Sociology 350 focuses on the social psychology of urban and community life. It is concerned with everyday life within the human habitat known as the city. In it, we will explore questions about how people organize their relationships to one another and to urban spaces. We will cover topics such as the culture of public life; space, place, and place attachment; patterns of interaction in urban and neighborhood settings; the sociological debate surrounding loss of community; private, parochial, and public relationships and realms of interaction; and the personal and social consequences of varying patterns of urban form, i.e., patterns of the built environment.

The course is divided into five broad topic areas: (1) a brief introduction to the course (here, we will examine classic sociological conceptions of city and community life); (2) public life and the world of the street (here, we will discuss Duneier's study of New York street vendors and various perspectives on what makes a public space "work"); (3) fear of public spaces and responses to that fear (here, we will discuss Low's book on gated communities and other pieces); (4) place, place attachment, and community, and the relation between them (here, we will discuss a wide range of examples of place attachment and both place- and non-place-based examples of community); and (5) the architectural and urban planning movement known as the "New Urbanism" (here, we will read about the Disney community of Celebration, Florida, and discuss the feasibility of creating community through design).

Note : Sociology 350 falls into the substantive area of "Microsociology" for the Sociology Major Requirements. There are no prerequisites for the course, but it is directed toward sociology majors and minors. It was taught as Sociology 497 in Spring 2004. Students who took it then may not take it again as Sociology 350. Students must attend the first two class meetings (Feb. 1 and 3) or they risk being dropped from the course.

Required Texts

Duneier, Mitchell. 1999. Sidewalk . Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

Low, Setha. 2003. Behind the Gates: Life, Security and the Pursuit of Happiness in Fortress America . Routledge.

Additional Books (to be determined)

Additional Articles (Available on hard copy and electronic reserve at SSU library)

Course Assignments and Weighting of Final Course Grade

Paper #1: 25%

Exam #1 (Midterm): 25%

Paper #2: 25%

Exam #2 (Final): 25%

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