Global Arc

In this seminar, we investigate the "ghetto" and "enclave" as sociological concepts that have given rise to distinct literatures, each with its own presumptions about the mix of voluntary and involuntary elements in the genesis of community, the advantages and disadvantages of living apart from the mainstream, and the permeability of the boundary between community and mainstream society. Through examining these literatures, our goal is to help students develop the background necessary for conducting their own research on place-based ethnic and racial segregation.

An introduction to theories of symbolism, ideology, and belief. Approaches to the analysis and comparison of cultural patterns. Emphasis on the social sources of new idea systems, the role of ideology in social movements, and the social effects of cultural change. Comparisons of competing idea systems in contemporary culture. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

In both the U.S. and around the globe, formal and informal sports are a key component of social life. This course will help you become an academically literate consumer of and/or participant in sports. Students will consider their own experiences and compare them to accounts of sports in a variety of different community settings. Our discussions will cover both the individual and social benefits of participation in athletics, as well as the risks and value distortions that sports can entail. Students will leave the course better equipped to appreciate the ethical, social, and political undercurrents of societal debates regarding sports.

Sociological investigations of religion in the United States since 1950. Patterns and variations in religious organization and expression. Social scientific methods of conducting research on religion, including surveys, interviews, and participant observation. Topics include demographics of religious involvement, trends, individual religious orientations, ethnicity and religion, and religious diversity. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course uses "the sociological imagination" to explore the role and meaning of medicine in modern U.S. society. Topics include sociocultural definitions of health and illness, the sick role, the doctor-patient relationship, the social determinants of health, the role of medicine in keeping society healthy, the education and socialization of health care professionals, and the social control function of medicine. Consideration of current bioethical dilemmas from a sociological perspective. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Introduction to the sociology, history, and politics of health care. Topics include the social response to disease (including epidemics); the development and organization of the medical profession, hospitals, public health, and health insurance; and the contemporary politics of health policy in comparative perspective. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course provides students with an introduction to the study of public health from a sociological perspective. The course focuses most centrally on understanding the national, regional/state, and local level social contexts that are so important for the health of individuals and populations. A substantial portion of the course will be geared toward understanding how social contexts operate to produce health disparities across subgroups of the U.S. population, particularly those defined by race/ethnicity, nativity, and socioeconomic status.

The subject matter of this course varies from year to year. Typical topics are sociology of the environment and sociology of law. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Examines the cultures of classes within American society and asks to what extent people's identities, relationships, or chances for social mobility are shaped by their class culture. Looks at high and popular culture as well as mass media, paying attention to patterns of cultural consumption ("taste") and asks how these patterns work to reproduce the class structure.

This seminar uses the lenses of race, class, gender, and sexuality to help students understand undergraduate life at Princeton. We will make sense of how the experiences you have had over the past four years are strongly influenced by historical, cultural, social, technological, and biological forces. The aim is to develop a sociological understanding of the Princeton experience, and use that to reflection more generally on the organization of communities. Topics covered include Sports, Town-Gown relationships, Nightlife, Academics, Sexual Assault, Eating Clubs, Admissions, Systematic Racism, the concepts of merit, inclusion, and equality.