Public Opinion: Sociological Perspectives

3 units

This seminar course will review contemporary research on public opinion about a wide range of political, social, and cultural issues, from an interdisciplinary perspective. It will primarily draw on recent studies in sociology but also from political science, social psychology, and economics. We will examine various issues related to the structures and changes in public opinion. Substantively, we will cover a wide range of topics, including partisan polarization in public opinion, nationalism, populism, intergroup attitudes, economic inequality, moral and cultural issues among others. While much of the readings will focus on the case of the U.S., we will approach it from comparative perspectives. Additionally, we will discuss various methodological issues and recent advances related to measurement and analysis of public opinion. Research on public opinion is extensive and interdisciplinary, and the scope of this course is inevitably selective and limited. Our focus will be on the areas characterized by active ongoing scholarly conversations and/or some notable theoretical and methodological innovations. While there exists an extensive body of literature on public opinion utilizing diverse qualitative methods, some of which are incorporated into this course, our coverage will primarily revolve around survey-based research.