Gender and Society

Analyzes the causes and consequences of current social problems in the United States: race and ethnic relations, poverty, crime and delinquency, the environment, drugs, and problems of educational institutions.

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 third year.

Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced.

Studies the fundamental concepts and principles of sociology with special attention to sociological theory and research methods. Survey of the diverse substantive fields in the discipline with a primary emphasis on the institutions in contemporary American society.

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 find ourselves? Can we go as far as saying that the self comes from the outside, and if so, when do we internalize it? At birth, once and for all? Or repeatedly and in everyday life? We will explore these questions and more as we venture into an exciting field-sociology of the self.

Course will focus on established traditions in the United States including evangelical and mainline Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, black Protestantism, and Orthodox Judaism. Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.

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 is a particular focus on the rise and development of modernity as expressed through the experience of particular cities.

Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced.

Introduces data analysis and data processing, as well as the conceptualization of sociological problems. Emphasizes individual student projects.