Sociology 269 - An Introduction to Quantitative Sociology: Culture and Power

How do sociologists define, model, and visualize social phenomena using quantitative tools and statistical software? This seminar will provide a technical, theoretical and practical overview. During the semester, students will learn how to use R and Python to clean, analyze and visualize data that are suitable for sociological analysis. At the same time, the course will interrogate how social inequality can be masked—and deeply pernicious ideas can be reproduced—if quantitative data analyses are not informed by, or sensitized to, social theory and the hierarchies of power and privilege that structure the social world. To this end, we will engage with recent work in cultural sociology that draws attention to variation within and across social groups (defined in terms of race, gender, class and so on) to understand how social inequalities emerge and endure. Throughout the course, we will scrutinize policy-relevant social issues while discussing topics like race, ethnicity, religion, class, gender and sexuality. Prior knowledge of statistics or programming is not required but may be an asset. 

Limited to 18 students. Professor Karim. 

How to handle overenrollment: Preference will be given to Sociology and Anthropology majors, then juniors and seniors.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: group discussions, live coding