Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Introduces students to the main objects and goals of Sociology-both for sociology concentrators and curious non-concentrators. Explores the theories of classical authors in the history of sociology (such as Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and beyond). Examines major topics in sociological research (including but not limited to social problems, deviance, inequality, social change, culture, education, social interaction).

Why do men and women tend to cluster into different occupations? Why do they earn different wages? Is there a certain path that all countries follow as they become more economically prosperous, or do issues concerning men's and women's work differ dramatically across countries because of cultural reasons? This course provides an overview of key issues and perspectives in the study of men, women, and work in contemporary society.

Examines descriptions and explanations for inequality by social class, race, and gender, with a focus on the United States. Comparisons to other societies are also part of the course. Readings include classical and contemporary research reports in the form of nine classic and will-become-classic books; lectures update and contextualize the readings.

Introduces the sociological study of formal organizations. Surveys basic concepts, emphases, and approaches. Attention given to processes within organizations, as well as to relationships between organizations and their environments. Topics include bureaucracy, leadership and power in organizations, interorganizational networks, and coordination among organizations.

Focuses on the development of global capitalism and the relationship between markets, the state, and civil society. The course will pay particular attention to power and inequality, and to various forms of resistance against globalization.

Social movements and revolution have long been driving forces behind political, social, and cultural change. From the Civil Rights movement of the 60s to the recent and unpredicted "Arab Spring," the extraordinary mobilization of ordinary people is routinely credited with fundamentally re-shaping societal institutions--the polity, the economy, religion, gender, race, and even the environment. But can we really define and study something as ephemeral as social mobilization? Do we know how social movements begin? Why might they become revolutionary? Can they make a difference in the societies they target? This course examines these questions within the sociological literature on collective action. Theories of social movements and revolutions are then applied to a series of case studies around the globe. Case studies may include the US, Iran, China, El Salvador, Chile, India, Poland, Argentina, Egypt, and Nigeria, among others. Students will also be required to apply course readings to the collective action case of their choosing throughout the semester.

Introduces the city as both object and site of social inquiry. We will start with the individual experience of living in cities, then explore the neighborhood structure of the modern metropolis, take on segregation and inequality, and conclude with globalization and world cities. We will also consider themes that cut across these levels, including crime, immigration, workforce issues, and arts and the creative economy. Throughout, students will use the cities of Cambridge and Boston to explore and evaluate ideas from class, via observational and fieldwork opportunities.

Individual work in sociology under the supervision of teaching staff in the department. A graded supervised course of reading and research on a topic not covered by regular courses of instruction.

What can qualitative approaches to research add to our understanding of education, in an era where 'data' are often equated with numbers? In this course, we will examine qualitative methods as a complement and counterpoint to mainstream paradigms in education research. Students will design and implement a small pilot study on an education topic of choice. We will investigate the process of research design, including question formulation, selecting appropriate tools for data collection, and strategies for analyses. The work will be informed by critical reading and discussion of empirical and theoretical scholarship on the intersection of culture, community, and education.

Supports students in carrying out a research project for a nonprofit or volunteer organization of their own choice. Examines theories and practices of the nonprofit sector and research methods. Course combines guest speakers, case work, discussion, and student project presentations.

One of the few courses at Harvard that integrates students' participation in activities outside the University with course work. Course integrates readings with hands-on research projects in the Boston area. Topics vary; refer to course website for details. Previous topics have included: immigration, marginalization, adolescents, civic activity.

Provides a critical understanding of selected classical and contemporary theorists, including Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, Parsons, Coleman, Collins, Bourdieu, and an up-to-date selection of avant-garde theory.

In the context of recent theoretical advances in cultural sociology, the course considers how culture can be systematically compared across populations. While carrying out independent empirical studies, students will navigate the central problems associated with comparative cultural research: defining and measuring cultural phenomena, identifying appropriate units of cultural variation, understanding between- and within-unit heterogeneity, and demonstrating culture's causal effects.

This course will explore how identity and difference are constructed, reproduced, and challenged. We will specifically focus on questions of power and culture in the making and resisting of social boundaries, especially with respect to gender, race, class, sexuality, citizenship, and health/illness. Students will propose and carry out an original research project using qualitative data and methods.

This tutorial guides students through the preparation of an empirical research paper that explores the labor migration of workers from Mexico to the United States using quantitative data and methods.

We live in a world where economic activities increasingly span national borders. How do individuals navigate the economic and social relations across borders? This tutorial will guide students through the preparation of an empirical research paper on this broad question.

Examines how culture, politics, and finance "matters" in health care through an exploration of the diverse community health centers and major medical centers throughout greater Boston. Students will enhance their qualitative research skills through ethnographic observation, mapping, and historical and documentary analysis of the services provided and populations served in various clinical settings.

Reviews the major traditions in urban sociology and the sociology of culture, focusing on the connections between cultural creativity and urban change.

Students will familiarize themselves with the literatures on racism and anti-racism, as well as racial identity and boundaries and design their own qualitative research project.

This course will review a variety of empirical and theoretical perspectives on social class in the United States with a focus on class-based identities and class consciousness.

This tutorial will examine urban social problems and their relationship to public policy solutions through a sociological lens. We will examine social problems that affect city dwellers such as poverty, homelessness, crime, the achievement gap, and health, and their correlate policy solutions including public assistance, housing, policing and incarceration, education policy, health care and more. Students will complete an in-depth independent research project on a social problem of interest, collect their own data, and think through sociological and policy implications. The course will specialize in data collection through the use of qualitative methods such as ethnography, observation, and interviewing.

This tutorial reviews the major approaches to material culture. Students will learn about key concepts such as consumption, globalization, deviance, power, and agency/structure by reading works on specific objects (e.g., hi-tech gadgets, cars, books, drinks). This tutorial guides students through the preparation of an empirical research paper, which will consist in the study of an object to tackle larger questions about social relations.

This course reviews major approaches to political sociology through explorations of state formation, civil society, citizenship, democracy, elections, terrorism, media coverage and conflict. A strong emphasis is put on historical analyses and empirical studies. This tutorial guides students through the preparation of a research paper using qualitative and/or quantitative methods.

Why are some societies wealthier, healthier, and more highly educated than others? And how might we improve the lives of those individuals with the fewest opportunities? The purpose of this course is to investigate whether and how scholarly theories of development map onto the real world practices of development organizations (state development offices, intergovernmental agencies, not-for-profit organizations) and vice versa. Readings in development sociology will be interspersed with individual student analyses of specific development organizations across a range of issues including (but not limited to) gender, politics, the environment, education, health care, and the economy.

Race, Poverty and Justice surveys some of the key topics in urban sociology, focusing on major social problems in American cities. With particular attention to factors associated with crime, such as poverty, race, education, gender and unemployment, the course draws from different academic, media and narrative sources. Our focus on urban communities of concentrated poverty is intended to challenge students to think about policy solutions to complex problems. How do we respond to under-resourced schools, violence, joblessness, drug addiction and incarceration? Our methodological focus will be on qualitative data collection that includes ethnography and interviews. The last three weeks of the semester will be reserved for students to present original research projects designed to address the problems discussed in class. Questions for consideration: In what ways do various political, economic and religious ideologies shape our understandings of race? What kinds of practices lead us out of poverty? How do we understand justice? An optional visit to at least one Massachusetts state jail/prison will be incorporated into the curriculum.

This course will examine sports through a sociological lens. We will examine processes of stratification in sports including class, race and gender, as well as sports as a business, the media and sports, and sports and health. Students will do an in depth independent or team based research project on the topic.

What does it mean to do a job well? What does it mean to be a good teacher, doctor, social worker, lawyer, or business person? How does the bureaucratic arrangement of work change people's incentives, perceptions of their jobs, and their capacities to do their jobs well? This class will examine how people in various professional and occupational fields navigate the day-to-day demands of their work, with particular attention to how the demands of organizational life-rules, authority, formality, coordination-interact with the work itself. This course will draw on an array of research in the sociology of organizations, the sociology of occupations, and the sociology of professions. The goal of this course is to help students develop a research project in some professional or occupational field of their interest.

Supervision of theses or other honors projects.

This course will examine the institution of sports and how it is shaped by society. Is sports a level playing field and meritocracy where the best person or team wins? Or is sports a mirror of an unequal society where power and wealth shape social life? How do class, race and gender shape the sports we play and how we play them? We will consider sports and higher education in the U.S. and at Harvard. We will also look at youth sports, sports as a business, the media and sports, and sports and health. Students will do an in depth research project on the topic and will actively discuss readings in class each week.

The American workplace has become much more diverse over the past 30 years, with women and minorities moving into greater positions of authority. But significant inequalities remain. Why? This course explores how sociologists go about analyzing the reasons for workplace inequalities using a variety of methods from ethnography to surveys to experiments. Using case studies, we pay particular attention to how work can be restructured in ways that increase participation and equality.

Examines organizational failures and disasters from a variety of sectors and professional fields as way to understand how organizational life influences people's behavior, thinking, decision-making, and moral judgment.

Explores American society and culture through the lens of its various media, including television, literature, music, movies, and the internet. Topics include class and cultural consumption, the business dynamics of the art world, the power of advertising and mass media, children's media and the online worlds of adolescents, and the rise of urban creative economy. Throughout, students will have opportunities to explore and evaluate ideas from class via independent social and media research. Appropriate for sociology concentrators and non-concentrators alike.

From Plantations to Prisons serves as an introduction to the current crisis of mass incarceration. Specifically, it focuses on the religio-historical roots of the U.S. penal industry, suggesting a continuum between plantations and prisons that calls into question our basic notions of justice. The course draws from academic, media, and narrative sources to give particular attention to factors long associated with crime and punishment, such as sin, race, and citizenship. We will also study the unprecedented prison-population explosion (in terms of race, gender and class), and its relationship to major social problems in American cities. Questions for consideration: How do we understand punishment? What is the relationship between race and crime? How are human rights, democracy, and family at risk? An optional visit to at least one Massachusetts state jail/prison will be incorporated into the curriculum.

This course has three objectives: 1) explore the main theoretical debates about the relationship between nature, culture and social structure in the work of major sociologists; 2) Describe the effects of art, culture and science in contemporary societies and discuss the debates around the notions of knowledge society, cultural industries, creative economy, and "society of the spectacle"; 3) analyze a specific aspect of culture: its materialization in spaces and buildings, with case studies of cultural complexes (ex. Lincoln Center-New York) and academic campus and/or buildings (ex. Carpenter Center, MIT Stata Center).

This course introduces students to core methodological concepts and strategies used in social science research including: question formulation, hypothesis generation, the logic of hypothesis testing, sampling and measurement, experiments, survey analysis, content analysis, ethnography, and in-depth interviewing. In the course we will discuss and develop the analytic skills necessary to interrogate epistemological assumptions in published research specifically and truth-claims generally. In addition to critically evaluating previous research, students will collect and analyze their own data based on the different methods discussed in the class. By the end of the course, students should have acquired valuable research tools widely applicable in academic and professional settings.

Examines the key role played by the educational system in reproducing and transforming modern society. Considers the purposes served by an educational system, the distinctiveness of the American educational system in comparison to other countries, the ways that education connects to the labor market in the U.S. and other societies, and why educational attainment is related to social class and ethnicity.

Approaching food as material culture that reveals complex social relations of power, this course begins with the examination of the larger historical processes of conquests and other uneven cross-cultural encounters that shaped the making and remaking of ethnic and regional identities of food. Then it investigates the political economy of transnational production, circulation, and consumption of food in various areas of the world. It also explores the cultural politics of how tastes of food are invested with corporate interests, and images and meanings of status distinction and inequalities. Finally, it examines the role of food in shaping ethnic/racial, national, and gender identities in the midst of globalization. To complement analytical approaches in classroom, this course may incorporate experiential learning components, including a visit to a local restaurant, a local farm, or a collaborative cooking exercise.

Education is intended to be the great equalizer of opportunity, the engine of the American Dream. But in fact there are vast disparities in educational experiences and outcomes, such as high school graduation rates, depending on race, class and other social inequities. Why? Policy and structural factors offer only partial explanations. Cultural factors also come into play, including cultural and social capital; parenting styles; teacher bias; teachers' and students' raced and classed language codes; college admissions priorities; and the experiences of first-generation college students on campus. Students will practice analyzing the methodology behind claims about the causes of educational inequality and learn to debunk flawed studies. This lively, interactive course will uncover many roots of educational disparities, as well as possible solutions.

Examining different sectors of the economy from corporations and finance to households, immigrants, welfare, and illegal markets, we explore how in all areas of economic life people are creating, maintaining, symbolizing, and transforming meaningful social relations. Economic life, from this perspective, is as social as religion, family, or education.

Sociology offers a unique perspective on economic behavior and institutions. Exploring the foundational concepts of economic sociology with examples from all over the world, this course treats the following questions, among others: How do sociological perspectives on organizations, networks, power and inequality challenge widely held assumptions about economic behavior? How can seemingly disparate cases from around the globe enrich our conceptual understanding of economy and society? Has the economy become more global over time and, if so, how? What role does finance capital play in the current dynamics and future direction of the global economy? Starting with the evolution of economic organizations, the course covers topics such as social embeddedness, markets and networks, power, labor market, globalization, economic development, and financial markets.

How can and do people build institutions that are just? This course examines the psychological and sociological underpinnings of people's understanding of justice and their motivation to make situations just. The course draws heavily on real world cases from a variety of social, cultural, and historical settings, as well thinking and research from sociology, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology.

Explores key concepts in sociology of higher education through study of student experience, the effects of college on students, and student engagement in social change - focusing on different parts of the world. This course has a strong empirical component: student research projects will involve qualitative or quantitative methods of social analysis to investigate research questions related to student experience (through fieldwork on Harvard campus or outside of it).

Since the late 1970s, the American style of management has been revolutionized. This course reviews the history of American management strategies, focusing on the origins and effects of the shareholder value approach that now prevails among leading firms. Shareholder value traces its roots to America's lackluster performance in the global economy during the 1970s, and the prescriptions offered by agency theorists in the field of financial economics. We explore how the shareholder value approach was promoted in American firms. We look at how the approach has changed core corporate strategy, how it has affected corporate performance, and how it has shaped labor markets, income inequality, and global trade.

This course approaches masculinities not only as an aspect of individual (gender) identity and a social structure but also as symbols that convey ideas about dominance or positive values in a given society. It examines complex meanings, everyday practices, and rituals of masculinities in various societies both at the level of important social institutions as well as at the level of lived experiences of individual men (and some women). During the first half of the semester, we will focus on the making and remaking of "hegemonic masculinity" in the modern West, which had global ramifications, and compare it with marginalized masculinities. During the second half of the semester, we will focus on how major social institutions construct and maintain hegemonic masculinity and to what extent it is subverted or challenged; we will also examine how masculinities as symbols of dominance shape workings of the major institutions. Examples of such institutions include the military, the family, the school, business firms/organizations, and entertainment and leisure industry. Throughout this line of inquiry, we will look into the binary and hierarchical gender relations and explore an alternative to this dominant construction of gender.

Ideas about order and disorder have driven debates about the city for over a century. After reviewing classic approaches we will examine contemporary research on neighborhood inequality, "broken-windows" and crime, racial segregation, ethnic diversity and immigration, the symbolic meanings of disorder, community organizations, and competing visions for the uses of public space. Students will conduct field-based observations drawing upon cutting-edge methods employed by urban sociologists to understand the workings of the modern city.

This course will explore the role of philanthropy in public problem-solving. Using cases and readings, the course will cover the history and role of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, relationship of both to government, the nature of strategic philanthropy, organizational assessment and impact of private action for public good. Students will chose a problem area with a focus on Boston, and, in teams, research the policies, responses/interventions, role of institutions, strengths and weaknesses of the response and institutional arrangements associated with the problem. A foundation has provided 100,000 dollars (for an enrollment of more than 20 students) for the students to grant to organizations determined as a result of their research.

Introduces quantitative analysis in social research, including principles of research design and the use of empirical evidence, particularly from social surveys. Descriptive and inferential statistics, contingency table analysis, and regression analysis. Emphasis on analysis of data and presentation of results in research reports.

Introduces the skills necessary to work with spatial data, with a focus on community-level variation in the greater Boston metropolitan area. Includes managing and visualizing data with ArcGIS (v.10) and analytical techniques designed to address complications with spatial data.

Male/Female, Man/Woman, Masculine/Feminine, Straight/Gay. These "dueling dualisms" structure our lives, identities and social institutions. Most of us believe that we have a concrete biological sex, social gender and sexual orientation; yet, sociologists increasingly debate the very meanings of these categories and their relationships to one another. We will examine theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding sex, gender and sexuality, paying particular attention to the historical construction of categories, theories about human difference and efforts within sociology to make sex, gender and sexuality into proper objects of study.

A tremendous amount of data is now being collected through websites, mobile phone applications, credit cards, and many more everyday tools we use extensively. What is currently done and what can we do with this precious resource? This big data course looks under the hood. It explores the logic behind the complex methods used in the field (not the methods itself). We then explore how big data research is designed with real life examples of cutting-edge research and guest lecturers from Facebook, Twitter and Google. By the end of the class students will be competent in the field and be able to conduct a research design using big data.

As an integral part of society, science and technology play increasingly important roles in shaping political debates and public policies. This course explores the roles of science and technology in democratic politics in light of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident.

Analyzes the markers of societal success and the social conditions that sustain it. Discusses various indicators ranging from the standard economic measures to the human development index, inequality, resilience to shocks, educational, child development and health measures. Considers the role of cultural and institutional buffers (how cultural repertoires and myths feed strong collective identities, cultural and institutional supports for coping with stigma, models of citizenship and immigration, and multi-level governance and their impact on welfare and poverty). Similarly addresses factors that present major challenges, or 'wicked problems', like concentrated urban poverty, well-being of indigenous and other racialized groups and some of the solutions attempted. Particular attention will be put on the United States, Canada, and other advanced industrial societies and to the role of space, institutions, and culture in shaping the conditions for successful societies. Public policy implications will also be discussed.

Asks why certain social groups are at greater risk for more severe health problems (e.g., infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, cancer) and yet receive unequal health care in the US. Examines what best practices foster adequate delivery of healthcare services, mutual respect between patient and provider, and healthy living. Considers the role of government, the private sector, family and community.

Examines sociological research on poverty and inequality and engages current debates about the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality in the U.S. and other advanced industrialized countries. Explores policy approaches to reducing poverty and inequality.

Explores the intersection of art, crime and law, including: (1) how certain crimes involve-or are directed at or against-art; (2) how certain activities are interpreted as both crime and art; (3) how traditional artists and others have creatively depicted crime, criminals and deviance over the centuries; and (4) what contemporary laws and international treaties cover art crime, and what opportunities exist for further legislations/global cooperation. Case studies may involve the protest artist Banksy and other "street artists," the destruction of the Buddas of Bamiyan, the confiscation/destruction of art in armed conflict (e.g., World War II and the Bosnian War of 1992-95), the thefts at Boston's Isabella Gardner Museum, and many others. This course will be highly interdisciplinary and interactive, and it will encourage students to explore the topic from both scholarly and creative perspectives

Examines the culture of medicine in comparative perspective in diverse environments of risk and trust, in the US and globally; explores the transformative influence of the medical imagination on contemporary worlds of biomedicine and psychiatry

Applies negotiation frameworks to a rich array of cases about community organizing, health care reform, social enterprise ventures, and diplomacy, including cases that students will share from their own research and field study. The course will enable students to be more reflective about large-scale conflicts, organizational and neighborhood tensions, and everyday experiences of dispute and enmity. Students will also engage in a series of lab exercises and negotiation simulations that will permit them to extend their relational problem-solving skills.

This course will serve as an overview of the growing field of network research with a particular focus on how patterns of social interaction shape and are themselves shaped by cultural preferences and meaning-making processes. We will discuss a variety of substantive topics, including musical tastes, romantic relationships, organizational collaboration and competition, and social movement mobilization, while paying particular attention to the increasingly important role of social media in establishing and maintaining social ties.

Examines the prominence of crime narratives in Anglo-American societies in various media formats since the advent of mass communication. Explores why crime has been consistently compelling to societies and citizens, and how these narratives have been harnessed to advance religious, political, governmental and ideological objectives. Critically analyzes the power of mass communication and the impact that crime events have on societies and their legal systems. Questions what responsibilities (if any) media organizations, individual journalists, media consumers, state officials and the legal system assume when producing, consuming and otherwise engaging highly publicized crime events.

This course introduces students to key themes, methods, and concepts in social and cultural analysis through a global selection of classic and contemporary films, documentaries, and TV series. Topics and related readings cover social control, identity, deviance, power, commodification, stigma, networks and stratification, among others. Screenings include House of Cards, Avatar, The Matrix, "The Wire," Psycho, King Kong, and The Social Network, among others.

This course examines global migration and the sociopolitical responses of national communities to this phenomenon. In the first half of the course, students consider the process of international migration, and the dynamics of immigration policy, border control and citizenship. In the second half, students address contemporary approaches to settlement, integration and political incorporation. The course concludes by evaluating the impact of transnational affiliations and supranational governance on a process that conventionally has been overseen by national authorities. At hand each week are some of the great social and political debates confronting American society and many other countries today.

Fifty Years after President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the War on Poverty, America is still home to both abundant wealth and extreme deprivation. This course investigates poverty in America in historical and contemporary perspective. We will explore topics such as urban and rural poverty, the underground economy, and survival strategies of poor families. We will also study several large-scale anti-poverty programs with an eye toward what worked and what didn't, and we will review moral-political debates about the right to housing, living wages, welfare, social suffering, and other matters pertaining to American life below the poverty line.

Interests in social network analysis have exploded in the past few years. Aimed to examine social relationships and interactions from a structural perspective, social network analysis has become an essential tool for us to understand and address a variety of social issues, including friendship formation, peer influence, career mobility, socioeconomic inequality, organizational alliance and competition, economic development, international trade, diffusion of innovations, political mobilization, crime proliferation, spreading of diseases, etc. This course covers the basic concepts and theory in social network analysis, and major approaches and methods to collect, represent, visualize and analyze social network data. Students will also have the opportunity to learn using the mainstream software in social network analysis to conduct their own research on social networks.

Explores the causes and consequences of crime in society. Critically examines the role of key players in the American criminal justice system, including police, politicians, judges, lawyers, offenders, victims and the media. Considers historical, political and sociological dimensions of controversial issues in criminal justice practice and policy.

This course explores the tensions, contradictions, and mutual appropriations that characterize the relationship between law, science, and technology in America. It examines how ideas of evidence, expertise, and public reason have changed over the past half-century in response to such phenomena as the rise of the risk society, environmentalism, patient advocacy, and the information revolution. Law is broadly construed to include the activities of legislatures, regulatory agencies, and courts. The course seeks to contextualize the interactions of law, science, and technology in relation to wider transformations in US culture and society.

This course explores the incredible transformation of Korean society in the modern period. We begin with the demise of the Choso/a7n Dynasty at the end of the 19th century before covering the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), the emergence of two Korean nation-states (1945-1948), the Korean War (1950-53), and the contemporary period (1960-present). The course is divided into two distinct parts. In the first part of the course we discuss Korea's political and economic transformation and in the second, we cover social and cultural change. Upon completion of the course, students should have a thorough grasp of the vast social changes Korea underwent in the 20th century.

Focuses on ethno-racial distinctions as they have played out in the US, particularly in the period from post-World War II to the present. The specific topics covered include the concept of race itself, whiteness and white identity, sociological theories of racial and ethnic stratification, immigration and immigration politics, processes of assimilation, new and changing ethno-racial identities, and racial attitudes. In the process of addressing these large and cross-cutting topics we will also take up a host of related issues dealing with such matters as income and wealth differentials, schooling and its outcomes, crime and incarceration, families, interracial marriages, and racism and antiracism.

Social movements are an important part of both democratic and non-democratic societies. In this course we will assess the state of civil society in East Asia by surveying contemporary social movements in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. The course begins with a discussion of the main concepts and analytic approaches in social movement theory. We will then apply these theoretical frameworks to specific mobilization efforts in East Asia, keeping in mind each country's unique historical context. With the theoretical and empirical tools gleaned from the lectures and readings, students will pursue a case analysis of an East Asian social movement of their choosing.

Examines criminal justice from the perspective of local communities. Questions of how local communities affect and are affected by crime and criminal justice will be addressed. A central concern will be the discussion of characteristics of neighborhoods that lead to high rates of criminality and how federal, state, and local policies not directly concerned with crime policy may nonetheless bear on crime rates. The City of Boston will be used as a laboratory in which to study these issues.

Descriptive and inferential techniques used in quantitative sociological research. Emphasis is on the fundamentals of the linear regression model for continuous response variables, focusing on assumptions and interpretation. Motivation, application, and presentation are stressed; topics include categorical covariates, interactions, and diagnostics. Because the linear regression model is the foundation for more specialized models that are often applied in sociological research, the aim of this course is to develop the skills necessary to (a) understand quantitative sociological research, (b) produce convincing analysis, (c) evaluate quantitative analysis, and (d) learn more specialized techniques as needed.

Matrix approach to regression analysis with an emphasis on the assumptions behind OLS. Instrumental variables, generalized least squares, probit and logit models, survival analysis, hierarchical linear models, and systems of equations are studied.

This course takes an applied approach to the analysis of longitudinal data. Lectures will provide an overview of a variety of techniques, including fixed effects models, multilevel models, and duration models. Students will develop their own empirical projects and receive support as they begin to work with longitudinal datasets.

Introduction to the formative ideas and socio-intellectual contexts of 19th and early 20th century sociological theory. Course will explore social thought from the perspective provided by the problem of social order - and the roles different thinkers attributed to such factors as solidarity, power, and meaning as solutions to this problem. Consideration of the continuing significance of these ideas for contemporary social thought.

This course covers the fundamentals of sociological research design. Emphasis is placed on principles that are applicable in all kinds of sociological research, including surveys, participant observation, comparative historical study, interviews, and quantitative analysis of existing data. The course also delves into current methodological controversies in several arenas.

Examines debates surrounding the nature of the process of economic development. Major attention is devoted to rival theories of where and why development occurs and to a variety of social consequences of economic development.

Covers the development of sociology as a discipline in the US and the rise of distinct schools of sociological theory. Assesses the role of mechanisms in sociological theory and explores the use of theory in empirical research.

Examines approaches to non-numerical data used by social scientists to obtain valid, reliable, and meaningful insight into the social world through the analysis of ethnographic field notes, interview transcripts, and archival and other interpretative data.

Examines the experiences of recent immigrants and their children - the second generation. Review of economic, political, and social assimilation, and ethnic identity formation. Discussion of recent theories and research on the link between identity and economic assimilation.

Explores growing inequality in the U.S., and its implications for public policy in the areas of social support for families and workers, immigration and citizenship, and access to higher education. Students are expected to develop and present their own research.

Reviews classical and contemporary theories of organizations, including ecological, institutional, resource dependence, transaction-cost, agency theory, networks and social movements. Examines phenomena at multiple levels from the establishment to the organizational network or field.

The main topics of this course are: Introduction to a debate: is there a place for creativity and performativity in the sociological study of culture?; 1) the main theoretical debates around culture, social structure and inequality through the classical and contemporary authors and sociological currents, with a focus on the study of cultural practices and styles of consumption; 2) the four dimensions or levels of cultural life in contemporary societies: the creators and their networks, the publics and the market, the local and the global, institutions (schools, museums, etc.), the state and cultural politics.

This seminar is about the practice, politics, and poetics of ethnographic fieldwork--the method of immersing oneself into people's daily routines and systematically recording social processes as they unfold in real time. Along with engaging with several classic and contemporary texts, participants will collect, analyze, and argue with ethnographic data.

Explores qualitative research methods with a focus on interviewing, case studies, comparative case analysis, and ethnography, and with particular attention to international/transnational research. Geared towards students who are conducting fieldwork and/or collecting data.

This advanced course will consider recent developments at the intersection of cultural sociology and the sociology of inequality, mobility and poverty. Topics will include: the coproduction of social and symbolic boundaries; moral schemas and inequality; cultural scripts in the construction of racism and anti-racism; new developments in the study of identity, ethno-racial and class cultures; cognition, cultural repertoires and networks; evaluation and other cultural and social processes; and the conceptualization of context and explanations in cultural sociology.

A seminar devoted to the intensive analysis of a particular aspect of contemporary Chinese society. This year the focus will be on trends in inequality and stratification in China.

Examines the normative, psychological, and sociological underpinnings needed to develop and maintain social institutions that are considered "just". The seminar will design and develop a General Education course for undergraduates.

Introduction to economic sociology at the graduate level. Surveys economic inequality and the ways that economic behavior and outcomes are shaped by social institutions such as markets, networks, organizations, family, and culture.

This multidisciplinary seminar will read and discuss research on crime, the social context in which it occurs, and criminal justice policy. We address this literature in the historic context of shifts in US crime policy to a less punitive regime, where incarceration rates may be significantly reduced. Besides studying empirical research on crime and punishment, we will also consider the future of crime policy, and how principles of justice can guide the role of police and corrections in poor communities.

Examines intersection of race, public will, and policy-making. Reviews theories of race-making and racial inequality, dynamics of public opinion, and effects of a racialized public sphere on social policy. Focuses on the welfare state, the criminal justice system, and the dynamics of a multiethnic society.

The purpose of this course is to critically examine current writings and debates on how social structure and culture affect the social outcomes of the African Americans and immigrants in the US. The relevance of these works for public and social policy will also be discussed.

This graduate level seminar surveys contemporary research in the field of social stratification. We will discuss competing explanations of and empirical scholarship on the emergence, historical evolution and cross-national variation of social inequalities.

Examines the issues involved in providing fair and effective police services to urban communities. Questions of how police can effectively prevent crime while enhancing their legitimacy will be addressed. Major police innovations over the last thirty years, such as community and problem-oriented policing, are closely examined and discussed. Sociological and criminological theories, as well as empirical evidence, are applied to understand critical issues that persist for the policing profession such as race, use of force, and police deviance.

The seminar explores the emergence, dynamics and interaction of cultural, structural and institutional processes in the development, and underdevelopment, of capitalism in western and non-western societies. Among the topics explored are: merchant capital, network channeling and cultural change in the late medieval and renaissance periods; institutional and imperial factors in the rise of West European capitalism; networks and informal institutions in the rise of capitalism in China; honorific individualism and networks of aesthetic publics in in the making of modern Japanese culture; and colonialism and the institutional and cultural origins of development and underdevelopment in Africa and the Caribbean. Our readings and discussions will be guided by the recurring theoretical problems of causality, origins, continuity and change in institutional and cultural processes.

This course examines power relations between (and within) society and the state. We will focus on nation-state formation, revolutions, social movements, ideology and political attitudes, welfare state policies, and globalization, while interrogating the major theoretical traditions that have shaped the sociological study of politics.

Concepts and methods for studying social structure using social networks. Approaches to collecting network data; data quality; graph-theoretic, statistical, and visual approaches to analyzing network data, including blockmodels and multidimensional scaling.

The first doctoral seminar in the Inequality and Social Policy three-course sequence, this course considers the effects of policies and institutions in creating or reducing inequality in the U.S. and other advanced democracies, we well as the reciprocal effects of inequality on political activity and policy choices.

Deals with causes and possible cures for economic inequality, including skill differences, discrimination, immigration, household composition, residential segregation, and the welfare state.

Examines current methodological scholarship in the social sciences with an eye to assessing its quality and potential for advancing quantitative methods. Recently published and unpublished work by local scholars examined.

A venue for those working on topics such as meaning-making, identity, collective memory, symbolic boundaries, cultural capital, class cultures, popular culture, media, disciplinary cultures, and the impact of culture on inequality.

Students develop previously completed papers from Sociology 296a or 296b into professional presentations and publishable articles, critique peer papers across disciplines, and discuss presentations of national experts.

Presentations and discussions of new research by members of the community and visiting scholars. Students are exposed to the major paradigms in the field, and see how research articles are developed and refined.

Bi-weekly colloquium for graduate students that examines international migration and the incorporation of migrants into host societies. Students participate in meetings and present original work in progress.

Guides students through the process of producing an original research paper of high quality. Readings and discussion cover the identification of appropriate research problems, the nature of causal reasoning, and data analysis and write-up.

The workshop brings together quantitative sociologists working with advanced descriptive, computational, causal or network models to empirically analyze issues broadly related to social networks and social capital.

Cities are back, urbanization is rapidly expanding around the world, and new forms of data are presenting unique opportunities for research. SOC314 is a forum to explore the social mechanisms, processes, and structures that occur in urban settings and the diverse behaviors that are shaped by spatial inequality. The workshop highlights the presentation of graduate student research but also includes discussion sessions on selected readings and work-in-progress by faculty at Harvard and around the country.

This workshop provides a forum in which graduate students and faculty can present in-progress work to a substantively diverse group that shares an interest in quantitative methods. The practice of quantitative social science requires training not only in formal statistical methods but also in research design, model specification, management of complex survey data, and the interpretation of results. While Sociology graduate students receive training in statistical methods, many of the other tools of quantitative research are best taught through example and hands-on experience. This workshop fills a gap in the curriculum, providing an opportunity for students to receive methods-directed feedback on their research projects. Cultivating a sense of the types of concerns that get raised with quantitative social science and good practices for addressing those concerns, this workshop will contribute to building an informal community of quantitative students and faculty who can serve as resources to one another. Although intended primarily for graduate students and faculty in the Harvard Department of Sociology, the workshop is open to faculty, researchers, and students from other disciplines at Harvard and other schools throughout the Boston area.

A forum for students and faculty across the university interested in the sociology of education, primarily for the discussion of research in progress. Domestic and comparative topics welcome. Meets bi-weekly, Fall and Spring.