Digital Sociology We live in a digital world. We surf. We tweet. We swipe left. We create data. We become data. In this course we will consider how we use and are used by digital technologies. Digital spaces are neither neutral nor separate; they reflect and recreate the “real world.” We will critically examine today’s technologies and practices using central concepts in sociological theory, namely identity, inequality, and power. We will focus on four main topics: social media and productive labor; surveillance and privacy; stratification in access, use, and experience across race, class, gender, and sexuality; and online political organizing.

Stuff: A Sociology of Things Stuff surrounds us. It fills our lives and makes our lives more fulfilling. We make it, we break it. We love it, we hate it. Then we throw it away. But stuff can just as easily make us and break us. Yet, sociology rarely pays much attention to things. In this course we will uncover and study the surprisingly active social lives of objects. Drawing broadly from work on material culture, cultural studies, consumption studies, and critical theory, we will explore the complex meanings of objects, the relationships people form with them, and the ways they shape how we think and what we do. Students will learn object-based research methods to investigate the social meanings and uses of everyday objects.

The City and Its People We all live somewhere, and increasingly we find ourselves living in an urban environment. In this course we will explore current topics in urban sociology, with particular emphasis on the power of place, culture, and community in U.S. cities. We will study the historical, cultural, and political conditions that have shaped contemporary U.S. cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. We will examine how cities change and resist change through the lens of such subjects as migration, poverty, urban arts, crime, and education as it pertains to the city. Students will read a variety of ethnographic and sociological materials, in order to gain an understanding of the complexities of both urban life and processes of representation.

Visual Sociology We live in a visual world. To understand society and culture, we must understand the images we produce and consume. This course provides a sociological lens to study how we use and are used by images. We will study key theories that frame how visual contents (such as photographs, films, and videos) are shared, viewed, and interpreted by various audiences. Using images as our starting point, we will analyze the messages and imagery in visual texts to extract their social meanings. We will engage three sides of visual sociology: images as cultural artifacts, picture making as data collection, and displaying research visually. (Sociology)

Social Theory This course provides an overview of major lines of development in 20th century social theory relevant to the field of sociology, focusing on how various theorists have grappled with the basic issues that have dominated 20th century social thought. Particular attention will be given to the questions arising from the conceptual distinctions between structure and action, on the one hand, and identity and culture, on the other. How is social order possible? How autonomous are human agents? How do we explain the persistence of observed patterns of human interaction and social practice? How do we analyze relations between the world of everyday life and the large-scale development of social systems? How does social change take place? (SOCI 0105)

Sociology of Tourism We're all tourists now. The world's largest industry, tourism touches every part of the globe and every aspect of our lives. Tourism is a driving force of globalization, simultaneously a force of cultural differentiation and homogenization. As more and more places and people become economically dependent on tourism, tensions between tourists and locals increase, sparking protest and efforts to limit tourism in some area. In this course, we will use sociology to better understand tourism as well as using tourism to explore many different sociological theories. In this course we will critically study the social and cultural effects of tourism and tourists, with a focus on meaning making, tourist identities, inequalities and exploitation, the environmental effects, as well as reflecting our own, as well as Middlebury College's, place within tourism economies.

Social Movements and Collective Action An analysis of the range of factors which influence the emergence and development of social protest, social movements, rebellion, and revolution. Topics to be considered include: the generation and mobilization of discontent; recruitment and participation; member commitment; tactics and strategy; revolutionary situations and outcomes; collective violence; and the factors that influence the success and failure of movement organizations and collective action in general. Emphasis will be placed on critically analyzing alternative approaches and theories of social movements and collective action (i.e., self-interest/deprivation, participation gratification, traditional collective behavior and resource mobilization). Empirical studies will be used throughout the course. Limited places available for students to satisfy the College writing requirement.

Society and the Individual This course examines the ideas and enduring contributions of the giants of modern social theory, including Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Sigmund Freud. Readings will include selections from original works, as well as contemporary essays. Key issues will include the nature of modernity, the direction of social change, and the role of human agency in constructing the "good society." This course serves as a general introduction to sociology.

The Long Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement is one of the most significant political forces in American history, but too often we reduce it to its heyday in the 1950s and 60s. In this course we engage a much longer, more varied history of African American freedom struggles, from protests against segregated trains in the late 19th century to today’s #BlackLivesMatter. We use social movement theory to explore these cases, and use the cases to develop new theories of politics and social structure, paying close attention to the roles of organizations, resources, leadership, recruitment, commitment, values, ideology, culture, gender, and counter-movements.

Linus Owens

Reviews and ratings for Linus Owens at Middlebury College.Linus Owens teaches Digital Sociology, Stuff: A Sociology of Things, The City and Its People and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Linus Owens good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

I very much enjoyed taking this class. Linus has a sense of humor which always keeps students engaged and the lecture interesting. This class definitely involved a lot of readings but they were very interesting. The class lectures and discussions were based mainly on the readings.

There is not a small amount of reading for this class. The discussions can take some digressions. He will go on about topic for a while, so if you want to say something you should just say it. Overall the material in the class was very interesting.

Linus is a very eccentric individual, which I feel makes his interests particularly valuable for learning. He talks about a lot of his own things, but we also talk a lot about our own objects. He connects all the students' objects while ensuring they relate to the day's main topic. This was easily my favorite course that I have taken so far.