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07B:130 EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY
This course will offer an understanding of the role played by schools in society. We shall examine such questions as the organizational features of schools, education as an institution and its relation to other social institutions, the role of the school in social inequality, and the social relationships of the classroom. Class activities will vary from day to day, ranging from lectures to discussions to student presentations. Students will be active participants in the course. I expect you to ask questions, raise issues, and otherwise contribute to an informed and substantive classroom discussion. Please do all of the reading on time. For the course to work, you need to read and think seriously about what you've been reading. Please note that the syllabus is always subject to change depending on the size and composition of the class. Your grade will be based mainly on several short (usually 3-5 pages) written assignments. I shall also take into account the quality of your overall participation. The instructor is under no obligation to accept late assignments, but will accept serious attempts to rewrite papers with no penalty. I encourage you to submit your papers electronically. In the papers, you should demonstrate that you understand the major issues at stake in the particular area. Your paper should be significantly more than simply a summary of the reading. The papers should be critical and analytical, searching for points of contention or agreement among different authors, identifying crucial theoretical and empirical points, and discussing the broader implications. I shall talk more about this in class.
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