Introduces the major theoretical issues and traditions in sociology, especially as developed in the writings of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Sociology majors are expected to take this course in their …
This course examines sociological theories of power and their intersections with culture. It focuses on oppression and social change in the 20th and 21st century U.S. through the lens of …
Feminist Theory offers a focused exploration of ways that late 20th Century and early 21st Century feminist theorists challenge, alter and deploy central concerns and paradigms of Western cultural assumption. …
Surveys are everywhere these days, but good surveys are not easy to do. Learn how to conduct a successful, high-quality sample survey. Understand the main sources of survey error and …
Introduces data analysis and data processing, as well as the conceptualization of sociological problems. Emphasizes individual student projects.
Studies elementary statistical methods for social science applications. Topics include summarizing data with graphs and descriptive measures, generalizing from a sample to a population as in opinion polls, and determining …
The pharmacological revolution, symbolized by drugs such as Prozac and Ritalin, is a cultural as well as a medical phenomenon. The course explores the history of the revolution and the …
The class introduces the 'new social studies of childhood' and the idea that the experience of childhood is a social construction, not a string of biological facts. Topics include: how …
What is the difference between individual and self? Do we carry a fixed, unchangeable self inside, or do we have as many selves as the situations in which we commonly …
This course will provide an understanding of how sociologists interpret the body in modernity. Topics will include the body in consumer culture, the gendered body, body modification, identity and the …
This course focuses on drug use and drug control in contemporary American society. This course examines how race and class relate to patterns of drug use and addiction, as well …
In this class we will examine the ways in which popular film in the U.S. has historically helped to define dominant cultural ideas about gender identities and differences. We will …
Focuses on the construction of gender and sexuality, and of the many ways human groups regulate and attach meanings to these categories. Some general themes addressed will be: contemporary and …
Introduces the study of race and ethnic relations, including the social and economic conditions promoting prejudice, racism, discrimination, and segregation. Examines contemporary American conditions, and historical and international materials.
This seminar provides a survey of Chinese society and social changes in the reform-era (1979 to the present). It uses sociological analysis to comprehensively examine various aspects of contemporary Chinese …
This course conceives alternative possibilities for our cities. It will include such lines of inquiry as the challenges of equality and justice; sustainability and environmental change; the potential and limits …
This study of the development of human societies explores the five major 'techo-economic bases' that have characterized our species' history (hunting-gathering, horticultural, agrarian, industrial and information/biotech) and examines how contemporary …
This course will explore the determinants, nature, and effects of the increase in cross-border flows of goods, services, capital and people that we have come to associate with the term …
Explores the ways in which physical environments shape and are shaped by social life. Examines the relationship between urban space and culture in different historical and social settings, though there …
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of sociology.