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To fully endorse a course called "American Race Relations," we must first interrogate the extent to which racialized groups relate. Through such examination, we will question how race is used as a classificatory system of difference and differential relations of human value and valueness. We will explore how these differences are magnified through processes of racialization and how race is used as a tool for domination through systemic racism producing stark inequalities between groups. It's often said that race may be a social construct, but it is real in its implications. We will discuss the limitations of conceptualizing race as a "social construct" when it has denied many racialized groups access to the social and thus, the possibility humanness. As a class, we will attend to the role of relationality between groups. What factor does race play in esteeming some groups at the expense and further marginalization of others? Without conceptualizing race in relation to other classificatory systems of difference such as a gender, class, indigeneity, sexuality, ability, and citizenship, the study of race relations is incomplete. Hence, we will continuously explore the ways both oppression and privilege multiply based on the entanglement of difference.

This course provides a broad overview of the major paradigms of social thought. While we will initially focus on classical theory and the "Big Three"
of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, the emphasis of this course will be on how contemporary thinkers draw upon and modify the classics for modern contexts. With the help of such thinkers, we will tackle such core sociological questions as: What is social theory? How does it differ from the theories applied in "hard" sciences such as physics and biology? What holds society together? How do social networks and institutions endure over time? What is the relationship between the individual and society? How is human thought and behavior shaped by social interaction? What is power, who holds it, and how is it exercised? What are the primary axes of social change? What defines the modernity? Are we living in a post-modern era? Over the course of the semester our goal will be to not only understand a diverse range of theories and thinkers, but to apply them to our own lives and social contexts. In addition to lectures and in-class activities, students will engage in weekly online discussions to hone their own critical sensibilities by identifying and interrogating the key arguments and assumptions of the texts.

10% Attend and participate in class discussion

10% Recall key terms and details

20% Find relevant sources of research

30% Interpret and compare different types of evidence

30% Justify and critique common research practices

Lab Section:
80% Analyze and discuss weekly readings (available online)
20% Workshop term paper

20% Attend and participate in class & lab discussion

10% Lab journals

Lab Section:
80% Analyze and discuss weekly readings
20% Workshop term paper

In the wake of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, it is clear that U.S. policing is in a moment of transition. This course is an in-depth sociological analysis of the origins, composition, and effects of policing in contemporary U.S. society. Throughout the course, we focus on using a social science lens to understand what policing is and how it influences social life. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which race and class inequalities are reflected in and reshaped by policing practices. The course material will cover a different aspect of policing each week, including historical patterns, broken windows policing, gangs in Chicago and skid row in Los Angeles, inequities in who is pulled over by the police while driving, and contemporary efforts to "police the police." Throughout the course, we draw on contemporary media stories, podcast, documentaries, and guest visitors to connect scholarship with the world around us.

In this course, students will come to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the ways in which social concepts have been measured in important, large-scale data sets. The course will include extensive class discussion, a number of guest speakers, and substantial class time in a computer lab doing hands-on work with STATA or SPSS. Students will gain deep familiarity with the data sources available through www.ipums.org. We will also discuss basics of presenting results from the analysis of quantitative data. Using their quantitative analysis skills and a deep understanding of measurement issues, students will develop a substantive, empirical final project using one of the above data sets.

This course fits at the intersection between the sociology department's social statistics course (Soc 3811), its sociology methods course (Soc 3801), and substantive courses on topics such as race, class, gender, health, and education. Students will deepen their understanding of how ascribed and achieved social statuses are operationalized in real social science data and research, strengthening substantive knowledge. At the same time, students will apply the training they gained in their statistics and methods classes, thus enhancing their understanding of that material and their ability to use it. Students will become proficient in learning new data sets, getting the data on to their computer, producing high quality quantitative information, presenting this clearly, and thoughtfully describing what the data do and do not show. The combination of skills developed in this course has very practical applications, whether in the non-profit or corporate workplace or in moving forward with a quantitative or qualitative graduate program of research.

The data are hosted by projects at the Minnesota Population Center and students will benefit from guest speakers who work on creating and maintaining these data bases. As students become experts in the hands-on use of the web-based data extraction technology, they will develop practical skills and knowledge useful for handling other data sources.

In-class participation and engagement = 20% of grade

Base Group presentations = 20% of grade

Detailed plan for empirical project (due week 12) = 10% of grade

Draft of poster (due week 14) = 10% of grade

Draft of write-up (at least 5 pages; due week 14) = 10% of grade

Final poster (presentation is during the scheduled time of the final) = 15% of grade

This class is organized into three sections. A substantive introduction to how and why we might measure ascribed and achieved statuses; a hands-on look at a number of large-scale survey/census data sets to understand how these master statuses are actually measured; and a concentrated time in which to develop and finalize an independent project.

Based on interest, students will be assigned to a Base Group of 3-4 students. Each Base Group will focus on a single core concept throughout the course (e.g., race, gender, families, education, migration, occupations, or health) and will have classwork and homework assignments targeted to the concept and collaborative with their Base Group. Each Base Group will be responsible for achieving a broad and deep understanding of material related to the concept and will serve as a resource on that topic for others.

Section 1: Concepts and Conceptualization - What are we trying to measure? Why? This portion of the class will have substantive readings, lectures, and in-class discussions about the Base Group concepts, including how other sociologists have conceptualized the concept and reasons for studying this aspect of the social world.

Section 2: Data Resources - In this section of the class, we will go through each of the data resources. Each data resource will be covered on a Thursday and then the following Tuesday. Thursdays will be devoted to getting an overview of the data from a guest speaker, extracting and opening the data, and creating Base Group reports on the primary concepts. On Tuesdays, each Base Group will give a 4-5 minute presentation about ways in which their concept has been measured in the data, pros and cons of each way of measuring, and any cross-time or cross-data set issues. After the presentations, students will complete in-class worksheets with the data to master data manipulation and analysis.

1) An Extended Reflective Work-related Autobiography. This option will follow the class lectures and discussions most closely as we together examine the changing U.S. occupational structure, work experiences, career development, post-graduate educational options (including graduate and professional school, technical training, etc.), occupational choice, and the way sociological knowledge, skills, and perspectives can be used in your future work careers. Students will write about their work-related experiences, including both paid and unpaid work (the latter including work in the family setting, internships, and volunteering) and how they influenced their development. They will also reflect on the benefits, rewards, and drawbacks of the occupations they are considering in the future, drawing on the assigned texts and other relevant literature.

2) An Extended Reflective Essay on the Uses of Sociology in Public Life. Specific topics could include: the status of social scientific research and writing in politics and public policy implementation; the ways in which sociological thinking and research inform movements for social change;
the presence (or absence) of sociological research and thought in popular culture and the mainstream American media; and others.

3) Service Learning Report or Action Project. This option will involve writing a sociological report based on community service learning with a local community organization of your choice. This paper will be based on a minimum of 30 hours of community service work completed during the course of the semester. The Community Service Learning Center will help you find a place, or if you're already volunteering they will help you formalize this so you can write on it.

Alternatively, instead of writing a report based upon the service experience, the final product will involve working on, and writing about, an actual project of direct relevance or immediate concern to your organization or agency. These projects might involve a variety of tasks such as writing a mission statement or action plan, creating program materials or a grant proposal, working on an evaluation study, or producing publicity information.

We will discuss the wide range of opportunities in sociology and help students get started in thinking about becoming a scholar, educator, and member of various professional, intellectual, and social communities.

Students in this workshop will serve as the graduate student board for The Society Pages, an online social science journalism project housed at the University of Minnesota. Participation is based on application. In addition to experience and qualifications, the board is selected so as to involve students from different stages in the program, substantive interest areas, and methodological specialties. Most participants are expected to make a year-long commitment to the project, though membership will rotate on an annual basis.

• To deepen students' substantive research expertise
  by engaging cutting edge sociological scholarship. Students will unearth the most interesting findings and best evidence from new research in their areas of study. This provides students with a broader vision of the sociological field and offers an opportunity to diversify their reading in the prelim and dissertation processes.
  

• To develop writing and communication skills
  in addressing academic and non-academic audiences. Grad board members regularly write for the website, and our supportive, professional editorial team gives direct feedback designed to improve these skills as the pieces are published online.
  

• To gain deep, practical appreciation of the process of editorial decision-making
  and public scholarship.
  TSP
  had almost 11 million unique page views last year. Working with the site allows students to engage in critical and constructive discussion of the field of sociology, while participating in a collaborative public outreach project by shaping and improving the site as an online vehicle to disseminate great research.