In this critical survey of the main theoretical perspectives in contemporary sociology, we focus specifically on structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, critical theory, feminism, and postmodernism. Besides gaining familiarity with these alternative perspectives, we try to identify the main axes of theoretical dispute in sociology and discuss the problems of evaluating and resolving conflict between theories.

Social networks are much more than the people you know on Facebook and Twitter. They affect everything from political beliefs to health outcomes to professional success. This course asks, 'What are social networks?' and examines their impact on contemporary life. Students will develop the analytical skills to understand the formation, evolution, and significance of different relationship structures and the way they shape individuals' lives.

This course will apply theories from sociological social psychology to explore the mutual relationship between the self and the social. We will learn how identities are constructed and reinforced through social interaction, and how our constructed meanings for identities influence social relations - including our expectations for self versus other and our behavior and emotion within social interaction. We will explore the relationship between self and identity, and the ways people strive to maintain coherence of self given the multitude of identities they often embody.

Performance study - individual instruction.

Performance study - individual instruction.

This course explores black cultural production and consumption in the United States using a sociological lens. The central focus is how the production and consumption of cultural objects such as visual art, music, and television reproduce and erode racial boundaries. Topics include the construction of racial identity through consumption; representations of blacks in the media; and the impact of cultural tastes and preferences on black achievement.

Performance study - individual instruction.

Performance study - individual instruction.

Performance study - individual instruction.

This course examines instances of organized collective action in social, historical, and empirical contexts, from the labor movement of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to the new social movements of today. We also explore various forms of unstructured protest, such as riots and demonstrations.