This course is an early level course, which aims to introduce students to a sociological perspective on popular culture, and to examine the working of selected sociological concepts in several examples of popular culture. A familiarity with introductory level sociology is suggested, but not required. The course has two parts. In the first we will become acquainted with sociological perspectives and theories on culture; in the second we will look at several popular novels and movies and discuss how they might be interpreted sociologically.

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.

Demography is the scientific study of human populations. We will emphasize fertility, mortality, and migration, and the social and economic factors that affect them.

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

Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced.

Gender and Society

This seminar provides a survey of Chinese society and social changes in the reform-era (1979 to the present). It uses sociological analysis to comprehensively examine various aspects of contemporary Chinese society including: economic development, social inequality, governance, political reform, nationalism, religion, ethnicity, and popular culture.

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.

This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of sociology.

This course explores the social dimensions of health and illness, focusing especially on the social experience of illness, the social determinants of disease, and the role and meaning of medicine and public health in modern U.S. society. The class examines how we define health problems and their solutions, and it considers the ways in which race, gender, class, age, and sexuality matter for understanding health-related experiences and discourses.