SOC186

This course is organized as a gateway to the discipline of sociology, which is the study of processes and relationships we all know as society. The course introduces the student (a) to the four primary dimensions into which sociology is loosely organized -- social systems, social institutions, human agency and interaction, and culture; (b) to the ways in which sociologists ask and analyze research questions; and (c) to the theories and research methods sociologists use to examine social relationships. The course emphasizes reading primary sources, class discussions, and other appropriate pedagogical methods. By the end of the course, students will have developed their own sociological imagination and, in particular, a critical perspective on relationships of power, on social inequality, and on social change.