| source Duke (X) |
level |
department Sociology (X) |
This class is only open to freshmen. The class will introduce the sociological approach to understanding human behavior and will contrast this approach with that of other disciplines. Students will be introduced to sociological theories, research methods, and data. Students will have the opportunity to assess sociological claims against data  to see how knowledge is produced in this discipline.
Score: 8.475363 Details | Listing | Web page
This class is only open to freshmen. The class will introduce the sociological approach to understanding human behavior and will contrast this approach with that of other disciplines. Students will be introduced to sociological theories, research methods, and data. Students will have the opportunity to assess sociological claims against data  to see how knowledge is produced in this discipline.
Score: 8.475363 Details | Listing | Web page
We will begin the course with an overview of various theoretical approaches to the study of social problems in the United States. After the first week of class, we study in detail a number of specific social problems, including drug and alcohol use and abuse, crime and violence, sexuality-related problems, gender relations and inequality, race and ethnic relations, and environmental problems, and sources of the continuing evolution of social problems.
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While social scientists have historically viewed prisons as institutions of social control, far too few have taken an in-depth look at the relationship between the number of prisons in the United States and rates of poverty and other forms of social inequality. Over the past thirty-five years, the U.S. prison population and number of prisons have grown exponentially. During this same time period, the urban and rural Âunderclass in America also has increased dramatically. While there is evidence to suggest a correlation between the rise/expansion of the prison system and increasing inequality, the causal relationship between these phenomena is still under debate. This course is designed to take an in-depth and critical look at these relationships, exposing students to emergent theories and research linking the study of inequality and crime and punishment using the lens of the prison complex.
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Examines interconnections among gender, poverty, and health. Adopts global perspective with focus on US and resource poor countries. Discusses frameworks for understanding health as well as in depth case studies of particular health areas. Major focus on HIV/AIDS.
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This class is about race relations in the history of the USA. We begin the term with a discussion of the main concepts sociologists use to analyze racial matters. Central to this discussion is understanding that "racism" is not "prejudice," "ignorance," or a "set of beliefs" but a comprehensive historical system of racial domination organized by the logic of white supremacy. We follow this theoretical discussion with a brief discussion about the development of "whiteness" as a social category in the USA. However, the bulk of the time is dedicated to the systematic examination of the historical experiences of five racial minorities vis-a-vis whites. The five racial minoritry groups examines are African Americans, Chicanos/Mexican Americans, American Indians/Native Peoples, Puerto Ricans, and Asian Americans. We survey each group in a very structured manner. First, we review the most salient features of the history of the group in the USA. Afer this review, we proceed to discuss some of the general problems affecting the group through either a general interpretation of its history in the USA or through a historical case study of the group in one region of the USA. Finally, we examine the contemporary social statistics of the group vis-a-vis whites. We conclude the class with a discussion of some of the solutions that have been proposed to deal with the racial dilemmas plaguing the United States of America.
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Social forces that have altered the role of children in society, with attention to changes in the population, labor force, community, family and kinship, schools, laws, government, and recreational and religious organizations. Focus on the United States, with some cross-cultural comparisons. Primary emphasis on how changes in the world of childhood have emerged as offshoots of scientific and technological innovations related to population dynamics, scientific and professional upgrading of work skills, narrowing of social and geographical distances, and legal and government responses to these changes. Analysis of data using quantitative methods.
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The division of human beings into the categories of "male" and "female" is based on a biological fact, sex. But sex is a social characteristic as well; every society differentiates among its members on the basis of sex, treating men and women in different ways and expecting different patterns of behavior from them. In many cases this sex differentiation is associated with social inequality. In this course, we will explore how the biological differences associated with sex are transformed into secondary, non-biological differences of gender our cultural knowledge about what it is to be male or female. We also will discuss how being a woman or a man affects the resources, respect and power that are accorded an individual by the social institutions in which he or she is involved.
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This course has been designed to introduce students to the undergraduate program in Human Development. The goals and objectives of this course are to broaden and enhance the perspectives of students interested in human development by fostering an understanding and appreciation of how biological, psychosocial and cultural factors act toether in development of the life course; highlighting how different disciplines conceptualize and study development; demonstrating the complimentarity of disciplinary perspectives, and facilitating dialogue which illustrates the complementarity of and necessity for multidisciplinary perspectives. In addition, the course covers ethical issues across the life course including biomedical issues and moral and ethical development through discrete life stages. In addition, the course emphasizes cultural diversity across the lifespan.
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Is globalization undermining the nation-state? Does globalization mean that different parts of the world are becoming more alike? What is globalization, anyway, and when did it start? What is the relationship between national, religious, and ethnic identity? how are they constructed? What assumptions do we bring to our nderstanding of tradition and modernity? How do the different ways in which we understand progress (economic, technological, human rights) affect our understanding
Score: 8.475363 Details | Listing | Web page
Is globalization undermining the nation-state? Does globalization mean that different parts of the world are becoming more alike? What is globalization, anyway, and when did it start? What is the relationship between national, religious, and ethnic identity? how are they constructed? What assumptions do we bring to our nderstanding of tradition and modernity? How do the different ways in which we understand progress (economic, technological, human rights) affect our understanding
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Doing research involves a series of critical decisions. Researchers must select their topics, pose relevant questions, define their concepts, choose appropriate strategies for data collection, develop means of measuring variables, select people and/or events to study, and negotiate dozens of details. This course is about learning the background, concepts, and skills involved in that process as well as learning how different methods contribute to the study of social life. The primary goal is to design ethical research projects with the highest validity possible. A complementary goal is to critically evaluate the research conducted by others. It is also important to learn terminology so that you can describe your methods to others in the common language of social science. Students will gain direct experience with the organic way that research skills are integrated into multi-faceted projects.
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See Description above.
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This course offers an opportunity to study the work of some of the key influential theorists of human and social behavior, and to experiment with these theories in a real-world setting. We will consider how societies organize themselves, their institutions and symbolic systems; how those organizational schemes adapt over time to changes in material and ideological circumstances; and how the things that matter to particular societies are reproduced over generations and internalized by its members. As a primary test-case focus for the semester, and the lens through which we will explore our theoretical readings, will be the complex of practices, institutions, rituals and behaviors that comprise Duke undergraduate life, such as collegiate sports, the Greek scene, alcohol policy, etc.
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This course will focus on both MarxÂs own works and primary texts in the Marxist tradition. We will read MarxÂs work not only as presenting a political and philosophical position, but also as proposing a method of inquiry relevant to various academic disciplines and intellectual projects.
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This course will focus on both MarxÂs own works and primary texts in the Marxist tradition. We will read MarxÂs work not only as presenting a political and philosophical position, but also as proposing a method of inquiry relevant to various academic disciplines and intellectual projects.
Score: 8.475363 Details | Listing | Web page
This course will focus on both MarxÂs own works and primary texts in the Marxist tradition. We will read MarxÂs work not only as presenting a political and philosophical position, but also as proposing a method of inquiry relevant to various academic disciplines and intellectual projects.
Score: 8.475363 Details | Listing | Web page
All modern organizations--large corporations and small shops, profit and nonprofit, schools and hospitals, governmental agencies and churches--do not exist in vacuum. They operate in social, economic, legal and political environments (the term environment used here does not refer to natural environment which is conventionally understood). Environments are comprised of other organizations, such as buyers, suppliers, competitors, regulatory agencies, and courts. Environments not only provide organizations with opportunities, they also constrain the actions of organizations. The goal of this course is to explore how modern organizations interact with their environments and to examine various perspectives to our understanding the relationship between organizations and environments and their consequences. Classes combine lectures, discussions, and case studies, designed to apply sociological approach to the analysis of the real-world problems.
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This course will examine various features of the changing global economy, the emergence of major regions of development and their relative successes or failures in the global market place, and the variability of capitalism as an engine force of development. Besides attention to selected regions such as Europe, Asia, and Africa, we will also look at transnational networks, practices and ideologies from consumerism to international crime. Lastly, the course will consider resistance movements critical of globalization and the global economy.
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While it is common to hear the present era described as Âsecular and Âmodern, these twin epithets often lack a clear meaning. This new course will explore the relationship between these two key concepts from a variety of disciplines and genres of writingÂin particular literature, theology, sociology, and philosophy. Among the questions we will take up are the following: a) How does the notion of a Âsecular world relate to the rise of experimental science and to the reorganization of knowledge as a system of Âprofessions embodied in the modern research university? b) What kinds of narratives (of progress, of decline) have helped consolidate the widespread notion that we now inhabit a Âsecular modernityÂ? c) Often the process of secularization is causally linked to the rise of modern disciplines and their notion of knowledge as a professional commodity (a.k.a. ÂinformationÂ). If we accept that claim (which, implicitly, we seem to do just by being here and doing what we do), what vantage-point is left for us from which to evaluate the Âsecular and the ÂmodernÂ? IsnÂt any such perspective already prepossessed by those very disciplines and methods associated with a secular modernity? d) Are there limits to the project of nineteenth-century Liberalism and its commitments to pluralism, social progress, and an overwhelmingly economic idea of human flourishing? Is it sufficient to conceive of modern society strictly in terms of Âhorizontal (utilitarian) relations between anonymous individuals and in a language of efficient causes? Or is there something profoundly wrong with that model, as has been argued by a number of major intellectuals and writers who have dissented from the majority view in creative and uncompromising ways (e.g., Goethe, Schopenhauer, Newman, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche et al.). e) What are the consequences of a radical critique of modern, secular, and liberal society as these writers have variously proposed it? Is it that modern society still requires some Âvertical point of reference to the Âsacred (Newman, Dostoevsky), or that it has simply not succeeded in shedding its metaphysical, Christian baggage (Schopenhauer, Nietzsche)? -- A syllabus for the class has already been posted at a website for this course (see below for the URL). Readings will mostly be selections from a wide array of major voices in a) literature (Lessing, Goethe, Coleridge, Blake, Hölderlin, G. M. Hopkins, Dostoevsky); b) philosophy (Hume, Kant, Nietzsche); sociology (Comte, Weber, Durkheim); cultural criticism (Coleridge, M. Arnold, Nietzsche); and theology (Schleiermacher, Feuerbach, Newman).
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The American family has experienced tremendous change in the past thirty years. This course will provide an introduction to sociological perspectives on family change. We will learn to critically evaluate the arguments that sociologists, policy makers, and commentators make about the current state of the family, and study the theories, methods, and data that sociologists use to make sense of families. We will also consider the ways in which society shapes family structures, both concretely through social policy and indirectly through social pressures and ideology. Requirements may include exams, short papers, and class presentations.
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See bulletin description above.
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(1) Define markets and marketing in sociological terms; (2) Consider and explore the nature of market processes: a) with a brief review of neoclassical and efficiency approaches; b) with significant counterpoints of control, transaction cost, and other structuralist approaches to market phenomena; c) with special reference to global variations market authority systems, especially the recent dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China; (3) Apply and test our ideas on weekly basis with structured discussion of material from each edition of Businessweek;
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Analysis of the psychological, religious, cultural, economic, political, and historical roots of entrepreneurship. Supply side and demand side perspectives. How to interpret theories at multiple levels of analysis to understanding entrepreneurship. Examines research on new business formation and the likelihood of success.
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Introduction to how social factors influence health and well-being, with a particular focus on contemporary U.S. society. Topics include obesity, aging, socioeconomic disadvantage, access to health insurance, public health systems, the role of the media, and racial/ethnic and gender inequalities. The course will provide descriptive assessments of health inequalities and analytic examinations of the mechanisms through which social factors affect health. Instructor: Read
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