Course description
| The broad social forces and structures that constitute modern society "out there" can be found right here, in our everyday lives. This course explores sociology by investigating institutions and activities that make up everyday life: family, education, friendship, romance, work, and community. We'll also focus on questions of racial justice, immigration, and economic inequality as they shape the 2024 U.S. elections. |
| Along the way, this course introduces students to sociology in three ways. |
| First, we examine classical traditions: texts, theories and debates produced by the founding sociologists of the 19th and early 20th century. These traditions connect the historical formation of sociology to enduring questions of a liberal arts education. |
| Second, we examine contemporary sociological research and issues. This material illustrates how sociologists today move the classical tradition forward and, in some cases, move beyond it. |
| Finally, through discussion, debate, and writing we develop a "sociological imagination" to understand how sociology as a way of thinking can critically illuminate our lives and the world around us. |