Fall Sociology Courses with a New Twist

New course description:

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, Sociology 23 at 2A
Social movements are collective attempts to promote or resist social change, from the way people live their lives, to how governments govern, to how economic systems distribute rewards. This course examines why and when social movements come about, the organizations and strategies they adopt, and the circumstances in which they are most impactful. We explore these issues by researching individual political movements and engaging larger theoretical explanations for their development.  Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Dixon.

New title and description:
THE POLITICAL POWER OF IDEAS (formerly Ideas, Politics and Crisis), Sociology 67/Public Policy 82.2 at 11
Politicians fight constantly over ideas. This course explores where these ideas come from and how politicians try to convince us that their ideas are best. It examines how people’s values influence which ideas they believe or not. It questions the role of experts in policy making and whether we should trust them. And it analyzes how policy ideas change. Emphasis is largely but not entirely on the political power of ideas in the United States. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Campbell.

New crosslist:
SPORT AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN THE ANCIENT AND MODERN WORLDS, Sociology 49.19/Classics 11.4 at 9
The relationship between democratization in society and in sports forms the subject matter of this course.  We will begin to explore that relationship by looking at the various ways in which democratization in society and in sports influence each other in the modern world.  Then we will turn our attention to the past and examine the relationship between democratization in society and in sports in sixth- and fifth-century BCE Greece, in nineteenth-century CE Britain, and in twentieth-century CE America.  The course will end with a consideration of the lessons we have learned about democratization in society and in sports for public policy in the United States and elsewhere.  Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Christesen.