Sociology of Knowledge
SISP 350
Spring 2022
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Crosslisting:
SOC 350, EDST 350 |
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the sociology of knowledge, a specialized field of sociology that investigates how social structures shape the production of knowledge and how knowledge, in turn, shapes society. The term knowledge must be understood broadly, encompassing multiple forms of human knowledge production, including but not limited to scientific knowledge, cultural products, and capitalistic ideologies. Knowledge is a shapeshifting social thing that takes on heterogenous forms, guises, and tongues. Sometimes knowledge wears the face of truth; other times, it dawns the cloak of lies. Knowledge has both ethereal and material forms and yet always wears the mark of its producers. Every piece of knowledge carries the imprint of the creatures and social forces that produced it--each is a tiny node in the transmission of culture and the reproduction of power. To map power-knowledge relationships, the sociology of knowledge grounds an analysis of knowledge in terms of social structures, the sets of patterned practices that define and give meaning to social life at individual, communal, and institutional levels. In the broadest sense, the sociology of knowledge is concerned with the relationship between the (epistemic) content and the social context of knowledge. How was knowledge produced and with what institutional resources? Who produced knowledge and why did they produce it? Who benefits from the circulation of knowledge? What effects in the world does knowledge engender? Our basic course objectives are to a) introduce sociology of knowledge as a form of critical inquiry, b) describe and distinguish the approaches and research methods associated with the sociology of knowledge, and c) learn how to analyze knowledge and knowledge-making practices in their social context using these methods. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS SISP |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (EDST-MN)(EDST)(HRAD-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Less than 50% |
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