Over the years a number of courses have been created and taught by the CCS Directors and occasionally by Visiting Professors. Not all classes listed are active, some will continue to be offered, some will not. To see a list of current course offerings in the Department of Sociology please use the link to the Yale Online Course catalog.
Undergraduate Courses
Social Control & Criminal Justice
Philip Smith
Exploration of the criminal justice system from a sociological perspective. Special attention to transformations in social control arising with the onset of modernity. Topics include policing, courts, the law, and prisons; costs and benefits of various contemporary solutions to the problem of social control; and the role of power and culture in shaping current policy and activity. Readings from the works of Durkheim, Foucault, and Weber as well as from more current writings in the fields of criminology, legal studies, and social theory. Enrollment limited to freshmen.
Contemporary American Society
Ron Eyerman
Examination of the central tensions and dynamics in American society at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Attention to the major fault lines in American society and how they are experienced; how social structures shape social landscapes. Use of sociological theory to inform understandings of how the national past shapes present and future possibilities in American society. Topics include inequality and stratification, religion, urban poverty, the politics of family, popular culture, welfare and warfare, ethnicity and community, and America and the world.
Markets, Culture, and Globalization
Frederick Wherry
The effects of the global economy on indigenous cultural and economic practices. The arguments presented by proponents and opponents of globalization. Definitions of globalization and culture; cultural tourism and branding; cultural markets; fair trade.
Sociology of Crime and Deviance
Philip Smith
An introduction to sociological approaches to crime and deviance. Review of the patterns of criminal and deviant activity within society; exploration of major theoretical accounts. Topics include drug use, violence, and white-collar crime.
Topics in Contemporary Social Theory
Yagmur Karakaya // Ron Eyerman
An examination of central issues in contemporary social theory. Influential thinkers and their responses to changes in the modern world since the Second World War. Topics include the nature of modern society and the human condition, the selection of rulers, power, punishment, torture, national trauma, and individual and collective identity.
Politics and Culture
Yagmur Karakaya
This class explores the link between politics and culture, by delving into three subsets of political culture: civil society and power, political performance and communication, and collective action. Throughout the semester, we explore culture as a social force which can shift political life in new directions. Our deep engagement starts with civil society and power, specifically the American understanding of community, to see how civic Republicanism and radical individualism undergird participation in social life. Here, we deconstruct how Americans perceive themselves as political actors and members of a political community, and frame their participation in politics. In political performance and communication, we explore several topics: political speeches, populism as a style, media as a realm of political performance, and collective memory. Learning about the performative side of politics, with real life material, we familiarize ourselves with narratives and deep stories told by people across the political spectrum. In collective action, we look at social media and mobilization, environmental philanthropy, religion in political activism, and emotions. While focusing on case studies students become familiar with different approaches to culture.
Popular Culture and Memory
Yagmur Karakaya
Is consuming the past liberating or mind-numbing? To answer this question, this class examines memory from a sociological perspective while interrogating the intersections between popular culture, populism, and politics of history. As movements like MAGA or Hindutva have shown, the struggle to “own,” and “define,” the past is a social issue that shapes the contemporary world. These populist uses of the past exist in an environment where entrepreneurs of pop culture, historians, and citizens compete to have a say in what yesterday looked like. For example, the 1619 Project and Get Out both came out during the height of a populist presidency and defined the past in their own terms. Primarily relying on TV and film as data, we think about the current boom in memory content, the fight to control it, and question the outcomes of mass exposure to different pasts. First, we delve into the origins of collective memory situating the nation-state as the main actor in narrating the past. In doing this we trace the move from triumphalist to apologetic approaches. Second, we learn how globalization and mass media opened up pathways to diversifying state-controlled collective memory. We explore the populist response to this development by looking at Turkey and United States. We end the course by studying the relationship between race and memory in the context of remembering the Civil Rights Movement and the political upheaval surrounding the 1619 project.
Methods of Inquiry
Philip Smith
The theory and practice of social inquiry. How social scientists?and aspiring social scientists?actually do their work, including designing research, sampling and measuring, and interpreting results. Examination of thesis proposal writing; ethical quandaries involved in social research.
Visual Sociology
Philip Smith
Introduction to themes and methods in visual sociology. The role and use of visual information in social life, including images, objects, settings, and human interactions. Ethnographic photography, the study of media images, maps and diagrams, observation and coding of public settings, unobtrusive measures, and the use of internet resources.
Contemporary Social and Cultural Theory
Ron Eyerman
Overview of developments in social and cultural theory since World War II. Influential authors and their attempts to grasp the changes occurring in the modern world. Theoretical perspectives include critical theory, conservative humanism, poststructuralism, postmodernism, and postcolonialism.
Cultural Sociology
Jeffrey Alexander // Yagmur Karakaya
Study of “irrational” meanings in supposedly rational, modern societies. Social meanings are symbolic, sensual, emotional, and moral. They affect every dimension of social life, from politics and markets to race and gender relations, class conflict, and war. Examination of century old counter-intuitive writings of Durkheim and Weber, breakthroughs of semiotics and anthropology in mid-century, creation of modern cultural sociology in the 1980s, and new thinking about social performance and material icons today. Topics include: ancient and modern religion, contemporary capitalism, professional wrestling, the Iraq War, impeachment of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, and the new cult of vinyl records.
Social Movements
Ron Eyerman
An introduction to sociological perspectives on social movements and collective action, exploring civil rights, student movements, global justice, nationalism, and radical fundamentalism. The prerequisite for intermediate courses is one introductory Sociology course or permission of the instructor.
Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture
Ron Eyerman
An introduction to sociological perspectives on the arts and popular culture. Topics include the relationship between culture and society; the role and meaning of the arts from a sociological perspective; mass culture and the culture industry; culture and commerce, art, and politics. Analysis of artworks, classical and popular music, film, and literature.
Sociology of Markets
Frederick Wherry
The role of culture and politics in shaping markets. Links between social networks and employment discrimination, religion and wealth, social relationships and financial troubles, and culture and industry. The moral dimensions of selling organs and intimacy.
Civil Society & Democracy
Jeffrey Alexander
Examination of normative and sociological theories of civil society and of empirical studies of its culture. Attention to organizations such as polls, mass media, law, and office, which provide ways of partially institutionalizing civil society. The civil rights movement and multiculturalism as illustrations of struggles inside the civil sphere. Discussion of whether a global civil society is possible. (Advanced Sociology courses are open to students who have completed one intermediate course and any other specified requirement, or by permission of the instructor. Preference is given to Sociology majors in their junior and senior years.)
Public Behaviors and Social Spaces
Philip Smith, Jin Su Joo
How people behave in public, with a focus on interactions between people, objects, and their settings. Topics include civility and incivility, proxemics, object-settings, and the social context of various spaces such as museums, parks, plazas, streets, and the virtual.
Iconic Consciousness and Material Culture
Jeffrey Alexander
Exploration of how and why modern and postmodern societies have continued to sustain material symbolism and iconic consciousness. Study of theoretical approaches to debates about icons and symbols in philosophy, sociology, linguistics, pyschoanalysis, and semiotics. Use of case studies to analyze modern iconography in advertisements and branding, food and bodies, nature, fashion, celebrities, popular culture, art, and politics. (Advanced Sociology courses are open to students who have completed one intermediate course and any other specified requirement, or by permission of the instructor. Preference is given to Sociology majors in their junior and senior years.)
Graduate Courses
Contemporary Sociological Theory: Durkheimian Sociology
Philip Smith
The course looks at the work of Emile Durkheim and his legacy for both social theory and empirical sociology. In the first part we examine Durkheim’s major writings and key concepts. Next an exploration is made of the multiple and often contending ways these have been taken up and interpreted over the past one hundred or so years. Particular emphasis is given to the decline in functionalist and positivist readings of Durkheim and his emergence as a major cultural theorist in recent decades. We consider the contributions of Mauss, Bataille, Goffman, Victor Turner, Collins, Lukes, Douglas.
Cultural Sociology
Yagmur Karakaya // Jeffrey Alexander
Cultural sociology studies “irrational” meanings in supposedly rational, modern societies. Social meanings are symbolic, but also sensual, emotional, and moral. They can deeply divide nations but also powerfully unite them. They affect every dimension of social life, from politics and markets to race and gender relations, class, conflict, and war. We look at how this cultural approach developed, from counterintuitive writings of Durkheim and Weber a century ago, to the breakthroughs of semiotics and anthropology in midcentury, the creation of modern cultural sociology in the 1980s, and new thinking about social performance and material icons today. As we trace this historical arc, we examine ancient and modern religion, contemporary capitalism, the coronation of Elizabeth II, professional wrestling, Americans not eating horses, the Iraq War, the impeachment of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, and the new cult of vinyl records.
Fundamentals of Cultural Sociology
Philip Smith
A comprehensive survey of the theories, methods, and topics that make up the field of cultural sociology today. Emphasis is given to recent empirical work exemplifying longstanding intellectual traditions and styles of inquiry. There is also consideration of the ties among evidence, exposition, and explanation.
Social Movements
Ron Eyerman
The course covers the dynamic field of social movement research from its origins to the present day. We discuss developments in theory and methodology primarily from European and American (North and South) perspectives, but touch on others as well. We make use of film and music in to explore the themes under discussion. This seminar course is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Sociology of Markets
Frederick Wherry
This seminar explores the links between social networks and employment discrimination, religion and wealth, social relationships and financial troubles, culture and industry, and the moral dimensions of selling organs and intimacy.
The Sociology of the Arts: Classical & Contemporary Perspectives
Ron Eyerman
This seminar covers the classical and contemporary sociological perspectives on the arts; the “arts” being understood in the broad sense to include fine art and popular culture. Framing these perspectives is the dominant sociological narrative, periodized as a movement from traditional to modern and late, or postmodern, society. The central theoretical focus is on the Frankfurt School and the notion of a culture industry.
Topics in Cultural Sociology
Jeffrey Alexander
After reviewing contemporary sociological perspectives on culture, the seminar concentrates on the intellectual origins, theories, and empirical exemplars of the strong program in cultural sociology. We discuss hermeneutics and interpretation, critical theory, semiotics, structuralism, and post-structuralism; how a cultural-sociological program emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s; and how this program has produced a range of research studies. We examine in particular emerging foci on social drama and performance, cultural trauma, and the iconic turn.
Advanced Seminar in Cultural Sociology
Philip Smith, Yagmur Karakaya, Jeffrey Alexander
The seminar focuses on the unpublished work of advanced graduate students in cultural sociology at Yale and elsewhere, as well as on just-emerging published work that exemplifies “strong program” work in cultural sociology and surrounding fields. The format is intended to maximize student participation so as to develop collegial networks of intellectual support as well as capacities for critical evaluation. The workshop may be audited by more advanced graduate students who wish to participate in this process but whose course work is completed, as well as by Visiting Fellows to the Center for Cultural Sociology, or with permission of the instructor. This is a full-year course.
Social Theory: Trauma and Memory
Ronald Eyerman
Exploration of sociological approaches to memory and trauma. A central theme is how cultural trauma has influenced the development of social theory, as well as literature and the arts generally.
Visual Sociology
Philip Smith
The class explores the methods and theoretical underpinnings of visual sociology. Consideration philosophical and epistemological issues related to the visual and iconic turn. Introduction to ethnographic photography, auto photography, photo-elicitation, the analysis of existing images in the mass media, advertising and on the internet. Exploration of objects, settings and public social behavior. Focus on the construction small scale, theoretically informed visual research projects.
Civil Society and Democracy
Jeffrey Alexander
Examination of normative and sociological theories of civil society and of empirical studies of its culture. Attention to organizations such as polls, mass media, law, and office, which provide ways of partially institutionalizing civil society. The civil rights movement and multiculturalism as illustrations of struggles inside the civil sphere. Discussion of whether a global civil society is possible.
Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture
Ronald Eyerman
An advanced introduction to sociological perspectives on the arts and popular culture. Emphasis on the conceptualization of culture within social theory, with the aim of interpreting cultural expressions and artifacts: artworks, music, television, film, and literature.
Material Culture and Iconic Consciousness
Jeffrey Alexander
Exploration of how and why modern and postmodern societies have continued to sustain material symbolism and iconic consciousness. Theoretical approaches to debates about icons and symbols in philosophy, sociology, linguistics, psychoanalysis, and semiotics. Iconography in advertisements and branding, food and bodies, nature, fashion, celebrities, popular culture, art, architecture, and politics.
Workshop in Cultural Sociology
Philip Smith, Yagmur Karakaya, Jeffrey Alexander, Frederick Wherry and Ron Eyerman
This workshop is designed to be a continuous part of the graduate curriculum. Meeting weekly throughout both the fall and spring terms, it constitutes an ongoing, informal seminar to explore areas of mutual interest among students and faculty, both visiting and permanent. The core concern of the workshop is social meaning and its forms and processes of institutionalization. Meaning is approached as both structure and performance, drawing not only on the burgeoning area of cultural sociology but on the humanities, philosophy, and other social sciences. Discussions range widely among methodological, theoretical, empirical, and normative issues. Sessions alternate between presentations by students of their own work and by visitors. Contents of the workshop vary from term to term, and from year to year. Enrollment is open to auditors who fully participate and for credit to students who submit written work. Visit the Workshop home page for more information.
Workshop in Advanced Sociological Writing and Research
Philip Smith
This class concerns the process of advanced writing and research that converts draft material into work ready for publication, preferably in refereed journals, or submission as a substantial grant proposal. It investigates problem definition, the craft of writing, the structure of argument and data presentation, and the nature of persuasion more generally. The aim is to teach a professional orientation that allows work that is promising to become truly polished and compelling within the full range of sociological genres.
Qualitative Research Design
Frederick Wherry
This seminar leads students through six biweekly modules on designing and conducting qualitative research. The main goal is to design a publishable paper suitable for a sociological or other scholarly journal.