SOC 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Spatial Stratification: Putting Inequality in its Place

4 credits (Spring)

Everything happens somewhere-but does the ‘where’ matter? This course is designed to provide a framework for how social science research approaches the study of place. Places are locations filled up with built structures, people, interactions, and symbols rather than existing as merely a building, social stage, or backdrop where life happens. We will use historical texts, cutting edge current work, and even collect some of our own data to understand how people interact and make sense of their surroundings. We will develop our understanding of spatial data analysis tools to explore how access, availability, and proximity to objects and people reinforce patterns of inequality. In doing so, we will examine why it matters to better understand how an individual navigates their environment, how communities are socially and geographically situated, and what this may mean when we study country-level conflict over boundaries. Ultimately, we will examine the significance of place for social interaction and why it matters for us to consider where things happen across geographies and time.

Prerequisite: Two 200-level Sociology courses.
Instructor: Oberlin