This course examines how we as consumers in the "Western" world engage with musical difference largely through the products of the global entertainment industry. We examine music cultures in contact in a variety of ways-- particularly as traditions in transformation. Students gain an understanding of traditional music as live, meaningful person-to-person music making, by examining the music in its original site of production, and then considering its transformation once it is removed, and recontextualized in a variety of ways. The purpose of the course is to enable students to become informed and critical consumers of "World Music" by telling a series of stories about particular recordings made with, or using the music of, peoples culturally and geographically distant from the US. Students come to understand that not all music downloads containing music from unfamiliar places are the same, and that particular recordings may be embedded in intriguing and controversial narratives of production and consumption. At the very least, students should emerge from the class with a clear understanding that the production, distribution, and consumption of world music is rarely a neutral process.

This course examines how we as consumers in the "Western" world engage with musical difference largely through the products of the global entertainment industry. We examine music cultures in contact in a variety of ways-- particularly as traditions in transformation. Students gain an understanding of traditional music as live, meaningful person-to-person music making, by examining the music in its original site of production, and then considering its transformation once it is removed, and recontextualized in a variety of ways. The purpose of the course is to enable students to become informed and critical consumers of "World Music" by telling a series of stories about particular recordings made with, or using the music of, peoples culturally and geographically distant from the US. Students come to understand that not all music downloads containing music from unfamiliar places are the same, and that particular recordings may be embedded in intriguing and controversial narratives of production and consumption. At the very least, students should emerge from the class with a clear understanding that the production, distribution, and consumption of world music is rarely a neutral process.

This course examines how we as consumers in the "Western" world engage with musical difference largely through the products of the global entertainment industry. We examine music cultures in contact in a variety of ways-- particularly as traditions in transformation. Students gain an understanding of traditional music as live, meaningful person-to-person music making, by examining the music in its original site of production, and then considering its transformation once it is removed, and recontextualized in a variety of ways. The purpose of the course is to enable students to become informed and critical consumers of "World Music" by telling a series of stories about particular recordings made with, or using the music of, peoples culturally and geographically distant from the US. Students come to understand that not all music downloads containing music from unfamiliar places are the same, and that particular recordings may be embedded in intriguing and controversial narratives of production and consumption. At the very least, students should emerge from the class with a clear understanding that the production, distribution, and consumption of world music is rarely a neutral process.

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the sociological study of urban areas. This includes more general topics as the rise of cities and theories urbanism, as well as more specific areas of inquiry, including American urbanism, segregation, urban poverty, suburbanization and sprawl, neighborhoods and crime, and immigrant ghettos. The course will also devote significant attention to globalization and the process of urbanization in less developed counties.

This course explores a broad set of issues defining important aspects of the Black/African American experience. In addition to the "usual suspects" (e.g., race, socioeconomic status, poverty, gender, and group culture), we also think about matters of health and well-being, the family, education, and identity in Black/African American communities. Our goal is to gain a deeper sociological understanding and appreciation of the diverse and ever-changing life experiences of Blacks/African Americans.

The course will focus on race and ethnicity in the United States. We begin with a brief history of racial categorization and immigration to the U.S. The course continues by examining a number of topics including racial and ethnic identity, interracial and interethnic friendships and marriage, racial attitudes, mass media images, residential segregation, educational stratification, and labor market outcomes. The course will include discussions of African Americans, Whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans and Multiracials.

We live in a country which places a premium on indivi dual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an overview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!

We live in a country which places a premium on indivi dual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an overview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!

We live in a country which places a premium on indivi dual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an overview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!

We live in a country which places a premium on indivi dual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an overview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!