Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 2024
Course Description
Students in this course will begin to develop what C. Wright Mills called the sociological imagination, a critical mode of analysis that allows individuals to differentiate between personal troubles and public issues. Students will apply concepts from classical and contemporary sociological theory to make sense of current social problems, ranging from rampant inequality and the criminalization of poor people to the mental health crisis. How does the structure of contemporary capitalism shape US (and global) society? Which social groups wield the most power, and how? How do these macro-level processes condition our daily lives? And crucially, how might we go about making contemporary society a more just place?
Recommended Citation
Feldman, David, "SOC 100PA Contemporary Society Feldman Fall 2024" (2024). All Course Syllabi. 830, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/records_syllabi/830
Student Outcomes
During this course, students will: Use the sociological imagination to differentiate between personal troubles and public issues. Understand stratification and inequality by race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and other important identity markers. Interpret social interaction at the micro, meso, and macro levels. Identify and analyze strategies that individuals and organizations have used in the past and can develop in the future to address and ameliorate social injustice.