SOC 290 - Special Topics in Sociology

Credits: 3 in Fall or Winter, 4 in Spring
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.

A discussion of a series of topics of sociological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Winter 2013 topics:

SOC 290-01: Culture and Poverty (3). In this course, we consider the relationship between culture, stratification, and economic development. Drawing on both ethnographies and quantitative studies that attempt to tease out the causes of multi-generational poverty, we ask whether and to what extent “cultural” and “institutional” factors matter. As such, students also learn about distinct methodological approaches in social science and some of their relative advantages and disadvantages. The central goal of the course, though, is to move beyond debates in the popular media about who is “responsible” for poverty, towards understanding its causes and considering the implications of social science research on this subject for policy. Eastwood.

SOC 290-02: International Comparative Sociology (3). This course focuses on the method and practice of drawing comparisons across and between multiple societies or society-level phenomena. We focus particular attention on comparative studies of the state; economic development; types of political regimes and transitions between regimes; social movements and revolutions; and identities and ideologies. Students both read about different types of comparisons and put the comparative method into practice through independent research projects on appropriate topics of their choosing. Eastwood.