Elementary Statistics (SOC 250)
This course is an introduction to
statistical analyses applied to social science research. We will
review both bivariate and multivariate statistics as well as the
requisite methods of inference. This course has both lecture and
laboratory sections. Lectures will have two components. On
Tuesdays lectures will introduce key concepts of Chapter with the
goal of bringing you to an intuitive but formalized
understanding. On Thursdays, we will spend the period reviewing
and completing problems A&F have included at the end of each
Chapter. I encourage you to use this time to ask questions about
the material. Lab periods will be used to develop your skills in
statistical software. We will use SPSS to conduct both
univariate and multivariate analyses.
There are many areas of research within social psychology - a
field of study that effectively spans multiple disciplines.
Within Sociology, however, the most fundamental contribution of
social psychology has been eliciting the processes through which
society builds up from smaller-scale social interactions. The
overall objective for this course is to aid your understanding
of the biological, psychological, and social dynamics of these
building processes which create and sustain social institutions
and social order. Specifically we will examine the following
issues:
The general perspective of social psychology as practiced by
Sociologists
The biological (i.e. genetic, neurological) foundations of
human sociality
Systematic and random dimensions of interaction underlying
the creation of stable social orders
How patterns of interaction between individuals and groups –
even maladaptive patterns – become “locked into place” and
persist over long periods of time
In this course, the focus of lectures and our discussions will
be social mechanisms of inequality. Tilly’s
Durable Inequality
will provide the foundation for the rest of the readings.
Tilly’s entire book is dedicated to uncovering mechanisms which
generate relational categories; the formation of which is the
first step towards constructing inequalities between individuals
and groups....To wrap up the course, we will examine a somewhat
recent phenomenon occurring in local and global economies –
social entrepreneurship....
Social entrepreneurs have
developed highly imaginative and effective ways to employ
aspects of competitive markets to bring about major improvements
in quality of life. (See websites of Social Entrepreneurial
groups and businesses in the panel).
Objectives:
(i). Achieve an understanding of basic forms of stratification
and inequality found within the United States
(ii). Understand the basic mechanisms that drive processes of
inequality
(iii). Understand policy implications of the theory and research
findings of each author
(iv). Review and analyze recent efforts of social entrepreneurs
to address various problems of social inequalities and
inequities through development and implementation of social
innovations
(v). Develop a social entrepreneurial solution to a single
problem of inequality
