Advancing Studies · Boston College
The word institution has many meanings. In sociology, it means a large-scale arrangement created and maintained to serve the needs of society. The criminal justice system is one example. Another is marriage. In political science, institutions are the organizations that generate economic and social policy and mediate conflicts. The courts are an example; trade unions are another. In history, institutions are what shaped political, economic, and social outcomes in the past. One example is slavery. Another is the civil rights movement. This course uses these different yet often overlappi
