Focus is on enduring conditions such as drug addiction, alcoholism, mental illness, etc., emphasizing historical social change as a function of contemporary ideology and larger societal concerns. Selected Topics in Sociology Advanced graduate seminars. Offerings are given in a semester determined by faculty and student interest. Relevant classical and contemporary literature on the subject is covered. The division of labor, occupational classification, labor force trends, career patterns and mobility, occupational cultures and life-styles, and the sociology of the labor market.
Emphasis is placed on the methodological problems of studying religion.
Special attention is devoted to the role of education in the status attainment process. Political Sociology Explores the relationships between social structure and political institutions. Competing theories about such topics as power structures, political participation, ideology, party affiliation, voting behavior, and social movements are discussed in the context of recent research on national and local politics in the United States. Family Research Seminar Relationship between family and society as expressed in policy and law. Focus on the effects of formal policy on the structure of families and the interactions within families.