Topics in Sociological Practice: Comparative Historical Methods
Sociologists make comparisons across time periods and geographic locations to understand changes in social life and identify how variations in cultural, political, or economic systems shape social structures. In this course, we will explore the possibilities of comparative historical methods to enhance sociological insights. We will consider: (1) the challenges to conducting research across differing historical and cultural contexts and (2) how we connect theory to case studies. We will focus on the craft of comparative historical methods, paying attention to specific concerns such as choosing topics, research sites, points of comparison, and data sources. Comparative readings on topics such as racial formation, welfare systems, gender and social policy, criminal justice and law will highlight conceptual issues of breadth, scope and scale. Students will conduct original research on a topic of their choice to gain insight into the practice of research. (SOAN 0105) 3 hr. sem,