In 1903, American sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois made his prescient statement, on the launch of his seminal book The Souls of Black Folk: “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” Can we make this claim in the Twenty-First Century? To answer this question, we will compare race and ethnic relations in the United States, with a focus on understanding how race and racism shape our lives. We will discuss historical accounts of the social constructs of race and ethnic groups and examine current issues of individual, institutional, and systemic racism, media representations of race and ethnicity, racialized forms of migration, racial inequalities, and environmental racism. We will also make connections between race, gender, and social class to understand how they work together in creating inequalities and shaping our identities.

There is no relationship more important to society than the one we have with our natural environment. From how we extract natural resources necessary for everyday life to where we put our waste products, from how we produce our food to where we go on vacation, our dependence on and perceptions of the environment are fundamental to every aspect of our lives. This course focuses on society-environment relations across the globe. We begin by reading about and discussing some conceptual issues that are central to our understanding of society-environment relations. These include the concept of sustainability, environmental resources, political economy, social construction of nature, and environmental justice. We then examine several important society-environment relations, including energy use, agriculture and food, and conservation.

In this course, we are going to look at families as a form of social institution, which means how families work as a set of structured social arrangements that help meet certain human needs. This class will be looking at families within the context of the United States. To begin, we will explore the ways in which families are defined and consider the main elements that describe family relationships. Then, we will address families through history, taking note of the ways they have responded and adapted to larger social changes. Several modules will explore the ways in which families absorb and respond to the larger social inequalities of society. We will also explore family experiences as they relate love and romance, marriage and cohabitation, children, the workplace, divorce and remarriage, and family violence. Throughout the course, we will read and discuss scholarly research and data on families, taking note of how social scientists use research methods to scientifically study this social institution.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

In the last several years, people have said that they have done "research" to come to conclusions. Often, this lay usage of "research" refers to doing some internet searches and watching YouTube videos; these searches and video viewings often result in the person justifying an existing belief, as the person chooses sources that align with what she or he already thinks. As you will learn in this course, that is not research. Research is a systematic endeavor. The researcher uses established practices to test an idea or hypothesis or generate a new theory. Evidence gathered through research may disconfirm a hypothesis. Because "research" has taken on this lay usage, it is important to become knowledgeable about what research is, what practices constitute research, and how one can assess the quality of research. This course will introduce you to the concept of research, research terminology, research ethics, and various research methods. For each method, you will learn about the strengths and limitations of each approach and what types of research questions a method can (and cannot) address.

This course explores the theoretical and methodological formulations of space and place and their relevance for sociological and social analyses. We will study the relationship of space/place to inequality as manifested in different guises around the world: spatial polarization, architecture, urban planning and design, spatial integration, symbolic space, etc. Throughout the course, we will pay close attention to how space and place intersect with inequality and how challenges to inequality are leveled through spatial approaches. How does the urban experience vary for different groups of people (by gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality)? Why? What explains the processes of urbanization and suburbanization? Who controls public space? How do different cities respond to the needs of the poorest residents, and what shapes these responses? How did (do) cities around the world come to develop and grow? What is the role of gentrification? These are some of the questions we’ll address in this course.

This course examines the relationship between tourism and social life from a sociological perspective, the root idea being that it is natural for human beings to make contact with other human beings and societies to create leisure institutions to engage in cultural exchange and enjoyment. This course will examine tourist practices and how they are shaped and made meaningful within a social context. As we investigate why people travel, how they travel, and what they do while they are “on the road,” we will see that tourism is not on the margins of the social world, but rather profoundly interconnected with everyday social life, from the personal to the global. Through readings, discussing, and writing, we will explore the ways tourism is a material, symbolic, and political representation of many of the features of contemporary society’s achievements and ills: modernity and postmodernity, consumption and cultural commoditization, the aestheticization of everyday life, democratization and social inequalities, questions of authenticity, embodiment and identity, gender relations, technology, social mobility and power, and globalization.

This course introduces students to the relations among globalization and inequality and globalization, with a focus on implications for the developing world. Among topics for study are the world distribution of income, across and within countries; concepts of inequality (income, opportunity, mobility, capabilities, horizontal inequality); the implications of global trade and capital markets for inequality within developing countries; the consequences of inequality for growth and for political institutions in developing countries; the effects of global market failures and differences among countries in economic power on trade, capital, intellectual property, international migration, climate and other global regimes; and the role of global economic institutions (IMF, World Bank, bilateral aid programs) in addressing unequal opportunity and global market failures.

This course is designed as an interdisciplinary and critical introduction to the history, society, literature, and culture of Brazil, the largest nation of Latin America. Students will learn about Brazil’s colonial experience as the only Portuguese colony in the Americas, its unique experiment with monarchical institutions in the nineteenth century, and the trajectory of its uneven modernization in the twentieth century. The course will examine diverse topics including contemporary race relations, gender, sexuality, religion and spirituality, class conflict, migration, and various aspects of Brazilian cultural production and performance, as reflected in film, music, literature, and other forms of popular culture.

Why are rents up? Where are all the people who used to live in this neighborhood? Why was your favorite coffee shop replaced by a bank? What exactly is a hipster? These are all questions swirling around the topic of gentrification. Ruth Glass coined the term “gentrification” in 1964 to describe changes she was seeing in London, in particular the fact that “one by one, many of the working class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle classes.” A physical and social transformation of urban neighborhoods, gentrification might have gotten its name in the 1960s, but it has its roots in social processes that run from the early twentieth century through today. In this class, we will explore the causes and consequences of gentrification, with a focus on the United States. In addition to thinking about what gentrification is, we will think about how urban theorists have conceived of gentrification, and how these conceptions shape debates on the contentious topic.

This course offers an introduction to sociological theories and research related to health and illness, with a focus on mental health and mental illness. Although many people think of mental illness as under the purview of healthcare providers (and psychiatrists and psychologists for mental illness), sociologists have made significant contributions to our understanding and conceptions of health, illness, and mental illness.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics in Sociology. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.