Fall 2019  |  SOC 3411W Section 001: Organizations and Society (20907)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2019 - 12/11/2019
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
Enrollment Status:
Open (47 of 58 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
This course introduces undergraduates to contemporary theories and debates about formal organizations in an international context, including such forms as large corporations, small businesses, public bureaucracies, nonprofits, voluntary associations, social movement organizations, terrorist networks and counterterror organizations. prereq: 1001 recommended; soc majors/minors must register A-F
Class Notes:
For details about the course go to: classinfo.umn.edu/ and search for the course number.
Class Description:
This course introduces central theories and debates about formal organizations. Much of modern life occurs within organizations and involves interacting with a wide variety of complex, interconnecting organizations. Many of us were born inside an organization, you are pursuing your education inside an organization, many of you will spend most of your adult life working for organizations, and most of us will end our lives in, and be buried by, organizations. We work hard and craft expressions of our self-identity to gain access to some organizations (e.g. Greek communities, medical school) and we conform our behavior to avoid others (e.g. prison).

In this course, we will think critically about the key features of organizations, and we will assess the reciprocal relationships between organizational features and individual behaviors. We will address the origins of organizations, why society has organizations, how authority and compliance are maintained within organizations, how organizations create and reduce inequalities, the nature of organizational success and failure, and the relationship between individuals, organizations, and society. The instructor for this course, Tom VanHeuvelen, will be a new faculty member starting in Fall 2019.
Class Format:
A mixture of lecture and discussion
Workload:
30-70 pages reading per week. Because this is a writing intensive course, a substantial portion of the final grade will be based on writing. You will receive substantial feedback on writing assignments and be expected to revise your written work in response.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/20907/1199
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
12 March 2019

ClassInfo Links - Fall 2019 Sociology Classes

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