Sociology

Sociology at Barnard

Sociology explores social life in all its fascinating variety as well as the relationships among and between individuals, social groups, organizations and institutions. The subject matter of the discipline ranges widely, as do the research interests of our faculty: from the big global forces that shape migration, immigration and refugee status in the United States and elsewhere, to the most personal of identity group membership and structural inequalities faced by all of us; from the powerful impact of law and politics on the design and flow of urban life, to the changing boundaries of gender, race, class and ethnicity; from social life shaped by medicine, education, family and other hierarchical institutions, to the most intimate realm of sexuality and the body; and from the organization, ideology and functioning of social movements that shake established structures, to the use of social media, popular culture, and political speeches to translate something significant about our contemporary society.

The methods sociologists use vary: Some scholars look to the sciences using large-scale survey and quantitative data to uncover causal connections among social phenomena; others embrace the methods of historical inquiry, delving into archives and oral history to create and analyze biographical narratives; and still others are drawn to the practices of participatory observation and ethnography, heading to the field to clarify conundrums through in-depth interviews, intimate contact, and close observation.

The Barnard Department of Sociology offers courses to help students process, historicize and critique the various forms of inequalities that continue to shape society and differentially impact its members. Many of our classes incorporate sociological analyses of contemporary subjects such as the COVID-19 health pandemic and the ongoing social movements across the world for racial justice and police reform. Through our curricula we will directly analyze the origins and present-day impact of anti-Blackness, institutional racism, and the intersection of race, gender, class, sexual orientation and religion in the creation and maintenance of structural inequalities in society—and, as importantly, on the collective challenges that ordinary people launch to transform them.