SOC2102 - 01 - The Sociology of Boston

(SS) Social Science

In this course, students use the city of Boston as their sociological lab to learn about the main concepts of the field of Urban Sociology and study the contemporary social dynamics of cities. The course is arranged around the interplay between sociological concepts and analysis of studies of today's diverse institutions that compromise Boston (government, education, housing, etc.) and of social problems, such as poverty and crime. Throughout the course of the semester, students will undertake field trips tied to the class readings and discussions. Students will compare the social dynamics of Boston to those of other cities by employing a sociological lens; one of the questions to which we will repeatedly return is whether Boston could be Any City, U.S.A.: is there something fundamentally different about the cultural norms, institutions and social problems of this city?