A central aim of sociology is to track the relationship between order and disorder, organization and chaos, normal time and emergencies. Organizations and institutions as small as the family and as large as the state experience moments of organization and experience manifold moments of breakdown, where the internal and external boundaries of the designated group dissolve. This course explores both the qualities and structures of organization (social, professional, military) and the phases and modes of organizational breakdowns. It approaches the latter via an analysis of specific standoffs, accidents, mistakes, miscommunications, conflicts, violent encounters, and social deviance.