Stephen Vaisey

This class will introduce students to the sociology of culture. We will begin with theoretical discussions about the origins and consequences of cultural meanings as well as about their cognitive underpinnings. We will then move on to examine a wide variety of empirical cases, including the "culture wars," advertising  and consumption, religious subcultures, generational and class-based differences, high school cliques, and  the evolution of childbirth. The emphasis will be on contemporary American culture, but we will sometimes conduct historical or cross-national comparisons as well.

This course will cover major approaches to the sociology of culture. In general, we will alternate between three broad questions: 1) "What is culture?" 2) "Where does it come from?" and, 3) "What does it do?" The goal of the course is not to cover everything, but rather to provide a guided tour that will help students make sense of their future reading and identify areas where new contributions are needed. The relationship between culture, cognition, and action will be a recurring theme. We will cover several theoretical  perspectives, examine particular substantive domains (e.g., taste, politics, morality), and integrate  discussions of qualitative, quantitative, and hybrid methods throughout the course. The main requirement will be a paper suitable for submission to a professional conference.