SOCIOLOGY
(AS) {SOCI}
L/R 001. (AFRC002) Introduction to
Sociology. (C) Society
Sector. All classes. Gelles, Zuberi.
Sociology provides a unique way to look at human behavior
and the world. Sociology is the systematic study of the
groups and societies in which people live. In this
introductory course, we examine and analyze how social
structures and cultures are created, maintained, and most
importantly, how they affect behavior. The course
deconstructs our taken for granted world of social interactions
and behaviors and examines what theory and research can
tell about human social behavior.
SM 002. Social Problems and Public
Policy. (M) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Bosk.
This course develops the conceptual tools for analyzing
"public" problems. Specifically, the process by which a society
"discovers" and confronts public problems is highlighted. Various
public problems and policies are analyzed from this perspective. Examples are:
the underclass, abortion, fraud in science, the loss of community, and the
welfare state.
L/R 003. Deviance and Social Control.
(C) Society
Sector. All classes. Bosk, Wolpe.
A sociological analysis of the origins, development, and reactions
surrounding deviance in contemporary society. Topics
include labeling theory, stigma, social organization, tradition,
social power, crime, sexual deviance, drug use, and racism. Theoretical
and methodological issues will be discussed and evaluated.
L/R 004. (GSOC004) The Family. (C) Society Sector. All classes. Furstenburg,
Harknett.
This introduction to the sociology of the family explores
historical, economic, and cultural changes that have shaped
the past and present form of the American kinship system. It
will also compare demographic and social trends and consequences
of the family patterns across societies, providing perspective
on differences and similarities between the U.S. family
system and other nations. Students will have an opportunity
to engage in research on topics of special interest.
L/R 005. American Society. (C) Humanities & Social Science Sector.
Class of 2010 & beyond. Bosk. Also fulfills General
Requirement in Society for Class of 2009 and prior.
What is American Society? The literary critic, Leslie
Fielder once wrote,"...to be and American...precisely
to imagine a destiny rather than to inherit one; since
we have always been, insofar as we are Americans at all,
inhabitants of myth rather than history..." The myths
that we inherit form the basis of American civil religion. In
this course we will explore the elements of the myth that
form the basis of the civil religion as well as the facts
on the ground that contradict our conceptions of American
Society: Examples of mythic elements and their contradiction
that we will explore are: A nation founded to pursue liberty
and freedom yet allowed slavery, equality of opportunity
and persistent structural inequality, and a welcoming of
the Immigrant coupled with a suspicion of the outsider.
L/R 006. (AFRC006, ASAM006, URBS160)
Race and Ethnic Relations. (C) May be counted as a General Requirement Course in Society.
Class of 2009 & prior only. Charles, Kao, Zuberi.
The course will examine how social networks, neighborhood
context, culture, and notions of race affect inequality
and ethnic relations. The course reviews the studies
of ethnic entrepreneurship, urban segregation, labor force
participation, and assimilation processes.
The course emphasizes how inequality affects ethnic relations
as well as the economic and social integration of different
groups in society.
007. (URBS265, GSOC007) Population
and Society. (C) Society Sector. All classes. Harknett, Kohler, Zuberi.
The course covers selected aspects of population and the study
of demography, including social, economic, and political
issues: population explosion, baby bust, population aging,
abortion, teenage pregnancy, illegal aliens, racial classification
and population and development.
SM 008. Introduction to Political
Sociology. (M) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course in Society.
Class of 2009 & prior only. Zuberi.
This course will introduce students to sociological approaches
to politics, broadly understood. The class will begin
by discussing the nature of power and authority, the rise
of the nation-state and the significance of nationalism. Later
topics will include social movements, urban political regimes,
globalization and transnationalism, citizenship, revolutions,
and the rise (and fall?) of welfare states.
010. Social Stratification. (M) Society Sector. All classes. Jacobs.
The American Dream highlights opportunity for individuals
to achieve success based on their own ability and initiative. How
well does our society live up to this ideal? Who
gets ahead, and who falls behind? Topics include
factors that affect life chances in contemporary society:
education, social class, race, ethnicity and gender.
SM 011. (AFRC011, URBS112) Urban Sociology.
(M) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
A comprehensive introduction to the sociological study of
cities. Topics will include theories of urbanism,
methods of research, migration, history of cities, gentrification,
poverty, urban politics, surburanization and globalization. Philadelphia
will be used as a recurring example, though the course
will devote attention to cities around the U.S. and the
world.
027. (AFRC001, HIST007) Introduction
to Africana Studies. (D) Charles.
The aim of this course is to provide an interdisciplinary
examination of the complex array of African American and
other African Diaspora social practices and experiences. This
class will focus on both classic texts and modern works
that provide an introduction to the dynamics of African
American and African Diaspora thought and practice. Topics
covered will include: What is Afro-American Studies?; The
History Before 1492; Creating the African Diaspora After
1500; The Challenge of Freedom; Race and Class in the 20th
Century; From Black Studies to Africana Studies: The Future
of Afro-American Studies.
033. (STSC003) Technology &
Society. (C) Ensmenger.
From the colonial period to the present, Americans have relied
on technology to shape their lives, landscapes and society. This
unique, abiding and often tumultuous relationship is one
of the defining elements of the American experience. From
factory floor to suburban kitchens, from eccentric inventors
to student demonstrators, from Model T to iMacs, the diversity
of american technological developments reflects -- and
has helped define -- the most crucial developments in American
history. This course will provide an historical understanding
of the role that technology has played in American society
from the late 19th century to the present day.
The underlying assumptions is that technology is simultaneously
a reflection and cultural values, and a factor (one of many)
in shaping the continuous development of those values.
SM 041. (AFRC041, EALC014, GSOC041,
URBS010) Topics in Sociology. (C) Bosk, Hannum, Jacobs.
Freshman Seminars. Topics vary from semester to semester. Past
offerings include Society and History; The 1960's: Preludes
and Postludes; Mistakes, Errors, Accidents & Disasters;
Urban Analysis with Computers; Race and Public Policy;
Perspectives on Inequality, Homelessness and the Urban
Crisis.
SM 052. (PSCI052) War and Peace. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Evan.
Recurrent wars throughout history have led social scientists
and laymen alike to the conclusion that war is an unavoidable
institution. Is this a valid conclusion? If
it is, it is a particularly grim conclusion in a nuclear
age when humankind has the technological capacity to extinguish
all life on the planet. The purpose of this seminar
is to address this question by exploring six theories of
the causes of war and examining six strategies for preventing
war.
067. Social Interaction. (C) Staff.
This course combines the study of social psychology with that
of social interaction. Its primary focus is on the
forces shaping individual action in a variety of face-to-face
settings, whether in informal groups, in classrooms, in
work environments, in urban public spaces and other kinds
of situations. We will begin with more general concepts
and approaches and then venture into the realm of emotions
and "feeling rules" that seem to operate in both
private and public relationships before ending with a discussion
of how face-to-face encounters interact with the social
inequalities of gender, class and race.
100. (HSOC100) Introduction to
Sociological Research. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Gibson,
Harknett, Koppel, Park.
This course provides a board overview of how sociologists
gather and analyze information to generate and test hypotheses
about the social world. We begin by covering key
building blocks of sociological research: theory, measurement,
and sampling. Then, we review a variety of research
designs and analytic approaches. Finally, we take
a critical perspective on social research discussing topics
of research ethics, objectivity, and whether research findings
should be used to inform policy. The emphasis in
the course will be on training students to develop a healthy
skepticism and to be intelligent consumers, and we will
regularly discuss and evaluate research examples found
in mainstream news sources. Students will also gain
hands on experience with survey and qualitative research
through course research products.
L/R 101. (HSOC102) Bioethics. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Wolpe, Walls, Ravitsky.
Bioethical conundrums such as cloning, stem cells, transplantation,
the use of psychopharmaceuticals, end of life technologies,
preimplantation diagnosis of embroyos, artificial reproductive
technologies, and the genetic manipulation of life will
challenge policy-makers and moral thinkers throughout the
twenty-first century. In this course, a philosopher
and a sociologist team up to frame and explore these important
issues. Guest lecturers, multimedia presentations,
and spirited debate will allow the students to understand
the science, the social implications, and the philosophical,
ethical, and religious implications of the coming biotechnological
revolution.
103. (ASAM001) Asian Americans
In Contemporary Society. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Kao.
This class is an introduction to sociological research of
Asian Americans in the United States. The class will
introduce you to the immigration experiences, socioeconomic
attainments, identity, and political movements of Asian
Americans. We will also focus on the relative heterogeneity
of Asian American ethnic groups and their experiences relative
to other race and ethnic groups in the United States.
104. (GSOC104) Sociology of Sex:
Comparative Study. (M) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Collins.
Social scientists have argued that sexuality is not an unchanging
biological reality or universal natural force, but a cultural
construct, shaped by economical, social, and political
processes and therefore, like society itself, historical,
that is, variable in both time and space.
This seminar follows this approcach by exploring cultural
construction of sexuality as it evolved from Greek antiquity
to contemporary U.S.A., and its relationship to gender, class,
political hierarchies, religion, ideology, and science. How
the meanings of sexualtiy, codes of sexual regulation and
sexual politics have varied over time with changing circumstances?
110. The Rich and The Poor. (M) Staff.
This course examines the opposite ends of the economic spectrum
in order to gain a fuller understanding of what social
class is and how it affects individuals and society. Who
is rich? Who is poor? How does wealth and income
(or the lack of it) affect all aspects of life, from the
obvious (access to health care, good schools, etc.) to
the not-so-obvious (quality of romantic life and family
relationships). We will also examine cultural aspects
of social class (tastes and lifestyles), across generations. There
will be a midterm and final exam, as well as several short
research/reflection papers due throughout the course.
111. (HSOC111) Health of Populations.
(C) Preston.
This course develops some of the major measures used to assess
the health of populations and uses those measures to consider
the major factors that determine levels of health in large
aggregates. These factors include disease environment,
medical technology, public health initiatives, and personal
behaviors. The approach is comparative and historical
and includes attention to differences in health levels
among major social groups.
112. (AFRC112, GSOC114, URBS114)
Discrimination: Sexual and Racial Conflict. (M) Society Sector. All classes. Madden.
This course is concerned with the structure, the causes and
correlates, and the government policies to alleviate discrimination
in the United States. The central focus of the course
is on employment discrimination by race and gender. After
a comprehensive overview of the structures of labor markets
and of nondiscriminatory reasons for the existence of group
differentials in employment and wages, various theories
of the sources of discrimination are reviewed and evaluated. Actual
governmental policies and alternative policies are evaluated
in light of both the empirical evidence on group differences
and the alternative theories of discrimination.
117. (SOCI517, GSOC117) Sociology
of Work. (M) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course in Society.
Class of 2009 & prior only. Leidner.
The material world is shaped and maintained through work,
but so is the social world. How work is organized,
allocated, and rewarded determines the opportunities people
have for developing their own capacities, the kinds of
ties they will have with others, and how much control they
will have over their own lives. We will consider
various sociological perspectives on work and compare alternative
ways of organizing work, with a focus on the contemporary
United States.
118. (HSOC118) Sociology of Bioethics.
(C) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Wolpe.
The Sociology of Bioethics explores the sociological approach
to bioethics. The Sociology of Bioethics is not a course
in bioethics itself; rather than discussing the merits
of a position (Is assisted suicide ethical?), we will ask
how the debate has been framed, who is promoting which
arguments, why the debate has arisen now, and how the issue
is reflected in policy. In order to do so we will
make use of social science research, along with philosophical
treaties, legislation, and the popular media.
The course is also not designed as a comprehensive treatment
of the field; it will focus instead on choice topics that
we will explore in depth. Our goal is to understand
the nature of the bioethics profession and its modes of argumentation,
and to explore the cultural, social, political, and professional
underpinnings of bioethical debates.
L/R 120. (AFRC120) Social Statistics.
(C) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course in Formal
Reasoning & Analysis. Class of 2009 & prior only.
Charles, Park.
This course offers a basic introduction to the application/interpretation
of statistical analysis in sociology. Upon completion,
you shoud be familiar with a variety of basic statistical
techniques that allow examination of interesting social
questions. We begin by learning to describe the characteristics
of groups, followed by a discussion of how to examine and
generalize about relationships between the characteristics
of groups. Emphasis is placed on the understanding/interpretation
of statistics used to describe and make generalizations
about group characteristics. In addition to hand
calculations, you will also become familiar with using
PCs to run statistical tests.
122. (GSOC122) The Sociology of
Gender. (C) Society
Sector. All classes. Leidner.
Gender is an organizing principle of society, shaping social
structures, cultural understandings, processes of interaction,
and identities in ways that have profound consequences. It
affects every aspect of people's lives, from their intimate
relationships to their participation in work, family, government,
and other social institutions and their place in the stratification
system, Yet gender is such a taken for granted basis for
differences among people that it can be hard to see the
underlying social structures and cultural forces that reinforce
or weaken the social boundaries that define gender. Differences
in behavior, power,and experience are often seen as the
result of biological imperatives or of individual choice. A
sociological view of gender, in contrast, emphasizes how
gender is socially constructed and how structural constraints
limit choice. This course examines how differences
based on gender are created and sustained, with particular
attention to how other important bases of personal identity
and social inequality--race and class-interact with patterns
of gender relations.
We will also seek to understand how social change happens and how gender
inequality might be reduced.
125. (SOCI525) Classical Sociological
Theory. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Collins.
Prerequisite(s): Junior Standing. Recommended for juniors
and seniors.
This course will cover the founding classics of the sociological
tradition including works of Tocqueville, Marx and Engels,
Weber, Durkheim, Mauss, Simmel,and G.H.Mead. We will
also examine how the major traditions have continued and
transformed into theories of conflict, domination, resistance
and social change; social solidarity, ritual and symbolism;
symbolic interactionist and phenomenological theory of
discourse, self and mind.
126. Contemporary Sociological
Theory. (C) Collins,
Gibson. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing. Recommended
for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
An outline of theoretical positions developed after and sometimes
from the classical theoretical traditions. Includes:
from the Marxian revival to postmodernism; globalization
and world-system theory; neo-Weberian state-centered theory
of social change and revolution; conflict theory and social
movement theory. Rise of exchange theory and rational
choice; network theory and economic sociology. Sociology
of culture, French structuralism, and the social construction
of reality. Development of micro-sociological theories:
followers of symbolic interaction; Goffman and interaction
ritual theory; ethnomethodology; sociology of emotion.
128. Introduction to Demographic
Methods. (C) Hannum
.
This course will introduce the basic methods and materials
of demographic analysis, focusing on practical problems
and using U.S. data for examples and class assignments. We
will study the main sources of demographic data, including
censuses, surveys and vital statitics, and the measures
that can be applied to each. Through the use of contemporary
and historical U.S. data, students learn the fundamental
measures of fertility, mortality, migration and population
composition, and how to apply these measures to study demographic
structure and change in human populations.
SM 130. (AFRC102) Special Topics in
Sociology. (M) Staff.
Topics vary from semester to semester. Some which have
been offered in the past include Race in the City; Africian
Urbanization; Sociology of Jewry; Law & Social Change;
Tourism, Culture & Society.
134. (NURS134) Health and Social
Policy. (M) Society
Sector. All classes. Aiken, Lake.
Health and Social Policy is an interdisciplinary course examining
health care and social policy from domestic and international
perspectives. The course is designed to engage students
in critical thinking about social determinants of health,
the organization and outcomes of health care systems and
institutions, global health priorities and challenges,
and the implications for public policy. Topics include
the social inequalities and health; how organizational
context of health care impacts outcomes; management of
human resources in health nationally and globally; analysis
of medical error, its causes, and consequences; review
and critique of public policies in U.S. health care; and
global health priorities and international health policy. Issues
of current public debate in health and health care will
provide a context for learning. There are no prerequisites. The
course is intended for generalists as well as for those
planning careers in health care.
135. (AFRC135) Law and Society.
(C) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Bosk,
Fetni. Recommended for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
After introducing students to the major theoretical concepts
concerning law and society, significant controversial societal
issues that deal with law and the legal systems both domestically
and internationally will be examined. Class discussions
will focus on issues involving civil liberties, the organization
of courts, legislatures, the legal profession and administrative
agencies. Although the focus will be on law in the
United States, law and society in other countries of Africa,
Asia, Europe and Latin America will be covered in a comparative
context. Readings included research reports, statutes
and cases.
L/R 137. (FOLK137) The Sociology of
Media and Popular Culture. (C) Society Sector. All classes. Grazian, Wilde. Also fulfills
General Requirement in Arts & Letters for Class of
2009 and prior.
This course relies on a variety of sociological approaches
to media and popular, with a particular emphasis on the
importance of the organization of the culture industries,
the relationship between cultural consumption and status,
and the social significance of leisure activities from
sports to shopping. Specific course topics include
the branding of Disney, Nike and Starbucks; the glovalization
of popular culture; the blurring of entertainment and politics;
and the rise of new media technologies in the digital age.
SM 140. Social Conflict. (M) Collins.
General theory of social conflict, with an emphasis on violent
conflict. Specific applications include fights, riots,
combat, and gang violence; tribal and modern war; abuse
of the weak; domestic conflict; sexual conflict and rape;
homicide; social movements and moral crusades; conflict
management and social control; state breakdowns and revolutions;
ethnic conflict and genocide.
SM 143. Modern Social Movements. (M) Staff.
Throughout modern times groups of people have come together
in an attempt to change their social world. Their
successes and failures teach us about society, organizations,
and individuals. This course will examine case studies
of historical and contemporary social movements. Using
these case studies, this course will evaluate different
approaches to understanding social movements, and investigate
what these different approaches suggest about individuals,
the society in which they live, and the potential for social
change.
199. Directed Readings and Research.
(C) Various
Faculty. Permission of Instructor needed.
Directed reading and research in areas of sociology not listed
elsewhere in the undergraduate offerings of this department.
200. (CRIM200) Criminal Justice.
(C) Society
Sector. All classes. Sherman, MacDonald.
This course examines the causes and consequences of the millions
of decisions made annually by the legally empowered decision-makers
of the criminal justice system. The course places
students in the role of one decision-maker after another,
emphasizing the decisions they would make with all the
scientific research on these decisions at their disposal.
Research on 15 different decision-makers is examined, from
crime victims to police, prosecuters, jurors, judges, wardens,
probation and parole officers. Using a medical model
of evidence-based practice, the course asks students to consider
how the results of criminal justice could more effectively
reduce the sum of human misery.
SM 221. Sample Survey Methods. (M) Hannum.
This course provides a hands-on introduction to survey data
collection through lectures, discussions, in-class exercises,
and a class survey project. We examine major planning
tasks and considerations necessary for conducting surveys,
including substantive issues (problem formulation, study
design, questionnaire and interview design, pretesting,
sampling), practical issues (proposal-writing and fundraising,
interviewer training and field management, coding, and
data cleaning and management), and ethical concerns (basic
ethical principles in social research, responsibilities
to subjects, colleagues, and funders, common ethical dilemmas
in survey research, and institutional oversight of research
ethics).
222. Field Methods of Sociological
Research. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
This class is intended as an introduction to the field methods
of sociological research, with a focus on ethnographic
observation and interviewing. The beginning of the
course will emphasize the history and current status of
these methods in the discipline of sociology, while at
the same time preparing students for their own field studies. Students
will conduct a piece of orignial research as part of the
course, from data collection through analysis and written
results. Along the way, we will discuss issues such
as the social role of the field researcher, the ethics
of field research, and the strengths and limitations of
field methods.
SM 230. (AFRC230, ASAM230, EALC083,
HSOC231, PSCI298) Special Topics in Sociology. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Furstenberg, Park, Zuberi.
Topics vary from semester to semester. Some which have
been offered in the past include: Media, Culture & Society;
Biotechnology, Bioethics and the Body; African Urbanization,
and Urban Families; Schools and Neighborhoods; Research
and Service/Learning.
SM 231. (URBS266, GSOC231) Special
Topics in Sociology. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
Courses which have been offered in the past have included:
Advanced Topics: Persp. on American Poverty. Topics
vary from semester to semester.
233. (CRIM100) Criminology. (C) Society Sector. All classes. Laufer,
Sherman.
This introductory course examines the multi-disciplinary science
of law-making, law-breaking, and law-enforcing. It
reviews theories explaining where, when, by whom and against
whom crimes happen.
Police, courts, prisons, and other institutions are also
critically examined. This course meets the general
distribution requirement.
235. (AFRC235) Law and Social Change.
(C) Fetni.
Beginning with discussion of various perspectives on social
change and law, this course then examines in detail the
interdependent relationship between changes in legal and
societal institutions. Emphasis will be placed on
(1) how and when law can be an instrument for social change,
and (2) how and when social change can cause legal change. In
the assessment of this relationship, the laws of the United
States and other countries as well as international law,
will be studied. Throughout the course, discussions
will include legal controversies relevant to social change
such as civil liberties, gender and the law, and issues
of nation-building. A comparative framework will
be used in the analysis of this interdependent relationship
between law and social change.
SM 239. (RELS201) Sociology of Religion.
(M) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Collins.
Classic theory of religion in Durkheim and Weber, as well
as contemporary theories of religious movements. Topics
include ritual, magic, and mystical experience; religious
ethics and salvation beliefs; the dynamics of cults, sects
and mainstream churches; origins, expansion and decline
of religions; religions and social class; religions and
politics.
The spectrum of religions in the contemporary United States
will be examined, as well as historical comparisons.
SM 260. (STSC260) Cyberculture. (M) Ensmenger.
Free speech, free software, MOOS, MUDs, anime and cyberpunk. All
of these are elements of a braod set of social, technical
and political phenomena generally associated with the emergence
of a nascent
"cyberculture".In this seminar we explore the ways in which recent
developments in information technology -- the computer and the Internet in
particular -- related to changing contemporary notions of community, identity,
property and gender. By looking at an eclectic collection of popular
and scholarsly resources including film, fiction and the World Wide Web, we
will situate the development of cyberculture in the larger history of the complex
relationship between technology and Western society.
SM 264. (URBS264) Poverty Race And
Health. (M) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Elo.
Why do large racial and social class differences in health
and mortality persist in the United States? This
course examines the magnitude of these differences and
their causes and related public policies. Topics
covered include: interpretations of race and ethnicity,
racial differences in perceptions of health and illness,
income distribution, social class, racial and ethnic differences
in health, and historical and current debates on public
policies related to poverty and health.
Students in this class will learn how to generate and test
explanations of social class and racial differences in health
and evaluate and summarize data in multiple formats.
SM 270. (URBS270) The Immigrant City.
(M) Society
Sector. All classes. Vitiello.
Immigration is a controversial issue, dividing Americans from
Congress to big cities to small towns. What's at
stake in these debates? What does immigration mean
for cities and regions? And what roles should policy
makers, planners, and community organizations play in shaping
migration and its impacts? This course examines these
questions in the context of immigrant, refugee, and receiving
communities in the United States. It surveys public
policy and community and economic development practices
related to migration, at the local, regional, and trans-national
scale. Class readings,discussions, and regular visits
to a variety of Philadelphia's immigrant neighborhoods
explore themes including labor markets, political mobilization,
social and cultural policy, and the built environment. In
the second half of the semester, students will work with
community organizations that serve migrants.
273. (HSOC273) Law, Medicine and
Public Policy. (C) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Bosk.
First the course will develop a persepctive for viewing social
problems drawn largely on my own work as well as that of
Gusfelds and Edelman. Next we will explore the domains
to which a Physician's expertise is limited using Weber,
Rosenberg and others. We will then develop a perspective
from anthropological and sociological literature on the
courts as public arenas for articulating Durkheimian collective
conscience. All of this theory building is in the
first half of the seminar. The second half of the
course will involve an intensive case study of a few dilemmas
which have wended their way through the courts. I
intend to look at "Baby Doe Regulations" and
the Intensive Care Nursery; the problem of the cessation
of life-supporting treatment; the legitimacy of mass screening
- be it for genetic defects or substance abuse; and the
propriety of surrogate motherhood.
275. (HSOC275) Medical Sociology.
(C) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Schnittker.
This course will give the student an introduction to the sociological
study of medicine. Medical sociology is a broad field,
covering topics as diverse as the institution and profession
of medicine, the practice of medical care, and the social
factors that contribute to sickness and well-being. Although
we will not explore everything, we will attempt to cover
as much of the field as possible through four thematic
units: (1) the organization and development of the profession
of medicine, (2) the delivery of health-care, especially
doctor-patient interaction, (3) the social and cultural
factors that affect how illness is defined, and (4) the
social causes of illness. The class will emphasize
empirical research especially but not only quantitative
research.
277. (HSOC277) Mental Illness.
(C) Schnittker.
This course will review how sociologists study mental health
and illness. We will describe the contributions of
sociologists and explore how these contributions differ
from those of other disciplines, including psychology,
psychiatry, and social work. The course is arranged
in three parts: we will discuss (1) what "mental illness" is,
(2) how social factors shape mental illness, and (3) how
we as a society respond to and treat the mentally ill.
280. (EALC048, SOCI580) Social
Issues in Contemporary China. (C) Hannum.
China's transition to a market-oriented society has effected
fundamental changes in the lives of citizens. This
class will consider pressing social concerns that China
must struggle to address as it continues down the path
of market reforms. Using topical problems to illustrate
broader issues of social inequality along lines of gender,
ethnicity, residence status, and poverty status, we will
consider questions such as the following: How are women
and men faring differently in China's new labor market
and workplaces? Are rural peasants and the emerging
underclass of urban laid-off workers being left behind
by market transition? How are minorities faring in
China's transition? How does the emerging digital divide
play into the dichotomies of east-west and urban-rural
in China? What is the plight of millions of "floaters" migrating
into China's cities, with minimal legal rights and protections? Can
China's rapidly-changing public health system handle emerging
diseases such as SARS and AIDS? How has the one-child
policy affected women, children, and society in China?
Who are the "missing girls" of China, and what
are the social implications of their disappearance? How
was the welfare of children and adolescents changed with
market reforms? The class will combine lectures, academic
readings, case studies, films, and discussions.
299. Independent Study. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
Directed readings and research in areas of sociology.
Permission of instructor needed.
SM 300. (AFRC300, ASAM300, NURS261)
Senior Research Workshop. (C) Bosk, Charles, Elo, Grazian, Leidner, Schnittker. Prerequisite(s):
SOCI 100.
The purpose of this course is to guide senior sociology majors
in writing a research proposal for a senior honors thesis.
Students will learn about various research approaches, how
to write a focused literature review, and kinds of data necessary
to answer a wide variety of research questions, including
their own. Throughout the course, students will work
on designing a research question, generation researchable
hypotheses, and coming up with a design for their proposed
study. The final paper for this course will be a research
proposal that is the basis for students' independent research
project. This course satisfies the research requirement
for sociology majors and is designed primarily for seniors
who are planning to write an honors thesis.
301. Independent Study in Major
Concentration. (C) Bosk,
Furstenberg, Grazian, Schnittker.
Permission of instructor needed.
334. (NURS334) Health and Social
Policy. (M) Society
Sector. All classes. Aiken, Lake.
Health and Social Policy is an interdisciplinary course examining
health care and social policy from domestic and international
perspectives. The course is designed to engage students
in critical thinking about social determinants of health,
the organization and outcomes of health care systems and
institutions, global health priorities and challenges,
and the implications for public policy. Topics include
the social inequalities and health; how organizational
context of health care impacts outcomes; management of
human resources in health nationally and globally; analysis
of medical error, its causes, and consequences; review
and critique of public policies in U.S. health care; and
global health priorities and international health policy. Issues
of current public debate in health and health care will
provide a context for learning. There are no prerequisites. The
course is intended for generalists as well as for those
planning careers in health care.
399. Senior Thesis. (C) Staff.
Senior Thesis is for senior sociology majors only.
Students are assigned advisors with assistance from Undergraduate
Chair.
SM 409. (COMM410) New Media and Community
Life. (C) Hampton.
This upper level course provides an overview of recent research
on the social implications of new media. The focus
is on how recent technological innovations, including personal
computing, the Internet and mobile phones may be changing
the way we interact with each other, our environments and
those around us. This seminar takes students beyond
the basic questions of "are virtual communities real
communities?" and
"does the Internet destroy or save community?" to an in-depth discussion
of how networks of community relations are maintained and transformed on and
offline as a result of new media. The course is based around the argument
that computer networks are inherently social networks, linking people, organizations
and communities. This subject is heavily weighted towards the evaluation
of empirical studies, the use of social network analysis, and studies that
address sociological research questions. Students will learn to critically
examine the impact of new media on society through in-depth seminars and independent
research.
SM 410. (CRIM410) Research Seminar
on Experiments in Restorative Justice. Strang.
This seminar focuses on the ongoing data collection of Penn's
Jerry Lee Program of Randomized Controlled Trials in Restorative
Justice, the largest program of field experiments in the
history of criminology. Since 1995, this research
program has randomly assigned over 3400 victims and offenders
to either conventional justice or restorative conferences
of victims, offenders and their families, in Canberra (Australia),
London, Northumbria and Thames Valley (all in UK). The
offenders have all been willing to acknowledge their guilt
to their victims (or the community), and to try to repair
the harm they have caused. The seminar's purpose
is to introduce students to the theory and practice of
RJ, to discuss findings emerging from the Jerry Lee Program,
and to provide students with a major, supervised research
experience using extensive observational, interview and
criminal offending (self-report) data. Students will learn
how to analyze survey data in the context of randomized
experiments in justice, as well to understand the conceptual
and methodological issues central to expermental criminology.
SM 411. (CRIM411) Field Observations
in Criminal Courts. (C) Rock.
The course will serve as an introduction both to qualitative
research and to an understanding of the routine workings
of the courts in Philadelphia. After a brief discussion
of the theoretical underpinnings and practical techniques
of ethnography, students will undertake supervised field
projects leading to the writing of 5000 words long, examined
research reports about different aspects of the social
organization of the courthouse and court room.
SM 420. (URBS420) Perspectives on
Urban Poverty. (C) Wolfson.
This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to
various perspectives and philosophies that have dominated
the discourse on urban poverty throughout history. The
course is primarily concerned with the ways in which historical,
cultural, political, racial, social, geographical, and
economic forces have either shaped or been left out of
contemporary debates on urban poverty. Of great importance,
the course will evaluate competing knowledge systems and
their respective implications in terms of the questions
of "what can be known" about urban poverty in
the contexts of policy circles, academic literature, and
the broader social imaginary. We will critically
analyze a wide body of literature seeking to theorize urban
poverty, ranging from sociological; anthropological/ethnographic;
geographical; Marxist; historical; social welfare; and
cultural analyses. Primacy will be granted to critical
analysis of course readings, particularly with regard to
the ways in which various knowledge systems - or "regimes
of truth" - create, sustain, and constrict meaning
in reference to urban poverty.
SM 425. (GSOC431) Women And Political
Activism. (M) Leidner.
This seminar will explore the conditions under which women
become politically active and the relevance of gender to
forms of activism, organizational practices, and choice
of issues. Using contemporary and historical case
studies, we will examine women's activism in feminist and
anti-feminist movements and organizations; in single-sex
organizations devoted to a broad range of goals; and in
mixed-gender movements, including civil rights and trade
unions.
SM 430. (AFRC431, COMM496, SOCI530,
URBS408) Advanced Topics in Sociology. (M) Bosk, Charles, Furstenberg, Hannum, Zuberi.
Upper level special topics.
SM 435. (URBS457) Globalization
& Comparative Urban Development. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Von Mahs.
This seminar will explore the impact of economic globalization
on welfare states in North American and Europe.
Specifically, this course will provide a systematized account
of how different welfare regimes respond to global economic
restructuring processes and thereby produce different outcomes
in the protection of their citizens against social risks. This
course has four major objectives: 1) to critically examine
the concept of "globalization" 2) to show how global
economics restructuring processes affect urban areas in different
countries in similar ways, 3) to introduce the differences
between various welfare regimes in Europe and North America
as well as the nature and extent of social service provision,
and 4) to examine the outcomes of different welfare policies
for residents in different nation-states focusing on urban
problems such as unemployment or underemployment, poverty,
racial/ethnic inequalities, immigration, housing shortages
and homelessness. This comparative analysis of social
policy in the context of economic globalization will enable
students to reassess the function, opportunities, and limitations
of different types of welfare policies in order to find ways
to rethink current social policy approaches in the United
States and to envision more productive alternatives.
SM 437. (ANTH437, HSOC437) Cultural
Models & Health. (C) Barg.
There is a great deal of variation among population groups
in the incidence of and mortality from most major diseases. Biological
and social factors can account for some of this variation. However,
there is increasing evidence that behavior- and the cultural
models that are linked to health behavior- play an important
role too. Cognitive anthropology is the study of
how people in social groups conceive of objects and events
in their world. It provides a framework for understanding
how members of different groups categorize illness and
treatment. It also helps to explain why risk perception,
helpseeking behavior, and decision making styles vary to
the extent they do. This seminar will explore the
history of cognitive anthropology, schema theory, connectionism,
the role of cultural models, and factors affecting health
decision making. Methods for identifying cultural
models will be discussed and practiced. Implications
for health communication will be discussed.
SM 453. (CPLN545, URBS453) Metropolitan
Growth and Poverty. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Madden.
This course analyzes the role of metropolitan regions in the
U.S. and global economies, including the sources of metropolitan
productivity, the ways that metropolitan structures affect
residents, and analyses of public policy in metropolitan
areas. The economic, political, and social forces
that have shaped World War II urban and regional development
are explored, including technology, demography, and government. Special
attention is paid to how metropolitan change affects residents
by income and race.
Topics include: gentrification, schools, suburbanization,
sprawl, metropolitan fragmentation, concentration of poverty,
race, and various economic revitalization initiatives.
SM 473. (URBS473) Community Organizing:
History and Theory. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
Much of what counts for social activism in the United States
represents the application of passion and good will to
social problems.
Yet there is an increasingly clear body of knowledge in practice
on how people can build and use power through organization
to influence the forces that shape their lives, families
and communities. The development over the past two
decades of an effective community organizing methodology
that can be replicated across different social contexts represents
a fundamental innovation in American democracy. The
clearest expression of this innovation has been the emergence
of large-scale national networks of broad-based community
organizations, working, sometimes in competition with one
another, in almost every major city in the United States.
This course will
consider the historical and theoretical sources of what
has come to include the re-working of Saul Alinsky's efforts
beginning in the 1930's to apply a labor organization model
of community; theory on the role of mediating institutions
in democratic political systems; the continuation in new
contexts of local organizing that served as the foundation
of the Civil Rights Movement; reconsideration of populism,
the efforts to incorporate methods of Latin American popular
education into a community organizing tradition. The
course provides students with an opportunity to learn about
and debate power, democracy and faith in American society.
SM 501. Contemporary Sociological
Theory. (M) Collins,
Gibson.
This course will survey the state of contemporary theory from
1945 to the present, using seminal theoretical works and
empirical studies they have generated. Part I will
focus on American theoretical traditions, including functionalism,
symbolic interactionism, network theory and conflict theory.
Part II will examine European theorists including Bourdieu,
Foucault, Anthony Giddens, and Habermas. Additional
sessions will examine post modernism, theories of globalization,
and recent developments in anthropological theory.
506. (SOCI250) Minorities And Media.
(M) Staff.
An examination of the theory and practice of minority representation
in television, film, advertising and music. The course
focuses on representation and how it may work to marginalize
or empower members of minority populations. It concentrates
on ethnic minorities (African Americans, Native Americans,
Latino's), as well as sexual minorities. How has
"minority" been defined--who is included and why? How have
notations of "minority" status been constructed in mass media and
what may be the potential impact of those images both on minority and non-minority
populations? While the class is theoretically situated in sociology and
communications, it also considers how the perspectives of anthropology, feminism,
and ethnic studies have affected our understanding of public representations.
SM 514. (HSSC414) Medicine and the
Body. (M) Sivin.
Until very recently no society's physicians, seeking to understand
the contents of the living human body, could do better
than construct a disciplined fantasy. The raw materials
of this fantasy were what experts knew about the insides
of cadavers, what people felt going on inside them and,
equally important, each culture's notions of order and
process in the world of Nature and in society. The
results were remarkably diverse, as we learn not only from
comparing the medicine of different times in the same culture. In
each case we can reconstruct the relations between the
lay imagination, medicine, cosmology, and values. We
will draw on tools that many disciplines--from literary
analysis to social theory to history of Chinese medicine--apply
to the study of the body.
SM 515. (DEMG515) Family Research
Workshop. (M) Furstenberg.
This course is designed to provide acquaintenace with relevant
scholarship and current research for students engaged in
empirical work on the sociology of the family, gender studies,
and public policy research related to children, youth and
families. The class will be devoted to helping students
papers and thesis work in this area. Students should
come to the class with a research topic in mind. Permission
of Instructor Required.
517. Sociology of Work. (M) Leidner.
The material world is shaped and maintained through work,
but so is the social world. How work is organized,
allocated, and rewarded determines the opportunities people
have for developing their own capacities, the kinds of
ties they will have with others, and how much control they
will have over their own lives. We will consider
various sociological perspectives on work and compare alternative
ways of organizing work, with a focus on the contemporary
United States.
SM 524. (DEMG524) Advanced Topics
in the Sociology of the Family. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Furstenberg.
The course will review a series of theoretical issues in the
sociology of the family and examine major empirical studies
in which theoretical advances have been made. Special
attention will be given to work that has a historical and
comparative perspective. Opportunities will be provided
for original research on the family.
SM 530. (DEMG530, EALC083, SOCI230,
SOCI430, URBS506) Advanced Selected Topics. (C) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Furstenberg, Wolpe, Zuberi.
Topics vary from semester to semester. Courses offered
in the past were Social Movements and Social Change; Critical
Race Theory; Conducting Family Research; Mistakes, Errors,
Accidents and Disasters; Sociology of Jewish Bioethics.
L/R 535. (DEMG535) Quantitative Methods
in Sociology I. (A) Allison, Smith. Prerequisite(s): Basic algebra.
This course is an introduction to the practice of statistics
in social and behavioral sciences. It is open to
beginning graduate students and--with the permission of
the instructor--advanced undergraduates. Topics covered
include the description of social science data, in graphical
and non-graphical form; correlation and other forms of
association, including cross-tabulation; bivariate regression;
an introduction to probability theory; the logic of sampling;
the logic of statistical inference and significance tests. There
is a lecture twice weekly and a mandatory "lab."
L/R 536. (DEMG536) Quantitative Methods
in Sociology II. (B) Allison, Kohler, Smith. Prerequisite(s): SOCI 535 or permission of instructor.
A course in applied linear modeling. Emphasis on the
theory and practice of multiple regression and analysis
of variance, with extensions to path analysis and other
simultaneous equation methods. Some data manipulation
will require the use of a statistical computer
"package,"STATA" but the greater emphasis of the course will
be on conceptualization and the ability to manipulate these new ideas both
with and without access to statistical software.
SM 540. Introduction to Economic and
Network Analysis. (M) Collins.
Economic sociology examines the production and exchange of
goods and services from the viewpoint of the social relationships
in which economic activities are embedded, the social conditions
for economic change, and the effects of these arrangements
upon social inequality and well-being. Topics include
historical theories of capitalism; socialist economies
and transitions; the global economy; institutions and cultures
underpinning various kinds of market and nonmarket exchanges. Network
analysis has been on the forefront of new models of how
economic exchange is structured. This course surveys
network theories of Harrison White, Burt, Zelizer and others,
as well as related analyses of network effects upon careers,
power, conflict, and social movements.
SM 541. (DEMG541, GSOC532) Gender,
The Labor Force and Labor Markets. (M) Madden.
Drawing from sociology, economics and demography, this course
examines the causes and effects of gender differences in
labor force participation, earnings and occupation in the
United States and in the rest of the developed and developing
world. Differences by race, ethnicity and sexual
preference are also considered. Theories of labor
supply, marriage, human captial and discrimination are
explored as explanations for the observed trends. Finally,
the course reviews current labor market policies and uses
the theories of labor supply, marriage, human capital and
discrimination to evaluate their effects on women and men.
SM 542. (GSOC542) Work and Gender.
(M) Leidner.
This seminar examines the relevance of gender to the organization
and experience of paid and unpaid work. Combining
materialist and social constructionist approaches, we will
consider occupational segregation, the relation of work
and family, gender and class solidarity, the construction
of gender through work, race and class variation in work
experiences, and related topics.