Sociology Course Catalog

Not all courses are offered each year.

Please see Annual Course Offerings for current offerings.

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Course #
Course Title
Course Level
Units
SOCY 1
Introduction to Sociology
Lower Division
5 units
A systematic study of social groups ranging in size from small to social institutions to entire societies. Organized around the themes of social interaction, social inequality, and social change. Fulfills lower-division major requirement.
SOCY 3A
The Evaluation of Evidence
Lower Division
5 units
Introduces students to major types of date and data analysis used in sociology. Designed to give students a foundation in understanding social science research articles, reports, and media reports used in political and policy debates. Topics include: general principles of research design, measurement, inductive and deductive modes of reasoning, experimental design, field work and ethnographic design, and reading and understanding basic quantitative forms of data and analysis. Enrollment is restricted to majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 3B
Statistical Methods
Lower Division
5 units
Introduces basic quantitative data analysis found in sociological research and policy reports. Topics include: inferential statistics, such as probability distributions, sampling, and testing; and descriptive statistics, such as measures of association, bivariate, and multivariate analysis. Enrollment is restricted to majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. (General Education Code(s): SR.)
SOCY 10
Issues and Problems in American Society
Lower Division
5 units
Exploration of nature, structure, and functionings of American society. Explores the following: social institutions and economic structure; the successes, failures, and intractabilities of institutions; general and distinctive features of American society; specific problems such as race, sex, and other inequalities; urban-rural differences. Fulfills lower-division major requirement.
SOCY 15
World Society
Lower Division
5 units
Introduction to comparative and historical sociology. Focuses on the global integration of human society. Examines social changes such as industrialization, globalization, colonial rule, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Uses social theory (including ideas from Marx, Weber, and Adam Smith) to explore the making of institutions like the nation-state, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Fulfills lower-division major requirement. (General Education Code(s): CC.)
SOCY 30A
Introduction to Global Information and Social Enterprise Studies
Lower Division
5 units
The first class in a three-quarter sequence that prepares students for designing social justice and sustainability projects using social-enterprise methodologies to transfer information and communications technologies (ICT) to community and non-governmental organizations. Tuesday's class topics include globalization, info-exclusion, social justice, information revolution, global civil-society networks, social entrepreneurship, and organizational assessment. Thursday's technical laboratory teaches students to develop practical ICT skills for working solidarity with community organizations in areas such as web design, graphic design, and digital networking. Enrollment limited to 70. (General Education Code(s): PE-T.)
SOCY 105A
Classical Social Theory
Upper Division
5 units
This intensive survey course examines the intellectual origins of the sociological tradition, focusing on changing conceptions of social order, social change, and the trends observed in the development of Western civilization in the modern era. Readings are all taken from original texts and include many of the classical works in social theory with special emphasis on the ideas of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, which constitute the core of the discipline. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of ELWR and Composition requirements.Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 105B
Contemporary Social Theory
Upper Division
5 units
Surveys major theoretical perspectives currently available in the discipline including functionalism, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, conflict theory, critical theory, neo-Marxism, and feminist theory. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A and satisfaction of the ELWR and Composition requirements.Enrollment restricted to junior & senior majors, proposed majors,and minors in sociology,global info & social enterprise,and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 107A
Designing ICT Projects for Social Enterprise
Upper Division
5 units
Covers designing "doable" ICT-based projects to support the goals of community and NGOs. Topics include: social entrepreneurship/enterprise case studies; step-by-step project design; integrating social and technical solutions; project management. Technical topics include: Internet resources; advanced web/database design; computer networks/maintenance. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 30A and by permission of instructor. (Formerly SOCY 30B.) Enrollment limited to 50.
SOCY 107B
Project Implementation and Grant Writing for Social Entrepreneurs
Upper Division
3 units
Covers conversion of ICT project into a fundable grant proposal for social justice, integration of social activism, entrepreneurship and justice, and implementation of project. Topics include: funders, proposal design, field methods, project assessment, innovative ICT applications, action research methods. (Formerly course 30C.) Prerequisite(s): SOCY 107A or SOCY 30B. Enrollment limited to 50.
SOCY 107F
Digital Social Enterprise and Project Management
Upper Division
2 units
Provides Everett Program Fellows with hands-on experience, working in teams, running a digital social enterprise and managing technology-linked projects implemented with student teams. Fellows work closely with faculty and staff of the Everett Program for Technology and Social change, managing and implementing all aspects of the program, including fundraising and financial administration, project planning and development, maintaining communication with community partners, and mentoring younger students in the project in their own technology learning and project implementation activities. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 30A, SOCY 107A, and SOCY 107B. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): PR-E.)
SOCY 111
Family and Society
Upper Division
5 units
Focuses on the interaction between family and society by considering the historical and social influences on family life and by examining how the family unit affects the social world. Readings draw on theory, history, and ethnographic materials. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
SOCY 113C
Topics in Civic Engagement
Upper Division
2 units
Explores the historical origins of contemporary civic polarization through the decades of political, cultural, technological. and legal changes that have resulted in our current combative political environment. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.
SOCY 114
Sports and Society
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the interconnections between sports and society using sociological theories and methods. Topics include class, race, and gender; mass media and popular culture; political economy; education and socialization; leisure patterns (participants and spectators); globalization and cross-national comparisons. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 115
Introduction to Sound Studies
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the interdisciplinary field of Sound Studies. Surveys the work of social scientists, media scholars, philosophers and others to better understand the role of sound in society. Lectures are presented in an audio-only format with a variety of listening activities and supplemental videos. By the end of the course, students will have a working understanding of the field of Sound Studies and a completed final project of their own design. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): PE-T.)
SOCY 116
Communication, Media, and Culture
Upper Division
5 units
Examines media institutions, communication technologies, and their related cultural expressions. Focuses on specific ways the media—including media studies and criticism—operates as social and cultural factor. Contemporary theory or equivalent in related fields recommended. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A and SOCY 105B. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 117E
Migrant Europe
Upper Division
5 units
Introduction to questions of immigration, nationalism, and racism in contemporary Europe. Addresses colonial roots of migration to Europe; patterns of immigration and responses to immigrants across different European regions; and political movements led by immigrants and other people of color. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1, or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or CRES 10 or LGST 10; or by permission of the instructor. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 117M
Immigration Enforcement and Deportations
Upper Division
5 units
The intensification of immigration enforcement in the United States and the associated rise of mass deportations have reached the lives of millions of immigrants and local communities. Course covers the context, determinants, and consequences of enforcement and deportation practices. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or LALS 1. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 118
Popular Music, Social Practices, and Cultural Politics
Upper Division
5 units
Considers the role of popular music as a site of contemporary social practices and cultural politics. Examines the institutional organization and production of popular music, its cultural meanings, and its social uses by different communities and social formations. Also examines popular music as a vehicle through which major cultural and political debates about identity, sexuality, community, and politics are staged and performed. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A or SOCY 105B. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.
SOCY 119
Sociology of Knowledge
Upper Division
5 units
"If people define things as real, they are real in their consequences," quipped W.I. Thomas. Surveys sociological theories about where and how knowledge comes from, and the politics of knowledge, with reference to contemporary debates surrounding issues, such as climate change, genetics, and inequality. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A or SOCY 105B, or by permission of the instructor.
SOCY 120
Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Sexuality and Cultural Politics
Upper Division
5 units
Focuses on the role feminist discourses play in cultural politics emphasizing sex, sexuality, and sex work as related to gender, race , and class. Examines the relationship between academic and popular feminisms. Interrogates post-feminism, third-wave feminism, and generational differences in feminisms. Formerly Gender, Sexuality, and Cultural Politics.) Prerequisite(s): SOCY 126 recommended. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology, critical race and ethnic studies, feminist studies, global information and enterprise, and Latin America/sociology majors, proposed majors, and minors.
SOCY 121
Sociology of Health and Medicine
Upper Division
5 units
Analysis of the current health care crises and exploration of the social relationships and formal organizations which constitute the medical institution. Study of the political, economic, and cultural factors which affect the recognition, distribution, and response to illness. Enrollment restricted to junior and senior majors and minors in BIOC; biological sciences; CMMU; CRES; SOCY; LALS/SOCY combined majors; proposed and declared biotechnology majors and proposed sociology majors.
SOCY 121G
Genomics and Society
Upper Division
5 units
Teaches critical skills for analyzing the co-production of genomics and society. Examines issues at stake as societies across the world increasingly turn to genomic data to cure disease, solve crimes, regulate immigration, revitalize economies, and answer age-old questions about who "we" are. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 10 and SOCY 105B, or by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): PE-T.)
SOCY 122
The Sociology of Law
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the social forces that shape legal outcomes and the ways law, in turn, influences social life. Traces the history and political economy of American law; the relation between law and social change; how this relation is shaped by capitalism and democracy; and how class, race, and gender are expressed in welfare and regulatory law. (Also offered as Legal Studies 122. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment is restricted to majors and minors in legal studies, sociology, Latin American/sociology combined, and global information and social enterprise.
SOCY 123
Global and Transnational Perspectives in Science and Technology Studies
Upper Division
5 units
Examines transnational dimensions of science, technology, and medicine, with special attention to knowledge production, scientific practices, and therapeutics outside of North America and Western Europe. Students develop a conceptual foundation to analyze the global scale and impacts of scientific research. . Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior SOCY, ANTH, BIOL B.A., BIOT, HIS, LGST, POLI, BIOC, CMMU, CRES, FMST, and LALS/SOCY combined majors; and GISES minors. (General Education Code(s): PE-T.)
SOCY 124
Visual Sociology
Upper Division
5 units
Learn to critically consume documentary, ethnographic film, photojournalism, and the genre of realism as these methods are increasingly used to describe the social world. Addresses theoretical, methodological, practical, and ethical issues of creating visual media. Optional media lab teaches students how to create visual products as well. Prerequisite(s): Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.
SOCY 125
Society and Nature
Upper Division
5 units
A healthy society requires a stable and sustainable relationship between society and nature. Covering past, present, and future, the course covers environmental history of the U.S., the variety and extent of environmental problems today, and explores their likely development in our lifetimes. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.)
SOCY 126
Sex and Sexuality as Social Practice and Representation
Upper Division
5 units
Explores social and cultural aspects of human sexuality and reproduction, including how and why meanings and behaviors are contested. Analyzes sexuality and reproduction as forms of social and political control as well as cultural expression and self-determination. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology, critical race and ethnic studies, feminist studies, Latin American/sociology combined, and global information and social enterprise majors, proposed majors, and minors. Enrollment limited to 90.
SOCY 127
Drugs in Society
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the history of the use and abuse of consciousness-altering substances like alcohol and other drugs. Social-psychological theories of addiction are reviewed in tandem with political-economic analyses to identify the social conditions under which the cultural practices involved in drug use come to be defined as public problems. An introductory sociology course is recommended prior to taking this course. (Also offered as Legal Studies 127. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment is restricted to majors and minors in legal studies, sociology, Latin American/sociology combined, and global information and social enterprise.
SOCY 127P
Sociology of Drugs, Botanicals and Pharmaceuticals
Upper Division
5 units
Engages the social, historical, and economic trajectories of the drugs, illicit and licit, botanical and pharmaceutical within U.S. society. Through an examination of case studies, and other texts of encounter, explores how international, state, and local actors mediate as interlocutors between globalized interests, local knowledges, and the molecules we have increasingly come to know, ingest, and incorporate. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or 10 or 15 or CRES 10; or instructor permission. Enrollment restricted to junior and senior SOCY, BIOL, BIOT, BMB, CMMU, CRES, LALS/SOCY combined, and global information and social enterprise majors, proposed majors, and minors.
SOCY 128
Law and Politics in Contemporary Japan and East Asian Societies
Upper Division
5 units
Introduction to contemporary analysis of Japan's race relations, ethnic conflicts, and a government's failure to restore remedial justice for war victims in Japan, Asia, and the U.S. Specific issues include comfort women, national or state narratives on Hiroshima, forced labor during World War II, and Haydon legislation that allows war victims to sue the Japanese government and corporations in California. (Also offered as Legal Studies 126. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in legal studies, sociology, community studies, Latin American/sociology combined, global information and social enterprise, and critical race and ethnic studies. Enrollment limited to 30.
SOCY 128A
Research Methods in Legal Studies and Critical Criminology
Upper Division
5 units
Introduces survey research methods including problem formulation, research design, instrument construction, data collection, codification, data processing, computer analyses, and report writing. The greater emphasis is placed on statistical analyses and questionnaire constructions. (Also offered as Legal Studies 128A. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Enrollment limited to 30. (General Education Code(s): SR.)
SOCY 128C
Social History of Democracy, Anarchism, and Indigenism
Upper Division
5 units
Provided an overview of socio-political theories and thoughts from Athenian Direct Democracy in 500 BC, to Classical Liberalism, Social Contract, Libertarian Socialism, Anarcho-Syndicalism, Neo-Liberalism, Anarcho-Primitism, and lastly Indigenism in relation to the revival of indigenous knowledge, the"Mother Earth" law, and the restoration of the nature's rights as espoused by many governments in the Third World today. (Also offered as Legal Studies 128C. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1, 10, or 15. Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior sociology, critical race and ethnic studies, community studies, legal studies, Latin American/sociology combined, and GISES majors, proposed majors, and minors. (General Education Code(s): CC.)
SOCY 128I
Race and Law
Upper Division
5 units
An introduction to comparative and historical analyses of the relation between race and law in the U.S. Emphasis on examinations of continuous colonial policies and structural mechanisms that help maintain and perpetuate racial inequality in law, criminal justice, and jury trials. (Formerly Race and Justice) (Also offered as Legal Studies 128I. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in legal studies, sociology, community studies, Latin American/sociology combined, global information and social enterprise, and critical race and ethnic studies. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 128J
The World Jury on Trial
Upper Division
5 units
Adoption of the jury and its varied forms in different nations provides ideal opportunities to examine differences between systems of popular legal participation. Course considers reasons why the right to jury trial is currently established in Japan or Asian societies, but abandoned or severely curtailed in others. American jury contrasted with other forms of lay participation in the legal process. (Also offered as Legal Studies 128J. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in legal studies, sociology, community studies, Latin American/sociology combined, global information and social enterprise, and critical race and ethnic studies. Enrollment limited to 30.
SOCY 128M
International Law and Global Justice
Upper Division
5 units
Examines war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the evolution and role of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Examines the evolution of the concept of international law, the rationale for its birth and existence, roots of international conflicts and genocides, possible remedies available to victims, mechanisms for the creation and enforcement of international legal order, as well as the role of colonialism, migration, poverty, race/ethnic conflicts, gender, and international corporations in creating and maintaining conflicts and wars. (Also offered as Legal Studies 128M. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in legal studies, sociology, community studies, Latin American/sociology combined, global information and social enterprise, and critical race and ethnic studies. Enrollment limited to 30.
SOCY 129
Popular Culture and Cultural Studies
Upper Division
5 units
Examines the hidden politics of popular pleasure, studying the workings of domination and transgression in popular culture and everyday life. Explores not only media representations but cultural practices as well. Examines both cultural production and consumption. Considers how hegemonic discourses render the politics of resistance invisible. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A or SOCY 105B. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 130
Sociology of Food
Upper Division
5 units
Following food from mouth to dirt, explores the politics, economy, and culture of eating, feeding, buying, selling, and growing food. Topics cover both the political economy of the food system as well as how body and nature are contested categories at either "end" of this system. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors. Enrollment is restricted to sociology majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors. Enrollment limited to 60.
SOCY 131
Media, Marketing, and Culture
Upper Division
5 units
Explores relationship between modern forms of cultural production and the economy and society in which they emerge. Course reads, screens, and discusses variety of the cultural texts: from the historical and theoretical to the commercial, popular, and counter-cultural. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, community studies, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 132
Sociology of Science and Technology
Upper Division
5 units
Reviews social and cultural perspectives on science and technology, including functionalist, Marxist, Kuhnian, social constructionist, ethnographic, interactionist, anthropological, historical, feminist, and cultural studies perspectives. Topics include sociology of knowledge, science as a social problem, lab studies, representations, practice, controversies, and biomedical knowledge and work. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors/minors in sociology; biology; biochemistry; community studies; critical race/ethnic studies; global information/social enterprise; Latin American studies/sociology combined; proposed sociology majors. Enrollment limited to 20.
SOCY 133
Currents in African American Cultural Politics
Upper Division
5 units
Takes as its subject, the dialogues, debates, conceptions, and strategies of self representation produced by blacks in the U.S. and Atlantic world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These issues are examined through the insights of feminist theory, cultural studies, media studies, sociology, and African American studies. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.
SOCY 134
Television and the Nation
Upper Division
5 units
The role of American network television in the production of the post-war American national imagination is our focus. Our approach will explore issues of media power, especially television's industrial apparatus, its network structure, its strategies of representation in relationship to the construction of the image of the nation, and the meaning of citizens, consumers, and audiences. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors and minors in sociology, Latin America and Latino studies/sociology combined, global information and social enterprise studies, history, literature, and film and digital media.
SOCY 135
Healing Justice
Upper Division
5 units
This experiential course explores the theoretical foundations, history, and future of healing justice as a framework using an embodied approach. Healing justice has shaped wide-ranging fields, from grassroots organizing and holistic health, to grant-making, and education. While the framework informs a dynamic movement, healing justice is grounded in consistent commitments like collective healing; centering Black, indigenous and people of color knowledges; and more that guide this course. Grounded in somatic or embodied inquiry, students engage various materials—from academic articles to poetry—using some of the restorative practices that are central to healing justice work. . Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A and SOCY 105B, or by permission of the instructor. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 136
Social Psychology
Upper Division
5 units
Major theories and concepts in sociological study of social psychology. Topics include identity and social interaction, deviance, sociology of emotions, social narratives, and the social construction of reality. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology and Latin American studies/sociology majors and proposed majors, and sociology and global information and social enterprise minors. Enrollment limited to 218. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 137
Deviance and Conformity
Upper Division
5 units
Why certain social acts are considered threatening and how individuals or groups become stigmatized. Sociological analysis of the institutions and processes of social control and the experience of becoming deviant and living with a stigmatized identity. Introductory course in sociology recommended. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology majors, minors, and proposed majors, global information and social enterprise studies minors, and Latin American and Latino studies/sociology combined majors and proposed majors. Enrollment limited to 68. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 139
Field Research Methods
Upper Division
5 units
Research practicum which examines methods and problems of qualitative field research both through examining literature published in this tradition and by carrying out directed field exercises. Students also design and carry out their own research project. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 3A. Enrollment limited to 20.
SOCY 139D
Critical Digital Methods
Upper Division
5 units
Introduces critical digital methods to examine ethical and epistemological concerns with Big Data, archives and digital collections, organizational records, mobile ethnographies, social media, and crowd-sourced data. Students use open-source text mining and data-visualization programs. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1, SOCY 10, or SOCY 15; and SOCY 3A. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology, Latin American and Latino studies/sociology, and global information and social enterprise majors, proposed majors, and minors. Enrollment limited to 35.
SOCY 139G
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Upper Division
5 units
Introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) including methods to analyze geographic data and create maps. Students learn software, such as Google Map APIs and Bing Maps APIs, and focus on the ArcGIS mapping software. A course in statistics is recommended as preparation. Enrollment restricted to junior and senior anthropology, environmental studies, sociology, Latin American and Latino studies/sociology combined, and GISES majors, proposed majors, and minors; other majors by permission of instructor.
SOCY 139I
Community Engaged Research, Learning and Internships
Upper Division
5 units
Introduction to critical community engaged learning and research for social change as practiced within the Sociology Department. Students build out their own internship and/or research objectives centering ethical community engaged practices. Students supported in locating internships, learning about various approaches to community engaged research and learning, and connecting to a range of opportunities to engage both on and off campus. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is restricted to sociology majors and proposed majors, Latin American and Latino studies/sociology combined majors and proposed majors, and GISES minors. (General Education Code(s): PR-S.)
SOCY 139T
Community-Engaged Research Practicum
Upper Division
5 units
Covers the theories and methods associated with community-based and participatory action research. Students review relevant scholarship then engage in a collective field research project in collaboration with a community organization. Themes, collaborations, and research projects vary. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 140
Social Psychology of Power
Upper Division
5 units
This course uses historical, sociological, and social psychological materials to introduce students to issues concerning class and power, religion and power, minorities and power, women and power, the rise of the New Right, and the successes and failures of the Left. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1, SOCY 10, SOCY 15, or PSYC 40. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.
SOCY 141
Social Welfare
Upper Division
5 units
Familiarizes students with the major social welfare programs and policies in the U.S., exploring changes in conceptualizations of social welfare, and offering a critical perspective on the present-day welfare state. . Prerequisite(s): Two courses chosen from SOCY 1, SOCY 10, and SOCY 15. Enrollment restricted to soph., jr., and sr. majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 142
Language and Social Interaction
Upper Division
5 units
Concerns the routine and taken-for-granted activities that make up our interactions with one another, consisting in large part—but not exclusively—of verbal exchanges. Emphasis on the socially situated character of communication, whether intimacy between two people or dominance of a group. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, language studies, linguistics, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 57.
SOCY 143
Black Botanical Medicine in the Americas
Upper Division
5 units
How have plants been part of Black-led community health and healing in the Americas? How has this botanical knowledge been central to material and discursive geographies of blackness; to how blackness is lived; and to how blackness is constructed in health narratives, policy, and movements? In addition to learning about Black botanical knowledge in North and Latin America (African-American and Afro-Latinx), students analyze their own social locations; interrogate assumptions about local and traditional plant knowledge; and encounter broad understandings of health that include environmental, economic, and spiritual dimensions. Students engage with academic texts, news stories, art, and creative writing. . Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or CRES 10 or CRES 68 or POLI/ANTH/BIOL 89, or by instructor permission. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 145
Sociology of Masculinities
Upper Division
5 units
Examines conflicting views on the development and state of modern masculinity as adaptation, transitional phase, or pathology. Did men lose the "gender war"? Do boys need rescuing? What are common and divergent social experiences of men within race, class, gender, culture, era? An introductory sociology course recommended. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, psychology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors.
SOCY 146
Introduction to Population Health
Upper Division
5 units
Why do people live longer today than they did 50 years ago? What drives differences in health between neighborhoods or nations? This course introduces students to questions and concepts central to the study of population health—an interdisciplinary field based in demography, sociology, and epidemiology. It examines the policy implications and limitations of research on population health. Students practice evaluating evidence, translating big-picture concepts into measurable variables, and working with data. Student learning is evaluated through class discussion forums, quizzes, data interpretation assignments, and a take-home final exam. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): SI.)
SOCY 147
Health in a Changing America
Upper Division
5 units
What about America is making Americans sick? In this interdisciplinary course, students consider the changing social context of health in the United States and the social and political commitments necessary to protect health as a human right. Students analyze current challenges at the intersection of structural racism, political values, and health, and examine the ways that framing health as personal versus public responsibility is consequential for social policy. Using case studies, students envision a human rights- based response to these and other health challenges. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. . Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 148
Educational Inequality
Upper Division
5 units
Examines educational inequality in the United States, focusing on contemporary debates and issues, especially in the California context. Covers schooling from preschool to higher education, and examines educational inequality from a system, setting, and individual-level perspective. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 3A and SOCY 3B, or by instructor permission. Enrollment restricted to junior, senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, education, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology. Enrollment limited to 45. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 149
Sex and Gender
Upper Division
5 units
Modern analyses of sexuality and gender show personal life closely linked to large-scale social structures: power relations, economic processes, structures of emotion. Explores these links, examining questions of bodily difference, femininity and masculinity, structures of inequality, the state in sexual politics, and the global re-making of gender in modern history. Recommended as background: any lower-division sociology course. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors.
SOCY 150
Sociology of Death and Dying
Upper Division
5 units
Explores contemporary, historical, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives on the social psychology of death and dying. Cultural norms and institutional contexts are studied, along with the individual experience, and the ways in which our perspectives on death and dying influence our experiences of life and living. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
SOCY 152
Body and Society
Upper Division
5 units
Critically examines the place of the human body in contemporary society. Focuses on the social and cultural construction of bodies, including how they are gendered, racialized, sexualized, politicized, represented, colonized, contained, controlled, and inscribed. Discusses relationship between embodiment, lived experiences, and social action. Focuses on body politics in Western society and culture, especially the United States. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors and minors and proposed majors and minors in sociology, global information and enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 50.
SOCY 153
Sociology of Emotions
Upper Division
5 units
Examines sociological approaches to the understanding of emotions and the application of these approaches to work, learning, interpersonal relationships, health and illness, sports, and other aspects of everyday life. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors.
SOCY 155
Political Consciousness
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the relationship between consciousness, ideology, and political behaviors from voting to rebellion. Special attention is given to the lived experience and the identity interests that complicate the nexus of class position and political ideology. An introductory sociology course is recommended as preparation.
SOCY 156
U.S. Latinx Identities: Centers and Margins
Upper Division
5 units
Explores historical and contemporary constructions of Latinx identities and experiences in U.S. Particular emphasis placed on transcultural social contexts, racial formations, and intersections with other identities including sexuality and gender. (Formerly U.S. Latina/o Identities: Centers and Margins). Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and enterprise, Latin American studies, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 50. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 157
Sexualities and Society
Upper Division
5 units
Explores controversies in the sociology of sexuality. Focuses on tensions and disagreements that characterize debates over sex and society, and attempts to identify political and theoretical issues at stake in these debates. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, feminist studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 30.
SOCY 158
Politics of Sex Work and Erotic Labor
Upper Division
5 units
Examines sex work in an historical and cultural context, considering how it has changed over time. Considers the relationship of pornography, exotic dance, and selling sex on the Internet to racialization, queer politics, globalization, and tourism. Employs theories and methods of cultural studies in rethinking historical debates on sex work. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 120 and SOCY 126. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, feminist studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 159
Pregnancy and Birth
Upper Division
5 units
Examines the socio-cultural processes that shape the meanings, experiences, institutions, and outcomes of pregnancy and birth. Pregnancy and birth serve as a microcosm for understanding the interlocking forces of patriarchy, racial capitalism, and white supremacy, as well as the gendered and sexualized meanings and practices that work to discipline individuals and naturalize those processes. As such, course examines institutional efforts to control the reproductive capacities of people with wombs, as well as resistance to those efforts. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 160
Solving Homelessness
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the phenomenon of homelessness and potential solutions to this troubling and persistent feature of American society. Discussions center on social research, historical context, and community and political discourse as they relate to homelessness at both the local and global level with the goal of better understanding what the trends in these areas mean for service providers, government entities, advocates, and our unhoused community members. While the course readings often center on theories and data, a key component this course is field visits and expert presentations, which introduce students to key individuals and organizations doing work or making policy to address homelessness. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors or by permission of the instructor.
SOCY 162
Sociology of Organizations
Upper Division
5 units
Introduces students to a range of sociological approaches to the study of organizations. Covers the origins of organizations and informal organization. Also introduces a number of theoretical approaches to organizational studies. The course is relevant for organizational analyses applied in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In addition to reading foundational texts and theory, students also apply key concepts in the course to assignments with real-world applications. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is restricted to sociology, Latin American and Latino studies/sociology, and global information and social enterprise studies majors. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 163
Global Corporations and National States
Upper Division
5 units
Examines the nature and development of the capitalist world system since 1945. Emphasis is on the power of multinational corporations as managers of the world system and the response of states: role of multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 164
Capitalism and Its Critics
Upper Division
5 units
Through comparative analysis of texts by several social theorists, explores the rise and consequences of capitalism. How has capitalism affected how humans understand and act in the world? How do oppressions along the lines of race, gender, sexuality, and nations intersect with capitalism? Is resistance desirable and/or possible? Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology, global information and enterprise, and combined Latin American and Latin Studies/sociology majors, proposed majors, and minors, or by instructor permission. (General Education Code(s): TA.)
SOCY 164T
Marx and Marxist Theory
Upper Division
5 units
Along with studying Marx's anatomy of capitalist society, this course also explores the work of Marxist theorists from the early 20th century through the contemporary moment. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 105A or consent of instructor.
SOCY 166
Economics for Non-Economists
Upper Division
5 units
Fosters economic literacy among students who are not economics majors but are interested in the political and social ramifications of economic change. Emphasizes economic institutions and policy and is taught by case-study method, which requires active student participation. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 40.
SOCY 167
Development and Underdevelopment
Upper Division
5 units
Examines contemporary debates about development in the Third World: alternative meanings of development, recent work on the impact of colonial rule, how some economies have industrialized, ideas about agrarian change, and recent research on paths out of poverty. Students work in pairs to examine a development in one country since World War II. SOCY 15 recommended. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, anthropology, politics, global economics, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors.
SOCY 168
Social Justice
Upper Division
5 units
Explores sociological approaches to the quest for--and the realization of--social justice. Examines a range of approaches to such ongoing challenges as racism, sexism, gendered discrimination, classism, poverty, violence, militarism, environmental devastation, ableism, and ageism using non-fiction literature and biographical anthologies. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 60.
SOCY 169
Social Inequality
Upper Division
5 units
A survey of theories and systems of social stratification focusing on such phenomena as race, class, power, and prestige. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors. Enrollment limited to 48.
SOCY 170
Ethnicity and Race
Upper Division
5 units
Examines the enduring and changing status of ethnic and racialized minority groups in the United States, such as Latina/os, African Americans, Asian Americans, indigenous peoples within the U.S., as intersecting, historically situated, and dynamically produced categories of social identity and organization. (Formerly Ethnic and Status Groups.) Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or CRES 10. Satisfies American History and Institutions Requirement. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 170P
The Political Economy of Race
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the enduring racial and economic legacies of slavery and colonialism in relation to contemporary social problems, with an emphasis on segregation, policing, the prison industrial complex, immigration, and borders. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or CRES 10, or by permission of the instructor. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 171
Exploring Global Inequality
Upper Division
5 units
Seminar focusing on readings of key texts and recent research papers on several dimensions of global inequality (material, health, gender, cultural, migration) to find innovative ways of understanding the connections among different dimensions of inequality and of visualizing inequality in digital media. Students prepare visual presentations on contemporary social inequalities suitable for an online (for example, http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/) or print atlas. Enrollment is restricted to seniors. Enrollment limited to 30.
SOCY 172
Sociology of Social Movements
Upper Division
5 units
Through readings on social movements that span the 20th century, course examines the causes of popular mobilizations, their potential for rapid social change, and the theories developed to understand and explain their role in modern social life. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors. Enrollment limited to 40. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.)
SOCY 173
Water
Upper Division
5 units
Analyzes access to clean water, both in the American West and global South. Reviews water quality, pivotal role of water in settlement and society, history and contemporary inequalities, water supplies, international conflict over water, climate change, and human use of water. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior sociology majors, and proposed majors, and minors in sociology, environmental studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 60. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.)
SOCY 173X
Water and Sanitation Justice
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the many manifestations of water and sanitation justice and injustice on interlocking scales (i.e. local, national, transnational) while illustrating analytical ideas connecting a range of social processes including claims for human rights, deprivation and exclusion, urbanization and infrastructure development, and privatization of land and water. Looks at various case studies in high-income and low-income countries and uses key technical and social concepts to examine rights, equity, and justice with respect to water and sanitation. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.)
SOCY 174
Tools for Human Rights Advocacy and Practice
Upper Division
5 units
Presents professional practices in the international field of human rights leading to improvements in people's lives. Addresses recent political developments in the global application of human rights and exposes students to strategic tools—''levers of effectiveness''—used to promote the realization of human rights standards. Course also presents the work of key international and local non-governmental organizations in promoting the capacities of rights holder to claim and enjoy their rights and in persuading duty bearers to fulfill their human rights obligations. Prerequisites: SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15 or LGST 10 or by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is restricted to proposed and declared sophomore, junior, and senior majors in SOCY, LGST, LALS, and SOCY combined studies, and GISES minors.
SOCY 176
Women and Work
Upper Division
5 units
Examines the history of women and work; women's current conditions of work and political, economic, and social factors affecting these conditions; means by which women may shape working conditions including contributing leadership, developing policies, building unity, and creating alliances. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, feminist studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 176A
Work and Inequality
Upper Division
5 units
Addresses how work is organized and shapes life changes. Covers: the history of paid work; the impact of technology; race/class/gender at work; professional and service work; work and family; collective responses to work; and challenges of work in a globalizing economy. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, community studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors.
SOCY 177
Urban Sociology
Upper Division
5 units
Historical and contemporary examination of urban life including community, race, geography, urban and suburban cultures and lifestyles, stratification, housing, crime, economic and environmental issues, demographic changes, and global urbanization. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 60.
SOCY 177A
Latinos/as and the American Global City
Upper Division
5 units
Examines roles of emerging Latino/a majorities in urban centers across the U.S. Explores the "Latinization" of U.S. cities and various factors affecting the life chances of Latinos/as including, but not limited to, immigration, segregation, social movements, and other forms of political participation. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, Latin American and latino studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. Enrollment limited to 40.
SOCY 177E
Eco-Metropolis: Research Seminar in Urban and Environmental Studies
Upper Division
5 units
Explores the intersection of cities and the environment through the emerging field of urban environmental studies. Focuses on varied and often contested efforts at "urban sustainability" in recent history. Draws on literatures in environmental history, environmental and urban sociology, geography, political ecology, and cultural studies. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, community studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 177G
Global Cities
Upper Division
5 units
Explores how "global cities" have facilitated increasing integration of the diverse cultures and economies of the world. Using historical, sociological, and comparative methods, analyzes how these spaces both enable and constrain transnational flows of capital, labor, information, and culture. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, community studies, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 178
Sociology of Social Problems
Upper Division
5 units
Views "problems" in society not as given but as social constructs. Examines the ways in which conditions in society become identified and defined as problems and consequences that follow from such a process. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 178T
Special Topics in Sociology
Upper Division
5 units
Taught on a rolling basis by faculty members with each offering varying by instructor. Topics are announced by the department. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or SOCY 10 or SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 178Z
Disability and Society
Upper Division
5 units
An in-depth exploration of Disability Studies, an interdisciplinary field of research that seeks to question and critique dominant Western understandings of "disability" and to advance discussions around issues of intersectionality, equality, inclusionary politics of access, and social justice. (General Education Code(s): ER.)
SOCY 179
Nature, Poverty, and Progress: Dilemmas of Development and Environment
Upper Division
5 units
Concerns about environmental change, including global warming, threats to the ozone layer, and industrial pollution, raise questions about Third World development. Simple views of the relation between society and nature, such as blaming population growth, industrialization, or poor people, seem to preclude higher living standards. Uses debates and case studies to explore more subtle and optimistic views of social-natural relations. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in environmental studies, sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors. SOCY15 recommended.
SOCY 180
Social Movements of the 1960s
Upper Division
5 units
Examines the roots, development, and political outcomes of black civil rights organizations during the Sixties. Explores social and structural forces, mobilization of black communities, strategies and tactics used, nature of the relationships between various civil rights organizations, unity and disunity among organizations, leadership gains, and impact on race relations in the U.S. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors. Enrollment limited to 45.
SOCY 184
Hunger and Famine
Upper Division
5 units
Why do famines happen? Why are some hungry and some over-fed? Recent advances in the understanding of food crises and chronic undernutrition are the focus of this course. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined.
SOCY 185
Environmental Inequality
Upper Division
5 units
Modern society not only assaults nature, it does so in ways that reproduce existing social inequalities. This course reviews three types of contemporary environmental inequality (environmental racism, displacement, and privilege), and the processes that produced them, with a focus on industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of capitalism in Europe and the United States. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, community studies, global information and social enterprise, environmental studies, and Latin American studies/sociology combined. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.)
SOCY 186
Field Research Methods
Upper Division
5 units
Introduction to field research methods that consider theory, methodological challenges, and epistemology in conducting research. Explains the research process, including designing research questions, interview instruments, concepts maps, and methods of data collection, and data analysis. (Meets the methods requirement in Latin America and Latino studies.) (Also offered as Latin American&Latino Studies 186. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Prerequisite(s): LALS 100; and LALS 100A or LALS 100W. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior Latin American and Latino studies majors, minors, and combined majors and Sociology majors.
SOCY 187
Feminist Theory
Upper Division
5 units
Examination of shifts in 20th- and 21st-century feminist theory and epistemology. Considers various deconstructive challenges to second wave feminism based on the politics of race, ethnicity, nation, sexuality, and class. Focus changes regularly. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 1 or FMST 1. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Enrollment limited to 35.
SOCY 188A
Social Change in the Global Economy
Upper Division
5 units
Explores local dimensions of globalization, focusing on experiencing more global divisions of labor in both industrialized and developing countries. Themes include: economic integration and dislocation; new forms of governance; globalizing consumption and culture; gender; and popular resistance. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 15. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior majors, proposed majors, and minors in sociology, global information and social enterprise, and Latin American studies/sociology combined majors. (General Education Code(s): CC.)
SOCY 196G
Project Practicum: Global Information and Social Enterprise
Upper Division
5 units
Project practicum and evaluation are required for completion of major or minor in global information and social enterprise studies (GISES). Projects require approval in advance by the director of GISES. Completed projects must be uploaded electronically on the website or archive of the Everett Program. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 30C or SOCY 107B. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 196S
Senior Seminar
Upper Division
5 units
Small seminars that focus on advanced topics in sociology. The pedagogical aims vary but these seminars often emphasize at least one of the following: close textual analysis, critical and analytical thinking, active learning, field research, advanced research methods, or advanced theory. Topics vary yearly; consult current course listings. Enrollment by application with selection based on appropriate background and by consent of instructor. Satisfies senior comprehensive requirement. Restricted to senior sociology majors. . May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 200A
Social Theory 1
Graduate
5 units
The first in a three-quarter theory sequence that surveys major schools of modern social and political thought, including political economy, structuralism, post-structuralism, phenomenology, global Marxisms, post-colonial theory, critical race theory, and queer and feminist theory. Each quarter covers three thematic modules from the following: the history of sociology and the social sciences; the Enlightenment and the social turn; modernity and its others; political economy; culture and cultural politics; identity, subjectivity, consciousness; the social production of difference; the human and its others; space, place, and power. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students or by permission of the instructor.
SOCY 200B
Social Theory 2
Graduate
5 units
The second in the three-quarter theory sequence that surveys major schools of modern social and political thought, including political economy, structuralism, post-structuralism, phenomenology, global Marxisms, post-colonial theory, critical race theory, and queer and feminist theory. Each quarter covers three thematic modules from the following: the history of sociology and the social sciences; the Enlightenment and the social turn; modernity and its others; political economy; culture and cultural politics; identity, subjectivity, consciousness; the social production of difference; the human and its others; space, place, and power. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 200A. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students or by permission of the instructor.
SOCY 200C
Social Theory 3
Graduate
5 units
The third in Sociology’s three-quarter theory sequence that surveys major schools of modern social and political thought, including political economy, structuralism, post-structuralism, phenomenology, global Marxisms, post-colonial theory, critical race theory, and queer and feminist theory. Each quarter covers three thematic modules from the following: the history of sociology and the social sciences; the Enlightenment and the social turn; modernity and its others; political economy; culture and cultural politics; identity, subjectivity, consciousness; the social production of difference; the human and its others; space, place, and power. Prerequisites: SOCY 200A and 200B. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students or by permission of the instructor.
SOCY 201
The Making of Classical Theory
Graduate
5 units
Examines the establishment of "theory" in the discipline of sociology. Introduces students to close readings and analysis of a core selection of social theory. Problematizes the construction, maintenance, and reproduction of a theoretical canon in sociology. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students and by permission number. Enrollment limited to 20.
SOCY 202
Contemporary Sociological Theory
Graduate
5 units
Intensive survey of major tendencies in modern social thought, including functionalism, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, critical theory, structuralism, phenomenology, neo-Marxism, and feminist theory. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students and by permission number.
SOCY 203
Sociological Methods
Graduate
5 units
Approaches methods as a series of conscious and strategic choices for doing various kinds of research. Introduces students to the epistemological questions of method in social sciences; to key issues in "technique," particularly control, reliability, and validity; and to good examples of social research. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students and by permission number.
SOCY 204
Methods of Quantitative Analysis
Graduate
5 units
Students are provided with intuitive explanation of fundamental concepts in statistics and learn how to use statistics to answer sociological questions. Experience and guidance in using computers to efficiently analyze data are provided. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students and by permission number. Enrollment limited to 20.
SOCY 205
Field Research Methods
Graduate
5 units
Gives students first-hand experience doing fieldwork with an emphasis on participant observation and some interviewing. Students submit weekly field notes and a final project analysis. At seminar meetings, field experiences and relevant literature are examined. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students and by permission number. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 206
Comparative Historical Methods
Graduate
5 units
Overview of research strategies and methods used in historical and social sciences. Students read works exemplifying a variety of analytical approaches. Written assignments cultivate critical skills, weighing of tradeoffs inherent in all methodological choices, and elaboration of hypothetical research designs. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 20.
SOCY 208
Writing Practicum
Graduate
5 units
Writing intensive course designed to facilitate the completion of the master's thesis, orals field statement, or the dissertation in sociology. The seminar is convened by a faculty member in conjunction with students and their adviser or appropriate committee chair. Students are expected to produce and present drafts of work completed in the seminar. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students and by permission number. Enrollment limited to 12.
SOCY 209
The Analysis of Cultural Forms
Graduate
5 units
Examines material and symbolic forms such as media products, cultural artifacts, language, nonverbal communication and social practices using discourse, textual, content, interpretive, and conversation analyses as well as ethnography and different channels of communication. Theoretically, relies on cultural studies, communication studies, cultural sociology, film studies, and ethnomethodology. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students.
SOCY 220
Global Transformation: Macrosociological Perspectives
Graduate
5 units
Classical concepts and contemporary approaches in macrosociology, the study of large-scale, long term social change. Readings drawn primarily from the Marxian and Weberian traditions (new institutionalism, varieties of neo-Marxism, environmental history, state centrism) as they focus on agrarian and industrial structures and commodity chains; household, village, and neighborhood organization; social movements and revolutions; culture, ideology, and consciousness; policy analysis; comparative urban, national, and civilizational development. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 222
Political Sociology
Graduate
5 units
A survey of major works and themes in the relationship of politics and society, with primary emphasis on the compatibilities and contradictions of pluralist, elite, and class perspectives on the state. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
SOCY 223
Sociology of the Environment
Graduate
5 units
Advanced treatment of the dominant ideas of nature and the environment in the West and their relationship to the development of Western capitalism. Leading Western theories of environmental crisis and their relation with ideologies of environmentalism and environmental movements. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 20. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 224
Globalization: Theories and Social Movements
Graduate
5 units
Examines the structures, processes, and movements associated with globalization processes. Reviews political economy theories, cultural theories systems, state industrial policies, and popular responses to globalization. Also assesses contribution of resistance movements informed by class, ethno-nationalism, religion, or gender. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 25. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 225
Political Economy for Sociologists
Graduate
5 units
Examines rudiments of historical materialism in light of advances in cultural and ecological Marxism. Basic categories of Marxist political economy. Thematic focus on the "first" and "second" contradictions of capitalism in world economy today. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 227
Learning from Environmental Historians
Graduate
5 units
Looks at several major themes in the sociology of the environment and asks how the works of environmental history address those themes. Includes reflections on how history as a method interrogates social questions. Possible themes include: sustainability; social justice; universalism vs. particularity; city and country; and social movements. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 8.
SOCY 229
Work and Labor Markets in the New Economy
Graduate
5 units
Focuses on the interaction of work restructuring and existing race/class/gender inequalities. Themes include: the labor process and theories of consent; labor market segmentation; job and occupational segregation; information technologies, flexible work, and post-industrialism; flexible employment relations; and low-wage service and labor markets. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
SOCY 230
Theory and Method in the Sociology of Marx
Graduate
5 units
Examines theoretical and methodological implications of Marxist theory for empirical social research. Analyzes how historians and social scientists apply Marxist method in explaining society, social change, globalization, culture, and late capitalism. Goal is to assist students to employ Marxist theory and method creatively in their research projects. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12.
SOCY 240
Inequality and Identity
Graduate
5 units
Explores recent theoretical and empirical studies of race, class, gender, and sexuality with an emphasis on the production of identities and their relationship to processes and structures of power in a postcolonial context. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students.
SOCY 241
Cross-National and Cross-Cultural Research
Graduate
5 units
Seminar examining theoretical and methodological issues in doing cross-national and cross-cultural research. In addition to a consideration of different research paradigms and approaches, representative works from each comparative tradition are examined. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 242
Feminist Research Seminar
Graduate
5 units
Provides scholarly support to students doing feminist research. Examines issues concerning conceptualization of feminism and feminist research. Explores relation of feminist research to intersections of gender, class, and race; to the self; to power; and to transformative social praxis. Students present and are given assistance with their work, as well as listen to, read, and assist with the work of others. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 244
Race and Ethnicity
Graduate
5 units
A critical survey of the theoretical issues of persistence and change, public policy, and recent empirical studies in the field of race and ethnic relations. Readings introduce comparative race relations and a historical background of major theoretical paradigms in the field which purport to explain race and ethnic relations in general and race relations in America specifically. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 245
Feminist Theory
Graduate
5 units
Examination of shifts in 20th- and 21st-century feminist theory and epistemology. Explores the decentering of universalist feminist theories and asks what constitutes feminist theory after gender has been decentered. Considers various deconstructive challenges to second-wave feminist theory based on the politics of race, ethnicity, nation, sexuality, and class. Focus changes regularly. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12.
SOCY 246
Class, Culture, and Movement
Graduate
5 units
Analyzes impact of ethnicity, gender, and religion on the class situation of laboring people in a globalized economy by intensive reading and critique of classic studies, explaining how social movements reflect combinations of social relations and cultural practices. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 247
Race and Class
Graduate
5 units
Introduces the student to the recent literature on race and class. Covers several different theoretical perspectives including internal colonialism, labor market segmentation theories, racial formation, and neo-gramscian cultural analyses. In addition to study of theory, also compares theoretical perspectives to the historical experience of minority groups, in particular, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students.
SOCY 249
Feminisms and Cultural Politics
Graduate
5 units
Focuses on the role feminist discourses play in contemporary cultural politics with the main focus on the politics of sex, sexuality, and sex work. Begins with considerations of (mis)representations of feminisms in popular cultures; considers the relationship between academic and popular feminisms; and interrogates the meaning of terms post-feminism and third-wave feminism. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
SOCY 250
Course Design and Grant-Writing Seminar
Graduate
5 units
A professional training seminar devoted to the philosophical, conceptual, and practical issues of course design, pedagogy, and grant writing. Topics covered: institutional contexts; curriculum (including syllabi, course content, assignments, evaluation); pedagogy; teaching as work/labor process; grant writing; budgets. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 252
Symbolic Interactionism and Sociology of Emotions
Graduate
5 units
Examines classic and contemporary theories and concepts that play a major role in sociological studies of identity, symbolic and social interaction, and the sociology of emotions. Examines how cultural forms, rules, and rituals define, structure, and mediate emotions and how identities are situated within social institutions. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 253
Race, Crime, and Justice
Graduate
5 units
Covers empirical research on ''race, crime, and justice'' from multiple methodological and theoretical traditions in social science research. The course draws on historical examples of slavery, state violence, and crimes against humanity across the globe. Also covers research on the entanglement of race and crime in the United States, both historically and today. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 255
Engaging Cultural Studies
Graduate
5 units
Examines feminist and ethnic studies production, appropriation, and transformation of cultural studies theories and methodologies. Considers the utility of various theoretical apparatuses and methodological strategies employed in the interdisciplinary site that combines feminist, ethnic, and cultural studies. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 256
Urban Sociology
Graduate
5 units
Introduction to core writings and key theoretical pardigms in urban sociology. Examines the history and contemporary conditions of cities in the U.S. and the urban experience. Urbanization, suburbanization, community, social inequality, urban politics, relationship between the built environment and human behavior. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
SOCY 257
Colonialism, International Law, and Global Justice
Graduate
5 units
Examines colonialism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and legal remedies, and the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC); traces the history of colonial expansionism, starting from the Roman Empire to the present American imperial dominance in global politics. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 258
Global Lay Justice Systems and Direct Democracy
Graduate
5 units
Introduces historical analysis of lay justice participation. Examines global exploration of the use of lay judge institutions in citizen's movements and the assumption that juries are a derivative institution of democratic ideals. Focuses on corporate media creation of anti-jury sentiment. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 259
Space and the Politics of Difference
Graduate
5 units
Brings together the fields of sociology and geography to explore the complex and multiple ways of thinking together space and social difference. Course texts examine the co-constitution of space with bodies, subjectivities, and social formations. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12.
SOCY 260
Culture, Knowledge, Power
Graduate
5 units
An introduction to theoretical approaches and exemplary studies of culture, knowledge, and power which critically interrogate the relationship between cultural formations and the production, circulation, and meaning of knowledges, materials, artifacts, and symbolic forms. Explores the concrete ways that power is organized and operates through different forms and sites, how it interpolates with other forms of power, and examines knowledges and culture as specific forms of power and sites of political struggle. Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 261
Sociology of Knowledge
Graduate
5 units
Explores three main issues: the social determination of knowledge, including natural science; the character of intellectual labor and intellectuals as a social group; the role of organized knowledge and "knowledge industries" in contemporary social change. Texts examined include class-based theories (Lukacs, Mannheim, Gramsci), feminist standpoint analysis (Smith, Harding, etc.), and theories of postmodern culture (Lyotard, Harvey, etc.). Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 20.
SOCY 262
Cultural Practice and Everyday Life
Graduate
5 units
Examines contemporary debates about the role of mass produced expressive symbols in modern industrial societies, and the circumstances of cultural production for its impact on the creation, organization, and use of cultural artifacts. Concern with the use and experience of popular symbols for the ways that their use involves the creation of meanings and the role of such meanings in the social organization of society. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 263
Cultural Politics of Difference
Graduate
5 units
Considers the cultural turn and the turn to difference in understanding relations of power and struggles over representation in studies of race, media, and culture. Examines national identity, difference, subjectivity, and authenticity, especially as they bear on quests to create new identifications, alignments, and efforts to protect existing identities. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 264
Science, Technology, and Medicine
Graduate
5 units
Explores social and cultural perspectives on science, technology, and medicine. Analyzes theoretical approaches that open up "black boxes" of scientific and biomedical knowledge, including the politics of bodies, objects, and health/illness. Links are made to medical sociology. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
SOCY 268A
Science and Justice: Experiments in Collaboration
Graduate
5 units
Considers the practical and epistemological necessity of collaborative research in the development of new sciences and technologies that are attentive to questions of ethics and justice. Enrollment is by permission of instructor. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. (Also offered as Biomolecular Engineering 268A and Feminist Studies 268A and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies 268A. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 268B
Science and Justice Research Seminar
Graduate
5 units
Provides in-depth instruction in conducting collaborative interdisciplinary research. Students produce a final research project that explores how this training might generate research that is more responsive to the links between questions of knowledge and questions of justice. Prerequisite(s): SOCY 268A, BME 268A, FMST 268A, or ANTH 267A. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students and by permission of the instructor. (Also offered as Feminist Studies 268B and Biomolecular Engineering 268B and Anthropology 267B. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment limited to 15.
SOCY 282
Social Policy Research
Graduate
5 units
Policy research. Covers a variety of theoretical perspectives found in policy studies. Surveys various methodological approaches used in policy research. Theories and methods linked to research agendas on the various phases of the policy life cycle. Students are required to design a research proposal. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 290
Advanced Topics in Sociological Analysis
Graduate
5 units
The topics to be analyzed each year vary with the instructor but focus upon a specific research area. Enrollment restricted to graduate students by consent of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 290W
Sociological Analysis Working Group
Graduate
2 units
This two-credit course, repeatable for credit, brings together faculty and graduate students interested and actively engaged in a particular research area, and does so in a variety of ways. May include: close readings and discussion, invited speakers, sharing of student and faculty work, and field trips. Working group framework enhances one-on-one mentoring experiences by creating a scholarly community and support structure on campus for scholars in this area, and by introducing students to a range of faculty on our campus and beyond. Also fosters peer-to-peer learning and collegiality among graduate students researching similar topics. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit.
SOCY 293
Going on the Job Market
Graduate
5 units
A seminar devoted to the practical problems of securing a job as a professional sociologist. Topics covered: researching colleges, universities, and public and private organizations that employ sociologists; designing a curriculum vitae; writing an application letter; preparing a "job talk;" handling questions during the interview process; the etiquette of visiting (and its aftermath); finding out about them; and the terms of employment: what is negotiable and what is not. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
SOCY 294
Writing for Social Scientists
Graduate
5 units
Seminar on the genres of social science writing, and the problems of starting and finishing a publishable thesis, book, or article. For advanced graduate students working on the composition of their dissertations and journal articles. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 10.
SOCY 295
The Pedagogy of Sociology
Graduate
2 units
Graduate students develop, enhance, or deepen their pedagogical knowledge and skills in the field of sociology and other social sciences. . Enrollment is restricted to sociology graduate students at all stages of their graduate careers.