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This course provides a sociological lens for analyzing education and educational inequality in the United States. Over the course of the semester, we will use various theories to explore education as a social institution, going beyond our own individual experiences and personal ideologies. In addition to covering the foundational ideas in the sociology of education, we will spend considerable time exploring the myriad ways that education impacts, and is impacted by, broader patterns of inequality. We will also use empirical studies to examine external factors that affect student experiences and shape learning outcomes; factors such as the role of families, neighborhoods, and schools, themselves. Salient topics include racial segregation, economic stratification within and between schools, technology, tracking, teacher pedagogy, immigration, English Language Learners, punishment, higher education, and the future of education in a demographically and culturally diversifying society.