Urban Sociology

Catalog description

Examination of the structure and dynamics of North American cities and of residents' experiences in such settings. SOC 560 Urban Sociology (3) The major objective of Sociology 560 (formerly 597F) is to survey the field of urban sociology, providing graduate students with a solid grounding in the literature on North American cities. The course heavily emphasizes recent writings by sociologists. However, the historical development and continuity of the major questions that have guided urban research receive more than passing attention, as do the contributions of geographers, psychologists, and others outside the discipline. A broad range of theoretical perspectives, substantive topics, and methodological strategies are through reading, lecture, and discussion. Students are expected to be active, critical consumers of urban knowledge but also producers of it: they must independently formulate and address a research problem then share their results with their classmates. Once students complete Sociology 560, they should be ready to enroll in more specialized urban seminars and to teach urban sociology at the undergraduate level.