Graduate Courses in Sociology

Below we list graduate courses in Sociology, along with related courses and other courses taught by Sociology faculty. All Sociology students are normally expected to take 501, 502, 503, 504, and 550 during their course of study. Courses taken by most graduate students as part of their basic preparation are offered each year. Seminars focusing on selected topics are more likely to be offered every other year. In addition to the departmental courses listed below, a number of relevant courses in statistics, social policy, and regional studies are offered through the Woodrow Wilson School. Students also routinely arrange individualized reading courses with faculty and informal seminars involving several students and a faculty member.

Course Schedules are available here.

Courses in Sociology

SOC 501 - Classical Sociological Theory
The origins of sociology, with a particular emphasis on the major works of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

SOC 502 - Contemporary Sociological Theory
Systematic treatment of the main concepts of sociology and the major tendencies of contemporary sociological theory.

SOC 503 - Techniques and Methods of Social Science
Systematic study of research methods in social science, with emphasis on empirical procedures.

SOC 504 - Social Statistics
Methods for analyzing data arising from observational studies such as social surveys. The course reviews multiple regression and analysis of variance and covariance models for quantitative data. The course introduces logistic regression and log-linear models for qualitative data, including contingency tables. Emphasis is on the use of statistical models to understand social processes, not the mathematical theory. The problem sets used involve using computer packages. The course assumes a previous course in statistics covering multiple regression.

SOC 510 - Selected Topics in Social Structure (half-term courses)
Systematic orientation, review of the literature, and critical analysis of theory and research in such areas as:

510a Small Groups
510b Social Stratification
510c Race and Ethnicity
510e Sex and Gender
510f Urban Sociology
510g Demography
510h Theory on Black Americans
510i Class, Status and Power
510j The Structure of Society
510m Women and the Welfare State
510p Elites and Leadership
510q Theories of Community
510s Political Sociology of Advanced Societies
510t Political Sociology of Transition
510u Elites and the Upper Class
510v Sociology of Development
510w Social Stratification and Inequality

SOC 520 - Selected Topics in Social Institutions (half-term courses)
Systematic orientation, review of the literature, and critical analysis of theory and research in such areas as:

520a Family
520b Religion
520c Political Sociology
520e Education
520f Science
520g Literature
520i Professions
520j Theories of the State
520k Political: Comparative Revolution
520m Current Debates in Cultural Sociology
520o Intellectuals and Politics
520p Economic Sociology
520q Politics and Economics
520r Comparative Work & Labor Markets

SOC 530 - Selected Topics in Social Processes (half-term courses)
Systematic orientation, review of the literature, and critical analysis of theory and research in such areas as:

530b Technology and Social Change
530c Culture and Personality
530d Human Nature and Social Conduct
530e Culture and Communications
530f Migration and Development
530g Historical Sociology
530h Mental Health
530i Modernization and Social Change
530j Population Policy
530k Mass Media and Popular Culture
530l Health
530m Cultural Analysis
530n Environment
530o Comparative Public Policy
530p Field Methods
530q Organizations
530s Historical Methodology
530t Culture and Cognition
530u Population Issues and Controversies
530v Public Opinion and the Post Soviet Union
530w Sociology of Culture
530x Introduction to Methods of Network Analysis
530y Social Organizations
530z Comparative History of Communications and Culture

SOC 521 - Religion and Culture Workshop
A seminar devoted to the critical discussion of research in progress by members of the seminar, methods, and recently published work about religion and culture, drawing on perspectives in the social sciences and humanities.

SOC 536/WWW 536 - Immigration, Ethnicity, and Public Policy
This course examines the historical and contemporary literature on immigration and the relationship between these flows and the development of ethnic relations. The emphasis is on the U.S., although comparative material from Canada, Europe, and Latin America is discussed. Classical and recent theories of immigrant adaptation, language acculturation, ethnic entrepreneurship, and ethnic conflict are presented and discussed . The bearing of recent research findings on public policy toward immigrant groups and domestic minorities is examined.

SOC 550 - Research Seminar in Empirical Investigation
Preparation of research papers based on field observation, laboratory experiments, survey procedures, and secondary analysis of existing data banks.

SOC 560 - Research Seminar in Comparative Studies
Preparation of papers based on existing literature or empirical investigation, which systematically distinguish the commonalities and differences in selected aspects of social behavior across two or more societies or historical periods.

SOC 571/ECO 571 - Survey of Population Problems
A survey of past and current trends in the growth of the population of the world and of selected regions. The course analyzes the components of growth and their determinants as well as the social and economic consequences of population change.

SOC 572/ECO 572 - Research Methods in Demography
Source materials used in the study of population; standard procedures for the measurement of fertility, mortality, natural increase, migration, and nuptiality: and uses of model life tables and stable population analysis and other techniques of estimation when faced with inaccurate or incomplete data are studied. Prerequisite: 571 or instructor's permission.

SOC 573 - Topics in Demography
Study of the family as a social institution. The emphasis is on the demographic determinants of its structure and life cycle. Special attention is given to comparative cross-cultural data concerning nuptiality, fertility, and mortality under the impact of modernization.

SOC 574 - Nuptiality and Fertility
Fertility, with an emphasis on the demography of fertility, the physiological nexus, the decision context, fertility as a sociocultural phenomenon, current and prospective fertility, and predicted consequences of future fertility.

SOC 577 - Theories of International Development
An introduction to sociological thinking on issues of national economic and political development. Classical theories, including those of Weber, Marx, and Durkheim are reviewed, but the emphasis is on twentieth-century perspectives, such as modernization, dependency, world systems, and flexible specialization. The interplay between economic and sociological theories of development receives special attention. Specific topics include third-world urbanization, political systems and their bearing on economic growth, the social consequences of neo-liberal adjustment programs, and the effects of industrial and financial globalization.

SOC 578 - Sociology of Immigration and Ethnicity
A review of the historical and contemporary literature on immigration and the relationship between these flows and the development of ethnic relations. Emphasis on the United States, although comparative material from Canada, Europe, and Latin America is discussed. Classical and recent theories of immigrant adaptation, language acculturation, ethnic entrepreneurship, and ethnic conflict are presented and discussed. The bearing of sociological findings on current policy debates about immigration control and uses of immigrant labor is highlighted.

SOC 581 - Chinese and Japanese Social Structure

SOC 590 - Seminar in Applied Sociology
The uses of sociology in government, industry, and the professions.

SOC 591 - Seminar in Teaching
Instruction in teaching sociology at the graduate and undergraduate level.

SOC 599 - Special Problems in Sociology
An advanced seminar on selected problems of current interest in sociology. The specific subject matter varies from year to year, reflecting the changing interests of both faculty members and students.





Public Affairs
507b Quantitative Analysis: Basic
507c Quantitative Analysis: Advanced
509 Generalized Linear Statistical Models
510 Survey Research Methods
513 Qualitative Research Methods


Population Studies
501 Statistical Demography
503 Evaluation of Demographic Research
Graduate Studies in Sociology 17

WWS
568/502Health and Mortality
586 Population Policy
587 Research Workshop in Population


Economics
513 Time Series Econometrics
515 Econometric Modeling

Politics
511 Problems in Political Theory
513 Modern Political Theory
515 Marxian Thought
526 Political Culture

Religion
501 Religion and the Tradition of Social Theory
505 Studies in American Religion
Note: 400-level courses in Sociology are also recommended





Spring 2005 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in the Life Course: Concepts, Methods, and Applications, Scott Lynch
Soc 702 Reading Course in the Family, Sara McLanahan
Soc 703 Reading Course in the Sociology of Race, Douglas Massey

Fall 2004 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Medical Sociology, Elizabeth Armstrong
Soc 702 Reading Course in International and Political Economy, Miguel Centeno

Spring 2004 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Religion, Sexuality and Gender, Marie Griffith
Soc 702 Reading Course in Political Sociology, Miguel Centeno
Soc 703 Reading Course in Punishment and Inequality, Bruce Western

Fall 2003 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Culture and Identity in Mexican Architectural Thought, Leonardi Diaz-Borioli

Spring 2003 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Social Stratification, Bruce Western
Soc 702 Reading Course in Social Epidemiology, Scott Lynch
Soc 703 Reading Course in Elites and Leadership, Suzanne Keller
Soc 704 Reading Course in Life Course Analysis, Scott Lynch

Fall 2002 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Social Epidemiology, Scott Lynch
Soc 702 Reading Course in Causal Inference Statistics, Bruce Western

Spring 2002 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Sociology of Religion, Robert Wuthnow
Soc 702 Reading Course in Japan and North East Asia during the 19th to early 20th Century
Soc 703 Reading Course, Studies in Religion and Society, Robert Wuthnow

Fall 2001 Reading Courses
No Reading Courses

Spring 2001 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Reading Course in Political Sociology, Miguel Centeno
Soc 702 Reading Course in Religion and Identity, Robert Wuthnow
Soc 703 Reading Course in Demography and the Media, Betsy Armstrong

Fall 2000 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Development, Miguel Centeno
Soc 702 Cultural Sociology, Michele Lamont
Soc 703 Gender in Latin America, Miguel Centeno
Soc 704 Sociological Theory, Robert Wuthnow
Soc 705 Social Stratification, Marta Tienda

Spring 2000 Reading Courses
Soc 706 Sociology of Religion, Robert Wuthnow
Soc 707 Economic Sociology, Viviana Zelizer

Fall 1999 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Sociology of Development, Miguel Centeno
Soc 704 Social Inequality, Michele Lamont
Soc 705 Political Sociology, Miguel Centeno

Spring 1999 Reading Courses
Soc 706 Sociology of Knowledge, Michele Lamont
Soc 709 Race and Ethnicity, Marta Tienda

Fall 1998 Reading Courses
Soc 702 Reading Course in Gender, Sara Curran
Soc 703 Reproductive Health and Fertility, James Trussell
Soc 704 Social Movements, Miguel Centeno
Soc 705 Gender, Work, and Family, Sara Curran

Spring 1998 Reading Courses
No Reading Courses

Fall 1997 Reading Courses
Soc 701 China and Russia: Comparisons and Relations, Gilbert Rozman
Soc 702 Self and the Internet, Paul DiMaggio
Soc 703 Nationalism, Miguel Centeno
Soc 705 Comparative Studies (China and Japan), Gilbert Rozman
Soc 706 Soviet and Chinese Political and Socio-economic Organizations, Gilbert Rozman
Soc 707 Woman and Development, Sara Curran

Spring 1997 Reading Courses
Soc 704 Economy and Society, Bruce Western
Soc 705 Culture and Civil Society, Robert Wuthnow

Fall 1996 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Sociology of Culture, Paul DiMaggio
Soc 702 Sociology of Gender, Viviana Zelizer
Soc 703 Comparative Sociology with an Emphasis on France, Michele Lamont

Spring 1996 Reading Courses
Soc 701 Network Analysis, Paul DiMaggio
Soc 703 Comparative Historical Sociology, Miguel Centeno
Soc 704 Theory and Culture, Michele Lamont
Soc 705 Sociology of Knowledge, Michele Lamont
Soc 706 Political Sociology, Paul Starr
Soc 707 Japan and China, Gilbert Rozman
Soc 708 Gender, Viviana Zelizer
Soc 709 Work and Occupations, Paul DiMaggio