59 courses with the subject SOC, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
SOC 101Introductory Sociology
Instructor s Seide, Staff Introduction to the scientific study of human social interaction with particular focus on the mutual influences between individuals and the groups to which they belong; the basic theories, concepts and techniques used by sociologists in their research. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Not open to seniors.
Instructor Kaufman This course addresses the multiple and intersecting ways race, class, gender, and sexuality, affect individual life chances, daily social interactions, and the larger society. We first take a detailed look at each of the core concepts: race, class, gender, and sexuality. Studying the “socially constructed” nature of these concepts, we ask what meanings and values have been attached to them, and how these social constructions help to rationalize and justify social inequality. We then analyze the significance of race, class, gender, and sexuality in a variety of institutional and interpersonal contexts, including schools, the workplace, families and relationships, and the criminal justice system. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Not open to seniors.
Instructor Marti The purpose of this course is to gain appreciation for sociological analysis at the intersection of race-ethnicity and religion through a focus on current events, often related to social and political events in the United States. Overall, the course is intended to encourage and stimulate critical thinking beyond “common sense,” knee-jerk opinions and interpretations. As such, the course is analytical, historical, and empirically grounded in observable patterns. The class constitutes a careful exploration centering on racial and religions dynamics as they touch on our contemporary historical context such that, over the course of the semester, discussions will weave together broader considerations of race-ethnicity, religion, politics, and economics, etc., and culminate in an examination of the interrelations between race-ethnicity, religion, and broader civic society today. and identity, politics and globalization, faith and community, economics and financial pressures, citizenship and public life, prejudice and discrimination, media and technology, as well as celebrity and symbolic leadership. Satisfies a requirement in the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region: North America). Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Seide The COVID-19 pandemic altered the social fabric of societies worldwide and upended our lives to such an extent that it is argued to have ushered in a new era. Our goal in this course is to unpack different aspects of this new era and understand how various social forces shape individual experiences. Accordingly, we will critically examine selected social issues at the macro (e.g., disparities in health outcomes, responses to illness) and micro (e.g., doomscrolling, experiences of stigma, bereavement) levels. To that end, the course will also introduce basic social-structural, interpretive, and critical approaches, though we will emphasize the social construction of reality. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Public Health Minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Bhandari This course will introduce students to sociological concepts of gender, race and class through an analysis of the social impact of Taylor Swift. In the last few years, Taylor Swift has emerged as a nearly monocultural global phenomena. Named Time Person of the Year 2023, the international superstar is credited for revitalizing economies across cities where she performs her record-breaking Eras Tour. She is the first artist in history to win the coveted “Album of the Year” award at the Grammy awards four times. Over the course of nearly two decades of superstardom, Swift has amassed a massive army of fans, colloquially known as “Swifties,” with whom she regularly interacts via social media platforms like X and TikTok, and via secret “easter eggs” in her music and public appearances. Swift has tremendous influence over this population, and she has on occasion used this influence to encourage voting behavior among young people. Her music connects with people across national and generational boundaries, and she defies genres and convention to emphasize intimate storytelling that feels timeless to her most ardent listeners. Critics of Swift span across the political spectrum. Throughout her career, Swift has faced criticisms and challenges as a woman in a position of power and influence. Increasingly in recent years, critics are concerned about the lack of intersectionality in her feminist messaging, and her proximity to white privilege. Others still are concerned about her billionaire status, exploitative merchandize production, predatory marketing strategies, and excessive use of private jet to disproportionately contribute to climate change. Cultural discourse on one or more of these aspects of Swift is almost always ongoing on social media spaces, giving us a unique opportunity to understand her appeal and her critics from a sociological lens. In this course we will engage with matters of fandom, social media, gender, race and class to understand a core element of popular culture in 2024. Satisfies Sociology major requirement Satisfies Social and Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Marti We live in a society of strangers due to historical transformations often summarized under the themes of migration, urbanization, globalization, and population growth, This course introduces key sociological concepts fundamental to understanding our everyday interactions in a world of strangers. Using a series of important readings from leading thinkers, students will learn to apply a sociological perspective to the taken-for-granted interactions at school, church, work, nation, etc., giving you a range of opportunities for insight into historically significant dynamics that affect our everyday lives. Structures that both anticipate and elicit interactions with strangers will be especially emphasized throughout the course. The content of the course touches on an array of core ideas found to be highly influential in contributing to the sociological perspective. Among these ideas are: Alfred Schutz’s phenomenological analysis of the stranger, Emile Durkheim’s analysis of social solidarity and suicide, George Herbert Mead’s conceptualization of the self and the generalized other, Georg Simmel’s essay on the marginal man, Erving Goffman’s framework on performativity and situational expectations of role performance, Karl Marx’s characterization of the commodification of labor and experience of alienation, Max Weber’s political insights on charismatic authority and bureaucratic systems, Antonio Gramsci’s description of oppressive dehumanization and susceptibility to hegemonic systems of control. In addition, the course reveals how viewing social relations through the lens of “the stranger” productively highlights important dynamics of the exercise of power in a society of strangers. For example, topics in the course include the analytical exploration of discrimination and privilege stemming from racial categorization, obstacles and opportunities for companionship and sexual relations, involvements in congregations and other religious settings, and, perhaps most consequentially, continual transformations in contemporary politics that involve not only representation but also populism, polarization, and demonization. Lectures, discussions, readings, and assignments are intended to sharpen each student’s grasp and application of sociological concepts. This course requires students to think carefully through each of the assigned readings. It will be especially important for students to keep up with the weekly reading assignments in order to be adequately prepared for lectures, discussions, and assignments. Overall, this course will broaden awareness of often unseen social structures that channel our behavior and affect our self-understanding as well as strengthen the ability to interact, work with others, appropriately critique systems, and put into practice proactive leadership in our interconnected society. Because “real life” involves working with strangers, this class is designed to encourage a high level of interpersonal interaction through class discussions and group projects, so come to class having read and reviewed the material, ready to participate and be prepared to contribute to joint assignments with fellow students. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought Ways of Knowing Requirement Satisfies a requirement for the Sociology major.
Instructor Bhandari, Kaufman Sociologists and other social scientists must describe and interpret social facts in order to make sense of the world around them. To do this, they often rely on the analysis of quantitative data using statistical methods. This course acts as a primer to sociological statistical analysis. Students will learn to find and access social data, summarize patterns in that data, represent these patterns graphically, and explore relationships between different variables. Topics include descriptive measures, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, chi-square, correlation, and regression. This course is designed as a gateway to quantitative sociological research, and emphasis is on practice and implementation, with students also learning to use SPSS software. Satisfies the Mathematical and Quantitative Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Cannot be taken after another college-level introductory statistics course (such as ECO 204, POL 182, or MAT 341).
Instructor Kim, Marti Comparative and historical study of social processes related to racial and ethnic differences in modern complex societies. Readings in theoretical and descriptive literature, focusing on issues of unequal distribution of power and privilege, racism, and ethnic prejudice. Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Marti This course introduces whiteness as central to the analysis of American society, especially as it relates to inequality, power, and social change. The goal of this courses is to make clear how whiteness is central to a series of social transformations over American history through an analysis of racialized features of society - whether explicit or obscured: What accounts for the which ethnic/nation/racial groups are deemed most representative of modern Western society? How does the structure of power and politics shape the racial hierarchy over time? What explains persistent racial gaps in opportunity and wealth? How are racial attitudes embedded in religious and political structures? What are the prospects for human happiness and fulfillment for racial groups that are discounted, dismissed, or otherwise discouraged within our society? And what is the proper role for people who seek to study, and perhaps change, that society? Readings will feature robust empirical research as well as writers with a conscious historical sensitivity on long standing structures of racialized inequality and oppression, revealing how whiteness has consequences for the understanding and achievement of efforts toward racial justice in our contemporary United States. Satisfies a Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Though requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Marti Power and Politics introduces students to political sociology, and to the study of the production, conservation and distribution of power. We are members of a democratic society: the political system is a reflection of the social system and our collective construction of both legitimate authority and the just exercise of power. For these reasons, the study of power and politics is important both as a way of gaining useful knowledge and as a vehicle for deepening one’s understanding of political sociological theory. Satisfies a Communication Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Kim This course introduces students to the sociological study of authoritarianism focusing on demagogues, dictators, and their political systems around the world. Observing the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, many social scientists were once convinced that liberal democracy would eventually spread to every corner of the world. However, according to the Democracy Index in 2018, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, only half of the world population lives under full or flawed democracy (though the index itself is often criticized as undemocratic). The supposed harbinger of liberal democracy, the United States, does not even make the list of top 20. Rather than treating demagogues and dictators as the remnants of “traditional” society or irrational anomalies of modernity against evident historical progress, this course explores the dynamics and characteristics of the exercise of governmental power at the macro level: how and why person-centered political regimes emerge, who and what sustains them, why many side with them, and how and why they wither away. In the process, larger questions of distributive injustice and the construction and perpetuation of structural inequalities are explored. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Staff This course introduces a critical approach to examining the social construction of gender and sexuality. It explores several different perspectives on gender inequality and the role of social institutions such as family, education, economy, and media in creating the experience of gender and sexuality in society. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Communication Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Staff What is “culture” and how do we study it? The concept itself often oscillates from how we express the beliefs we hold about reality, through the norms and values that orient our moral commitments, and the symbols that “contain” our beliefs. Today, cultural approaches have been incorporated into a wide range of areas in sociology, including the law, sexuality, education, science, economic markets, formal organizations, popular culture, and race and ethnicity. Satisfies the Social Science Thought requirement.
Instructor Bhandari This course covers topics on environmental sociology with an emphasis on global phenomena and “big picture” analysis, combined with local, individual and community-level action. Key topics of analysis include capitalism, climate change, and the global treadmill of production under neoliberalism; displacement and migration due to adverse effects of climate change in the Global South; environmental racism; enlightenment epistemologies versus Indigenous knowledges about the natural world; eco-socialism and eco-feminism. Readings, texts and theories will emphasize these big picture concepts, while students complete independent projects and assignments that develop individual- and community- level initiatives to help address these macro, global-level problems. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Environmental Studies major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Marti The sociology of religion pursues an understanding of both the “social-ness” of religion itself and the mutually influencing interactions between religion and its social environment. We will analyze religious beliefs, practices, and organizations from a sociological perspective, with a primary focus on religion in contemporary American society. Satifies Communication studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Kaufman In this course, we will examine sport as an institution. We will view sport through a sociological lens and consider how sport is shaped by and in turn shapes social interaction. We will focus on the opportunities and obstacles sports provide for members of different racial/ethnic, gender, and class groups. After introducing basic concepts and theories, we consider youth sports and sports in educational settings, including Title IX, gender segregation, race and reputation, and pay for college athletes. We then consider professional sports, including issues centered on players, coaches, and fans. We will also examine media portrayals and sport activism. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Communication Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justics, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Staff This course explores urban transformations of the megacities in the global South. A study of global cities and their relations to emerging urbanism grows out of a simple question: “What is the source of changes to this city?” Colonialism, developmentalism, and neoliberalism remain important analytical lenses for understanding urban transformation in the global South. Through a close examination of urban transformations on these analytic perspectives, this course delves into the following topics in the global cities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America: uneven development and displacement, speculation and gentrification, governance and activism, informalization and racialization, and urban pop culture and lifestyle. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Marti Work not only occupies a central role in our lives, it is closely intertwined with other social institutions and social processes, especially social inequality. Work is perhaps the most important way in which society impacts our social experiences and life chances. Throughout the course, we will challenge the taken-for-granted notions about what constitutes work, what constitutes an occupation or profession, and the value of the economic vs. the social as a work outcome. Topics will include: contemporary issues in 21st century work; a look at work during and after the Industrial Revolution; major theorist’s contributions to the study of work; work and self in the service industry; work and self among professionals and managers; and the modern distinction between work and family. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Marti Leaders, teams, and organizations are closely intertwined in the operations of social institutions, social structures, and social processes. The course provides an introduction to models and theories of leadership, processes inherent in the dynamics of small group interactions, and critical insights from organizational theory. Satisfies Communication Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Seide A brief early history, methods, theory, and concepts of social science research on health and health care mainly from the last half of the previous century to the present. We will explore gender, race, class, age, and social differences in the experiences of individuals as they deal with health and illness across their life course. The course will provide students with a sociological analysis of a broad array of health/illness issues and the health services industry. Satisfies Public Health major and minor requirement.
Instructor Staff This course examines mental health using theories from the sociology of health and medicine. We will analyze mental health through various perspectives: as a societal problem, a health outcome related to social inequality, a social construction, and a site of political struggle. We will first see how the concept came to be, including the medical discourse that gave rise to increased awareness and examination. Using theories of medicalization, we will see why it only became an important concept in recent human history. We will then move towards understanding how mental health is a societal problem- both in terms of increased mental health problems across populations and how this implicates our social structure. Finally, we will examine the political dimensions of mental health: how mental health is part of a shared language in medical discourse, but also in traditions that examine human rights, well-being, and social justice. Satiafies Sociology major requirement. Satisfied Public Health minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Seide The field of Disability Studies has grown and evolved significantly in recent years, moving beyond its origins as a subspecialty of Medical Sociology. Today, it is a multidisciplinary field that draws on a broad range of perspectives to offer valuable insights into disability as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon. Disability Studies challenges conventional views that pathologize people with disabilities and fosters critical reflection on the role of disability in society. In this course, we will explore the topic of disability through a sociological lens, examining the social construction of disability and impairment, the stigma associated with disability, the social position of disabled bodies, intersectionality and disability, the politics of disability, and relevant theoretical perspectives. Our goal is to interrogate preconceptions and misconceptions about disability, promote critical thinking, and explore possibilities for positive change. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Public Health minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Kaufman This course focuses on the diverse experiences of boys and men. We start with the social construction of masculinities across race/ethnicity, class, and sexuality. Through this, we consider the advantages as well as the costs of contemporary notions of masculinity. We examine how boys learn to be men from pre-K through college. We then turn to men’s experiences and interactions with various institutions, including work, family, and the media. We then consider the significance of violence in constructing masculinities. Finally, we focus on more inclusive conceptions of masculinity and men’s role in promoting gender equality. We view all these issues through an intersectional lens, considering gender, race, class, and sexuality. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Staff This course uses interdisciplinary literature on video games to explore introductory concepts in sociology. In this course, we will examine the frictions between pleasure and harassment, freedom and constraint, and anonymity and identity, all present in video games. We will research inequity within digital leisure while also using video games as a mechanism to better understand similar inequities that manifest in offline spaces. Video games present the opportunity to study the anonymity of online interaction, the competitiveness of sports, the cooperation of the workplace, the joy of leisure, and the chance to explore and ‘play with’ new versions of the self. This course will review extant literature on how race, gender, sexuality, class, and more shapes player experiences and behaviors in online video games. Students will be encouraged to play and watch video games while applying sociological theory to both game content and social interaction within games. Satisfies Sociology major and minor requirement. Satisfies Digital and Screen Media requirement. Satisfies Digital Studies minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Staff This course considers how we experience the digital world and how that might differ from the “real” world. As with physical spaces, there are differences in how we experience digital spaces based on who we are and where we come from. We will use sociological concepts and methods to understand the social aspects of digital life. This includes social media, online video games, and other digital environments. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Film, Media, and Digital Studies major requirement. Satisfies Ditial Studies minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Bhandari An introduction to some of the social consequences of the multi-faceted and contested process of globalization. Explores how cultural, economic, and political globalizations are all altering the social landscape, social relationships, and social institutions including patterns of work, cultural consumption, migration, and family relations. Also looks at how diverse groups of people are actively trying to shape globalization in particular ways. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies South Asian Studies minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Staff Global Criminology delves into the dynamics of crime, its causes, and its control across diverse societies and regions worldwide. By investigating international and transnational criminological issues such as human trafficking, drug trafficking and violence, terrorism and counterterrorism, and genocide and mass killing, this course examines how changing economic, political, and security dynamics on local, regional, and global levels affect maintaining social order, reinforcing social control, or leading criminalization of society. In addition, this course reviews the position of the United States in its global community regarding global crime and crime control and the roles and responsibilities of international organizations/institutions against global crimes. Through the analysis of international case studies and comparative research, students will develop a profound understanding of the complexities of crime and its responses with a critical perspective. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Staff This course explores hate crimes and bias-motivated violence from a world-historical perspective. The COVID-19 pandemic or the current rise of terrorism/counterterrorism has contributed to a sharp increase in violent attacks and hate crimes. These episodes need to be understood within larger discourses of racism and injustice that have long surrounded minority groups and marginalized communities. This course investigates a series of related questions to the topics: What has been the nature of the acts constituting hate crimes? Who has committed hate crimes and why? Who has been targeted by hate crimes and why? In what ways have efforts to curb hate crimes connected to protests and larger activism? This course reviews an array of theoretical work, empirical research, and case studies to address these questions. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Ewoodzie Over the last three decades, sociologists have convincingly identified housing as the “structural linchpin” of social inequalities. By that they mean that inequalities in housing is the center of all other forms of inequalities. In this course, we aim to investigate how housing became so central to social inequalities. We do so by, first, defining housing as both a social good and a commodity. Second, we review five or so decades of housing policy before turning our attention to contemporary debates in housing policy. Third, we look into what social scientists refer to as neighborhood effects, the varied ways growing up in particular neighborhoods impact one’s social behavior and life outcomes. In this unit, we will work in groups to investigate the impact of neighborhoods of education, economics, health, crime and punishment, and political behavior. Finally, we marshal all we have learned to think about housing in Charlotte. Schedules permitting, we will invite to class speakers from various Charlotte institutions who are engaged in housing policy. We will also attend events in the city that deal with housing. Finally, students will be assigned to investigate the housing in various Charlotte neighborhoods. Satisfies Africana Studies major requirement (Social Thought and Institution catagory). Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Kaufman This course provides an introduction to social demography: the sociological study of human population processes and their relationship with social, economic, and political changes. The course will begin with an introduction of population characteristics, including its size, growth, and age distribution, followed by a discussion of population dynamics, which are fertility, mortality, and migration. The second part of the course will cover population topics that are relevant in planning and policy debates such as: marriage and family, population health, urbanization, population aging, population and environment, and population changes and economic development in the Global South. Satisfies the Social and Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Marti This course examines immigration to the United States through a sociological lens, with attention to the social, political, and historical contexts of immigration and the relationships between migrants and existing institutions and identities. migration is a rich topic for raising and answering the most fundamental, perennial questions of sociology. What is a social system and how does it change as a result of migration? How does migration affect the relationship between people and the state? Between various states in the global system? To what extent can our current forms of domestic and international organization be understood as systems of stratification and social domination in terms of how migrants move, are considered, and handled? The course will first outline the factors shaping migration patterns-why people move-and compare immigration policies across time and space. We include a look at policies and frameworks underpinning immigration to the US, particularly the role of the government in attempting to control immigration through border controls and immigration policies. Next, we examine how ethnic and national minorities are incorporated (or resisted) into American society, exploring debates around assimilation and other models of immigrant incorporation. We consider how gender, race, class, and religion affect the reception and integration of migrants. We also focus on the criminalization of migrants in contemporary U.S. With consideration to involuntary migration, we examine human smuggling and trafficking, the legal protection of and humanitarian assistance by international organizations, nation-states, local governments, and NGOs to refugees, and displacement due primarily to violent conflict, persecution, and natural disasters. Finally, we will examine the consequences of immigration and transnationalism on nation-states and diasporic communities. Students should note that this class is reading, writing, and discussion intensive. Assigned readings provide background, concepts, and history required to master this broad arena of social life. Analytical writings provide practice in articulating important social dynamics and institutional processes. Recognizing the sensitivity about migration at this time, we give special attention to the diversity of perspectives contributing to the polemical discourse in the United States and elsewhere on the topic. And because “real life” involves working with other people, this class is designed to encourage a high level of interpersonal interaction through group discussions as we process course material together. You must come prepared and to talk together. Careful reading, then listening, considering, and constructively giving group feedback are core to the pedagogy of this course. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Chillag The course emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of global health, grounded in the theories, concepts, methods, and contexts of contemporary public health. It situates current and emerging public health challenges in relation to their biological, historical, social, cultural, ethical, and political dimensions. Through a mix of methods that may include lectures, guest speakers, films, simulations, case studies, and other hands-on activities, students will analyze the roles and impact of key actors and institutions, critically evaluate sources of information about and perspectives on global health, and analyze the factors required to design and implement effective programs and policies in different contexts. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement
Instructor Kaufman In this course, we will examine the interrelations between gender, race, and sports. We will view sports through a sociological lens and consider how sports are shaped by and in turn shape social interaction. We will focus on how sports influence our definitions of masculinity and femininity, the opportunities and obstacles sports provide for members of different racial/ethnic and gender groups, and the images associated with race, gender, and sports. We consider social constructions of race and gender in sport, the experiences of LGBTQ athletes, exclusion from youth sports, Title IX and issues of gender segregation, college athletics, sport activism, fantasy sports, media portrayals, the lack of female coaches and BIPOC coaches, and potential changes to make sports (and society) more inclusive. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies Major and Minor requirement. Satisfies Africana Studies Major and Minor requirement. Satisfies a major or interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies. Satisfies Social Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Bhandari This course examines how digital media shape culture, power, labor, and social change. Rather than treating the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence as neutral technologies, we will analyze them as social institutions embedded in capitalism and structured by race, class, gender, and global inequality. Drawing on foundational sociological thinkers such as C. Wright Mills, Max Weber, and Karl Marx, students will explore topics including influencers and digital cultural production, the manosphere and tradwife culture, algorithmic discrimination, surveillance capitalism, digital labor, artificial intelligence, and the commodification of attention. The course concludes by considering how people resist these systems and create alternative digital futures through imagination, solidarity, pleasure, and collective action. Throughout the seminar, students will connect sociological theory to contemporary digital life and ask not only how technologies transform society, but also whose interests they serve and how they might be organized differently. Satisfies Sociology major requirement Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement Prerequisites & Notes Pre-reqs: any 100 or 200 level sociology course; SOC 275 Mass Media or SOC 242 Globalization especially encouraged
Instructor Murray An introduction to the sociological study of education in the United States, including an examination of the school as an organization within a larger environment. Explores the link between schools and social stratification by analyzing the mutually generative functions of schools and considers how processes within schools can lead to different outcomes for stakeholders. Satisfies the Education Interdisciplinary Minor. Satisfies a major or interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
SOC 331Theoretical Explorations of Community Engagement
Instructor Riemer An examination of community engagement through a range of theoretical lenses. After interrogating constructions of “community,” “service,” and “civic engagement,” we will explore the ways in which topics such as social justice, civic engagement, empowerment, diversity, and the ethics of service frame community work. Specific enactments of community involvement are explored including philanthropy, volunteerism, social entrepreneurship, and activism with a focus on leadership and change. Satisfies a major or interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Staff This course explores racial injustice in the U.S. criminal justice system - police, courts, and corrections. This course examines how “American” systems of inequality intersect with structures and patterns of crime and crime control. In particular, by investigating a long-range historical approach to correctional ideas and institutions, this course delves into how criminal justice systems and practices produce, maintain, and reproduce systems of durable inequality. This course provides students with a critical understanding of the criminal justice system in the United States. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought Ways of Knowing Requirement Satisfies a requirement in the Sociology major Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Ewoodzie Transnationalism has been defined as a “social process in which migrants establish social fields that cross geographic, cultural, and political borders.” In this definition, migration is not simply the movement of people from one nation state to the other but a constant ongoing exchange between and across borders. Immigrants are thus understood to be transmigrants when they “develop and maintain multiple relations-familial, economic, social, organizational, religious, and political-that span borders” (Schiller, Basch, and Blanc-Szanton 1992:ix). To build on and confront some of the limitations of the transnationalism literature on migration, this course focuses on the motivations, processes, and consequences of migration. Through readings and other mediums, i.e. film, we confront the following questions. First, the focus on motivations reorients the transnationalism literature, and most of U.S. migration studies, to pay as much attention to emigration as it does immigration. How does the political and socio-economic context of the home country impact motivations for leaving one’s home country? Second, a focus on the process of migration, especially on immigration policy, re-thinks the role of the nation-state in contemporary migration. Is it as minimal as some transnational scholars argue? And, more broadly, as compared to several decades back, are nation-states less consequential in the lives of migrants in today’s globalized world? Third, by investigating the consequences of migration, which includes both the consequences for migrants and for those they leave behind at home, this class examines the benefits of transnational lives as well as the difficulties of leading lives constrained by two nations. Satisfies Africana Studies major and minor requirement Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement
Instructor Kaufman This course disrupts traditional notions of “the family.” More specifically, we will challenge binaries: gender, sexuality, family. We start with the general assumption that there is not one acceptable or even dominant family form. This includes decentering heteronormativity and drawing on queer family theory. We draw on case studies to deconstruct family in the US, South Africa, and China. We consider shifts in opinions surrounding marriage and marriage equality and how the movement for same-sex marriage has changed these attitudes. We focus on trans families and (re)producing trans families through the case of cisgender women and transgender men. We focus on the potential of polyamory and polyqueer sexualities in breaking down sexist and racist assumptions about relationships. We examine intersectionality across different cases, with a particular focus on Black lesbian mothers, queer Latinas, and queer families in Taiwan. We also consider challenging gender through raising trans kids. The class itself will be discussion-based with occasional workshops focused on research projects. Satisifes Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major requirement. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies minor requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Instructor Rose Urban landscapes differ dramatically from other spaces on the planet in their physical structure, economic base, governance patterns, and intensity of social interactions. Cities are often characterized by striking inequalities in income distribution, social and spatial mobility, access to resources, and forms of cultural expression. Conflicting social forces and economic processes make urban areas vibrant and complex phenomena, and cities are often presented as both the problem and the solution for a sustainable future. This course introduces analysis of contemporary urban systems, with an emphasis on spatial and geographic patterns and processes. We will examine the contradictions and conflicts inherent in the development of U.S. and international cities, as well as the centrality of urban system development in the evolution of local and global political economies. Lectures, discussions, and field trips will provide both theoretical frameworks and contextualized experiences of urban social life. Our examinations of the changing economic, social, political, and environmental dynamics of cities will focus on a wide range of topics, including economic processes, governmental management, urban form, land use, housing, migration, transportation, socioenvironmental justice, and political ecology, among others. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies a major requirement in Environmental Studies. Satisfies a major requirement in Sociology. Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Environmental Studies. Prerequisites & Notes No prerequisites are required.
Instructor Kim, Marti, Ewoodzie This course provides an introduction to the central issues in sociological theory. We will draw from both the “classical” period as well as the major “contemporary” developments of sociology through examining major figures and ideas of sociological theory in their historical context. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Staff Introduces students to key concepts and debates within feminist social theory. Explores the significance of gender within social life, how gender is produced at the individual and institutional levels , as well as feminist conceptualizations of ‘the good society.’ Addresses key questions of social theory including the relationship between individuals and social structures, the construction of identities, and the meaning of power. Satisfies the Gender and Sexuality Studies Interdisciplinary Major and Minor.
Instructor Seide This course is designed to provide broad overview of contemporary social theory and introduces you to the concepts, writings, and arguments of some of the most important social theorists of the 20th century. We will discuss complex interrelated cultural, social, political and economic issues and discover how social theorists have dealt with them during the decades in the 20th century when their theories were advanced. Most important, we will endeavor to understand how these issues affect our understanding of the world and the everyday lived experience. The terms and concepts we will get familiarized with are concepts such as social mechanisms, social action, social structure, as well as modernity, post-structuralism, critical theory, rational choice theory, postmodernism, and cultural studies. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement Prerequisites & Notes Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors only.
Instructor Marti Hollywood is more than geography; it is a vibrant, international network of people producing entertainment for fame and profit. This seminar pursues a sociological analysis of the social space called “Hollywood”: its genesis, operation, and influence. The class begins with an exploration of the construction of Hollywood itself (e.g., geographic beginnings, the studio system, industry occupations, and financial realities) and then considers the broader effects of the entertainment industry on contemporary American society (e.g., relations with governmental and religious institutions, structures in film production and distribution, and the interrelationship of the entertainment industry and popular culture). Prerequisites & Notes Not open to first year students.
Instructor Seide This advanced undergraduate course offers a critical examination of the intersection between disability studies and the Global South, shedding light on the diverse experiences of individuals with disabilities in regions often overlooked in mainstream discourse. While the primary focus is on a sociological lens, supplemented by an interdisciplinary approach, students will delve into the multidimensional factors influencing disability in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Additionally, students will analyze the distinctive strategies and initiatives implemented by communities and governments to tackle the complex challenges presented. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Staff In this course we will pay close attention to the construction of masculinities and how men both affect and are affected by the current gendered social order. Throughout the course, we will consider how men are enabled or constrained by key social characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. In particular, we will address the following issues: the concept of hegemonic masculinity; the gender gap in education; the challenges men face as they move from adolescence to adulthood; masculinities in the workplace; body image among men; male infertility; Black masculinity in popular culture; the criminalization of minority males; and the deterioration of white men’s sense of entitlement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Not open to first-year students.
Instructor Marti The purpose of this course is to gain appreciation for sociological analysis at the intersection of politics and religion in the context of the United States. The course is analytical, historical, and empirically grounded in observable patterns. As such, the class will discuss distinctively sociological issues at a macro-level of analysis that includes dynamics of continuing relevance: the relationship between race and religion over the past 200+ years (whether encoded into official law or not), various religiously motivated political movements, connections between religion and debates over macroeconomic theory, business and corporate strategies regarding profitability, patterns of financial inequality and concentrations of elite wealth, and relationship between religion and processes of globalization, immigration, and transnationalism. Although connections with current events will likely occur, our class begins with establishing a historical context for understanding religion and political dynamics in American history, moving to the role of religion in the development of an “American” national identity, and then focusing more on alternative Christian notions of wealth, poverty, and economic theory. The class moves on to more contemporary analysis of the political orientation of white evangelicals, patterns of racial & religious differences using survey data, the positioning of religious notions to civic concerns regarding gender and sexuality, and the rise of groups like religious ‘nones.’ Over the course of the semester, our discussions will weave together broader considerations of religion with race-ethnicity, gender, and economics and culminate in an examination of unpacking interrelations between religion and politically consequential issues of more recent times today. The course ends with students’ presentation of an aspect of course content that goes in more depth on a significant aspect of this course. Overall, the course is intended to encourage and stimulate critical thinking beyond “common sense,” knee-jerk opinions and interpretations. Throughout the class, we will read on a number of topics including the broader and complex processes of identity and race, politics and nationalism, faith and community, economics and financial pressures, citizenship and public life, prejudice and discrimination, media and technology, as well as celebrity and symbolic leadership. The tone of this course will be analytical with a conscientious use of sociological concepts with an eye toward discerning patterns of macro-change. For example, politics is derivative of long developments entailing questions of democracy, participation, and group alignments; race-ethnicity is not a biological, physiological, or genetic characteristic but a social characteristic, one that always involves particular religious beliefs and practices and an international network of people who continually reproduce religious frameworks and religious structures. And religion is not merely a set of dogmatic beliefs or static church membership but a distinctly social phenomenon influenced by historical and material circumstances as well as a set of “lived practices” that touch on non-religious activity in unanticipated ways. The development of our knowledge of the relations between politics and religion will be historically informed and empirically grounded. Student questions and interests are welcome as they emerge. Satisfies Sociology major requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement
Instructor Kaufman This class provides students with training in qualitative field research methods, with an emphasis on participant observation and in-depth interviewing. Students will conduct their own semester-long empirical research projects, going through the entire process of research design, data collection, coding, analysis, and writing. Readings and class sessions will focus on both theoretical foundations and techniques of interpretive, qualitative research. One of the best ways to develop research skills is to get out there and try it, to reflect on the process as you go, and to talk about what is working and not working for you with a group of colleagues and peers. Therefore, students will have extensive opportunities to reflect on their own research practices, learning by doing. Satisfies a major or interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.
Instructor Kaufman This course introduces students to survey research methods. Sociology is based on empirical data. Sociologists are trained to collect data in order to answer questions. One of the most commonly used forms of data collection within sociology is the survey. In this course, students will gain experience in designing a survey, sampling, administering a survey, and analyzing survey data. Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies a major or interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies.
Instructor Bhandari A The purpose of this class is to prepare you as a future producer and evaluator of high-quality quantitative research - whether as a social scientist, as a decision-maker in a corporate setting, or as a designer and evaluator of social policy. Extending theoretical concepts from introductory Social Statistics coursework, this class provides students with hands-on quantitative analysis experience using existing quantitative research. We survey, and learn to replicate and evaluate, various types of regressions, structural equation models, and longitudinal analyses. Additionally, students learn to critically engage with and evaluate social network analyses, geo-spatial analyses and mixed method research methodologies. Students will complete a capstone project that builds on their existing research, ending the semester with a manuscript able to be presented at a formal conference. Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies a major or interdisciplinary minor requirement in Communication Studies. Satisfies Mathematical and Quantitative Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes A semester of college-level introductory statistics course in Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, or Mathematics, such as SOC 201, ECO 204, POL 182, or MAT 341.
Instructor Kim This course examines the core theories, issues, methods, and reasoning that are commonly employed in the field of coparative-historical sociology. Students will learn how history is crucial to sociology as well as practical concerns in conducting comparative-historical research.
Instructor Staff Independent research under the direction of a faculty member who reviews and approves the topic(s) of the research and determines the means of evaluation. Students who are interested in writing a thesis should sign up for SOC 495. Prerequisites & Notes Second-, third-, or fourth-year standing, two courses in sociology, and permission of the instructor.
SOC 416Seminar: Investigating the Hidden Curriculum
Instructor Seide What really shapes who thrives in college, and why? This capstone seminar pulls back the curtain on the hidden curriculum : the unspoken norms, assumptions, and expectations that quietly structure academic life. Through hands-on research, students collaboratively design and conduct a shared survey and interview study to explore how peers learn, navigate, and sometimes resist these unwritten rules. Working as a research collective, the class blends qualitative methods with reflective analysis to reveal fresh insights into equity, belonging, and everyday campus culture. Within this shared study, each student (or small team) may pursue an analytic thread that offers a focused contribution to the collective findings.
Instructor Bhandari We live in a time when social media is nearly unavoidable. Younger generations in particular are consistently connected through social media in historically unprecedented ways. A unique characteristic of social media conversations (compared to prior communications technologies) is that they leave behind digital records! In the last decade, sociologists and other social scientists have found these records (tweets, forum posts, facebook groups) are rich data sources to analyze a myriad of social patterns. In this course we will assess the variety of sociological questions that can be answered using social media data. We will read examples on topics of mental health and social movements to inspire our own ideas. Within the umbrella of “social media,” there are so many research project possibilities for students in terms of both topics and methods. Student projects can range from analyzing publicly available social media content (discourse analysis) to conduct qualitative and mixed methods projects, or acquiring permission (IRB) to conduct virtual interviews or evaluate private forums and spaces, or drawing from secondary data sources to quantitatively analyze patterns of social media use. Note that choosing a topic, research question and method early in the semester will ensure the smoothest experience in this class.
Instructor Kaufman Americans love marriage. Most people will marry at some point in their lives and many will marry more than once. In fact, 40% of marriages involve a second or higher marriage for one or both spouses. At the same time, marriage rates have gone down, particularly for those with less education, and people are marrying later. In its place, more and more young adults are cohabiting, one-quarter by age 20 and three-quarters by age 30. Divorce rates remain relatively high, but there have been declines in the overall rate since the 1980s. Amidst these trends, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country, and the proportion of same-sex cohabiting couples who were married jumped from 38% to 61%. This course will examine these trends as well as the decisions, relationships, and conflicts behind them. Much of the course will also be spent investigating topics of interest to class members. All students will conduct research on a topic of their choice and discussions will center on readings related to students’ research topics as well as the research process itself. Prerequisites & Notes
Instructor Marti This course resources students to conduct individual research using a selected set of analytical perspectives on how to think about the identity (the social processes of the self) and community (the social processes of group belonging). Going beyond the most basic sociological categories used to categorize persons in social life (i.e. sex/gender, sexual orientation, class, nation, race/ethnicity), this course focuses on the processual character of identity formation and group dynamics, especially for considering how identities take shape in social interaction and how groups create, sustain, and/or fade away as sources for individual identity. Not only will we examine how the self is produced by group processes but also how structures shape and mediate between the self and others as well as how the social production of identities is bound up with power, privilege, and oppression. Beginning with classic theoretical frameworks from Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, WEB Du Bois, Erving Goffman, Pierre Bourdieu, and Ulrich Beck, this course will discuss concepts which have shown promise to be particularly helpful in understanding identity and group formation processes in order to position students to discover more particularistic sociological literature used to pursue their own individualized research project-forming a research question and analyzing concrete empirical data-centered on a particular, contemporary identity/community. Satisfies Sociology major requirement.
Instructor Staff Independent research under the direction of a faculty member who reviews and approves the topic(s) of the research and determines the means of evaluation. Students who are interested in writing a thesis should sign up for SOC 495. Prerequisites & Notes Second-, third-, or fourth-year standing, two courses in sociology, and permission of the instructor.
