Jerry Jacobs

Current Courses (Fall 2024)

• DEMG6040 - Meth Soc Res

  This course will give students familiarity with the common research methods social scientists use to conduct research. Ethnographic, interview, survey, experimental and historical/comparative research methods will be covered. Four themes will be explored: 1) the basics of solid research design, 2) the various advantages and disadvantages of each method, 3) when the use of a method is appropriate or inappropriate for the research question, and 4) how to evaluate researchers' claims on the basis of the evidence they present. These themes will be explored by reading examples of and conducting exercises designed to give students hands-on experience in each of the methods. Students will conduct the exercises on a topic of their choice, which together will culminate in their final paper.

  DEMG6040402

• SOCI6040 - Meth Soc Res

  This course will give students familiarity with the common research methods social scientists use to conduct research. Ethnographic, interview, survey, experimental and historical/comparative research methods will be covered. Four themes will be explored: 1) the basics of solid research design, 2) the various advantages and disadvantages of each method, 3) when the use of a method is appropriate or inappropriate for the research question, and 4) how to evaluate researchers' claims on the basis of the evidence they present. These themes will be explored by reading examples of and conducting exercises designed to give students hands-on experience in each of the methods. Students will conduct the exercises on a topic of their choice, which together will culminate in their final paper.

  SOCI6040401

All Courses

• AFRC1000 - Intro to Sociology

  Sociology provides a unique way to look at human behavior and social interaction. Sociology is the systematic study of the groups and societies in which people live. In this introductory course, we analyze how social structures and cultures are created, maintained, and changed, and how they affect the lives of individuals. We will consider what theory and research can tell us about our social world.

• DEMG6040 - Meth Soc Res

  This course will give students familiarity with the common research methods social scientists use to conduct research. Ethnographic, interview, survey, experimental and historical/comparative research methods will be covered. Four themes will be explored: 1) the basics of solid research design, 2) the various advantages and disadvantages of each method, 3) when the use of a method is appropriate or inappropriate for the research question, and 4) how to evaluate researchers' claims on the basis of the evidence they present. These themes will be explored by reading examples of and conducting exercises designed to give students hands-on experience in each of the methods. Students will conduct the exercises on a topic of their choice, which together will culminate in their final paper.

• SOCI0008 - Work and Careers

  The premise of the class is that the workplace is undergoing major transformations that may well generate jobs, careers and organizations quite different from those currently in place. Many interrelated changes are underway, including: globalization, the information and internet revolutions, the diffusion of monitoring and evaluation systems, the mechanization and automation of many jobs and industries, the prospect of working remotely and the growing diversity of the labor force. These changes can be best understood by studying contemporary developments along with placing these changes in an historical perspective. By examining how the theory and practice of work have evolved over the last century and a half, we will be in a better position to understand the changes already in progress and those that may transform work and the workplace over the course of your careers.

• SOCI1000 - Intro to Sociology

  Sociology provides a unique way to look at human behavior and social interaction. Sociology is the systematic study of the groups and societies in which people live. In this introductory course, we analyze how social structures and cultures are created, maintained, and changed, and how they affect the lives of individuals. We will consider what theory and research can tell us about our social world.

• SOCI2260 - The Future of Work

  This course draws on sociological and social scientific research and theorizing to conceptualize the complex and dynamic relationship between work and technology. Rather than viewing technology as an immutable force that sweeps across societies and leaves social change in its wake, we will examine how the design, implementation, and outcomes of technological change are imbricated in political, economic, and social forces. We will mostly, though not exclusively, focus on developments in and case studies of work and technology in the United States. We will begin by examining theoretical perspectives on the historical interplay between work and technology. Then, we will consider contemporary issues, building dialogues between our theoretical groundwork and empirical evidence to trace continuities and disjunctures. By the end of the course, you will be equipped to interrogate the role of technology in capitalism's past, understand its relation to our present age of digital disruption, and imagine the possibilities for our uncertain future.

• SOCI2420 - Social Prob & Pub Policy

  This course approaches some of today's important social and political issues from a sociological vantage point. The course begins by asking where social problems come from. The main sociological perspectives of Marx, Weber and Durkheim are developed in connection with the issues of inequality, social conflict and community. We then turn to the social construction of social problems by examining how various issues become defined as social problems. This involves a consideration of the role of the media, social experts and social movements. The last section of the course considers how social problems are addressed. Here we discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of government programs and regulations versus market-based approached. We also discuss the role of philanthropy and volunteerism. Finally, we consider the risk of unanticipated consequences of reforms. Along the way, we will consider a variety of social issues and social problems, including poverty, immigration, crime, global warming, and education.

• SOCI3000 - Classical Sociological Theory

  This course will introduce students to sociological theory until the 1970s. We will read excerpts of original works from key theorists in, or influencing, the discipline. We will read original works of Tocqueville, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, DuBois, Gramsci, Marcuse, C. Wright Mills and more. We will also read a few more recent works echoing classical theory. The goal of this course is to help students understand the core concepts, including those of class, race, power, markets and the state, in classical sociological theory and to sharpen their own sociological imaginations.

• SOCI3998 - Independent Study

  Directed readings and research in areas of sociology. Permission of instructor needed.

• SOCI4998 - Honors Independent Study

  Independent study section for senior Sociology majors working on an honors thesis. Students are assigned an advisor by the undergraduate chair.

• SOCI5620 - Soci Movements & Poli Sc

  This course explores the impact of systems of government on the collective call to action of populations, and vice versa. Through a local, national, and global lens, this course analyzes the tensions that are produced by the at-times divergent priorities of those in political power versus those who seek social progress and change.

• SOCI6040 - Meth Soc Res

  This course will give students familiarity with the common research methods social scientists use to conduct research. Ethnographic, interview, survey, experimental and historical/comparative research methods will be covered. Four themes will be explored: 1) the basics of solid research design, 2) the various advantages and disadvantages of each method, 3) when the use of a method is appropriate or inappropriate for the research question, and 4) how to evaluate researchers' claims on the basis of the evidence they present. These themes will be explored by reading examples of and conducting exercises designed to give students hands-on experience in each of the methods. Students will conduct the exercises on a topic of their choice, which together will culminate in their final paper.

• SOCI9999 - Independent Rdgs & Res

  For advanced students who work with individual instructors upon permission. Intended to go beyond existing graduate courses in the study of specific problems or theories or to provide work opportunities in areas not covered by existing courses.

• SOSC1020 - Addressing Contemporary

  This course approaches some of today's important social and political issues from a sociological vantage point. The course begins by reviewing "the social construction of social problems." This approach examines how various issues become defined as social problems with a consideration of the role of the media, social experts and social movements. The main sociological perspectives of Marx, Weber and Durkheim are then developed in connection with the issues of inequality, social conflict and community. The last section of the course considers how social problems are addressed. Here we discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of government programs and regulations versus market-based approached. We also discuss the role of philanthropy and volunteerism. Finally, we consider the risk of unanticipated consequences of reforms. Along the way, we will consider a variety of social issues and social problems, including poverty, immigration, crime, global warming, and education.