49.02 Theories of Democratization and the Case of Iran
Theories of democratization generally examine the nature of the state, economy, social structure, class, culture and religion. This course will begin with an examination of various theories of democracy and democratization. It will then apply these theories to the specific case of Iran. Despite two major revolutions and two movements, Iran is still facing problems democratizing. The latter part of the course relies on documentary films that contain actual footages of Iran's nationalist movement in the 1950s and the revolutionary struggles in 1979.
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49.09 Critical Political Economy
(course syllabus)
Political economy was formulated as a central field of research since the 19th century, designed to comprehend both fields - politics and economics - and how they interact, at the local, regional and global level. Since the 2008 financial crisis it became a very popular field of research, highlighting varied and opposed theoretical approaches. The course will focus on critical perspectives to political economy, including a. class conflict, race and ethnic relations and the world system; b. state institutions and their relation to civil society, capital and labor organizations; and c. late developments of the neoliberal economy, the social and economic implications of inequality, and global protests of the 99%.Dist: SOC. Grinberg.
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49.12 Israeli Society--Structure, Institutions, Identities and Dynamics
(course syllabus) (Cross-listed with JWST 68.01 and AMES 41.08)
The goal of this course is to study Israeli society from a sociological perspective. The course analyzes the economic, political and social factors that shaped Israeli society from its inception, its historical transformation at the structural and institutional levels, and in the changing relations among different social groups. This course examines the establishment of the state, absorption of immigrants, ethnicity, messianic politics, Palestinian uprisings, peace process, and redefinitions of nationalism. Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Grinberg.
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49.13 Science and Religion in American Media
(course syllabus) (Cross-listed with FILM 46.3)
The public life of science and religion seems to be characterized by intractable conflict. In this course we examine case studies from current controversies over stem cell research, reproductive genetics, environmental policy, human origins, and sexuality. We will explore who is creating and maintaining these public controversies and why. We will examine "science and religion" as a defining confrontation in the development of American democracy, and consider how the American public sphere shapes possibilities for political participation. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Evans.
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49.15 Sociology of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
(course syllabus) (Cross-listed with JWST 68.02 and AMES 41.09)
The course aims to comprehend Israeli-Palestinian relations from the first moments of Zionist-Palestinian encounter. It presents different approaches to the interpretation of these relations, the beginning of the conflict before the establishment of the Jewish State, and its further developments. The course will enter key debates on military-society relations, Jewish democracy, economic relations, and the failure of the peace process, ending with a discussion of options for the future. Dist: SOC. Grinberg.
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49.17 Religion and Political Economy
(course syllabus)
What is religion's role in the wealth and poverty of nations? Is there really a "Protestant ethic" and a "spirit of capitalism?" Or is human prosperity completely independent of religious belief, institutions, and "spirit"? How do Western and non-Western societies seeking their place in the modern world reconcile religious traditions with the demands of economic globalization? This course will explore a wide gamut of past and present perspectives on this important, controversial subject. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Clark.
49.18 Third World Revolutions
This course presents a comparative analysis of the three major revolutions of the latter part of the twentieth century: Iran, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. The course begins with a discussion of major theories of revolutions, including works that focus on class analysis, ideological conflicts, and the state. In the second half of the term, the course explores the revolutions in Iran, Nicaragua, and the Philippines, focusing on the causes of the conflicts, the revolutionary processes, and their alternative outcomes: Islamic fundamentalism in Iran, revolutionary socialism in Nicaragua, and the restoration of liberal democracy in the Philippines. The latter part of the course relies on documentary films that contain actual footages of the revolutionary struggles and their outcomes in the three countries. Dist:SOC;NW;INT.
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49.21 The Black Church and Black Bodies: Race, Sexuality and Class in Religious Culture
(course syllabus) (Cross-listed with AAAS 81.04, WGSS 43.07, REL 74.04)
Black churches are challenged to better understand and respond to subjects that are often considered taboo. This course will focus on ideas and approaches that have informed the historic and current Black Church around race, sexuality, and class (and their nexus). Informed by Cultural Theory, it will consider how such churches have endeavored to understand, socialize, and in some instances, control Black bodies as well as some of the broader implications for critically assessing inequality, diversity, and social justice. Barnes.
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49.22 Social Justice and the City
(course syllabus) (Cross-listed with GEOG 25 and WGSS 37.03)
This course explores issues of social justice and cities in terms of the spatial unevenness of money and power within and among cities, between cities and their hinterlands, and between cities of the world. We will examine how multiple dynamic geographic processes produce spatial and social inequalities that make cities the locus of numerous social justice issues. We will also look at how urban communities and social groups are engaged in working for social change. Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Collins.
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49.24 Human Rights
(course syllabus)
In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights called on the world's nations to respect the "inherent dignity and…the equal inalienable rights" of all people. But while the declaration helped globalize human rights, the world continues to experience genocide, torture, slavery, discrimination, and the wide-scale displacement of people. The course seeks to gain a greater appreciation of the complex social forces that impede human rights while also imagining new strategies to address current-day human rights challenges. Students will critically examine human rights case law, develop a non-governmental organization, and participate in a simulation of the United Nations Security Council. Dist: SOC/INT; WCult: W. Salam.
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49.25 Jews and Race
(course syllabus)(Cross-listed with JWST 13, AAAS 65.06)
The question of Jewish difference has been foundational in the formation of both Christendom and Islam. Of course, the question of race, and the racialization of the Jews, is often thought to be modern phenomenon when Race Science became prominent in the nineteenth century. But lately scholars have begun to re-think the category of race in connection with modernity and to reconsider race as a construct that extends back at least into the Middle Ages.
This course will look at the long historical trajectory of Jews and race, beginning in the Middle Ages and focusing primarily on European modernity, America, including the complex alliance of Jews and Blacks from slavery to BLM, the role of race in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the rise of Islamophobia. The goal of this course is to better understand the nature of Jews as a genos/race/ethos/people as they are labeled by others as well as how they self-identify. Jews identified as a "race," and were identified as such by others, until the 1930s, after which ethnos served as a substitute. The question of "whiteness" loomed large for Jews in America; are Jews white, and if so, what are the implications of their "whiteness"? Finally, we will explore more recent iterations of this vexing issue in contemporary politics that includes "Jews of Color," Zionism, Israel/Palestine, conversion to Judaism, and progressive politics in America. Dist: INT, TMV; WCult. E. Magrid.
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49.26 Markets and Their Critics
(course syllabus)(Cross-listed with GOVT 20.10)
The purpose of this course is to explore the nature and implications of the market primarily as a political, but also as a social, economic and even moral phenomenon. From being a marginal, controlled, and secondary social institution in most early societies, markets have risen to become a central mode of social coordination and economic production, distribution and exchange in modern ones throughout the Western and non-Western world. What is the best way of thinking about this transformation in the prominence of the market in human life? Why has it happened, whom has it benefited, whom has it harmed, what functions has it served, what new problems has it created, and what if anything are the limits on the social utility of markets? Dist: INT or SOC. H. Clark.
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49.27 Transnational Feminist Sociology
(course syllabus)(Cross-listed with WGSS 66.16)
How does globalization reconstitute the positions of workers and subjects on the global margins? How do the intersections of gender, race, class, sexuality, citizenship, and religion play out in the context of transnational and global power dynamics?
This class invites us to think relationally, historically, dynamically and use intersectionality as a lens to critique the power exercised by global institutions, corporations, and political processes. By grounding our analysis in the perspectives of women and minoritarian subjects, we can think about new ways forward in building cross-cultural solidarities and coalitions that can inspire abolition and expand concepts of liberation around the world Dist:SOC;NWC;INT. Clark.
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49.28 Sociolinguistics
(Course Syllabus) (Cross-listed with LING 17)
The field of sociolinguistics deals with the ways in which language serves to define and maintain group identity and social relationships among speakers. In this course we will consider such topics as regional and social variation in language; the relationship of language and ethnicity, sex and gender; language and social context; pidgin and creole languages; language endangerment and the fate of minority languages in the US and other countries; language planning, multiculturalism and education. Open to all classes. Dist:SOC. Stanford.
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49.29 Introduction to Public Policy Research
(Course Syllabus)(Cross-listed with PBPL 45)
This course focuses on strategies for, and actual practice of, conducting research relevant to public policy decision-making. Students will be exposed to a variety of research methodologies used in public policy analysis. This course is designed to be a core element of the Public Policy Minor and will also serve as a training ground for prospective applicants wishing to serve in the Rockefeller Public Policy Research Shop during the winter and spring terms.
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