How to Think Sociologically

Undergraduate / Graduate

To paraphrase Georg Simmel, sociology isn't just a great pot into which a bunch of topics related to society are dumped. It represents a particular perspective on the world, one that is very different from common-sense and commonly available perspectives rooted in, say, economics, biology, physics, or psychology. Sociologists tend to explain the world using words like social structure, culture, agency, and process rather than self-interest, genetics, evolution, natural laws, or neural wiring. A sociological perspective can be very powerful, casting a new and clarifying light on important social issues and problems, from racial segregation in the United States to democratic backsliding globally (and in the United States). The aim of the course is to get students to think sociologically and deepen their sociological imaginations. To this end, we'll discuss a set of societally important (and not at all controversial) topics, including epistemology, identity, inequality, race, sexuality, social class, orientalism, and political division. As the course will demonstrate, a sociological approach can help illuminate these topics and shed new light on how to approach them. While the readings will include dense social theory, every effort will be made to make the ideas at stake accessible to a non-specialized audience.