teachingI teach courses in gender, family, research methods, statistics, and social problems.
Course descriptions are pasted below. |
COURSES:
Sociology of Gender (SOC 63800). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2018.
Gender is arguably the most fundamental social division and axis of inequality in human society. Although gender categories differ cross-culturally, all societies use gender as a key organizing and stratifying principle. But what exactly is gender and how does it relate to biological sex? What is the history of gender as a category of analysis in sociology and how have gender scholars influenced other sociological sub-fields? In this course, we will read foundational tracts on theorizing gender and gendering theory, we will consider feminist methodological critiques, and we will examine empirical manifestations of gender and of gender inequality across varied arenas of social life and sociological research.
Reproduction, Sexuality, and Parenting (SOC 13186-6). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
This course will consider how families reinforce, and sometimes challenge, prevailing gender and sexual norms. It will emphasize reproduction and parenting, interpersonal interactions and family rituals (like marriages), family structure, new and varied family forms, reproduction and pregnancy as embodied social experiences, and the timing and context of family transitions. The course will focus on the contemporary U.S. but will incorporate cross-national and historic comparisons. Two recurring themes are (1) family as an embodied experience in which biological and social realities intertwine, and (2) family rituals as symbolic, consequential social performances.
Research Methods (SOC 63913). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2018.
Research Methods is designed to provide an in-depth view of quantitative and qualitative research methods in the social sciences. Topics covered include (1) hypothesis formulation and theory construction (2) the measurement of sociological variables (3) data collection techniques – experimental, survey, and observational. At the end of the course, students should appreciate both the strengths and the limitations of sociological research techniques, and will have a solid foundation for beginning to conduct research on their own.
Marriage and Family (SOC 20342). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Auturm 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Spring 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Spring 2018.
The family is often considered the most fundamental social institution. It is within the family that early socialization and care-giving usually take place, shaping our ideas about the world, yet we often find it difficult to see how a social institution as private as the family is shaped by historical and social forces. This course will give students the opportunity to learn about the diverse forms the family has taken over time and social context. This knowledge will be useful in examining ongoing debates about social policy and the place of the family in social life. By taking a sociological approach to learning about the family and by gaining knowledge about national family trends and patterns in the U.S., this course will give students the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how family life is linked to social structure; to economic, cultural, and historical events and transitions; and to status characteristics like race, class, and gender.
Family, Gender, and Employment (SOC 43377). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2012, Autumn 2013, Spring 2016, Autumn 2017.
This course addresses the competing responsibilities of employment ("work") and family. It explores how work and family life interconnect and interfere with each other and the implications that this has for women, men, children, marriage, single/divorced parents, and employers. Topics include the work-family time crunch, gender and the division of labor, gender and parenting, and the changing nature of work. The class will also examine how family structure, gender, race, and social class affect the ability to achieve work-life balance. Special consideration will be given to the effect that work-family tension has on children, parenting, and parents' relationship quality. The focus is on the contemporary United States, but this course will also include historic and cross-national comparisons.
Introduction to Social Problems (SOC 10033). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2013.
Today's society is beset by many serious social problems, for example, crime and deviance, drug abuse and addiction, domestic violence, hunger and poverty, and racial/ethnic discrimination. How do we think about these problems in ways that lead to helpful solutions? In what ways does one's own social background and role in society affect his/her views of these problems? In this course, students will learn to take a sociological perspective not only in examining the causes, consequences, and solutions to some of society's most troubling social problems, but also in taking a critical look at their own perceptions of the problems.
Foundations of Social Research (SOC 180A/280A). Instructor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Autumn 2010, Spring 2011.
The course provides an introduction to the practice of social research. The goal is to help you develop an understanding of how social research is done and an ability to evaluate the quality of empirical research. The course will focus on the process of designing a research project, including formulating research questions, developing hypotheses, developing valid and reliable
measures, deciding on the types of data needed, making decisions on sampling, choosing research design and data collection methods, the challenges of making causal inference, and criteria for evaluating the quality of social research.
Data Management and Analysis in Social Science (SOC 184). Instructor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Autumn 2007.
Sociology 184 guides students through an empirical study of their choice. It is not a course on statistics; rather, it is an applied course that teaches students how to use statistics in the context of an in-dependent data analysis project. Students will learn the practical skills necessary to manage and prepare data for analysis. They will learn how to test the assumptions of their hypotheses, how to select the appropriate statistical model to test their hypotheses, and how to conduct and interpret the results of these statistical models. The course will emphasize the statistical programming skills needed to manage and analyze data (using Stata), the logic of hypothesis testing, and the selection and understanding of statistical tests and models.
Sociological Methods IA: Computer-Assisted Data Analysis (SOC 381A). Instructor (with Brandy Aven), Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007.
Course Description: This course provides an overview to skills and topics necessary for quantitative analysis preparing students for advance courses in sociological methods. The course will be comprised of lectures, handouts, and take-home exercises to help familiarize students with statistical software packages and computer applications in research. In addition, students will develop a project of their own design to hone their skills in computer-assisted data analysis.
Course Objectives: The course is meant to review material such as statistics, data preparation, and hypothesis testing. It is not the intent of this course to teach these topics in depth. Students will be expected to determine if they require additional study to master the material. Needless to say, we are dedicated to helping students acquire the appropriate level of understanding. By the end of the course, you should have an understanding of research method terminology. In addition, you should understand basic univariate and bivariate statistics and be able to use a statistical package to conduct univariate and bivariate statistics. For the first part of the course students will become familiar with getting data and the fundamentals of data management. In the second part of the course, a review of probability theory and statistics will be provided. Following the second part in weeks 5 through 9, students will explore data using common statistical packages. Finally, the course will end with a review of algebra and calculus in preparation for the second course in methods, linear regression, and advanced topics. Skills students should possess at the end of this course:
1. Generate, manipulate, and transform variables
2. Create, read, convert, and handle data sets
3. Perform exploratory analysis
4. Understand and design graphs and tables of publishable quality
5. Be familiar with SPPS
6. Be familiar with Stata
7. Establish professional working habits
8. Work within a UNIX environment
Sociological Methods II: Statistics (SOC 382). Teaching Assistant for Professor Nancy Tuma, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008.
The course has three main parts. The first part will review fundamentals of social research and mathematical and statistical concepts and notation. The second part will review linear models for continuous (metric) outcomes. This part of the course presumes some previous familiarity with linear models. The third part will introduce static models for discrete outcomes.
Sociology of Gender (SOC 63800). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2018.
Gender is arguably the most fundamental social division and axis of inequality in human society. Although gender categories differ cross-culturally, all societies use gender as a key organizing and stratifying principle. But what exactly is gender and how does it relate to biological sex? What is the history of gender as a category of analysis in sociology and how have gender scholars influenced other sociological sub-fields? In this course, we will read foundational tracts on theorizing gender and gendering theory, we will consider feminist methodological critiques, and we will examine empirical manifestations of gender and of gender inequality across varied arenas of social life and sociological research.
Reproduction, Sexuality, and Parenting (SOC 13186-6). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
This course will consider how families reinforce, and sometimes challenge, prevailing gender and sexual norms. It will emphasize reproduction and parenting, interpersonal interactions and family rituals (like marriages), family structure, new and varied family forms, reproduction and pregnancy as embodied social experiences, and the timing and context of family transitions. The course will focus on the contemporary U.S. but will incorporate cross-national and historic comparisons. Two recurring themes are (1) family as an embodied experience in which biological and social realities intertwine, and (2) family rituals as symbolic, consequential social performances.
Research Methods (SOC 63913). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2018.
Research Methods is designed to provide an in-depth view of quantitative and qualitative research methods in the social sciences. Topics covered include (1) hypothesis formulation and theory construction (2) the measurement of sociological variables (3) data collection techniques – experimental, survey, and observational. At the end of the course, students should appreciate both the strengths and the limitations of sociological research techniques, and will have a solid foundation for beginning to conduct research on their own.
Marriage and Family (SOC 20342). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Auturm 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Spring 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Spring 2018.
The family is often considered the most fundamental social institution. It is within the family that early socialization and care-giving usually take place, shaping our ideas about the world, yet we often find it difficult to see how a social institution as private as the family is shaped by historical and social forces. This course will give students the opportunity to learn about the diverse forms the family has taken over time and social context. This knowledge will be useful in examining ongoing debates about social policy and the place of the family in social life. By taking a sociological approach to learning about the family and by gaining knowledge about national family trends and patterns in the U.S., this course will give students the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how family life is linked to social structure; to economic, cultural, and historical events and transitions; and to status characteristics like race, class, and gender.
Family, Gender, and Employment (SOC 43377). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2012, Autumn 2013, Spring 2016, Autumn 2017.
This course addresses the competing responsibilities of employment ("work") and family. It explores how work and family life interconnect and interfere with each other and the implications that this has for women, men, children, marriage, single/divorced parents, and employers. Topics include the work-family time crunch, gender and the division of labor, gender and parenting, and the changing nature of work. The class will also examine how family structure, gender, race, and social class affect the ability to achieve work-life balance. Special consideration will be given to the effect that work-family tension has on children, parenting, and parents' relationship quality. The focus is on the contemporary United States, but this course will also include historic and cross-national comparisons.
Introduction to Social Problems (SOC 10033). Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2013.
Today's society is beset by many serious social problems, for example, crime and deviance, drug abuse and addiction, domestic violence, hunger and poverty, and racial/ethnic discrimination. How do we think about these problems in ways that lead to helpful solutions? In what ways does one's own social background and role in society affect his/her views of these problems? In this course, students will learn to take a sociological perspective not only in examining the causes, consequences, and solutions to some of society's most troubling social problems, but also in taking a critical look at their own perceptions of the problems.
Foundations of Social Research (SOC 180A/280A). Instructor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Autumn 2010, Spring 2011.
The course provides an introduction to the practice of social research. The goal is to help you develop an understanding of how social research is done and an ability to evaluate the quality of empirical research. The course will focus on the process of designing a research project, including formulating research questions, developing hypotheses, developing valid and reliable
measures, deciding on the types of data needed, making decisions on sampling, choosing research design and data collection methods, the challenges of making causal inference, and criteria for evaluating the quality of social research.
Data Management and Analysis in Social Science (SOC 184). Instructor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Autumn 2007.
Sociology 184 guides students through an empirical study of their choice. It is not a course on statistics; rather, it is an applied course that teaches students how to use statistics in the context of an in-dependent data analysis project. Students will learn the practical skills necessary to manage and prepare data for analysis. They will learn how to test the assumptions of their hypotheses, how to select the appropriate statistical model to test their hypotheses, and how to conduct and interpret the results of these statistical models. The course will emphasize the statistical programming skills needed to manage and analyze data (using Stata), the logic of hypothesis testing, and the selection and understanding of statistical tests and models.
Sociological Methods IA: Computer-Assisted Data Analysis (SOC 381A). Instructor (with Brandy Aven), Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007.
Course Description: This course provides an overview to skills and topics necessary for quantitative analysis preparing students for advance courses in sociological methods. The course will be comprised of lectures, handouts, and take-home exercises to help familiarize students with statistical software packages and computer applications in research. In addition, students will develop a project of their own design to hone their skills in computer-assisted data analysis.
Course Objectives: The course is meant to review material such as statistics, data preparation, and hypothesis testing. It is not the intent of this course to teach these topics in depth. Students will be expected to determine if they require additional study to master the material. Needless to say, we are dedicated to helping students acquire the appropriate level of understanding. By the end of the course, you should have an understanding of research method terminology. In addition, you should understand basic univariate and bivariate statistics and be able to use a statistical package to conduct univariate and bivariate statistics. For the first part of the course students will become familiar with getting data and the fundamentals of data management. In the second part of the course, a review of probability theory and statistics will be provided. Following the second part in weeks 5 through 9, students will explore data using common statistical packages. Finally, the course will end with a review of algebra and calculus in preparation for the second course in methods, linear regression, and advanced topics. Skills students should possess at the end of this course:
1. Generate, manipulate, and transform variables
2. Create, read, convert, and handle data sets
3. Perform exploratory analysis
4. Understand and design graphs and tables of publishable quality
5. Be familiar with SPPS
6. Be familiar with Stata
7. Establish professional working habits
8. Work within a UNIX environment
Sociological Methods II: Statistics (SOC 382). Teaching Assistant for Professor Nancy Tuma, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008.
The course has three main parts. The first part will review fundamentals of social research and mathematical and statistical concepts and notation. The second part will review linear models for continuous (metric) outcomes. This part of the course presumes some previous familiarity with linear models. The third part will introduce static models for discrete outcomes.