This course introduces students to the foundations of sociological thought, research, and subject matter. Every day we make sense of our world by formulating simple theories about why people do the things they do, about the forces that hold our society together, and about its major problems. This course examines the human condition from the standpoint of sociological research. Students will learn to engage issues facing the world today by asking classic sociological questions. Ultimately, the course material constructs the “individual” as a product and constituent of large-scale structural forces and historical developments – modernity, capitalism, the state, rationality, classes, families, races, genders, etc. It will orient students to the grounding ideas in the field, but also pique their interest by recent analysis of real social problems.
Social Sciences Breadth, Systems of Power, Privilege and Inequality