Contact FYS
	300 Steele Building CB# 3504 UNC-Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3504 email: fys@unc.edu phone: (919)843-7773

Sociology

SOCI 050 [006E]: Religion in American Public Life
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Christian Smith
Should government funds be used to support church and faith-based social service programs for the poor? Can businesses restrict the religious practices of their employees? Do religious believers have the right to proselytize others in public places? Should religious groups be allowed to operate in public schools? What is it that makes a public school “public” anyway? Is religious knowledge really different from scientific knowledge? Is it possible to identify a universal, secular morality? Is religion good or bad for democracy? How have U.S. church-state relations changed over the decades? What alternative models for church-state relations do other
Western nations implement? This seminar will engage these and other philosophical and sociological questions in order to explore the key issues involved in the contentious question of the actual and proper role of religion in American public life.

SOCI 051 [006E]: Emotion and Social Life
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Peggy Thoits
Most people think of emotions as purely internal or subjective experiences. When asked to talk about their emotions, they report on physical symptoms or psychological aspects of their feelings. Recently, however, sociologists have begun to show that emotions have a social side. They have found evidence, for example, that emotions are socially and culturally shaped, that they are socially controlled, and that emotions have consequences for sustaining or sometimes changing social life. We will examine these social aspects of emotional experience in this course, including current debates among sociologists and psychologists about the social functions of emotions.
My goal is to expose you to a fascinating and unappreciated side of our feelings. In the process, I hope to arm you with useful ways to think sociologically about other aspects of your daily experiences that, on the surface, do not appear to be social at all.

SOCI 052 [006E]: Social Inequality Across Space and Time
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Guang Guo
This course focuses on social inequality in human societies. The course examines the following questions. In the United States, social inequality seems to be a fact of life, but is social inequality unavoidable? What forms of social inequality have existed? If social inequality is unavoidable, how can that society be established and maintained? If not, is there a system of social inequality that best serves the society as a whole? How can this society be established and maintained? To help think about these questions, we will take a historical and comparative approach. We will look at social inequalities in different historical periods and geographical locations. Among these societies are an African baboon troop, some hunting and gathering societies, the traditional Indian caste system, socialist China, contemporary United States, Britain, and Japan. Theoretical writings by Marx and Weber will help us understand this aspect of human experience, past and present. There will be a midterm exam and a term paper. Grades are based on intellectual contributions to class, mid-term exam, research paper, and an oral presentation.

SOCI 053 [006E]: The Consequences of Welfare Reform and Prospects for the Future
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Kathleen Mullan Harris
The welfare reform legislation that was passed in 1966 was only authorized to run for 6 years. In 2002 the government will assess how well the legislation achieved its goals and decide whether or not to reauthorize the policies contained in the welfare law. This first year seminar is designed to 1) research and document the consequences of welfare reform and 2) participate in the political debate over reauthorization of the welfare law. Class procedures will involve discussion, research on the Internet, student presentations, interviewing legislators in Raleigh, and videoconferencing to welfare reform debates and congressional hearings.

SOCI 054 [006E]: Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Job: Work in 21st Century America
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Anne Kalleberg
Will examine the nature and meaning of work in America at the beginning of the 21st Century. We will seek to answer questions such as: What are the main cahnges that are currently taking place in work and jobs in the United States? what "bad" jobs? Why are some jobs "good" and others "bad"? What explains the growth of temporary work and why do so many people work as temps? Why are so many companies downsizing their workforces? What are the consequences for workers of being laid off and employed? We will try to answer these questions by reading books and articles, by collecting information using the internet using the internet, and by interviewing workers.

SOCI 055 [006E]: Self, Society, and the Making of Reality
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Sherryl Kleinman
What does it mean to say that reality is "socially constructed?" How do people in different social groups develop shared perspectives? Who has the power and resources to define reality and what are the social psychological consequences for those who lack power? In exploring answers to these questions, we'll also examine the self from a sociological perspective. Although it is common in our culture to think of the self as unique object or "personality," groups and roles provide the filters through which we see ourselves (and others). What are these filters and how do people develop different social identities throughout their lives? We'll link the things we think of as uniquely our own-thoughts, feelings, and actions-to interaction, power, and social life.

SOCI 056 [006F]: Citizenship
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS); US Diversity (US) [GC Philosophical]
Judith Blau
Citizenship takes on new meaning in a global context. A practical manner is that many people live in more than one nation and feel they should vote in all places, but cannot. However, many of the issues are not practical, but instead raise major questions about rights and responsibilities, and they pose questions about diversity and equality, and also about the State and society. This course examines current debates, examples oh human rights charters, and students apply what they learn to sociological topic.

SOCI 057 [006E]: Rationalization and the Changing Nature of Social LIfe in 21st Century America
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Howard Aldrich
Today, fast food restaurants have become a model for everyday life. Some scholars hae even talked about the "McDonaldizaton" of the nation and the world. By that scholars mean a drive toward greater efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control by technologies in modern organizations. That process has shaped many features of American life, including health care, law, and education. Such forces have affected even personal relationships. Sociologists have a term for this process: "rationalization". In this course, we will explore that social process through "active learning": field trips, presentation by visitors, role-playing, classroom simulations, and other activities. WE will create personal web pages and use the web as a research tool for everyday assignments as well as a term paper. Student assessments are based on daily written assignments (mostly short in-class essays on assigned readings), several short papers, a term project, a group presentation, and a short final exam.

SOCI 058 [006E]: Globalization, Work, and Inequality
Global Issues (GL); Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Ted Mouw
This course will present a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective on how globalization affects labor markets and inequality. The course will consist of two parts. First, we will discuss basic sociological and economic models of work and globalization, and then students will apply these models to three case studies: 1) "sweatshops" and the question of international labor standards, 2) industrialization and development in China and Indonesia, and 3) immigration and economic integration between the U.S. and Mexico. The course will be taught in a seminar format and students will prepare research papers on one of the three case studies. Course readings will be supplemented by the teacher's current research on two questions:
1) What are conditions actually like for workers in Nike plants in Indonesia? (Interviews and a photo-narrative).
2) How does the labor market work for undocumented Mexican workers? (Interviews from Carrboro, NC, part of my personal research project).

SOCI 059 [006E]: The Advocacy Explosion: Social Movements in the Contemporary US
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Kenneth Andrews
This course investigates the origins, dynamics, and influence of social movements in American society. We will examine why people join movements, how movements work, and the way that movements are able to affect broader changes in our society. We will focus on four movements that have led to major social, political, and cultural changes over the past several decades -- the civil rights, women's, environmental, and conservative movements. Over the semester, we draw on the ideas and research of sociologists, historians, political scientists, and others to provide a deeper understanding of social movements, and we will develop a more critical understanding of how society and politics have changed in recent years.

SOCI 060 [006E]: Sociology of the Islamic World
Beyond the North Atlantic (BN); Social & Behaviorial Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Charles Kurzman
This course exposes students to the social, economic, political, and religious currents that have mad the Islamic world on of the most important regions for global affairs, as well as one of the regions least understood in the United States. Students will read publications and Web sites from the Islamic world and prepare in-depth outreach projects on American's perceptions of Muslims.

SOCI 061 [006E]: Innovative, Information Technology, and the Sociology of Business in Twenty-First Century America
North Atlantic World (NA); Social & Behavioral Science (SS) [GC Social Science]
Howard Aldrich
In this seminar we investigate how innovations in information technology are transforming the nature of business and society in the United States. We examine the history of work relationships in the United States in order to discover how information technology will change the role of employees. We also study how the World Wide Web may transform what it means to be a customer.

SOCI 062 [006E]: Social Change and Changing Lives
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Mike Shanahan
Society shapes our lives and yet we seek to influence the direction of our biographies through personal effort (also called "agency"). This dynamic-between society and agency becomes especially interesting in times of social change, when societies redefine the paths that lives can take. How do societies shape the biography? How do people, through their purposive efforts, shape the course of their lives? And how do society and agency come together to create biographies? We will consider these questions at a conceptual level and then through case studies. In so doing, we will develop insights into how every biography is marked by the interplay between social context and personal effort.

SOCI 063 [006E]: Cooperation and Conflict
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Tony Oberschall
We study cooperation and conflict and apply it in a variety of settings where there is no state and legal system that enforces rules of conduct: initial and early encounters of Europeans and non-Europeans in the era of exploration of the Pacific when Europeans ships arrived at islands such as Tahiti; settlements of migrants and colonists in a wilderness, such as the Puritans in New England and the Mormons in Utah, and the miners in the California gold rush of 1849; good Samaritans who rescue strangers despite risks, as some gentiles did to Jews in Nazi Europe. We learn about the use of game theory for understanding cooperation in the state of nature. Following that, each of you picks a diary or journal of an explorer or settler, supplemented by a historian's account, and we learn to content analyze the text for episodes of cooperation and conflict, and some other transactions (avoidance). We will compare the findings across settlements and explorers, and both with the cooperation theory's hypotheses and predictions. Each of you will present your case and your content analysis with appropriate charts and commentary, and the entire group will discuss our work. You will present twice: first during the early stage of you work, when you get feedback from everyone, and second when you are close to done. I will present similar work to the group and will in fact also be working on these topics during the semester.

SOCI 064 [006E]: Equality of Educational Opportunity Then and Now
Social & Behavioral Science/Other (SS) [GC Social Science]
Karolyn Tyson
Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas centers on one of the most significant and controversial issues in American public education: ensuring equality of educational opportunity. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling on school segregation, students in this course will examine in-depth the social conditions that led to the case and the educational landscape since that time, including school segregation and other factors associated with equality of educational opportunity. Students will read historical and contemporary accounts and research reports on equality of educational opportunity, school segregation, tracking, and the achievement gap, view films related to these topics, and conduct interviews with classmates and individuals who experienced segregated schools during the pre-Brown era.

SOCI 066 [006E]: Citizenship and Society in the United States
North Atlantic World (NA); Social & Behavioral Science (SS) [GC Social Science]
Andrew Perrin
Americans are taught that democracy and citizenship go hand in hand: being a good citizen may mean voting, writing letters, and taking other actions to "make one's voice heard." During the course of American history, though, citizenship has meant different things to different people at different times. What opportunities and problems do citizens face today in connecting with the political world? How have these changed over time? What kinds of actions can an individual citizen, or a group of them, take to be a more active, effective citizen? The seminar explores these questions by closely examining the November, 2006 elections, in dialogue with the latest ideas and information about how citizenship works.

SOCI 067: America in the 1960s
Social and Behavioral Sciences/Other (SS); Communication Intensive (CI); US Diversity (US)
Larry Griffin
The 1960s were a period of great social upheaval, when what Americans assumed were "time-honored" ways of ordering our society were, first, challenged, and, then, overthrown. Many aspects of American culture-how we organized racial and gender relations, how we expressed our morality through music, art, and film, how we thought about God and spirituality, and how we practiced politics, among others--was profoundly changed by happened in the 1960s. We will examine these changes in detail, but we will also look closely at both the roots of the 60s in the events of the 1940s and 1950s (for example, the Cold War with the Soviet Union and the Civil Rights Movement) and examine a few the legacies of the 60s that are with us today (the so-called "culture wars," for example). The seminar's goal is to help you understand how the 1960s came about and what the period means for American culture.

SOCI 068: Immigration in Contemporary America
Social and Behavioral Sciences/Other (SS); Communication Intensive (CI); US Diversity (US); Global Issues (GL)
Jacqueline Hagan
Contemporary international migration is transforming politics, economics, social relations, and ethnic identities in societies throughout the world. This course is designed to introduce students to the fascinating and ever-changing study of immigration in contemporary America. We will cover the great waves of European migration at the turn of the 20th century, review the emergence of Latino and Asian migration flows to the Untied States after 1965, and the contemporary movement of migrant agricultural workers to North Carolina, a state which until recently had experienced little or no migration. We will look at why people migrate, how citizens respond to that migration, how the federal government regulates migration, how local communities manage the settlement of its newcomers. Through a variety of methodological approaches, ranging from fieldwork to content analysis to interviewing to research, students will be actively engaged in each of the topics examined throughout the course.

SOCI 006E Chinese Society Since Reform
GC Social Science
Lisa Keister
This seminar is an introduction to Chinese society, particularly as it has been affected by economic reform. The course had thee broad objectives: 1) to explore many aspects of Chinese society and the effect reform has had on them: 2) to expose students to the process of doing research; and 3) to help students gain an understanding of basic sociological and economic theories and their application to the study of real-world problems. To achieve these objectives, we will use a variety of learning strategies including: traditional lectures and in-class discussions, films, guest lectures, attendance at local talks of interest, participation in traditional Chinese celebrations and rituals, primary data analysis assignments, and group discussion and presentation of research findings.

SOCI 006E Language and Social Conflict
GC Social Science
Martin Ruef
This course invites incoming University students to explore issues of language use surrounding topics that may be considered to be controversial or socially divisive - e.g. race relations, bioethics, religious convictions, and politics. The course employs a sociolinguistic approach, drawing on interdisciplinary contributions from anthropology, psychology, analytical philosophy, sociology, and comparative linguistics. After completing background reading in these areas, students are asked to apply the methodologies they have learned to source materials from (a) their own group debates; and (b) archives of electronic texts that reflect pivotal moments in the public discussion of divisive topics. The seminar relies on two large databases of texts prepared by Dr. Ruef - one including over two-hundred autobiographies from the UNC Library's DAS collection, with discussions of race relations in the postbellum South; the other featuring several hundred articles from the MEDLINE archive, with debates on the changing face of U.S. medical care. Students will have the opportunity to perform linguistic content analyses on these databases and transcriptions of their own discussions using software supported by the Gallup Organization.

SOCI 006E Transformations in Health & Health Care: Issues Facing Patients, Providers, & Organizations in the Coming Millenium
GC Social Science
Rosa Haritos
(no description on file)