The purpose of this class is to encourage the examincation of educational ideas from a sociological perspective. The course focuses both on how schools function as part of society and how schools function as organizations. Special attention will be paid to inequalities and the social structures that perpetuate those inequalities. The first half of the course will cover major sociological theories such as those concerning social mobility, theories of capital and systems theories. The second half of the course will cover application of those theories to contemporary educational issues such as race, class and gender. [ 3 credits ]