Urban Sociology & Immigration

One of the oldest and most revered branches of sociology is focused on urban communities and the processes through which they are formed: migration and immigration. Robert Park, a founder of urban sociology, described Chicago as a “mosaic of little worlds” - a patchwork quilt of neighborhoods formed around racial identity, ethnic heritage, socioeconomic position, or subculture. This description, dating back almost a century, continues to apply to the city around us, and inspires sociologists to ask several related questions: How are neighborhoods organized, and how do they affect our well-being or our chances in life? How do immigrants adapt to life in a new place? How do they and their children change their surrounding neighborhoods and the people around them? In the Urban Sociology & Immigration area of study, students take courses that will lead them to think differently about their urban surroundings, and about the social processes that brought their families to the city and the region. Organized around the core courses of Urban Sociology (SOC211), and Migration (SOC307), the area of study encourages students to apply their sociological imaginations to the neighborhoods and communities they inhabit.

Course Offerings:
Urban Sociology 211
Ethnic and Race Relations 217
Asians in the U.S. 225.07
Sociology of Migration 307
Second Generation Asian-Americans 325.05

Affiliated Professors:
Prof. Mike Benedikstsson
Prof. Margaret Chin
Prof. Nancy Foner
Prof. Joong-Hwan Oh