Courses

• CAS SO 232: Sociology and Inequality
  Investigates the formation of social classes and the social forces that create and sustain inequalities in the United States and beyond, including attention to intersections of gender, race and ethnicity in family, education, and the workplace.
• CAS SO 240: Sexuality and Social Life
  Introduction to sociological perspectives on sexuality. Historical and comparative analysis of sexuality, with a focus on the social and cultural institutions that shape sexuality in the contemporary U.S. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS SO 241: Sociology of Gender
  An introduction to the social construction of sex and gender with a focus on the economic, political, social, and cultural forces that shape gender relations. Examines gender as a social structure that patterns institutional inequalities and everyday interactions on society. Also offered as CAS WS 241.
• CAS SO 242: Globalization and World Poverty
  (Meets with CAS IR 242.) Globalization and world poverty; how and why over 80% of the world remains poor and inequality increases despite economic modernization and democratization. Addresses urbanization, immigration, religion, politics, development politics, foreign aid, women, drugs, environment, food security. Special attention to Latin American, African, and Asian experiences. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS SO 243: Immigrant Communities
  Introduction to sociology of immigrant communities with a focus on the contemporary U.S. Students gain an understanding of how immigrant communities develop, the different forms they take, and how they shape the social and economic adaptations of varied immigrant groups.
• CAS SO 244: Urban Sociology
  An analysis of cities and urban phenomena in preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial societies with an emphasis on European and U.S. urbanization. A comparison of social scientific "theories" used to explain these same phenomena. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS SO 246: Sociology of Market Transitions
  Focus on East-Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China in the context of post-communist economic and political reforms and globalization. Topics include privatization, entrepreneurship, banking, and corruption. Effects on healthcare, education, social inequality, family and household dynamics.
• CAS SO 250: Introduction to the Sociology of Religion
  Explores the role of religion in the organization of meaning within human societies and its contribution to the construction, maintenance, and transformation of the social order. Ways in which religion provides specific sets of solutions to the problems of social order are also explored.
• CAS SO 253: Sociology of Popular Culture
  Sociological perspectives on popular culture and mass media, with a focus on the consumption and production of cultural goods; the effects of popular culture on politics and inequalities; and the mutual interdependence of consumer identities and cultural fields.
• CAS SO 256: Contemporary American Society
  Examines mainly American political and economic culture and patterns of social interaction. The unique dynamic introduced into American society by central tensions at the level of values is defined through comparisons to European societies. Authors include Tocqueville, Weber, Bellah, Lipset, Putnam.
• CAS SO 277: Technology and Society
  Examines technology as a fundamental element of and dynamic force in our society with the aim of providing a balanced understanding of the promise, consequences, and dilemmas brought about by specific technologies and to broaden students' perspectives and sense of social and professional responsibility for decisions related to technology. Combines both a liberal arts and an engineering perspective.
• CAS SO 303: Substantive Themes in Sociological Theory
  Critique and application of major sociological theories to key themes and topics. Connections between classical and modern arguments, syntheses of alternative perspectives, and gaps between various perspectives. Themes include the maintenance of social order, power and authority, conflict and change, and sources of alienation.
• CAS SO 304: Formal Organizations
  Formal organizations as social systems. Theory of bureaucracy and administrative functions. The bases of authority, communication systems, and formal and nonformal structures. Organizational development, trends, and relations with the social environment.
• CAS SO 306: Boston's People and Neighborhoods
  A comparison between nineteenth- and twentieth-century neighborhoods, connecting changes in everyday life to larger demographic, economic, physical, and political changes affecting the whole city and immediate suburbs. Includes tours of several Boston neighborhoods and archival research using neighborhood newspapers.
• CAS SO 313: Economic Sociology
  Presents the sociological approach to the study of production, distribution, consumption and markets, emphasizing the impact of norms, power, social structure, and institutions on the economy. Compares classic and contemporary approaches to the economy by the social science disciplines.
• CAS SO 315: The Social Nature of Technology
  Theoretical foundations of sociology of technology from antiquity through the modern age. Explores the paradox of technology as being socially constructed, but treated as similar to nature.
• CAS SO 318: Sociology of Childhood and Youth
  Explores the "social construction" of childhood and youth, and examines ways in which social institutions (family, schools, media, and law) influence children's lives in different social settings. Also examined are social and policy issues surrounding childhood in the U.S. today.
• CAS SO 320: Political Sociology
  Introduces theories and research in political sociology and comparative politics. Examines the ways political ideas and governmental structures affect current issues, such as U.S. presidential elections, the waging of war, genocide, gender inequality, and provision of social services.
• CAS SO 323: Markets in Biomedicine and Healthcare
  Complex ways in which market exchange impacts the practice of medicine, the delivery of patient care, and the medical profession; commodification of bodies and emotions; theoretical discussion of the market and overview of US health care system.
• CAS SO 328: Contemporary South Asian Societies
  A broad introduction to contemporary South Asian societies. With a focus on the conceptual themes of modernity and identity, selected topics are explored, including South Asian ethnic and political conflicts, women's movements, popular culture, and diaspora communities.

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