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HCD 533 Community in American Society
same as SOC 572, UP 533
4 hours (seminar)
Spring Semesters
Course Objectives
This seminar examines how major structural changes in the United States during the 20 th century, particularly in the past fifty years, have affected the ways in which people conceptualize and develop community. We will use academic journal articles along with classic and contemporary ethnographies to investigate how social changes such as, urbanization, economic restructuring, the concentration of poverty in inner cities, changes in the educational system, and demographic shifts in family structure have influenced how people go about creating, losing, or maintaining community.
Topics
- Social Change in the 20 th Century U.S.
- Methods for Studying Community and Change
- Urbanization and Suburbanization
- Impact of Economic Restructuring on Community and Family Life
- Social Change and Rural Poverty
- Poverty Concentration in Inner City Neighborhoods
- Race Relations
- Immigration, Transnationalism and Community
- Whither American Communities?
- Social Capital and Community Well-Being
- Social Capital and Community
Graded Activities
- discussion leadership
- research proposal and presentation