Studies the fundamental concepts and principles of sociology with special attention to sociological theory and research methods. Survey of the diverse substantive fields in the discipline with a primary emphasis on the institutions in contemporary American society.

Analyzes the causes and consequences of current social problems in the United States: race and ethnic relations, poverty, crime and delinquency, the environment, drugs, and problems of educational institutions.

Focusing on the fundamental concepts of sociology with special attention to sociological theory and research methods, this course is a more advanced version of introductory sociology. The course is designed to enable students to learn more deeply about the various ideas and concepts of the sociological tradition and to develop their capacity to use them. This course counts in place of SOC 1010 for sociology major and minor requirements.

Comparison of family organizations in relation to other social institutions in various societies; an introduction to the theory of kinship and marriage systems.

This course examines how the medical system is shaped by cultural and societal forces, analyzing unique dimensions of medicine from varying perspectives prominent in the discipline of Sociology. Topics will focus upon the interaction of social categories (e.g., socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality) upon the distribution of diseases, experiences of illness, and relationships between patients and medical professionals.

Gender and Society

This course will examine various types of inequality (race, class, gender) in the US and abroad. We will discuss sociological theories covering various dimensions of inequality, considering key research findings and their implications. We will examine to what extent ascriptive characteristics impact a person's life chances, how social structures are produced and reproduced, and how individuals are able or unable to negotiate these structures.

Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced.

Markets, firms, and money are part of everyday experience. Economists insist that they should work similarly independently of their social context. The central idea of economic sociology is that economic institutions are 'embedded' in social relations. We will study what embeddeness means, and what it implies. We look at how institutions constitute markets; how rationality varies; and how money interacts with social relations in unexpected ways.

Introduces the major theoretical issues and traditions in sociology, especially as developed in the writings of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Sociology majors are expected to take this course in their third year.