SOC 327 - Sociology of Friendship

Friendship and friendship groups are a central feature of social life that foster support, solidarity, and shared connection among people. Friendships are socially structured and patterned, making them of interest to those who study group relations and group formation. This course engages with scholarly debates on the meaning and significance of friendship across the life course. It focuses on social boundaries and identities reproduced and/or challenged through the experience of friendship, and examines the development and effects of hierarchies of status and power and of friendship norms and social pressure. Particular emphasis will be on the role of networks, technological developments, organizations, and institutions in structuring trust, connection, and social solidarity among people. A focus on friendship also invites broader dialogue regarding other forms of social connection (or lack thereof), such as acquaintanceship, intimate relations, contractual ties, isolation, and the role of strangers in our lives.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): SOC 211
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.