What do universities, hospitals, churches, labor unions, parks, anti-poverty agencies, museums, environmental agencies, human rights advocates, and transportation departments all have in common? They can all be classified as not-for-profit organizations.

As you can see, nonprofits take a variety of forms and are involved with many aspects of our daily lives. This course is an introduction to the nonprofit sector, the umbrella for the diverse terms above. It focuses primarily on the history and structure of the nonprofit sector in the United States; contemporary debates concerning the function and impact of the nonprofit sector; and key differences between the U.S. nonprofit sector and those in other countries.

Additionally, nonprofits are riddled with tensions, many of which we will discuss in this class. For example, do nonprofits enliven or undermine democracy? Are market-based management structures appropriate for organizations producing a public good? Who should nonprofits be “accountable” to, and how should effectiveness be measured? While learning about these tensions, you will learn to challenge and question the sector’s taken-for-granted practices.

This class is a meet-together between ORGSTUDY 204 and SOC 295.002. If the seats in one section are taken, check on the other side for availability.

Counts for the Department of Sociology's Law, Justice, and Social Change (LJSC) subplan/minor

Course Requirements:

participation; analytical question posts; case study; take home midterm; and a final group project and presentation

Intended Audience:

Freshman and Sophomore students interested in the Non-Profit sector

Class Format:

Two 1.5 hour lectures/week