Sociology

Undergraduate Program Chairman: Ross D. Stolzenberg, 1155 E. 60th St., Room 353, 256-6331

Departmental Contact: Linnea K. Martin, SS 309, 702-8677

Program of Study

The discipline of sociology encompasses a diversity of substantive interests, theoretical orientations, and methodological approaches. The phenomena studied by sociologists range from face-to-face interaction in small groups to the structure of the modern world system. They include stratification and mobility, demographic change, urban/rural/suburban communities, race and ethnic relations, mass media, and the social dimensions of such areas as education, family life, law, the military, political behavior, science, and religion. The methodologies of the field range from experimentation, survey research, and field observation to historical comparison and mathematical model building.

The knowledge sociology provides for the understanding of human relations and social organization has made it attractive for students considering careers in such professions as business, education, law, marketing, medicine, journalism, social work, politics, public administration, and urban planning. As a basis for more specialized graduate work, it affords entry to careers in social research in federal, state, and local agencies, as well as into business enterprises, private foundations, and research institutes. Sociology also provides an excellent foundation for students who are planning academic careers in any of the social sciences. The concentration program in the College is accordingly designed to meet the needs of a very diverse group of students.

Program Requirements

Students may enter the sociology program at any time during their second year or at the beginning of their third year by informing the faculty program chairman of their decision. For students with adequate course background, it may be possible to enter as late as the end of the third year. The only prerequisite is completion of any one of the Common Core social sciences sequences.

Course Requirements. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology are expected to complete the following requirements. However, students with adequate background in sociology from Common Core courses or other sociology courses may petition the program chairman to substitute other 200-level courses for one or more of the introductory sequence courses.

1. A three-quarter introductory sequence consisting of:

a. Social Structure and Change (Sociology 200). This course is an introduction to the basic theories and concepts of macrosociology. The first half explores the theories of Marx, Weber, and Bourdieu, and their general explanations of social change and social stratification. The second half deals with sociological approaches to ethnicity, race, class, gender, and nationalism.

b. Interaction, Community, and Culture (Sociology 201). This class deals with the social construction of the individual, the study of face-to-face interaction, community and urban studies, and the study of cultural institutions, symbols, and beliefs.

c. Sociological Methods (Sociology 202). This course is applications oriented and stresses both professional and academic use of current research methods in the collection and analysis of data. An opportunity to apply many of these methods and analyze the resulting data is an integral part of the course. A review of contemporary philosophies of social research, theory construction, statistical techniques, and computerized data processing supplements the major emphasis.

2. Statistical Methods of Research I (Sociology 203/304) or Statistics 200. These courses provide a comprehensive introduction to widely used quantitative methods in sociology and related social sciences. Topics covered include analysis of variance and multiple regression, considered as they are used by practicing social scientists.

3. Six additional courses in sociology or related fields, at least three of which must be in sociology. These courses may be drawn from any of the 200-level courses in sociology and, after completing Sociology 200-201, from any 300-level courses in sociology that have not been cross-listed with undergraduate numbers. Courses may usefully be thought of as falling into six topical clusters: macrosociology and intergroup relations; sociology of institutions; urban sociology; comparative, historical, and cultural sociology; microsociology; and theory and methodology.

4. The senior seminar (Sociology 298).

Summary of Requirements

Concentration 3 Sociol 200-201-202 or approved substitute

1 Sociol 203/304 or Stat 200

(statistics course)

3 sociology courses

2 courses in sociology or related fields (one may be a reading and research course)

1 Sociol 298 (senior seminar)

1 B.A. paper (Sociol 291 or 295)

11

Senior Project. During the senior year, all students concentrating in sociology are expected to work on an original project of sociological inquiry on a topic of their choice culminating in a final paper from twenty to forty pages in length. The project may take the form of either (1) a critical review of a body of literature on a problem developed in conjunction with the work of one or more courses, or (2) an independent research project in which questions are formulated and data are collected and analyzed by the student. In the spring quarter of the junior year, students meet with the program chairman to discuss possible projects. A faculty sponsor is selected for the project during the autumn quarter of the senior year. A form briefly describing the project and signed by the faculty sponsor is submitted to the concentration program chairman before the middle of the winter quarter. The chosen topic is developed during the autumn and winter quarters and the paper is completed in the spring quarter. Students must register for one reading or research (Sociology 291 or 295) course with their faculty sponsor. Students may register for additional research and reading courses; however, only two sociology reading or research courses can be counted toward the completion of the courses in sociology or related fields required for a concentration. More than one reading or research course to complete the B.A. paper requires the consent of the program chairman.

Senior Seminar. All projects are reported on and discussed in an undergraduate seminar (Sociology 298). The senior seminar is a yearlong course. Students participate all three quarters, although they register only once. Registration takes place in the spring quarter of the senior year unless the student plans to graduate out of sequence in some quarter other than spring. A first draft of the paper is to be submitted in the first week of the student's final quarter. All projects are due in final written form no later than the end of the eighth week of that quarter. Those being submitted for evaluation for honors are due by the first day of the seventh week.

Honors. Concentrators with a grade point average of 3.0 or better overall and 3.25 or better in the concentration who have written substantial bachelor's papers may be considered for graduation with honors in sociology.

Grading. All courses required for completion of the sociology program must be taken for quality grades.

Handbook. Students interested in pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology are encouraged to read the brochure Undergraduate Program in Sociology, which is available in the Office of the Department of Sociology (SS 307).

Faculty

ANDREW ABBOTT, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

GARY S. BECKER, University Professor, Departments of Economics and Sociology; Research Associate, Economics Research Center at the National Opinion Research Center

CHARLES E. BIDWELL, William Claude Reavis Professor, Departments of Sociology and Education and the College

MARY C. BRINTON, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

RONALD BURT, Professor, Department of Sociology & Strategy in the Graduate School of Business

TERRY NICHOLS CLARK, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

JOHN L. COMAROFF, Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Sociology and the College, Committee on African & African-American Studies

ROGER V. GOULD, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

WENDY GRISWOLD, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Committee on the History of Culture, and the College

EDWARD O. LAUMANN, George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Sociology and the College; Director, Ogburn/Stouffer Center for Population and Social Organization at the National Opinion Research Center; Chairman, Department of Sociology

DONALD N. LEVINE, Peter B. Ritzma Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

WILLIAM L. PARISH, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

MARTIN RIESEBRODT, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the Divinity School

LESLIE SALZINGER, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

ROBERT J. SAMPSON, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

GEORGE STEINMETZ, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

ROSS M. STOLZENBERG, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

GERALD D. SUTTLES, Professor, Department of Sociology, Committee on Geographical Studies, and the College

RICHARD TAUB, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

LINDA J. WAITE, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

KAZUO YAMAGUCHI, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

DINGXIN ZHAO, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and the College

Courses

Information about many course offerings was not available at the time this publication went to press. Please consult the quarterly Time Schedules for final information.

200. Social Structure and Change. This course is an introduction to the basic theories and concepts in macrosociology. The first half of the course explores the theories of Marx, Weber, and Bourdieu, and their general explanations of social change and social stratification. The second half deals with sociological approaches to ethnicity, race, class, gender, and nationalism. G. Steinmetz. Winter.

201. Interaction, Community, and Culture. Required of sociology concentrators; open to all students. This course draws upon classic sociological theory and contemporary research to examine key social issues and problems. These include how both individuals and the world they live in are constructed through social interaction; the organization of communities, with a particular emphasis on urban social life as studied by the "Chicago school"; and cultural influences on thinking and behavior. Readings include social theorists such as Weber, Durkheim, Marx, Mead, Cooley, and Thomas, as well as recent empirical studies, for example, Hochschild on gender and emotion work, Anderson on the social hierarchy of a working-class African-American bar, Hunter on contemporary cultural conflict, and Bellah on American individualism and the loss of community. W. Griswold. Autumn.

202. Sociological Methods I. This course is an introduction to the basic strategies and methods of sociological and psychological research. The course begins with a discussion of the scientific method as used in the social sciences, then moves on to the development and testing of hypotheses, understanding cause and effect in social processes, measuring important concepts, and collecting and evaluating evidence. L. Waite. Autumn.

203/304. Statistical Methods of Research. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to widely used quantitative methods in sociology and related social sciences. Topics include analysis of variance and multiple regression, considered as they are used by practicing social scientists. D. Zhao. Winter.

205/360. Introduction to Population (=EnvStd 205, Sociol 205/360). This course provides an introduction to the field of population studies. It provides a substantive overview of our knowledge of three fundamental population processes: fertility, mortality, and migration. We also cover marriage, cohabitation, marital disruption, aging, and AIDS. In each case we examine historical trends. We also discuss causes and consequences of recent trends in population growth and the current demographic situation in developing and developed countries. L. Waite. Winter.

209/331. Organizational Analysis (=PubPol 230, Sociol 209/331). This course is a systematic introduction to theoretical and empirical work on organizations broadly conceived, such as public and private economic organizations, governmental organizations, prisons, health-care organizations, and professional and voluntary associations. Topics include intraorganizational questions about organizational goals and effectiveness, communication, authority, and decision-making. Using recent developments in market, political economy, and neo-institutional theories, we explore organizational change and interorganizational relationships for their implications in understanding social change in modern societies. E. Laumann. Autumn.

210. Race Relations: New Perspectives (=Educ 293, Sociol 210). This is a review and critique of research on race relations in the United States. E. Epps. Winter.

212/312. Social Mobility and Inequality. This course explores how people manage their way in stratification systems and socioeconomic structures. Readings range from ethnographies of schools and workplaces to theoretical and empirical work on credentialism screening, labor market discrimination, and job search processes. The empirical materials center on contemporary American society, with some comparisons to other industrial societies that have different educational and class structures. Throughout the course the focus is on how people choose and get recruited into schools and work organizations. Students are encouraged to develop empirical research projects from the course. M. Brinton. Spring.

216/316. Gender and Work. PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. This course draws on materials from social demography and social stratification to examine differences in the economic and social roles of men and women in contemporary industrial societies, including the United States, Japan, and Western European countries. Although the principal focus is on sex differences in labor market outcomes such as wages, occupation, and labor market sector, the distribution of household labor between men and women and sex differences in education are also covered. Intersections between these outcomes and family processes are emphasized. M. Brinton. Winter.

218/318. Social and Political Movements. This course provides a general overview and a synthesis on theories of social and political movements. We emphasize the importance of state and state society relations to the rise and outcomes of a social or political movement. D. Zhao. Spring.

220/309. Social Change. This course focuses on economic development, political development, social movements, and opinion change. Case materials are drawn from currently developing countries, European historical patterns, and the contemporary United States. W. Parish. Autumn.

225. The Diverse Society: Theory and Practice (=PubPol 465, SSA 469, Sociol 225). This course addresses issues of race, ethnicity, and gender in the context of diversity of American society through readings in sociology of individual and group identity, as well as history and autobiography. Questions raised by a multicultural society for social policy and practice are explored. P. Cafferty. Spring.

226. Sex, Religion, and Social Order. In this course, we think about sex in its social context, within a history of related discourses of religion, the state, and social order. The course starts with general perspectives from the sociology of religion and the history of sexuality. It focuses on some "classical" social theories of sexuality and on some contemporary debates, such as the controversies over sodomy laws and same-sex marriages. While critically examining the roles of church and state, we focus on some of the discourses that surround sexuality, especially the ideological divide between the public and private spheres. D. Moon. Autumn.

227/361. Urban Structure and Process (=Geog 227/327, SocSci 251, Sociol 227/361). This course reviews competing theories of urban development, especially their ability to explain the changing nature of cities under the impact of advanced industrialism. Analysis includes a consideration of emerging metropolitan regions, the microstructure of local neighborhoods, and the limitations of the past American experience as a way of developing urban policy both in this country and elsewhere. G. Suttles. Autumn.

230/338. Educational Organization and Social Inequality (=Educ 218/318, PubPol 393, Sociol 230/338). This course presents a review of formulations of education's place in the system of social stratification and focuses on the organization of school systems, schools, and classrooms. Attention is given to the ways in which conceptions of educational organization and of stratification can be related to each other. C. Bidwell, R. Dreeben. Spring.

233/339. The Sociology of the State. An introduction to the sociology of the state with a particular focus on theoretical issues and historical approaches. The first part of the course examines central concepts and theories of the state, including the historical emergence of the notion of the state and the most recent state-centered, historical, and culturalist social science approaches to the state. In the second part, we examine recent historical-sociological case studies. The topics in this second section include the creation of new states and transitions in state forms; the putative emergence of a new "post-Fordist" type of state; the welfare state; the formation of colonial states; and the role of the state in constructing national and other identities. G. Steinmetz. Autumn.

235/335. Political Sociology (=PolSci 232, PubPol 236/336, Sociol 235/335). PQ: One general social sciences course. This course provides analytical perspectives on citizen preference theory, public choice, group theory, bureaucrats and state-centered theory, coalition theory, elite theories, and political culture. These competing analytical perspectives are assessed in considering middle range theories and empirical studies on central themes of political sociology: the social bases of politics, social stratification and political organization, citizen preferences and political activation, voting behavior, social movements and mobilization, voluntary associations and "special interest groups," political parties, elected officials, government policy outputs, including public goods and free rider problems, separable goods and patronage, policy continua, and alternatives to traditional left-right classifications. Local, national, and cross-national analyses are explored. T. Clark. Spring.

237/370. Japanese Society: Functional and Cultural Explanations. The objective of this course is to provide an overview of social structural characteristics, and the functioning of contemporary Japanese society by a juxtaposition of universalistic functional (or rational) explanations and particularistic cultural (and historical) explanations. Substantively, the course primarily focuses on (1) the forms of social interaction and structure, (2) work organization and family, and (3) education, social inequality, and opportunity. The course also presents discussions of the extent to which Japan is "unique" among industrial societies. In covering a broad range of English-language literature on Japanese society, the course not only presents reviews and discussions of various alternative theoretical explanations of the characteristics of Japanese society, but also a profound opportunity to critically review and study selected sociological theories. K. Yamaguchi. Spring.

242. Small Group Dynamics. This course focuses on small group settings using both sociological and social psychological perspectives. While the focus is on intra-group and inter-group dynamics, readings span a variety of topics, ranging from primate societies and children's playgrounds to urban street gangs and modern work-places. We examine how social relationships and group membership influence action and identity formation. D. McFarland. Autumn.

245. Religion and Sociology. This course reviews some of the major theories in the sociology of religion, such as those of LePevbre and Durkheim. We assume a theoretical perspective based on the notion that religion arises from experience, image, and story, and is celebrated in rituals by a community. Empirical data is discussed and opportunities are provided for students who wish to present empirical analyses. The emphasis is on religion in American Society, but the theory can also be applied in other societies. We also emphasize the nature and frequency of religious experiences. A. Greeley. Autumn.

247. Metropolitan Development and Planning (=Geog 267/367, PubPol 267, Sociol 247). PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. This course focuses on metropolitan development patterns and on the interplay of geopolitical, economic, and social changes in U.S. cities after 1950. Intergovernmental relations and urban planning concepts and institutions are also explored. Selected policies for economic development, land-use management, housing, education, transportation, energy, or the environment are analyzed by region. D. Holleb. Spring.

251/351. Time and Social Structure. This course considers the temporal character of social structures. It considers literature in the philosophy of time and the philosophy of history, as well as more traditional literature on social structures. Among the topics considered are the relation between events and structures, the problem of narrative, the social origins of temporality, and the structural conditions of stability and change. The course aims at a theoretical fusion of historical and analytic approaches to the social process. Representative authors include Ricoeur, Danto, Braudel, Sahlins, H. C. White, Bourdieu, G. H. Mead, Whitehead, Nadel, and Coleman. A. Abbott. Spring.

252/352. The Sociology of Culture. Culture encompasses ideas, works of art and literature, mass media entertainment, spiritual beliefs, everyday practices, deeply held values, styles and fashions, common sense, and attitudes toward social categories such as race and gender. The sociology of culture examines the relationship between culture and the socially organized human beings who produce, receive, and are influenced by it. The course draws on sociological theories of the culture/society relationship, both classic (Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel) and contemporary (Frankfurt School, Birmingham School, cultural capital, interactionist, and neo-institutionalist), and it examines empirical studies of how culture relates to social problems, to economic life, and to globalization. W. Griswold. Autumn.

256/329. Urban Policy Analysis (=PolSci 256, PubPol 248/348, Sociol 256/329). This course addresses the explanations available for varying patterns of policies that cities provide in terms of expenditures and service delivery. Topics include theoretical approaches and policy options, migration as a policy option, group theory, citizen preference theory, incrementalism, economic base influences, and an integrated model. Also examined are the New York fiscal crisis and taxpayer revolts, measuring citizen preferences, service delivery, and productivity. T. Clark. Autumn.

257. Violence. Rather than eliminate collective violence, modernity has allowed it to develop new forms and has provided new bases for justifying it. We explore the varieties of violent conflict that have characterized modern and premodern human societies, with particular attention to feuding, gangsterism, racial and ethnic conflict, and civil war. Much of the discussion aims at identifying the common factors underlying these diverse forms of violent behavior. R. Gould. Winter.

262/362. Survey Analysis I. This course covers elementary tabular methods, log odds and percentages, measures of association and the logic of multivariate analysis. We emphasize practice in analysis and report writing rather than statistical rigor. This is not a course on sample design. J. Davis. Winter.

264. The Sociology of Nationalism. Nationality has come to be the defining element of legitimate political communities. Nationalist claims and movements are at the center of many contemporary attempts to alter existing borders, most notably in Eastern Europe and Asia since the collapse of communism. Among the perspectives reviewed are modernization, state-building, ethnic mobilization, internal colonialism, and more recent approaches that are more centered on the instrumental uses of culture (institutionalism, social movement frame analysis, and rational choice theory). A. Hrycak. Winter.

271/371. Sociology of Human Sexuality. PQ: Prior introductory course in the social sciences. After briefly reviewing several biological and psychological approaches to human sexuality as points of comparison, we explore the sociological perspective on sexual conduct and its associated beliefs and consequences for individuals and society. Topics are addressed through a critical examination of the recent national survey of sexual practices and beliefs and related empirical studies. Substantive topics covered include gender relations; lifecourse perspectives on sexual conduct in youth, adolescence, and adulthood; social epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections (including AIDS); sexual partner choice and turnover; and the incidence/prevalence of selected sexual practices. E. Laumann. Spring.

275/337. The Institution of Education (=Educ 217/317, PubPol 397, Sociol 275/337). This course is a general survey of the properties of education considered as an institution of historical and contemporary societies. Particular attention is given to institutional formation and change in education and to education's role in processes of social control and social stratification. C. Bidwell, R. Dreeben. Winter.

277. Race and Ethnicity in the Twentieth-Century United States. This course covers three main topics. The first is a theoretical background for the study of race and ethnicity: how is race and ethnicity socially constructed, and how do race and ethnicity relate to and inform class and social structural relations? The second topic treats the issue of racial and ethnic conflicts: What do the historical classes between different groups tell us? The third section of the course treats the Massey/Wilson debate about race, class, segregation, and public policy. M. Rosenfeld. Winter.

282/382. Mathematical Models. This course reviews and discusses mathematical models, and related theories and analyses of social action, especially those emphasizing the rational-choice perspective. About one-half of the lectures focus on the models of collective action, power, and exchange, and related theories that have been developed by James S. Coleman; on models of choice in the life course, especially rational and social choice models of birth occurrence and timing, marital partners, friends and networks, and occupations; and on models of action to reduce risks or costs of certain undesirable life events such as divorce. Both behavioral and analytical models, along with related theories, are surveyed for the second topic. K. Yamaguchi. Winter.

288/388. Sociology of Work and Occupations. This course surveys the basic literature on work in advanced societies. Topics include, but are not limited to, the division of labor, occupational solidarity and structure, and career patterns and experience. The course combines social structural and cultural approaches, and is generally at the macro level, although it does not ignore the social-psychological literature on work experience. A. Abbott. Winter.

290-291-292-293. Individual Research. PQ: Consent of instructor and program chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. At the discretion of the instructor, this course is available for either Pass or letter grading. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer.

295. Readings in Sociology. PQ: Consent of instructor and program chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. At the discretion of the instructor, this course is available for either Pass or letter grading. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer.

298. Senior Seminar. PQ: Open to sociology concentrators with fourth-year standing. This course must be taken for a letter grade. This course is a forum for students to present their B.A. papers. It is offered as a three-quarter sequence in the autumn, winter, and spring of the senior year. Each quarter counts as one-third course credit; however, students formally register for only one quarter, usually spring. Students graduating at a time other than June should participate in three quarters of the senior seminar in the twelve months prior to graduation. See the more general statement about the B.A. paper in the brochure Undergraduate Program in Sociology, which is available in the office of the Department of Sociology. R. Stolzenberg. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

The following 300-, 400-, and 500-level courses are open to College students.

332. Urban Landscapes as Social Text (=Geog 424, Sociol 332). PQ: Consent of instructor. This seminar explores the meanings found in varieties of urban landscapes, both in the context of individual elements and composite structures. These meanings are examined in relation to three fundamental approaches that can be identified in the analytical literature on landscapes: normative, historical, and communicative modes of conceptualization. Students pursue research topics of their own choosing within the general framework. M. Conzen. Autumn.

348. Populations, Education, and Social Change in Modern Europe (=Educ 372, Sociol 348). PQ: Consent of instructor. This lecture course examines the social history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe, with particular emphasis on the causes and consequences of demographic and educational patterns and changes. The focus is on individual and familial strategies concerning nuptiality, fertility, migration, schooling, and, by extension, social mobility, and on the ways these strategies interact with economic and social changes and the related public policies. The course is informed by the relevant social and demographic theories, including those grounded in the experiences of the Third World. J. Craig. Winter.

350. Organizational Decision Making (=PolSci 275/375, PubPol 335, Sociol 350). This course examines the process of decision making in modern complex organizations, such as universities, schools, hospitals, business firms, and public bureaucracies. The course also considers the impact of information, power, resources, organizational structure, and the environment, as well as alternative models of choice and other implications. J. Padgett. Autumn.

373. Applications of Hierarchical Linear Models to Psychological and Social Research (=Educ 253/337, Sociol 373). PQ: Basic knowledge of matrix algebra and multivariate statistics. A number of diverse methodological problems (such as correlates of change, analysis of multilevel data, and certain aspects of metanalysis) share a common feature: a hierarchical structure. The hierarchical linear model offers a promising approach to analyzing data in these situations. Each student undertakes a project either applying the hierarchical linear model to a data set of interest or considering in more detail some of the research design and statistical estimation issues raised in this work. A. Bryk. Spring.

400. Quantitative Research Methods I: Applied Regression 1. This course covers regression methods for analysis of nonexperimental research. Topics include simple regression, multiple regression, regression diagnostics, analysis of covariance, path analysis, and the interpretation of effects in nonlinear and nonadditive specifications. The course aims to develop intuition about these methods and focuses on their interpretation. R. Stolzenberg. Autumn.

407. Quantitative Research Methods IV: Applied Regression 2. This course continues the presentation of regression and related methods from Sociol 400. Topics include generalized least squares, probit and logit regression methods, simultaneous equations models (reciprocal causation models), and a brief survey of factor analysis methods. This course gives students sufficient background to use standard reference works and educate themselves on these and other topics. The course is a survey rather than an in-depth presentation of regression-related methods. R. Stolzenberg. Spring.