Teaching

Sociology 1171: Crime and Order in the American City

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2019

Ideas about crime and social order have animated debates about cities for over a century. After reviewing classic approaches to the study of the American city, we will evaluate contemporary arguments on central themes such as the “broken-windows” theory of crime, the uses of public space, racial segregation and inequality, immigration, gentrification, the crime decline, and mass incarceration. Students will conduct neighborhood observations as one of the requirements.

Sociology 242: Crime and Criminal Justice in Life-Course Perspective

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2018
This seminar examines crime and criminalization across the life course.  Social processes and context are emphasized.  Key themes include the long-term study of continuity and change; trajectories, transitions, and turning points; cohort differentiation and social change (e.g., mass incarceration, the crime decline). Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are covered, highlighting research on crime, inequality, and contextual change. A major portion of the seminar will be devoted to the development of student projects.

Sociology 90U: Research Lab: Analyzing Urban Inequality

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2017
Aims to provide students with hands-on experience analyzing and interpreting data on contemporary social problems and multiple dimensions of urban inequality. Students will analyze and present results from data provided by either the Boston Area Research Initiative or the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Students will build skills in formulating research questions and quantitative data analysis.

United States in the World 24: Reinventing (and Reimagining) Boston: The Changing American City

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2017
American cities have changed in extraordinary ways. In the last half of the 20th century, there was gloom about urban life and many cities were projected to decline and decay. Many did so but Boston and other cities blossomed, becoming models of urban renaissance. Using Boston as a case study of the experience of American cities, this course considers key issues such as economic change, neighborhood inequality, political governance, elite relations, cultural institutions, crime, race and ethnic relations, immigration, gentrification and suburbanization.

Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2017
Sociologists are a diverse group but they are all bound by one common goal: a desire to understand how society works. Although sociologists adopt a multitude of approaches to understand the social world, they all ask a similar basic question: How and why are patterns of social organization created, maintained, and changed? In their quest to explain why events in the social world occur and why social forms should exist, sociologists develop theories—attempts to understand those properties of, and processes involved in, creating, maintaining, and changing patterns of social organization. This... Read more about Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

United States in the World 24: Reinventing (and Reimagining) Boston: The Changing American City

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2016
American cities have changed in extraordinary ways. In the last half of the 20th century, there was gloom about urban life and many cities were projected to decline and decay. Many did so but Boston and other cities blossomed, becoming models of urban renaissance. Using Boston as a case study of the experience of American cities, this course considers key issues such as economic change, neighborhood inequality, political governance, elite relations, cultural institutions, crime, race and ethnic relations, immigration, gentrification and suburbanization.

Sociology 208: Contemporary Theory and Research

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2016
This seminar examines contemporary theoretical approaches in sociology and, crucially, the connection of theory to research. In addition to purely theoretical concerns, we shall thus analyze how contemporary sociologists employ theory in empirical research, with the aim to give you insights into the process of formulating empirical research in a theoretically appropriate and cogent way. After a discussion of meta-theoretical issues and modes of explanation in sociology, we will focus on ten ideas or topics that have motivated considerable sociological inquiry in the post-World War II era. No... Read more about Sociology 208: Contemporary Theory and Research

Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2016
Sociologists are a diverse group but they are all bound by one common goal: a desire to understand how society works. Although sociologists adopt a multitude of approaches to understand the social world, they all ask a similar basic question: How and why are patterns of social organization created, maintained, and changed? In their quest to explain why events in the social world occur and why social forms should exist, sociologists develop theories—attempts to understand those properties of, and processes involved in, creating, maintaining, and changing patterns of social organization. This... Read more about Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2016
Sociologists are a diverse group but they are all bound by one common goal: a desire to understand how society works. Although sociologists adopt a multitude of approaches to understand the social world, they all ask a similar basic question: How and why are patterns of social organization created, maintained, and changed? In their quest to explain why events in the social world occur and why social forms should exist, sociologists develop theories—attempts to understand those properties of, and processes involved in, creating, maintaining, and changing patterns of social organization. This... Read more about Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2015
Sociologists are a diverse group but they are all bound by one common goal: a desire to understand how society works. Although sociologists adopt a multitude of approaches to understand the social world, they all ask a similar basic question: How and why are patterns of social organization created, maintained, and changed? In their quest to explain why events in the social world occur and why social forms should exist, sociologists develop theories—attempts to understand those properties of, and processes involved in, creating, maintaining, and changing patterns of social organization. This... Read more about Sociology 97: Tutorial on Sociological Theory

Sociology 314: Workshop on Urban Social Processes

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2015

Urbanization is rapidly expanding around the world and new forms of data are presenting unique opportunities for research on cities. The Harvard Department of Sociology's Urban Social Processes Workshop is a forum to explore the social mechanisms, processes, and structures that occur in urban settings and the diverse behaviors that are shaped by spatial inequality. The workshop highlights the presentation of graduate student research but also includes discussion sessions on selected readings and work-in-progress by faculty at Harvard and around the country. 

Sociology 208

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2015

Covers the development of sociology as a discipline in the US and the rise of distinct schools of sociological theory. Assesses the role of mechanisms in sociological theory and explores the use of theory in empirical research.

Sociology 150

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2013

Ideas about order and disorder have driven debates about the city for over a century. After reviewing classic approaches we will examine contemporary research on neighborhood inequality, "broken-windows" and crime, racial segregation, ethnic diversity and immigration, the symbolic meanings of disorder, community organizations, and competing visions for the uses of public space. Students will conduct field-based observations drawing upon cutting-edge methods employed by urban sociologists to understand the workings of the modern city.

Sociology 150

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2013
Ideas about order and disorder have driven debates about the city for over a century. After reviewing classic approaches we will examine contemporary urban research on neighborhood inequality, "broken-windows" and crime, racial segregation, the challenges of ethnic diversity and immigration, neighborhood social networks, the symbolic meanings of disorder, and competing visions for the uses of public space. Students will conduct field-based observations drawing upon cutting-edge methods employed by urban sociologists to understand the workings of the modern city.

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