230.305 Poverty and Welfare Policy
Examines the scope, character, and causes of poverty, the major policies to address it, and the movement toward welfare reform. The roles of migration, race/ethnicity, and gender are considered. 3 credits.
230.313 Space, Place, Poverty, and Race: Sociological Perspectives on Neighborhoods and Public Housing
Is a neighborhood just a grouping of individuals living in the same place, or do neighborhoods have collective meanings and impacts on children and families? We will capitalize on research methodologies used to define and describe neighborhoods and their effects on economic and educational outcomes. These include case studies, census data, surveys, quasi/experimental data. Focus is on how research measures neighborhood effects and incorporates community-level processes into models of social causation (e.g., social capital/control, community efficacy, civic engagement). Also examined: patterns in residential mobility, segregation, and preferences within black and white populations; development of housing policy in the U.S.; programs to determine how neighborhoods affect issues of social importance. Statistics and public policy background is helpful but not required. 3 credits.
230.317 Sociology of Immigration
This course surveys sociological theories and research on immigration to the U.S. Theoretical approaches include theories of international migration, economic sociology, immigration, and assimilation. Research topics include the impact of U.S. immigration laws and policies on immigrant inflows and stocks, self-selection of immigrants, the impact of immigration on the native-born population and the U.S. labor market and economy, and the adaptation of the first and second generations. The course focuses on immigration since 1965 and its related controversies and debates. 3 credits.
230.333 Quality and Inequality in American Education
The tension between quality and equality in American education, as developed in the various writings of James S. Coleman, will be the focus of this course. Major works to be considered will include The Adolescent Society, Equality of Educational Opportunity, Youth in Transition, Trends in School Segregation, and Public and Private High Schools. 3 credits.
230.380 Poverty and Social Welfare Policy
This course examines the causes and consequences of U.S. poverty and explores strategies for addressing it, with some comparisons to other rich nations. We cover the major theoretical explanations scholars have advanced to explain the persistence of poverty and inequality including labor markets, residential segregation, welfare policy, family structure, and the criminal justice system. Within each topic area, students are introduced to contemporary policy approaches aimed at alleviating poverty, and evaluations of these approaches. 3 credits. Edin.
230.385. Schooling, Racial Inequality, and Public Policy in America
After examining alternative explanations for why individuals obtain different amounts and types of educational training, the course focuses on how an individual’s family background and race affect his or her trajectory through the educational system. The course covers the specific challenges that have confronted urban schooling in America since the 1960s, including the classic literature on the effects of school and community resources on student achievement as well as the development and later evaluation of school desegregation policies. The course also considers case studies of current policy debates in the US, such as housing segregation and school resegregation, voucher programs for school choice, and the motivation for and consequences of the establishment of state-mandated testing requirements. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed upon the alternative modes of inquiry and writing which opposing scholars, policymakers, and journalists use to address these contentious topics. 3 credits. S. Morgan.