21:920:201 Introduction to Sociology (3) This course explores key sociological concepts and theories through the examination of topics such as culture, socialization, inequality, and social institutions.Through a combination of theoretical frameworks, real-world examples, and critical analysis, students develop a deeper understanding of how societies function and the impact of social structures on individuals and groups.

21:920:209 Crime and Justice in American Society (3) Analysis of major criminal justice institutions in American society; the function of courts, police, and judicial systems in helping or impairing the fair administration of criminal law.

21:920:275 Popular Culture (3) This course focuses on the rich tradition of studying popular culture from a social science point of view. It examines issues of representation in popular culture such as race and ethnicity as well as gender and sexuality. It also examines a history of popular culture in the United States, and elsewhere, starting long before the eras of radio and television and memes. The course makes use of the many different ways to access popular culture that have emerged in the 21st century as well.

21:920:285 Drugs and Society (3) This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to consider how we use drugs in our society and how they may vary from culture to culture. The course will explore how drugs can create subcultures, how they have been used to reinforce racial stereotypes and maintain racial discrimination and how they affect the lives of men and women differently. It also considers how drugs create an altered consciousness that humans have been seeking for thousands of years.

21:920:301-302 Social Research I,II (3,3) The art and the science of doing research. Teaches students how to develop a researchable question (hypothesis construction and causal modeling); how to collect data (observation, surveys, experiments, and secondary analysis) and analyze data (statistics); and how to write a scientific report.

21:920:303 Social Change (3) Examines the causes and consequences of social change as it touches individuals, small groups, communities, organizations, and societies on a global level, analyzing intended and unforeseen changes in both current social relations and the history of social structures.

21:920:304 Social Problems (3) This course examines leading social problems facing Americans today. It examines the causes and processes underlying these problems and addresses how to evaluate proposed solutions.

21:920:306 Marriage and the Family (3) The family is a social institution. This course focuses primarily on the modern American family and the current search for alternatives to the traditional monogamous family.

21:920:307 Social Protest and Revolution (3) When people's needs and aspirations are no longer satisfied through existing institutions and modes of representation, social protest results. This course uses specific examples of protest movements in order to examine who protests, why, and under what circumstances. It also examines popular and elite reactions to protest movements, including the reshaping of political institutions and the emergence of vigilante forces.

21:920:308 Social Movements (3) Theoretical approaches to the study of social movements. Comparative examination of historical and contemporary social movements in democratic and nondemocratic contexts; their emergence, strategies, dynamics, and outcomes.

21:920:310 Occupations and Professions (3) Variations in cultural definitions of work, attitudes toward careers, and the social environment of work; the development of professions; occupational and professional recruitment.

21:920:311 Sociology of the Economy and Industry (3) The ups and downs of the business cycle, as in the Great Recession of 2007-2008, directly affects how well or poorly people live, their plans and aspirations for the future, the types of work they perform, and the compensation they receive. New technologies--such as the automobile, the computer, and fast food--impact people's lives in similar ways. Economic changes are also social changes. This course focuses on the continuous transformation of society that is a feature of the modern world. Each generation faces a situation uniquely its own.

21:920:313 Sociology of Criminology (3) Crime and criminals in modern society, including causes of crime; machinery of justice; penal and correctional institutions; probation and parole; theories of crime and punishment.

21:920:316 Race and Ethnicity in Multicultural Societies (3) Ways in which race has been socially and historically constructed; critical examination of the sociological dimensions of race, ethnicity, and their influence on identity, racial categorization, and interlocking systems of oppression; historical and contemporary theories of race and racism with a primary focus on the United States, but also incorporating relevant international perspectives and experiences.

21:920:318 Perspectives on Healthcare Policy (3) The course focuses on social science foundations of political perspectives on US healthcare policy and law, which shape the public and private sector arrangements of health care delivery. Students will characterize healthcare debates in terms of barriers to care, and then theoretically and empirically evaluate three policy platforms: (1) market-oriented perspectives, (2) social protection perspectives, and (3) social justice perspectives.

21:920:319 Human Rights on Film (3) In this course we will discuss both the successes and limitation of current efforts to protect and promote human rights. We will focus on topics ranging from the nature and origins of human rights, to the motives for abuse of these rights, to the remedies available to redress these abuses. We will use film as the medium to explore these issues.

21:920:321 Urban Sociology (3) The city as a mosaic of communities; persistence and change in the structure of urban neighborhoods; city life and the urban personality; the sociology of community planning; the future of neighborhood, suburb, and city.

21:920:324 Inequality (3) In this course we'll ask specific questions about inequality regarding its origins, the shapes and forms it takes in everyday life, its consequences, and the overall impact it has on society. We'll explore how social scientists interpret and explain inequality mainly from sociological perspectives, but we'll also include some political and economic perspectives. We'll consider inequality as a result of race, ethnicity, and gender divisions. We'll include the historical roots of social organization and consider problems related to inequalities in industrialized as well as less developed countries. We'll study the institutionalization of inequalities and the patterns that reproduce and maintain them. Finally, starting from the question why we go along with inequalities, we'll explore some approaches that aim to address and challenge inequalities in our society.

21:920:325 Human Rights in a Global World (3) This course explores the origins and recent proliferation of concepts, practices, and institutions related to human rights. It considers how human rights claims are contested, appropriated, and transformed in particular contexts. Struggles for human rights reconfigure social and cultural norms, and they transform local and global politics. Topics include the relationships of human rights to individual agency, culture, suffering, body, memory, law, justice, security, violence, citizenship, and group difference.

21:920:326 American Society (3) Explores the social structure and culture of American society today. Major topics are introduced from conceptual and historical sociological points of view. Topics include: the nature and consequences of American capitalism and the resultant disparities between advantaged and disadvantaged American social classes; the nature and consequences of racial inequality and discrimination in the United States today; the nature and politics of American immigration; the culture wars, political cleavages, and cultural divisions in American society over the past 50 years.

21:920:328 Global Sustainable Development Goals (3) Sociological analysis of relationships among economic growth, environmental sustainability and social justice in the developing world. Considers frameworks for understanding poverty, hunger, educational and technological inequality, and the impact of globalization on prospects for socially and ecologically sustainable development. This course will provide an understanding of the challenges facing the global community as it contemplates sustainable development and will introduce strategies and instruments for achieving the United Nation's ambitious, global sustainable development goal.

21:920:329 Sociology of Law (3) This course focuses on the law's impact on our everyday lives, and our capacities to influence the law and legal institutions. It considers prominent sociological theories of the law, and engages core sociological perspectives on different areas of the law. The course also explores sociological perspectives on different legal domains, including criminal justice, immigration law, and corporate political influence.

21:920:331 Social Determinants of Health (3) The social determinants of health are social, political, economic and cultural conditions, forces and factors that influence how health is distributed among entire groups and populations. This course will introduce basic concepts in public health and then examine fundamental determinants of health, including income and social class, ethnicity and racism and will focus on selected specific determinants (e.g. food security) and health issues (e.g. tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS).

21:920:332 Class, Status, and Power (3) Theories of inequality, social ranking, and the distribution of resources and opportunity as they affect individuals and groups in terms of crime, health, family life, and value systems.

21:920:337 Sociology of Gender (3) This course explores gender and feminisms from a sociological perspective. It looks at the ways in which gender norms, roles, relations, and practices are shaped through social structures, institutions, and power relations. It also analyzes how gender and sexualities are related to race, class, religion, ethnicity, etc. It also explores feminist theories and concepts such as patriarchy, sexism, and intersectionality.

21:920:338 Sociology of Death and Dying (3) Social factors that influence death and dying in the United States; characteristics of patients, professional staff, and institutions as these relate to the dying process and the definition of death; the routinization of death; the impact of technology on dying; current issues in the field.

21:920:340 Sociology of Religion (3) This course examines religious practices from a cross-cultural and comparative perspective. The course begins with a focus on religion as a concept and explores theoretical approaches to the study of religion. The course explores how modernity and globalization are affecting religious traditions across the globe.

21:920:344 Sociology of Deviance (3) Forms of social deviance; theories of deviant behavior; the amount and distribution of deviance in society; societal reaction to deviants and deviant behavior.

21:920:345 Sociology of Education (3) The interaction between schools and society; basic social concepts such as stratification, social role, and bureaucratic organization as they relate to the educational system; the system in relation to the larger institutions in the society, with emphasis on both stated objectives and actual social functions.

21:920:346 Political Sociology (3) Perspectives on the nature, organization, and historical development of power in society; social dimensions of the state, democratic politics, and political change; consequences of the social organization of power for other elements of society.

21:920:349 Law and Society (3) Law as a social institution; social processes in the creation and enforcement of law; the professions of law; law as product and producer of social change; ancient and modern legal institutions; modern societies and their legal systems.

21:920:352 Culture and Society in Latin America (3) Latin-American cultures studied with emphasis on contributions and interactions of Native Americans, Iberians, and Africans. Examines the impact of colonialism and neocolonialism; structures of class, race, and gender; and ongoing efforts to implement change.

21:920:354 Applying Sociology (3) Sociological practicum; the sociological meaning of the practical experiences in work, internships, volunteer programs, and other real-world organizational settings.

21:920:355 Sociology of Migration (3)

The course looks at rising global inequality and migration from poor to rich countries; the criminalization of migration to the United States; mass deportations in the United States and their social impacts. These topics are analyzed using sociological categories of class, race, gender, culture, citizenship, and their intersections.

21:920:359 Race, Ethnicity, Space, and Place: Exclusion, Confinement, and Transformation (RESPECT) (3) This course focuses on the complex and often misunderstood topics of race and racism from a spatial perspective, paying particular attention to the effects of interlocking systems of oppression on the economic restructuring and spatial transformation of primarily urban African-American communities. It explores the uneven development of U.S. cities through three different lenses: exclusion, confinement, and transformation. Topics include: residential segregation, the development of the "ghetto" and ethnic enclaves, environmental racism, crime, justice, policing, urban protest, social movements, and gentrification.

21:920:360 Sociology of Contemporary Islam (3) This course explores contemporary Islam(s) and Muslim communities from a sociological perspective, providing a critical understanding and analysis of Muslim intellectual, religious, and cultural productions and traditions. The course looks at social, economic, and political realities and experiences related to Islam(s) and Muslims. It analyzes the relationship between Islam and "Muslimness" with race, ethnicity, class, gender, etc.

21:920:366 Conspiracies on Film (3) Conspiracy narratives have become more and more prevalent in recent years. They have also become an important expression of social anxieties and desires, and an important way to understand the relationship between the individual and the modern state. In this course we will approach conspiracy narratives and the theories they embody both as symptoms and as modes of knowledge. We will examine popular conspiracy films to ask: What is the cultural and psychological work of this popular genre? What do conspiracy narratives accomplish? What do they explain about our own experience, especially of freedom, what it is to be human, the exercise of power, and what counts as knowledge? How can we apply tactics to understand and debunk them?

21:920:370 Sociology Mental Health and Illness (3) Course focusing on mental health and illness.

21:920:372 Researching Population Health (3) The focus of the course is research design investigating the behavior and social determinants of health. Students will create core components of epidemiological and clinical trial studies. The course is intended for students considering careers across health and health-related fields; no background knowledge is required for the course.

21:920:374 Issues Before the United Nations (3) This course is designed to provide an orientation to the activities of the United Nations. The course will include exposure to current events, exploration of pressing international issues, the understanding of the basics of international law, and mastery of the protocol and procedures of international diplomacy.

21:920:380 Civil Conflict and Violence (3) Analyzes conflict as a normal process in social life; the emergence and dynamics of conflict; the effects of conflict on individual values and social structures; the processes of conflict resolution; individual, group, and intersocial conflicts.

21:920:381,382 Internship in Sociology (3,3) Prerequisite: Permission of the program director.

21:920:385 Sociology of Science and Technology (3) This course interrogates the cultural boundaries that set science and technology apart from everyday practices, and critically examines their claims of universality and cultural neutrality. Discussions include such questions as how scientists "see" the world, what objectivity is, what a technological artifact is, how machines "think," the political lives of infrastructures, and how big data and AI "govern" our behavior.

21:920:390 Sociology of Peace and Conflict (3) Provides an introduction to peace and conflict from sociological as well as interdisciplinary perspectives. Students examine issues of peace and conflict, from interpersonal to international. Topics include the inherency of cooperation and conflict in society; forms and manifestations of violence; psychological, political, and structural bases of conflict; methods of conflict resolution; and nonviolent strategies for conflict transformation.

920:393,394 Topical Issues in Sociology (3,3) Topics vary each semester. Consult department for current information.

21:920:395 Field Research Methods (3) Nonquantitative observational, participant-observational, and face-to-face interviewing research techniques; how to collect (tape recording, videotaping) and analyze (transcribing, qualitative software) data; and how to write an academic report. Independent research project required.

21:920:404 Race and Ethnicity in Latin America and the Caribbean (3) This course introduces students to the ways race and ethnicity have shaped societies across the Americas from colonial times to the present. Students will examine the complex and historically changing meanings of the concepts of race and ethnicity in Latin America and the Caribbean. While the primary focus of the course is on those of African descent in Latin America and the Hispanophone Caribbean, we also explore issues related to race and racism among indigenous populations, as well as Latinxs in the United States. Each week we will explore the experiences and struggles of these populations through the following disciplinary and topical lenses: history, sociology, and anthropology; the politics of identity; politics and social movements; space and place; family; media representation; gender; sexuality; religion; literature and poetry; visual arts; and music. We address the forms of racialized oppression that have shaped and continue to shape the regions. Students will develop a deeper understanding of the struggles of marginalized groups against social, economic, and political exclusion, and the forms of protest and social movements that have emerged from organizing around shared values and common interests in order to enhance power and quality of life.

21:920:409 Classical Sociological Theory (3) Foundations of social theory; Tocqueville, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and other contributors to major orientations to historical development of modern society in the Western world.

21:920:415 Contemporary Sociological Theory (3) Current modes of theoretical analysis, and contemporary perspectives on the nature and historical development of modern forms of social organization and social relationships. Prerequisite: 21:920:409 or permission of instructor.

21:920:420 Social World of the Future (3) Automation and the presence of robots in our everyday lives is nothing new. Machines, and more recently robots, have been taking over parts of human activity for many decades already. However, with rapidly advancing technologies, robots are not only having an impact on the way we work and live our lives; they are outperforming humans in most fields as never before. This brings up two fundamental questions: How will the workplace be affected by an increasing presence and capabilities of robots? And more importantly, how will humans and human society be affected by these profound changes in technology. We'll mostly explore circumstances in US society, but we'll also devote a little time to globalization and international perspectives on this issue.

Will machines replace humans in the short- and long term? Is this a desirable development? We already have a part of this answer today after all, machines wash dishes, sew clothes, print books, predict the weather, entertain us, and put together our social media feeds. However, we do not know yet with certainty, in what areas, to what extent, and (if at all) how fast robots will bring about changes that may eliminate a majority of jobs for humans in the societies we live in today. As sociologists, we must ask ourselves, what meaning work has in our lives, as most of our lives revolve around work, and how our societies would change, if fewer and fewer jobs would be performed by humans.

21:920:438 Sociology of Aging (3) Course focuses on the topic of the sociology of aging.

21:920:491,492 Research in Sociology (3,3) Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, and permission of instructor.

21:920:499 Independent Study in Sociology (BA) Prerequisites: Permission of instructor and department chair.