General Catalog 2023-24

Lecture, three hours. Every day, people encounter state power through their contact with bureaucracies. Bureaucracies administer and regulate many aspects of our lives, including education, housing, social benefits, and mobility. Examination of role of bureaucracies in emergence of, persistence of, and experience of social inequality. Exploration of dilemmas that bureaucrats face as they do their jobs, and experiences of people who interact with bureaucrats either voluntarily or involuntarily. Consideration of how peoples’ experiences of bureaucracies are stratified by race and social class, and reflection on how experiences with bureaucracies convey messages about race, citizenship, and belonging. Letter grading.