This course considers the nature and effects of consumer society; it explores the theories, practices, and politics of modern consumption. Topics include the historical development of consumer society; the role of consumption in creating personal and political identities; the cultural and social meanings of seemingly impersonal objects like money; the commodification of social life; and the politics of consumption.

This course considers various ethical aspects of society in such areas as race, family, work, the economy, and memory. It focuses on sociological approaches to ethical and moral questions in modern society, drawing on empirical examples and case studies. Prerequisite: six credits of Sociology or permission of instructor

Studies the linkage between mass communications and social life. Particular emphasis will be placed upon how electronic media affect public discourse and how electronic media affect behavior by rearranging social situations. Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology courses or instructor permission.

Studies the relationship between family and society as expressed in policy and law. Emphasizes the effects of formal policy on the structure of families and the interactions within families. The American family system is examined as it has responded to laws and policies of government and private industry and to changes in society. Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.

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.

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

Examines a variety of deviant behaviors in American society and the sociological theories explaining societal reactions and attempts at social control. Focuses on enduring conditions such as drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness. Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.

This course will consider the social-science perspective on law and legal institutions; theories of laws and legal institutions that trace their origin to social consensus or social inequality; how social inequality influences how people think about law, why they obey it, and whether they mobilize it to resolve disputes; and whether law is an effective tool for social change.

This course explores mental health and illness in social context, focusing especially on the history, definitions, social and cultural determinants, and consequences of conceptualizations and treatment of mental illness. It includes an examination of perceptions of mental illness in popular culture, and the spread of psychiatric ideas in more global context. Pre-requisite: six credits of Sociology

This course explores the relationship between politics and society via a focus on historical and/or contemporary issues. Themes may include political power, the role of the state, collective behavior and social change, and civic culture and citizenship.