOCI 3011 | 002/08994 | M 6:10pm - 7:00pm 307 Pupin Laboratories |
0 | 18/30 |
SOCI UN3020 Social Statistics. 3 points.
This course introduces methods of empirical social research for describing and drawing inferences from quantitative data. Emphasis is on basic but very serviceable methods of statistical analysis for information drawn from surveys or archives. The course includes several exercises in analysis of sample survey data.
SOCI UN3265 Sociology of Work and Gender. 3 points.
This course examines gender as a flexible but persistent boundary that continues to organize our work lives and our home lives, as well as the relationship between the two spheres. We will explore the ways in which gender affects how work is structured; the relationship between work and home; the household as a place of paid (and unpaid) labor; and how changes in the global economy affect gender and work identities.
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3265
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3265 | 001/77414 | T Th 11:40am - 12:55pm 501 Northwest Corner |
Teresa Sharpe | 3 | 109/147 |
SOCI UN3490 Mistake, Misconduct, Disaster. 3 points.
How Organizations Fail - the fundamental principles of organizations, examining how and why organizations fail, producing harmful outcomes. Studying failures opens up parts of organizations for public view that are seldom seen; studying the dark side is especially revealing. Students will examine cases to identify the causes of failures and think about what kind of strategies can be developed that prevent failure.
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3490
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3490 | 001/15950 | M W 4:10pm - 5:25pm 601 Fairchild Life Sciences Bldg |
Diane Vaughan | 3 | 75/70 |
SOCI UN3915 Stigma and Discrimination. 4 points.
This course considers stigma and discrimination as general processes that apply to a broad range of phenomena, from mental illness to obesity to HIV/AIDS to racial groups. We will use a conceptual framework that considers power and social stratification to be central to stigma and discrimination. We will focus on both macro- and micro-level social processes and their interconnections, and we will draw on literature from both sociology and psychology.
SOCI UN3921 HIGHER EDUCATION AND INEQUALITY. 4 points.
Not offered during 2018-19 academic year.
Prerequisites: (1000)
Higher education in the U.S. is going through a period of rapid change. State support is shrinking, student debt is increasing, full-time faculty are being replaced by adjuncts, and learning outcomes are difficult to measure, at best. This class will try to makes sense of these changes. Among other questions, it will ask whether higher education is a source of social mobility or a means of class reproduction; how the college experience differs by race, class, and type of college attended; how the economics of higher education have led to more expensive college and more student loans; and how we might make college better. We will consider several different points of view on the current state of U.S. higher education: that of students who apply to and attend college, that of colleges and universities, and that of society at large. As part of this course, students will conduct research on their own universities: Columbia College or Barnard College.
SOCI UN3929 Collaboration, Resistance, Retribution: Western and Eastern Europe Between Nazism and Comm. 3 points.
The Nazi occupation of Western and East-Central Europe during World War II elicited a variety of national and local responses ranging from accommodation to collaboration to outright resistance. How did variations in practices of political, social, and economic domination exercised by the Nazis shape patterns of collaboration and resistance? How did this vary between Western and Eastern Europe? What individual factors/aspects of personal biography shaped decisions about whether or not to collaborate? In the immediate postwar period, how did efforts to identify and punish collaborators reflect prerogatives of national regeneration and state-building? Forty-five years later, the collapse of the socialist dictatorships of East-Central Europe unleashed calls for retribution against “communist collaborators.” How did practices of collaboration and resistance with socialist regimes differ from earlier patterns of collaboration with the Nazis? Have efforts to punish communist collaborators been more successful in righting the wrongs of the past than previous efforts to punish Nazi collaborators? If so, what might account for this? Do „legacies” from earlier efforts to punish Nazi collaborators inform these more recent projects of justice-seeking? How do unresolved justice issues from the immediate postwar period continue to haunt both Western and East-Central Europe?
SOCI UN3960 Law, Science, and Society. 4 points.
This course addresses basic contemporary social issues from several angles of vision: from the perspective of scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, and judges. Through the use of case studies, students will examine the nature of theories, evidence, "facts," proof, and argument as found in the work of scientists and scholars who have engaged the substantive issues presented in the course.
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3960
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3960 | 001/74617 | T 10:10am - 12:00pm 807 Green Hall Law Building |
Jonathan Cole | 4 | 23/22 |
SOCI UN3974 Sociology of Schools, Teaching and Learning. 4 points.
In this class we will examine the school as a central institution in modern society, and we will grapple with an important question in the sociology of education: what role to schools play in reinforcing or challenging broader patters of social inequality? We will pay special attention to the ways in which students' class, race/ethnicity and gender shape their educational experiences. We will also look at how schools are organized, how schools construct differences among students, and how schools sort kids into different (and unequal) groups. Finally we will explore the types of interventions - at both the individual and organizational levels - that can mitigate inequality in educational achievement and help low-income students to succeed.
One such intervention that has shown promise is tutoring in academic and social and behavioral skills, and interventions that strengthen self-affirmation. A major component of this class is your experience as a tutor. You will be trained as tutors to work with students from local high schools both through in-person tutoring and through tutoring using social networking technologies. Throughout the semester we will combine our academic learning with critical reflection on our experience sin the field. Because you will be working with NYC high school students, we will pay special attention to how NYC high schools are organized and how current issues in education play out in the context of NYC schools.
SOCI UN3985 Queer Practice. 4 points.
Is there a particularly “queer” way to live? Does a queer perspective mitigate for certain forms of social, interpersonal or political action? Are there sets of vocations, engagements or relationship formations that are, in and of themselves, distinctly queer? Or is queerness something that can infuse or transform pre-existing modes of personal or relational action? How does any of this relate to the version of “queer” one learns in college? Is a university education necessary, or even useful, for living a queer life? Does academic queer theory have any relevance to “real-world” politics, affects or activisms? Do classroom projects within Gender & Sexuality Studies prepare us to engage in projects of social change, political efforts, or in any meaningful way, to work more closely with others on shared goals related to social justice? Does a liberal arts education prepare us to navigate ideological, intellectual and interpersonal differences? To move from a critical gaze at social institutions into institutional change? To become more robust citizens of a world that includes a multiplicity of viewpoints, perspectives and values? Finally, at its best, what should the university classroom do to prepare students to forge their own social and political perspectives, and to move from gaze and consideration into movement and action?
SOCI UN3996 Senior Seminar. 4 points.
Prerequisites: required methods and theory courses for the major, and the instructor's permission.
Students wishing to qualify for departmental honors must take W3996y. Students carry out individual research projects and write a senior thesis under the supervision of the instructor and with class discussion. Written and oral progress reports.
Spring 2019: SOCI UN3996
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
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SOCI 3996 | 001/65736 | M 4:10pm - 6:00pm 501d Knox Hall |
Van Tran | 4 | 6/20 |
Of Related Interest
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
African American Studies | ||
AFAS GU4032 | Image and Identity in Contemporary Advertising | |
Colloquia, Interdepartmental Seminars, and Professional School Offerings | ||
INSM W3950 | Friendship in Asian and Western Civilization | |
Journalism | ||
JOUR W3100 | Journalism and Public Life (Journalism) | |
Sociology (Barnard) | ||
SOCI BC3087 | Individual Projects for Seniors | |
SOCI BC3207 | Music, Race and Identity | |
SOCI BC3214 | Sociology of African American Life | |
SOCI BC3911 | The Social Contexts of U.S. Immigration Law and Policy | |
SOCI BC3920 | Advanced Topics in Gender and Sexuality | |
SOCI BC3932 | Climate Change, Global Migration, and Human Rights in the Anthropocene | |
SOCI BC3935 | Gender and Organizations | |
Women's and Gender Studies | ||
WMST UN1001 | Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies |