SOC600

038450

This course draws on the sociology of science, organizations, networks, and culture to understand how ideas are developed and how they spread. The sociology of knowledge has experienced a recent resurgence, and we'll focus on new developments in empirical research on the topic, broadly written. We will focus on knowledge production (sources of innovation, how network ties/position and organizational context affect idea generation), knowledge diffusion (through visible and invisible communities, and at micro and macro levels), and knowledge reception (how it is evaluated and used). We'll focus on scientifically based knowledge generated in the academy, but this will not preclude study of industry settings and the humanities. After some theoretical grounding, we will familiarize ourselves with empirical investigations in the sociology of knowledge with the aim of generating our own original research in the area.

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Graduate

CE - CL (Cross Listed)

SOC 575 and 569 or equivalent.