Social Forces: An Introduction to Sociology

Social forces constrain and empower us, bond us together and push us apart. Sociology explores the workings of societies large and small: nations, organizations, communities, families, and other groups. How do societies shape action and identity, and why are social pressures so hard to defy? How do societies distribute wealth and power, and why do inequalities so often coalesce around race, ethnicity, class, and gender? How do established practices persist, and when do movements arise to challenge them? Examining such themes across a range of issues and topics, this course provides a springboard for future study throughout the social sciences.