This two-semester course introduces students to “public sociology” and the many ways in which it is defined, debated, and actioned. Although there are many ways in which we conceive of public sociology (whether through education, action research, social movements), fundamentally, there is agreement that the professional sociologist, through his/her “project” seeks to serve the public good and make a difference to social justice and equality – at the community, societal and global levels. Students will make use of inquiry-based learning opportunities in a variety of examples (e.g., crime, poverty, discrimination) to gain an understanding of how the professional sociologist can engage in public and policy debates. The course is organized around seminars and a year-long project in which students will initiate, develop and draw from the range of sociological resources to improve the community and the world around us, including the use of new media, action research, involvement in NGOS, research and education. Because the course will involve seminars, research, and public engagement, students must have completed a theory oriented course as a pre-requisite and are strongly encouraged to have some exposure to research methods training.

Pre-requisite: any one of the following courses:

SOCI2001 Classical social theory; SOCI3024 Modern social theory; SOCI2071 Criminology; SOCI2080 Media and culture in modern societies