Global Arc

This discussion-based seminar introduces students to the basic concepts sociologists use to study social movements. Readings focus on social movements that have shaped US society and politics in the 20th and 21st century. We examine several cases of social movements that are relevant to today's America, with the goal of using the concepts we have gleaned from earlier readings to understand some of the clashing forces that are driving social change right now.

What do voter turnout, the civil rights movement, the Paris Commune and suicide missions have in common? Conventional as well as unconventional politics rely on the purposive participation of individuals and groups on the basis of their shared, partisan views of what society ought to be. We will discuss the building blocks of political action such as identity and interest, social networks and influence, power and ideology, to understand topics such as electoral behavior, civic engagement, collective action and social movements. Combining theory and empirical research, the course is intended to inspire your own research in political sociology.

Formal organizations are basic building blocks of modern societies. We are born in organizations, educated in them, and spend our working lives navigating them. The first half of this course examines why organizations look and act the way they do. Why are they so bureaucratic? How do they influence one another? How do they evolve? The second half of the course focuses on the consequences of organizational practices. How do they shape work, inequality and diversity? How do they mediate the effects of public policies? Examples will be drawn from an array of sites including firms, schools, non-profits, hospitals, and social movements

Environmental refugees leave their homes in response to earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, droughts, toxins, dams, and deforestation. Risk-mitigating farming households preemptively send family to seek jobs elsewhere, protecting against possible crop failure. In much of the world, households participate in cyclical or temporary migratory flows, driven by seasonality of the food supply. Students will become familiar with the manners in which environment drives migration and explore the potential for migration to impact the environment. Is vulnerability to environmental hazards distributed equitably across the world's communities?

Using detailed studies of four major centers (San Antonio, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York), this course will analyze the historical and contemporary experience of several Spanish-speaking populations. Discussion will focus on two questions: (a) Are there common experiences or characteristics that justify the categorization of these varied groups under a single ethnicity? and (b) What racial, class, and gender divisions exist within these groups? Two lectures, one preceptorial.

International migration has been and continues to be a major force shaping the world, as it significantly affects the sending and receiving societies. This course provides an overview of immigration trends over the twentieth century and the sociological theory and research that informs our understanding about its causes and consequences.

By using examples from the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, this course employs a comparative approach to investigating religion as a source of strength among immigrants -- including exiles and refugees -- as they undertake perilous journeys. Key questions addressed include: How does religion transform (and how is it transformed by) the immigrant experience? How is religion used to combat stereotypes? Are there differences between the ways men and women or dominant groups and racial minorities understand religion? Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Classical and contemporary theories of organizations as collective tools, as cultural systems, and as actors in changing environments. Research on problems of innovation and survival, authority, and control in business firms, public bureaucracies, and voluntary associations. Special emphasis on the historical development of managerial ideologies in the U.S. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Designed as an extension of SOC 300, this course will be of particular help to students interested in questions of research design. Students will gain greater proficiency in deploying data, in using case studies more effectively in their research, and in writing up the results of a research study.

An introduction to the study of communications media. Topics include: growth and impact of literacy, printing, telecommunications, and broadcasting; communications and the modern state (for example, secrecy, surveillance, intelligence); organization, control, and effects of the media; cross-national differences in communications policy and institutions; impact of computers and electronic communication. Two lectures, one preceptorial.