Graduate Courses

Instructor: Micere Keels  |  M 9:30 AM -12:20 PM

The problems confronting urban schools are bound to the social, economic, and political conditions of the urban environments in which schools reside. Thus, this course will explore social, economic, and political issues, with an emphasis on issues of race and class as they have affected the distribution of equal educational opportunities in urban schools. We will focus on the ways in which family, school, and neighborhood characteristics intersect to shape the divergent outcomes of low- and middle-income children residing with any given neighborhood. Students will tackle an important issue affecting the residents and schools in one Chicago neighborhood. 

Instructor: Melinh Lai  |  T R 2:00 – 3:20 PM

What is the relationship between physical processes in the brain and body and the processes of thought and consciousness that constitute our mental life? Philosophers and others have puzzled over this question for millennia. Many have concluded it to be intractable. In recent decades, the field of cognitive science–encompassing philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, linguistics, and other disciplines–has proposed a new form of answer. The driving idea is that the interaction of the mental and the physical may be understood via a third level of analysis: that of the computational. This course offers a critical introduction to the elements of this approach, and surveys some of the alternative models and theories that fall within it. Readings are drawn from a range of historical and contemporary sources in philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and computer science.

Instructor: Lisa Rosen  |  W 11:30 AM – 2:20 PM

How and why do educational outcomes and experiences vary across student populations? What role do schools play in a society’s system of stratification? How do schools both contribute to social mobility and to the reproduction of the prevailing social order? This course examines these questions through the lens of social and cultural theory, engaging current academic debates on the causes and consequences of social inequality in educational outcomes. We will engage these debates by studying foundational and emerging theories and examining empirical research on how social inequalities are reproduced or ameliorated through schools. Through close readings of historical, anthropological and sociological case studies of schooling in the U.S, students will develop an understanding of the structural forces and cultural processes that produce inequality in neighborhoods and schools, how they contribute to unequal opportunities, experiences, and achievement outcomes for students along lines of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and immigration status, and how students themselves navigate and interpret this unequal terrain. We will cover such topics as neighborhood and school segregation; peer culture; social networks; elite schooling; the interaction between home, society and educational institutions; and dynamics of assimilation for students from immigrant communities.

Bi-weekly Lecture  |  R 12:30 – 1:50 PM

MA Certificate students are required to enroll in this course for two quarters. Grading is Pass/Fail based on attendance. 

The Committee on Education hosts this bi-weekly Workshop on Education Lecture Series, in which leading researchers from both the University of Chicago and other institutions present cutting-edge research and discuss methodological advances for understanding the interplay of human development and the social institution of schooling. Students in the Education and Society certificate program are required to consistently attend the Education Workshop over a period of at least two quarters during their year of study. The Workshop provides a common intellectual foundation for students and faculty, who have the opportunity to hear presentations of new work by renowned faculty and promising emerging scholars, prior to publication.

Instructor: Marshall Jean  |  T R 3:30 – 4:50 PM 

This course examines the social organization of formal education – how schools are shaped by the social context in which they are situated, and how students’ experiences in turn shape our society. It focuses specifically on schools as the link between macrosociological phenomena (e.g. culture, political systems, segregation, inequality) and the microsociological interactions of individual students and educators. The focus will be on contemporary American education, although lessons from the past and abroad will inform our learning. Prior introductory coursework in sociology will be useful but is not required.

Instructor: Ming-Te Wang  |  T 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM 

This course focuses on developmental pathways from middle childhood through adolescence within the context of school, family, community, and culture. Because human development is an applied field, we will be paying special attention to how sociocultural and historical influences affect academic, socioemotional, and identity development in the context of real-world challenges and opportunities faced by adolescents. In addition to learning about developmental and sociocultural theories, students will apply research to policy and practice by creating resources geared toward youth, parents, or those who work with youth. 

Instructor: Steve Raudenbush  |  T R 9:30 – 10:50 AM

This course has two purposes. First, using nationally representative US surveys, we’ll examine the early emergence of educational inequality and its evolution during adolescence and adulthood. We’ll ask about the importance of social origins (parent social status, race/ethnicity, gender, and language) in predicting labor market outcomes. We’ll study the role that education and plays in shaping economic opportunity, beginning in early childhood. We’ll ask at what points interventions might effectively advance learning and reduce inequality.

Second, we’ll gain mastery over some important statistical methods required for answering these and related questions. Indeed, this course provides an introduction to quantitative methods and a foundation for other methods courses in the social sciences. We consider standard topics: graphical and tabular displays of univariate and bivariate distributions, an introduction to statistical inference, and commonly arising applications such as the t‐test, the two‐way contingency table, analysis of variance, and regression. However, all statistical ideas and methods are embedded in case studies including a national survey of adult labor force outcomes, a national survey of elementary school children, and a national survey that follows adolescents through secondary school into early adulthood. Thus, the course will consider all statistical choices and inferences in the context of the broader logic of inquiry with the aim of strengthening our understanding of that logic as well as of the statistical methods.

Instructor: Lisa Rosen  |  T 3:30 – 6:20 PM

This course examines the dynamic relations between schooling and identity. We will explore how schools both enable and constrain the identities available to students and the consequences of this for academic achievement. We will examine these relations from multiple disciplinary perspectives, applying psychological, anthropological, sociological, and critical theories to understanding how students not only construct identities for themselves within schools, but also negotiate the identities imposed on them by others. Topics will include the role of peer culture, adult expectations, school practices and enduring social structures in shaping processes of identity formation in students and how these processes influence school engagement and achievement. We will consider how these processes unfold at all levels of schooling, from preschool through college, and for students who navigate a range of social identities, from marginalized to privileged.

Bi-weekly Lecture  |  R 12:30 – 1:50 PM

MA Certificate students are required to enroll in this course for two quarters. Grading is Pass/Fail based on attendance. 

The Committee on Education hosts this bi-weekly Workshop on Education Lecture Series, in which leading researchers from both the University of Chicago and other institutions present cutting-edge research and discuss methodological advances for understanding the interplay of human development and the social institution of schooling. Students in the Education and Society certificate program are required to consistently attend the Education Workshop over a period of at least two quarters during their year of study. The Workshop provides a common intellectual foundation for students and faculty, who have the opportunity to hear presentations of new work by renowned faculty and promising emerging scholars, prior to publication.

Instructor: Numanbayraktaroglu  |  T R 11:00 AM – 12:20 PM

This course provides an overview of theory and research on bilingualism. Through a critical examination of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches to bilingualism, we will aim to arrive at a comprehensive account of bilingual experience and its practical implications for education and mental health in a globalizing world.

In the course, we will address the following topics:

1. Theoretical and methodological foundations of bilingualism and multilingualism.
2. Bilingual and multilingual society, super-diversity, and translanguaging.
3. The relationship between bilingualism and cognition, emotion, and self.
4. Code-switching and identity.
5. Implications of bilingualism for education.

It is expected that, by the end of the course, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of bilingualism and multilingualism and apply this knowledge to your academic and professional context.

Instructor: Steve Raudenbush  |  Mondays 9:30am-12:20pm

A number of diverse methodological problems such as correlates of change, analysis of multi-level data, and certain aspects of meta-analysis share a common feature-a hierarchical structure. The hierarchical linear model offers a promising approach to analyzing data in these situations. This course will survey the methodological literature in this area, and demonstrate how the hierarchical linear model can be applied to a range of problems.

Instructor: Marshall Jean  |  Tuesday/Thursday 3:30pm-4:50pm

This course is designed to provide intermediate-level training in research methods that would pick up immediately after traditionally introductory-level classes that end with multiple regression. This course is designed to be a standalone package of training that will provide tools of immediate use in students’ own research or to make them more capable RAs in larger projects. I expect the course will provide the most utility to advanced BA and MA students that will not have time to complete many advanced, specialized courses. However, it would also serve as a useful bridge to more advanced statistical coursework. Students will also learn how to present findings in competent and accessible ways suitable for poster or conference presentations.

Instructor: Lisa Rosen  |  Tuesday, 2:00-4:50pm

Passionate conflicts over school curriculum and educational policy are a recurring phenomenon in the history of US schooling. Why are schools such frequent sites of struggle and what is at stake in these conflicts? In this discussion-based seminar, we will consider schools as battlegrounds in the US “culture wars”: contests over competing visions of national identity, morality, social order, the fundamental purposes of public education, and the role of the state vis-à-vis the family. Drawing on case studies from history, anthropology, sociology and critical race and gender studies, we will examine both past and contemporary debates over school curriculum and school policy. Topics may include clashes over: the teaching of evolution, sex and sexuality education, busing/desegregation, prayer in schools, multiculturalism, the content of the literary canon, the teaching of reading, mathematics and history, and the closure of “underperforming” urban schools. Our inquiry will examine how social and political movements have used schools to advance or resist particular agendas and social projects.

Instructor: DuJuan Smith  |  Day/Time TBD

This course explores the complex history of American urban education from the 19th century to modern times. Our primary analytical lens will be the role of place, race, and ethnicity in the making of contemporary schools, schooling, and curriculum in US urban centers. We will undertake this exploration by examining a selection of books, some of which are “foundational” texts in the history of American urban education, others that have opened new and important areas of research in the field, and still others that have addressed vital issues in the history of urban education in a particularly compelling way. 

Instructor: Hong Jin Jo  |  Monday/Wednesday 3:00pm-4:20pm

This course offers an in-depth introduction to the sociological study of higher education in both the United States and globally. It explores the evolving significance of college education for students and families, while analyzing how national and international social structures influence students’ educational trajectories. Key topics include college access, campus experiences, academic achievement, and post-graduation outcomes. Through these lenses, students will engage with critical questions about the role and impact of higher education in contemporary society.

Instructor: Derek Rury  |  Tuesday, Thursday 9:30am-10:50am or 11:00am-12:20pm

This course will examine major policy issues in higher education in both the United States and abroad. Topics covered will include models of individuals’ educational investment decisions, rationale for government involvement in higher education markets, the effects of higher education on long-term social and economic outcomes, and the behavior of institutions that produce higher education. Students will use economic models and interpret experts’ empirical findings to analyze current issues in higher education policy such as free community college, financial aid and student loans, affirmative action, higher education accountability, and student debt relief.

Instructor: Carlos Angeles  |  Wednesdays 9:30am-12:20pm

The course begins with an introduction to the history, development, and basic tenets of cultural studies. Throughout our work together, we will examine how social class, race/ethnicity, and gender are represented in literacy, language, and cultural theories and research that examine reproduction and resistance. Using cultural studies as the point of departure, this course explores the intersection of culture, power, and language (both oral and written) within schools and school systems. In accordance with the tenets of cultural studies, the course is guided by the presumption that culture (as it is realized through the functioning of schools and their agents and the experiences, knowledge, expressions, dispositions, and meaning-making of people of color, women, and low-income or working-class individuals) is critical for understanding and intervening in the reproduction of social and economic inequality. In order to understand the reproduction of inequality we will examine theories and empirical investigations that explore how structures of domination and subordination are reproduced and social difference and inequality are reinscribed through the cultural practices that are reflected in schools. We will also analyze the extent to which the cultural practices and experiences of marginalized individuals simultaneously contribute to the process of reproduction and also affirm the emancipatory possibilities of resistance.

Instructor: Yanyan Sheng  |  Tuesday/Thursday 11:00am-12:20pm

This course offers a deep dive into the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of contemporary psychometric theory – item response theory (IRT). It will explore how IRT extends classical test theory (CTT) to enhance scaling precision and instrument quality through latent trait modeling. Through a combination of theoretical lectures, hands-on exercises, and software application sessions using R, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of IRT principles and their real-world implications. Major topics include basic theory, models for handling both dichotomous and polytomous response data, estimation of model parameters, information function and standard error of estimation, model-data fit, test construction, differential item functioning, and test equating.

Instructor: Matthew Stagner  |  Tu Th 5:00pm-6:20pm

What constitutes high-quality research in child and family policy, and how should research best inform policymakers who want to improve the lives of children and families in their communities? Focusing on child welfare, teen and unintended pregnancy, and comprehensive community human services reform, students will learn how to assess the quality of individual program evaluations; synthesize research results to extract and highlight principal themes; and apply research findings to real-world policy and program decisions.

Instructor: Ceniti, Amanda  |  Day/Time TBD

This course will provide an overview of the brain’s reward system. Students will become familiar with historical and current theoretical constructs of reward, including facets of motivation, anticipation, and pleasure, as well as their underlying neurobiology. We will understand the diverse experimental approaches that can be used to study reward function, including animal models, task-based neuroimaging (fMRI), computerized behavioural tasks, and clinical questionnaires. We will also discuss how the reward system is differentially affected in mental health conditions such as depression and substance use disorders, and the emerging interest in using reward as a biomarker and treatment target.

Instructor: TBD  |  T/Th 2:00 – 3:30

Language tends to follow predictable patterns, from what sounds and words are about to be uttered, to what grammatical structures are likely, to be used to what broader implications are about to be suggested, and more. One prevailing hypothesis is that the human mind can take advantage of this predictability to help maintain the rapid pace of language comprehension. This course will explore critical questions surrounding the nature of prediction processes during language comprehension. What do people predict? How are their predictions constrained? How can we study the inherently internal process(es) of prediction? What are the consequences of prediction? Perhaps most importantly, what do the answers to these questions suggest about the mechanisms and computations of prediction? Readings will primarily consist of contemporary articles from peer-reviewed journals, and class meetings will be a mix of lectures and student-led discussions.

Instructor: Eugene Raikhel

M 9:30 AM – 12:20 PM

This course draws on a range of perspectives from across the interpretive, critical, and humanistic social sciences to examine the issues of mental health, illness, and distress in higher education.