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

Many goals require the combined efforts of multiple individuals, from developing a new product to providing health care to the poor. Yet individuals have their own interests, so how do organizations keep them coordinated? And what are the impacts of organizations on social inequality and social institutions such as democracy? This course introduces the study of organizations in their cultural, economic and political environments.

Comparison of family organizations in relation to other social institutions in various societies; an introduction to the theory of kinship and marriage systems.

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

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.

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 examines how the medical system is shaped by cultural and societal forces, analyzing unique dimensions of medicine from varying perspectives prominent in the discipline of Sociology. Topics will focus upon the interaction of social categories (e.g., socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality) upon the distribution of diseases, experiences of illness, and relationships between patients and medical professionals.

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.

Human societies exist in time.This course will examine the historical development of a variety of societies from earliest times to the present. Its focus will be on the relation of the West to the rest of the world. The course is particularly intended for social scientists, to make them aware of the historical dimension to human society; but it is open to all.

This course conceives alternative possibilities for our cities. It will include such lines of inquiry as the challenges of equality and justice; sustainability and environmental change; the potential and limits of technology; and the impact of the changing global context. We will examine currently emerging urban forms as well as attempts to imagine new forms of urban life.