Graduate Course Atlas - Fall 2011
| SOC 500-000: Research Methods & Models - Statistics |
| SOC 501-00P: Research Methods & Models - Design |
| SOC 516-000: Schooling & Society (same as EDS 771-003) |
SOC 551-00P: Interactionist Approach to Social Relations |
| SOC 564-01P: Religion & Public Health (same as EPI 554-000 and SR 653) |
SOC 585-000: Sociology of Sex & Gender |
| SOC 585-00P: Qualitative Methods - Interviews |
| SOC 729R-000: Introduction to Comparative Political Economy Development |
| SOC 741-000: Theory Construction |
| SOC 767-00P: Teaching Sociology |
SOC 500-000: Research Methods & Models - Statistics
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Mullis | M | 11:30 am - 2:30 pm | 10 |
Semester Details:
This course is an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics for univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. The course will help you understand research reported in social science publications and in the news media. It will also enable you to do original research of your own. You will learn how to ask meaningful questions of quantitative data and draw sound conclusions from the numbers you produce. The overall goal is to increase your statistical literacy, i.e., your ability to create, interpret, and critically evaluate statistical evidence. This is a skill you will find highly useful in your current academic life and future careers. It is also an indispensable skill for all educated citizens in modern society. As Florence Nightingale, the pioneering nurse and healthcare reformer, put it over 100 years ago, statistics "is the most important science in the whole world: for upon it depends the practical application of every other science and of every art; the one science essential to all political and social administration, all education, all organization based upon experience, for it only gives the results of our experience."
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Agresti, Alan & Finlay, Barbara. Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences.
ISBN: 9780130272959. - Norusis, Marija. IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Guide to Data Analysis.
ISBN: 9780321748416.
Grading:
Take-home computer assignments, in-class exams, and a final paper.
SOC 501-000: Research Methods & Models - Design
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Forman | TU | 6:00 - 9:00 pm | 10 |
CANCELLED!
Recently, Dr. Forman, the professor of SOC 501-000, Research Methods & Models: Design, was awarded a residential fellowship at the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. As a consequence, he is unable to teach SOC 501 this fall.
Please note: SOC 501-00P will be offered by Dr. Irene Browne, but the time of the class has changed.
The department regrets this inconvenience.
___________________________________________
Semester Details:
The purpose of this course is to provide doctoral students in sociology with an introduction to the major research designs and methods used in the social sciences to examine and explain the social world. It is organized around several issues that cut across the social sciences: the logic of scientific inquiry, epistemology, ethics, picking a research question, conceptualization and measurement, sampling, causation and inference, developing conceptual models, addressing issues of causality, collecting data, selecting analytical methods, and interpreting findings. Additionally, the course provides an overview of social scientific research methods. Among the specific methodologies to be considered are experiments, surveys, discourse analysis, ethnographic methods, in-depth interviews, and historical methods. Following completion of this course students should have the requisite knowledge necessary to:
- identify their and others’ epistemological assumptions,
- effectively communicate with scholars in any social science discipline about empirical research,
- constructively critique methods used in social science studies -- for yourself, peers seeking feedback, and/or journal editors, and
- competently design social science research that maximizes the knowledge to be gained from it while simultaneously recognizing its disadvantages compared to other methods that might be used.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
TBA
Grading:
Short assignments, quizzes, and a final paper.
SOC 501-00P: Research Methods & Models - Design
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Browne | MW | 9:00 - 10:30 am | 10 |
Semester Details:
Introduction to research methodology and design for sociologists, including introductions to philosophies of social science, research design, sampling, measurement and measurement assessment, experimental design, quantitative techniques and qualitative methods. The emphasis will be in developing practical research skills to design and implement a research project.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Lofland, Lyn H.,Lofland, John, Anderson, Leon, & Snow, David. Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. 4th edition.
ISBN: 9780534528614. - Additionally, various methodological texts and monographs.
Grading:
“Hands-on” instruction involving a class research project and individual research projects. Assignments and a final paper. Permission for registration required from professor.
SOC 516-000: Schooling & Society
(same as EDS 771-003)
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Rubinson | TH | 2:00 - 5:00 pm | SOC = 5; EDS = 5; |
Semester Details:
The goal of this course is to provide an intensive analysis of schooling and national educational structures to prepare students for undertaking their own research in this area. This course studies schooling both in terms of educational and organizational processes. The course begins with a review of theoretical models of organizations and theoretical models of schooling. The course then reviews the research on individual level educational achievement and inequality within schools. This part of the course includes a comparative focus to develop the idea that the pattern of achievement and inequality in the United States is a function of how the structure of national educational systems constructs the individual determinants of achievement. The course then looks at the specific processes determining educational attainment and mobility, explaining the role of education in social stratification.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Boudon, Raymond. Education, Opportunity and Social Inequality: Changing Prospects in Western Society.
ISBN: 9780471091059. - Collins, Randall. The Credential Society: A Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification.
ISBN: 9780121813604. - Riordan, Cornelius H. Equality and Achievement: An Introduction to the Sociology of Education.
ISBN: 9780130481771. - Ogbu, John U. Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement.
ISBN: 9780805845167. - Stevens, Mitchell L. Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites.
ISBN: 9780674034945. - Lucas, Samuel R. Tracking Inequality: Stratification and Mobility in American High Schools.
ISBN: 9780807737989.
- Beattie, Irene, Arum, Richard & Ford, Karly. The Structure of Schooling: Readings in the Sociology of Education.
ISBN: 9781412980395. - Lareau, Annette. Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education.
ISBN: 9780742501454. - Karabel, Jerome & Halsey, Albert H. Power and Ideology in Education.
ISBN: 9780195021387. - Ravitch, Diane. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.
ISBN: 9780465014910.
Grading:
- Four short essays critically reviewing a set of the readings,
- A class presentation, and
- A final paper which critically reviews the theoretical and empirical research in an area of your choosing.
SOC 551-00P: Interactionist Approach to Social Relations
(same as PSYC 532-00P)
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Johnson | W | 1:00 - 4:00 pm | SOC = 7; PSYC = 3; Total = 10 |
CANCELLED!
The department regrets this inconvenience.
___________________________________________Semester Details:
Written permission required from instructor.
There are two sections to this course. In the first section we will examine and critically assess the theoretical statements of selected theorists who have contributed to the foundations of the symbolic interaction perspective. Major theorists covered will include Mead, Cooley, Blumer, Goffman, Couch, Kuhn, and Stryker. The second section will cover recent theoretical developments in the symbolic interaction tradition on the following topics: the looking-glass self, reflected appraisals, identity processes, identity and stress, emotions, social identity theory, and identity negotiation. Recent major theorists include Gecas, Burke, Stets, Thoits, Heise, Smith-Lovin, Snow, Anderson, Cahill and others.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Mead, George Herbert. Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist.
ISBN: 9780226516684. - Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
ISBN: 9780385094023. - Goffman, Erving. Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings.
ISBN: 9780029119402. - Blumer, Herbert. Symbolic Interactionism.
ISBN: 9780520056763. - Stryker, Sheldon. Symbolic Interactionism.
ISBN: 9781930665484.
Grading:
5 page critique, short responses and 1 major research paper.
SOC 564-01P: Religion & Public Health
(same as EPI 554-000 and SR 653)
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Idler | TU | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm | SOC = 5; EPI = 5; SR = 5; Total = 15 |
Semester Details:
Written permission required from instructor (for the sociology section of the course).
This course will provide graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with a sociologically-oriented interdisciplinary survey of research on the intersection of public health and religious practices and beliefs, in individuals and populations. Religion is one factor among many others in the social environment that to some extent determines the health of populations. Religion also has a role in the organization and practice of medicine and public health, in the lives of individuals, their families and social networks, health professionals, and the institutions in which they interact. The course will emphasize evidence from quantitative social science and epidemiology, the role of religion in the historical development of public health institutions, and the theoretical social science origins of religion and health research. Under the large umbrella of religion and health research, we will be attempting to map the part of the field that is distinctively oriented to public health, rather than to medicine.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
Durkheim, Marmot, Farmer, Hummer and Ellison, Cochrane and Gunderson, and articles from scientific journals in public health, epidemiology, and social science.
Recommended Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Ellison, Christopher G. & Hummer, Robert A. Religion, Families, and Health: Population-Based Research in the United States.
ISBN: 9780813547190.
Grading:
Minute for Media; research article extracts; term paper, class presentations.
SOC 585-000: Sociology of Sex & Gender
(same as WS 585-000)
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Browne | M | 1:00 am - 4:00 pm | SOC = 5; WS = 5; Total = 10 |
CANCELLED!
Recently, Dr. Forman was awarded a residential fellowship at the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He had planned to teach our required methods course, SOC 501: Research Methods & Models: Design in the fall, but now is unable to teach SOC 501-000. Dr. Browne has graciously agreed to teach this required course. As a result, we must cancel SOC 585-000/WS 585-000.
Please note: Our plan is for Dr. Browne to teach SOC 585/WS 585: Sociology of Sex & Gender in Spring 2012.
The department regrets this inconvenience.
___________________________________________
Semester Details:
This course is an overview to the sociological study of sex and gender. We explore how sociologists answer the questions, “What is gender?” “How is gender related to race, class and sexual orientation?” “How does gender influence social institutions, social interactions, and individual experiences?” “How do these institutions and interactions influence the construction of gender?” Specific topics include: sexualities, schools, families and relationships, work and organizations, migration and social movements and politics. Throughout the course, we will take an intersectional approach, looking at intersections of gender with race, class and sexuality. We will focus on how traditional sociological theory and feminist theory can be useful in understanding gender construction and gender stratification, highlighting the implicit as well as explicit debates in the sociology of gender. We will also consider questions about sociological methods and evidence.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment.
ISBN: 9780415924849. - Wilkins, Amy C. Wannabes, Goths, and Christians: The Boundaries of Sex, Style, and Status.
ISBN: 9780226898438. - Pascoe, C. J. Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School.
ISBN: 9780520252301. - Kang, Miliann. The Managed Hand: Race, Gender, and the Body in Beauty Service Work.
ISBN: 9780520262607. - Lan, Pei-Chia. Global Cinderellas: Migrant Domestics and Newly Rich Employers in Taiwan.
ISBN: 9780822337423. - Thayer, Millie. Negotiating the Global: Women's Movements in Brazil and the Transnational Feminist Public.
ISBN: 9780415962131.
SOC 585-00P: Qualitative Methods - Interviews
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Scott | TU | 4:00 - 7:00 pm | 10 |
Semester Details:
Written permission required from instructor.
This course is an introduction to the qualitative method of in-depth interviews. The course begins with a brief overview of the traditions of qualitative methods, generally. We examine research design issues in qualitative methods, including: developing research questions, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and selecting samples. We then examine the collection, coding, and presentation of qualitative interview data. We will be concerned with practical issues that arise at different stages of the research process, reviewing empirical studies that employ qualitative interview methods. Assignments will focus on gaining research experience by carrying out small-scale interview studies involving qualitative social analysis.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Lofland, Lyn H.,Lofland, John, Anderson, Leon, & Snow, David. Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. 4th edition.
ISBN: 9780534528614. - Weiss, Robert S. Learning from Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview Studies.
ISBN: 9780684823126. - Ragin, Charles C. & Amoroso, Lisa. Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method. 2nd edition.
ISBN: 9781412960182. - Becker, Howard Saul. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. 2nd edition.
ISBN: 9780226041322.
Grading:
Students will be required to complete 3 short exercises and one research paper.
SOC 729R-000: Introduction to Political Economy Development
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Hicks | TU | 1:00 - 4:00 pm | 10 |
Semester Details:
This seminar analyzes the major processes of political economy and development and can serve as an introduction to more specialized course work and research in this area. Topics include the analysis of power, the dynamics of capitalist development, state and nation formation, class and class formation, and social movements and revolution, rudiments of economic globalization. The first part of the course will critically examine the major theories which have come to define the research problems in these areas. The second part of the course will cover recent theoretical and empirical work in these areas.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Lachmann, Richard. States and Power.
ISBN: 9780745645391. - Hicks, Alexander M. Social Democracy & Welfare Capitalism: A Century of Income Security Politics.
ISBN: 9780801485565. - Chang Ha-Joon. Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective.
ISBN: 9781843310273. - Pontusson, Jonas. Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe vs. Liberal America.
ISBN: 9780801489709. - Electronically available articles.
Grading:
- Active participation in the seminar,
- One or presentations on the assigned readings in a section of the course,
- One or two short critical analyses of the readings, and
- A short essay take home and a research paper or a longer take home.
SOC 741-000: Theory Construction
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Boli | TH | 2:00 - 5:00 pm | 10 |
Semester Details:
Serving as an introduction to fundamental issues in the philosophy of science, this course covers major concerns in constructing good theoretical arguments. Topics include: problem formulation, concept formation, problems of causality, deductive and inductive reasoning, causal diagramming, levels of theoretical analysis, formalization, and evidence and testability. We will analyze examples from a variety of theoretical perspectives as well as student work in several exercises throughout the term.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
- Cohen, Bernard P. Developing Sociological Knowledge. 2nd revised edition.
ISBN: 9780830411238. - Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd edition.
ISBN: 9780226458083. - Laudan, Larry. Science and Relativism: Some Key Controversies in the Philosophy of Science.
ISBN: 9780226469492. - Nagel, Ernest. The Structure of Science.
ISBN: 9780915144716. - Stinchcombe, Arthur L. Constructing Social Theories.
ISBN: 9780226774848.
Grading:
Exercises, class participation and presentations, term paper/research proposal.
SOC 767-00P: Teaching Sociology
| Instructor | Day(s) | Time(s) | Maximum Enrollment |
| Hegtvedt | M | 1:00 - 4:00 pm | 10 |
Semester Details:
Written permission required from instructor.
The seminar is designed to help prepare you for your first teaching assignment and to enhance your effectiveness as a teacher. These goals will be achieved through:
a) reading the literature on teaching and learning;
b) discussion of issues during seminar sessions;
c) familiarization with technological tools that aid teaching;
d) practice in lecture, discussion, and other classroom techniques;
e) guest lecturing; and
f) the preparation of your own course materials (e.g., syllabus, textbook selection, sample exam questions, sample lectures and discussions).
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources:
The primary text is Tools for Teaching (Davis), supplemented by a collection of readings.
Grading:
You will be contacted by Dr. Hegtvedt in August with special instructions.
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