Sociology 290S - Policy and Social Inequality
Spring
2026
01
4.00
Brian Sargent
M W 4:00PM 5:15PM
UMass Amherst
82732
Bartlett Hall room 61
bsargent@umass.edu
82343
We often think about policy as an area where government can be seen to either be effective or inefficient, unbiased or oppressive, too much or too little. But what if the story is that all of these ideas about good or bad governance miss the point? What if even good policy is often the engine of inequality? This class will explore these questions with the ultimate goal of highlighting what policy has been and what it could be. (Gen. Ed. SB, DU)