two-moons

About the Course

“Sociology...is a science concerning itself with the interpretive understanding of social action and thereby with a causal explanation of its course and consequences.” — Max Weber, 1920.

What is the difference between a wink and a twitch? What do “equality,” “nature,” and “God” mean to different people? How does it feel to be discriminated against? What is life like in the small towns and small neighborhoods of rural and urban Wisconsin? What is the significance of the Harry Potter books and movies for their audience? What is really going on behind the front doors of families today? How do people themselves understand how and why they do what they do?

This course provides some of the research tools for answering questions such as these, the tools often described as qualitative methods of social inquiry. Generally speaking, qualitative methods are those that seek, as Max Weber put it, an “interpretive understanding of social action.” The goal of this class is to broaden and hone students’ interpretive skills by presenting a range of qualitative methods, their epistemological standing, their sociological utility, and the practical and ethical problems associated with them.

The Students

This course is open to all interested graduate students.

The Instructor

Michael Bell, Department of Community and Environmental Sociology — michaelbell@wisc.edu

Time and Place

In Fall, 2011, the course meets T/Th 1 to 2:15 in 301 Agricultural Hall.

Syllabus

As a PDF.