Alaysia’s Profile
My Courses
Sociology is the field of study that takes up to explain social, political, cultural and economic phenomena in terms of social structures, social forces and group relations. The course introduces students to several sociological topics, including socialization, culture, the social construction of knowledge, inequality, social stratification, social institutions such as religion, government, family, race and ethnic relations, poverty and deviance, among others. Sociology is the art of asking questions; big questions such as âWhat is race?â or âHow class structure and social stratification impacts peopleâs lives?â, âHow culture matters?â, âWhy states go to war?â, or more detailed and focused questions, like: âWhy working class children get working class jobs?â, âHow fast food chains impact American family relations?â, âHow the social media impact communication?â, âHow college education has changed over the past decades?â Acquiring the conceptual and methodological tools to address more broad but also narrower sociological questions of that kind is one of the main objectives of this course. While sociology assumes that human actions are patterned, it also suggests that individuals have ample of room to change their conditions and direct social change. In that sense the quest to understand society is important and always urgent, for if we cannot understand the social world that we live in, we are more likely to be overwhelmed and ultimately incapacitated by it. As a specialist, the sociologist systematically gathers, processes and analyzes information with the objective to provide insights into what is going on in a situation, present alternatives and often assist policy-makers in making informed decisions and formulating policies. Sociology however, and the sociological imagination is not the prerogative solely of specialists. Sociology, further than being a discipline, a field in social sciences, it constitutes a mode of thinking. Thinking sociologically is also directly related to acting socially. An important objective of this course is to learn how to think alongside others, connect our condition to those of others and understand the importance of not only thinking but also acting collectively. The course, in addition to the theoretical texts assigned for reading and analysis, incorporates journalistic accounts of social issues, autobiographies, memoirs, oral histories and materials like photographs and film, in order to encourage students to experiment with original sociological research. Learning, also, to apply sociological language and concepts to events and situations we encounter daily, like âsociological locationâ (identities like race, gender and class) and âsocial institutionsâ (organized entities that structure society, like education and religion) is of key importance. By the end of the course, students should be well on their way to developing their own âsociological imagination.â
My Projects
Principles of Chemistry Lab- This laboratory course is a co-requisite for Principles of Chemistry Lecture. One three hour laboratory meeting per week and a total of 15 meetings per semester.
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