Sociology
Learning Goals
Sociology explores the social world around us, investigating the social, political, and economic institutions that shape our lives. Students are encouraged to develop a “sociological imagination,” a term coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills that refers to "the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society." Students are thus challenged to think critically about assumptions concerning the social world and their place in it. Sociologists pay particular attention to inequalities and inequities—those constructed around race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, sexuality, and others—and their role in social institutions and the experiences of individuals.
Sociologists in the department focus on a variety of such institutions, including education, family, political economy, and government action—for example, immigration or health policies. The department offers courses focused on the United States and on communities in other parts of the world, as well as transnational communities. In required and elective courses, sociology majors develop an understanding of the significant concepts, theories, and methodologies that form the core of the discipline. Through coursework and independent research, students develop a critical perspective on the evidence used to understand the world, developing skills in collecting, analyzing, and evaluating empirical data.
In sociology courses, students will have the opportunity:
- To develop and use a sociological imagination to understand the social world.
- To understand the role of theory in sociology and be able to apply theoretical frameworks to build sociological understanding of the social world.
- To understand, evaluate, and employ both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data used by social scientists.
- To develop knowledge of inequalities, power, and privilege in society and across the globe.
- To develop skills that allow the use of sociological knowledge and perspectives in future endeavors, public engagement, and social change.
Options for Majoring and Minoring in the Department
Students may elect to major in sociology or to coordinate a major in sociology with digital and computational studies, education, or environmental studies. Students pursuing coordinate majors may not normally elect a second major. Non-majors may elect to minor in sociology.
Theodore C. Greene, Department Chair
Lori A. Brackett, Department Coordinator
Professor: Ingrid A. Nelson
Associate Professors: Oyman Basaran‡, Theodore C. Greene
Assistant Professors: Shruti Devgan‡, Jamella Gow, Luiz Vilaca
Visiting Faculty: Hakim Zainiddinov
Sociology Major
In consultation with an advisor, each student plans a major program that nurtures an understanding of society and the human condition, demonstrates how social and cultural knowledge are acquired through research, and enriches their general education. On the practical level, a major program prepares the student for graduate study in sociology and contributes to preprofessional programs such as law and medicine. It also provides background preparation for careers in education, nonprofit work, humanitarian and international development, the civil service, research development, law enforcement and criminal justice, journalism, medicine, public health and allied health professions, business, public policy, social work, and urban planning, among others.
The major in sociology consists of ten courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Core Courses a | 5 | |
| Introduction to Sociology | ||
| Introduction to Social Research b | ||
| Quantitative Analysis in Sociology | ||
| Classics of Sociological Theory | ||
| Advanced Seminar: Current Controversies in Sociology | ||
| Select five additional courses: 1000–1049, 2000, and above. a | 5 | |
| a | Seven of the ten courses required for the major, including SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology, SOC 2010 Introduction to Social Research, SOC 2020 Quantitative Analysis in Sociology, SOC 2030 Classics of Sociological Theory, and SOC 3010 Advanced Seminar: Current Controversies in Sociology, must be Bowdoin sociology courses. |
| b | SOC 2010 Introduction to Social Research should be taken during the sophomore year. |
- Up to two semesters of independent study or honors work may count toward the major.
- With department approval, the remaining three of the ten required courses for the major may include two from any department or program on campus and one off-campus study course, or two off-campus study courses and one from any department or program on campus.
- Students who are double majoring in ECON may replace SOC 2020 with ECON 2557. Students who are double majoring in PSYC may replace SOC 2020 with PSYC 2520.
Sociology Minor
The minor in sociology consists of five courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| SOC 1101 | Introduction to Sociology | 1 |
| Select four additional courses: 1000–1049, 2000, and above. a | 4 | |
| a | With department approval, one of the elective courses for the minor may be from any department on campus or off campus study. |
- One semester of independent study may count toward the minor.
Additional Information and Department Policies
- In order for a course to fulfill the major or minor requirements in sociology, a grade of C- or above must be earned in that course.
- Courses that count toward the major or minor must be taken for regular letter grades (not Credit/D/Fail).
- One first-year writing seminar can count toward the major or minor in sociology.
- Majors and minors may double-count an unlimited number of courses with another department or program.
Independent Study
For the sociology major program, two semesters of independent study may be counted, while for the minor program one semester may be counted.
Departmental Honors
Students distinguishing themselves in the major program may apply for departmental honors during the second semester of their junior year. Awarding of the degree with honors is ordinarily based on grades attained in major courses; a recognition of the ability to work creatively and independently and to synthesize diverse theoretical, methodological, and substantive materials; and a written project based on independent research.
Off-Campus Study
Study away in a demanding academic program can contribute substantially to a major in sociology. Students are advised to plan study away for their junior year. Students should complete the research methods course, SOC 2010 Introduction to Social Research, before studying away. Students must obtain provisional approval for their study-away courses in writing by department faculty before they leave for study away, and then seek final approval upon their return to Bowdoin.
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate
No credit is given for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate coursework.
Information for Incoming Students
Sociology is the study of the social lives of people, groups, and societies. Sociology courses cover a range of topics, most of them addressing differences and inequalities among people and groups. Our courses include ones dealing with race and ethnicity; public health; education; sexuality; families; urban sociology; reproductive politics; immigration issues, media, and many others.
The sociology department offers several courses appropriate for any first-year student. Two sections of the core course, SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology will be offered in the fall semester and one section in the spring semester.
None of these 1000-level courses assumes any prior work in sociology, and all of these courses contribute to the major or minor in sociology. SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology is the required gateway course (prerequisite) to other department courses at the 2000-level and introduces students to the different areas and sub-fields of sociology; taking it early will allow a student access to a wide range of courses in the department.
SOC 1010 (b) Deconstructing Racism
Examines the social, political, and historical evolution of racism as a system and the challenges to studying and eradicating racism in contemporary American society. Investigates the construction of race, the various logics used to justify racial thinking, and the visible and invisible forces that perpetuate racial stratification and inequality in American life. Understands the various political and social debates that complicate and undermine how racism is defined and identified. Explores its impact on individuals, institutions, and cultures in the United States, and the various formal and subversive strategies deployed by individuals and collectives for challenging and combatting it. Emphasis on developing a language for discussing, debating, and writing about race and racism sociologically for public and academic audiences. (Same as: AFRS 1010)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
SOC 1018 (b) Black Radical Thinkers and the Caribbean
Explores how the Black Caribbean scholars transformed race, nation, and class; expanded Blackness as a political stance and identity; and brought together Black radical traditions across the globe. The trans-Atlantic slave trade and capitalist expansion in the Caribbean radically altered notions of race, class, nation, and Blackness. Since then, Caribbean scholars have contributed new social theory through their critique and engagement with race and capitalism, exchange of ideas with Black scholars in the U.S., Europe, and Africa, and commentary on events across the world. Using the Caribbean as a starting point, the class seeks to define, interrogate, and expand what is meant by race, nation, and class through the lens of Blackness and introduces Caribbean scholarship as a site of global political, social, and cultural thought. (Same as: AFRS 1048, LACL 1048)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023.
SOC 1028 (b) Sociology of Campus Life: Race, Class, and Inequality at Elite Colleges
Explores higher education in the contemporary United States through a sociological lens, highlighting the ways that elite colleges and universities both promote social mobility and perpetuate inequality. Examines the functions of higher education for students and society; issues of inequality in college access, financing, campus experiences, and outcomes later in life; the history and consequences of affirmative action; how and why historically white colleges and universities have diversified their student bodies; the challenges and benefits of diversity and inclusion on campus; and other topics. Emphasis on writing sociologically for public and academic audiences (Same as: EDUC 1028)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020.
SOC 1101 (b) Introduction to Sociology
Every Semester. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 50.
Critically examines familiar, taken-for-granted, and routine social interactions, identities, and institutions, to reveal how experiences, behaviors, practices, and ideas are socially and culturally constructed. Provides a broad orientation to the discipline through the lens of the “sociological imagination,” the connection between individual biographies and larger structures. Topics include: culture and socialization; social interaction; social control and deviance; stratification including class, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality; institutional contexts such as: family, education, economy, and religion; resistance, social movements, and change.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020.
SOC 2010 (b) Introduction to Social Research
Provides firsthand experience with the specific procedures through which social science knowledge is developed. Emphasizes the interaction between theory and research. Examines the ethics of social research. Reading and methodological analysis of a variety of case studies from the sociological literature. Field and laboratory exercises that include observation, interviewing, survey construction, sampling, coding, elementary data analysis, and interpretation.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021.
SOC 2020 (b, MCSR) Quantitative Analysis in Sociology
Every Other Year. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 24.
Introduces the uses of quantitative methods in the study of our social world, with emphasis on descriptive and inferential statistics. Applies quantitative methods to answer sociological questions, focusing on secondary analysis of national survey data. Employs statistical computing software as a research tool.
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and SOC 2010.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022.
SOC 2030 (b) Classics of Sociological Theory
Every Fall. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
An analysis of selected works by the founders of modern sociology. Particular emphasis is given to understanding differing approaches to sociological analysis through detailed textual interpretation. Works by Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and selected others are read.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020.
SOC 2202 (b, DPI) Cities and Society
Investigates the political, economic, and sociocultural development of cities and metropolitan areas with a focus on American cities and a spotlight on neighborhoods and local communities. Traces major theories of urbanization and considers how cities also represent contested sites where diverse citizens use urban space to challenge, enact, and resist social change on the local, state, and national levels. Topics include economic and racial/ethnic stratification; the rise and fall of suburban and rural areas; the production and maintenance of real and imagined communities; the production and consumption of culture; crime; immigration; sexuality and gender; and urban citizenship in the global city. This course satisfies the "Introductory Survey" requirement for the Urban Studies minor. (Same as: URBS 2202)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2021.
SOC 2206 (b, DPI) Sociology of Education
Examines the ways that formal schooling influences individuals and the ways that social structures and processes affect educational institutions. Explores the manifest and latent functions of education in modern society; the role education plays in stratification and social reproduction; the relationship between education and cultural capital; the dynamics of race, class, and gender in education; and other topics. (Same as: EDUC 2206)
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and SOC 2000 - 2969.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Fall 2020.
SOC 2208 (b, DPI) Race and Ethnicity
Introduction to the sociological study of race and ethnicity in the contemporary United States. Examines prominent theories pertaining to the social and cultural meanings of race and ethnicity, causes and consequences of structural racism, relationships between race and class, how immigration and assimilation shape and are shaped by social constructions of race and ethnicity, dynamic representations of race and ethnicity in the media, formation and shifts of intra-group and inter-group boundaries, and more. (Same as: AFRS 2208, LACL 2708)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101 or AFRS 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021.
SOC 2212 (b) Sociology of Sexuality
Examines the theoretical and methodological approaches used in the sociological study of sex and sexuality. Explores how people construct meanings around sex, how people use and question notions of sexuality, and why sexuality is socially and politically regulated. Links sexuality to broader sociological questions pertaining to culture and morality, social interaction, social and economic stratification, social movements, urbanization and community, science, health, and public policy. Topics also include the historical and legal construction of heterosexuality, sexual fluidity, gay identity, masculinities and femininities, the queer dilemma, and the “post-gay” phenomenon. (Same as: GSWS 2212)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
SOC 2215 (b, DPI) Sociology of Deviance
This course aims to provide building blocks for studying deviant behavior from a sociological perspective. We will explore some important questions related to the nature and meaning of deviance, its social construction and control, and processes shaping deviant behavior. We will examine and contrast major sociological theories of deviant behavior, including anomie/social strain, social control, conflict, labeling, and social learning. In-depth examination of some of the many forms of deviance will allow students to apply the theories and perspectives they learn to specific cases. Emphasizing the changing nature of deviance, we will also look at recent forms of deviance.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020.
SOC 2219 (b, DPI) Deconstructing Masculinities
An introduction to the sociological study of men and masculinities. Investigates debates about the historical, structural, cultural, and personal meanings constructed around masculinity. Explores how masculinity varies historically and across the life span; how it intersects with race, class, gender, sexuality, age, and ability; and how these constructions map onto male and female bodies. Examines how masculinities construct and reproduce power and inequality among men and between men and women. Topics also include, but are not limited to, the production and maintenance of masculinity, the male body, masculine cultures of sports, technology, violence and incarceration, female and queer masculinities. (Same as: GSWS 2219)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101 or GSWS 1101 or GWS 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2021.
SOC 2222 (b) Introduction to Human Population
Focuses on the processes of population change—fertility/reproduction, mortality/death, and migration—with attention to the causes of and consequences of those changes. Also examines the politics around population change, discourse, and policies, and the ways those have been connected to global inequality, gender inequalities, and race and ethnicity. (Same as: ENVS 2332, GSWS 2224)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101 or GSWS 1000 - 2969 or GSWS 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
SOC 2234 (b) Self, Psyche, and Society
Draws on psychosocial studies (following Freud and Freudians) to examine how we bind ourselves to groups, organizations, and communities. Traces the relationship between psychoanalysis and other intellectual traditions such as feminisms, postcolonial theory, queer theory, and Marxism. Addresses the complex relationship between desire and power as it manifests itself in and through class, racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender hierarchies of the society. Discusses the changing psychosocial foundations of human subjects who individually and collectively resist, challenge, and transform asymmetrical power relations. Topics may include the unconscious, repression, racism and racist fantasies, colonizing gaze, capitalism and desire, ideology, surveillance, and heterosexist imaginaries.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023.
SOC 2239 (b, DPI) Science, Technology, and Power
Science influences every aspect of life as it creates, enhances, and heals but also diminishes, disrupt, and destroys. It shapes and is shaped by power relations. Drawing on sociology of knowledge, science and technology studies, feminist, race, and disability theory, the class explores the relationships among science, technology, and broader systems of social organization and power. Examines the effects of scientific knowledges, practices, and new technologies on structures of inequality and lived experience.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023.
SOC 2250 (b) Social Epidemiology: Lessons of COVID-19
The Covid-19 Pandemic highlights the importance of learning the fundamentals of social epidemiology, particularly as it applies to infectious disease. Taking the current pandemic as a starting point, this course will introduce students to this field. We will learn how epidemiologists trace and predict disease patterns, both in a new disease and in past disease outbreaks. We will look at underlying biological, immunological, and medical aspects of pathogens, disease, and disease spread. But our focus will be how social organization influences both spread and control of disease and disease outcome. We will examine how most diseases spread and affect populations not randomly but in patterns that reflect social organization. Thus, understanding the role of geopolitics, national and nationalist politics, and economics as well as inequalities based on race, gender, nationality, and immigrant status is central to understanding disease in the world today, in the past, and in the future.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021, Fall 2020.
SOC 2260 (b, IP) Capitalism, Modernity, and Religion in Turkey
Investigates classical and contemporary sociological accounts of secularism, modernity, and capitalism by examining the social and political history of Turkey. Analyzes the emergence of modern Turkey, a successor state of the Ottoman Empire, which spanned three continents and was dismantled at the end of World War I. Maps out Turkey's social, political, and economic landscape from the late nineteenth century until the present. Covers themes such as state violence, religion, hegemony, gender and sexuality, nationalism, and neoliberalism. (Same as: MENA 2600)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
SOC 2264 (c, DPI) Asian America and Empire: History, Society, Literature
Asian America encompasses a diverse and dynamic population. This interdisciplinary course explores the complexities of Asian America by focusing on key historical and contemporary issues. Recognizing that much Asian American experience comes from the processes and history of US empire building, we will examine topics such as immigration, citizenship, the politics of race and ethnicity, identity formation, literary and cultural self-representation, community building, class and generational divides, gender and sexuality, and political mobilization. We will use a variety of lenses to gain critical perspective, including history, social relations and practices, and cultural production, such as literature, film, media, and art. Beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, multiethnic American, or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ASNS 2882, ENGL 2906, HIST 2163)
Prerequisites: ASNS 1000 - 2969 or ASNS 3000 or higher or ENGL 1000 - 2969 or ENGL 3000 (same as GSWS 3000) or higher or HIST 1000 - 2969 or HIST 3000 or higher or SOC 1000 - 2969 or SOC 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023.
SOC 2272 (b, DPI, IP) Digital Media and Society
Explores how digital media construct societies and cultures, and in turn how social institutions, interactions, and identities get reflected in/through digital media. Draws from multiple socio-cultural contexts to take a global and transnational approach to understand sociological themes such as self, social interaction, and community; social control and surveillance; constructions of gender, sexuality, race, social class, and religion; generations; transnational migration; emotional/affective labor; and social movements and change. Challenges binary dystopian and utopian representations of digital media to cultivate a more nuanced understanding. (Same as: DCS 2272)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
SOC 2310 (b, DPI, IP) Sociology of Emotions
Challenges the conventional view that emotions are simply private experiences by engaging with various sociological concepts including but not limited to emotion work, emotional labor, feeling rules, and affect. Explores how emotions are socially and politically shaped, learned, regulated, and controlled in societies. Understands emotions as lived experiences in the daily lives of individuals within work environments, intimate relationships, and communities. Discusses how sociologists investigate such feelings as depression, loss, grief, love, and fear through the lenses of gender, class, and race.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021.
SOC 2330 (b) Diversity in Higher Education
Explores higher education in the contemporary United States through a sociological lens, highlighting the ways that colleges and universities both promote social mobility and perpetuate inequality. Examines the functions of higher education for students and society; issues of inequality in college access, financing, campus experiences, and outcomes later in life; the challenges and benefits of diversity and inclusion; and other topics, with special attention across all topics to the case of African Americans. (Same as: AFRS 2330, EDUC 2279)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021.
SOC 2355 (b, DPI) Demography and Society
Explores general notions of how fertility/reproduction, mortality/death, and migration shape our societies. Studies essential elements of how sociologists analyze these phenomena and how they shape our sociological imagination. Critically analyzes how public policies and political narratives influence our decisions regarding having a child, postponing fertility, using contraception, migrating, getting married, or divorcing. Examines how these decisions are related to local, national, and global trends and how they are related to structures of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Once the essential demographic elements are understood, the course explores the population composition and trends of Latino and Asian Americans in the US, paying particular attention to the undocumented populations, their socio-economic conditions, and their influence in political debates.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023.
SOC 2365 (b, IP) Transnational Families
Offers a timely reflection on changes in family in the face of global migration and restrictive immigration policies. Challenges ideas of families living under one roof as nuclear, heterosexual, and biological. Examines social, economic, political, and legal conditions for emergence and development of transnational families. Studies international migration flows from countries of the Global South—including but not limited to the Philippines, Mexico, India, and China—to countries of the Global North, including the US, UK, and Italy, among others. Topics may include international division of care work; disparities within families shaped by global inequalities; the use of technology to create/enhance transnational communication varying by gender, sexuality, class, and rural/urban locations; and multiracial and multiethnic families through adoption and marriage.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021.
SOC 2370 (b, IP) Immigration and the Politics of Exclusion
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Looks at comparative lessons in global immigration to understand the political, economic, and social causes of migration--the politics of immigrant inclusion/exclusion--and the making of diaspora communities. Specific topics will include: the politics of citizenship and the condition of illegality; the global migrant workforce; and how class, gender, race, and sexuality influence the migrant experience. (Same as: LACL 2746)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
SOC 2385 (b, DPI) Muslims in American Society
Discontinued Course. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
This course explores Muslim Americans’ experiences in the US and is intended to enhance students’ knowledge about Islam and Muslims to overcome common myths and misconceptions associated with this racial /ethnic and religious minority group. Some of the topics covered during the course include the history of Muslims on American soil, disassociating Islam from the Abrahamic triad of Judaism-Christianity-Islam, diversity aspect of the Muslim American population, assimilation of Muslims to larger society, gender issues (“saving” Muslim women), discrimination and prejudice, Islamophobia, Islam and terrorism (meaning of jihad), depiction of Muslims in American media, and sharia (Islamic law) myth. To gain a better understanding of the historical and contemporary social integration of Muslims in the US, students will explore several key theories, such as orientalism, labeling theory, Muslim feminism, the Blauner hypothesis, and the Noel hypothesis. (Same as: REL 2385)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
SOC 2395 (b, DPI, IP) Social Movements and Collective Action
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Explores the causes and consequences of social movements in contemporary societies. Discusses factors that lead people to participate in social movement mobilization, what drives movements to be successful (or to fail), and the consequences of social movements for public opinion, policy change, and people’s lives. Presents multiple methods through which sociologists study social movements, such as interviews, experiments, and big data analysis. Case studies include movements within the United States and beyond, such as Black Lives Matter, the women’s movement, the labor movement, the Arab Spring, and environmental movements.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
SOC 2397 (b, DPI, IP) Globalization and Development
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Globalization remains as one of the controversial terms that has created both positive and negative connotations. For some, globalization is viewed as a force that wrecks local economies, challenges nation states’ sovereignty, disrupts cultures and identities, and creates regional and global conflicts. For others, it is an engine of a new model of development that brings fundamental transformations in the world economy, society, and politics by holding the promise of increased economic well-being and enhanced political empowerment and personal freedom. The course will start with the exploration of historical contexts associated with the emergence of globalization and its major components. Benefits and drawbacks of globalization, including new forms of risks, challenges, and inequalities will be identified. Neoliberalism and its structural adjustment policies will be scrutinized. Students will also learn about major theories of global inequality, to outline the systematic differences in wealth and power.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022.
SOC 2430 (b, DPI) Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
This course will draw on insights from sociology and other social science disciplines to explore the complex and multifaceted nature of racial/ethnic health disparity issues in the United States. We will examine societal, environmental, economic, behavioral, and institutional factors that contribute to racial/ethnic health disparities. Continuing health disparities experienced by African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans will be scrutinized through the analysis of specific health issues faced by these groups rooted in the effect of race/ethnicity on health outcomes and access to healthcare. Students will also explore policies and interventions for reducing health inequities and promoting minority health.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021.
SOC 2445 (b) Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
Examines mental health and illness as both a set of subjective experiences and as embedded in social and cultural processes. Considers the causes and consequences of mental health problems and examines mental health and illness as objects of knowledge and intervention. Develops understanding of the ways social inequalities, power, and privilege shape understandings of mental health. Draws on classic and contemporary sociological theories to explore the complex relationships between psychiatrists’ professional accounts of mental illnesses and patients’ experience of them. Discusses patients’ role in healing through innovative non-psychiatric and non-individualized approaches toward mental health problems.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2022.
SOC 2504 (b, DPI, IP) Sociology of Expertise
Explores how public debates and policy decisions are shaped by people who claim to be experts. Describes how experts achieve their status and how power relations shape expertise. Examines how specific social groups reach the status of experts and how sociology helps to differentiate between scientific expertise and traditional forms of knowledge. Critically examines how scientific consensus is achieved and discusses how experts are influenced by cultural, historical, gender, race, class, and geographical structures. Questions how societies can pursue a more democratic construction and circulation of expertise. It also explores how experts use media and institutions to legitimize their opinions and the implications of assuming their judgments in public controversies as taken-for-granted knowledge. Topics include how experts shape current debates on migration, public health, artificial intelligence, inequality, corruption, modernity, technology, and climate change.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023.
SOC 2520 (b, IP) Sociological Perspectives on Asia(ns) and Media
Explores Asian national and diasporic/transnational social contexts through the lens of various media, including print, film, television, advertising, music, and digital media. Helps understand how media construct societies and cultures and, in turn, how social institutions, interactions, and identities get reflected in media. Focuses on South Asia to explore questions of ideology and power; political economy of media; construction and representations of gender, sexuality, race, social class, nation, and religion; generations; and social movements and change. (Same as: ASNS 2620)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020.
SOC 2575 (b) Cultural Encounters with/in Hawai'i
Examines Hawai`i as a site of cultural encounter. Topics include the ways that Hawai`’s tourism industry is connected to constructions of and consumption of ethnic identities by those within and outside Hawai`i; the ways historical and contemporary encounters between different ethnic groups (Hawai`ian, haole, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Pacific Islanders) have created the contemporary Hawai`ian social landscape; and the relations between mainland United States and Hawai`ian culture and politics, particularly the rising Hawai`ian sovereignty movement. Draws from theories of ethnic tourism, race/ethnicity, and colonialism. (Same as: ASNS 2910)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023.
SOC 3010 (b) Advanced Seminar: Current Controversies in Sociology
Capstone seminar that draws together different theoretical and substantive issues in sociology. Discusses current controversies in the discipline through a critical lens. Specific topics vary.
Prerequisites: SOC 2030.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021.
SOC 3230 (b) Beyond the Human
Examines the literature that questions human-centered thinking in social sciences and that generates rich debates about human-nature relationships, ecology, and the meaning of the social. Influenced by various political movements (such as animal rights and environmental activism), philosophical approaches (such as Indigenous thinking and new materialism), and advancements in medicine, technologies of the body, and artificial intelligence, these empirical and theoretical works will help us recast the category of “human” and question its privileged role in our political, economic, and moral imagination. Explores the forms of knowledge that can be generated from the interface between humans and non-human animals, objects, plants, or machines. Addresses the methodological challenges in producing such knowledge and how and to what extent the dethroning of human exceptionalism can help us rethink our ideas of inequality, well-being, and democracy.
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2024.
SOC 3240 (b, DPI) Medicine, Science, and Power
Medicine and science influence every aspect of life as they create, enhance, and heal but also diminish, disrupt, and destroy. They both shape and, are shaped by, power relations. Drawing on medical sociology, science and technology studies, feminist, race, and disability theory, the class explores the relationships among medicine, science, and broader systems of social organization and power. Examines the effects of medicoscientific knowledges, practices, and new technologies on structures of inequality and lived experience.
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and either SOC 1000 - 2969 or SOC 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
SOC 3300 (b) Reproductive Health and Politics
Taking account of the interrelationship of health and politics, examines how community, national, and international policies and social structures (such as gender, race, economy, or health care) link local and global politics to influence practices, beliefs, meaning, and outcomes related to reproduction. Topics include birth planning and contraception, new reproductive technologies, fertility and infertility, AIDS, abortion, issues of parenthood, and stratified reproduction.
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and SOC 2000 - 2969.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
SOC 3325 (b) Public Sociology
An in-depth exploration into the evolution and practice of Public Sociology – an emergent subfield within Sociology aimed at (re)presenting sociological research to non-academic audiences. Examines the motivations for academics to translate their work to the public, investigating how scholars might mobilize “objective” scholarship for political ends. Considers key debates and critiques around “doing” public sociology from “professional sociologists.” Explores the strengths and limitations around practicing public sociology, attending to the methodological and ethical issues around distilling “scientific” research for mainstream consumption. Exposes students to various approaches and platforms for practicing public scholarship in the digital age, focusing on how to apply and elaborate complex theoretical and empirical research to pressing public issues and how to mobilize different social, political and cultural platforms to engage various audiences.
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and SOC 2000 - 2969.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
SOC 3330 (b, DPI) Digital Stories of South Asian Americans
Examines some key social issues confronting South Asians in North America. Pays particular attention to ascendance of digital archives as repositories of South Asian American narratives and underlying questions of power. Explores questions of South Asian racial identity and how it fits into and challenges dominant conceptions of race in the US. Possible topics include citizenship, inclusion and exclusion; differences within South Asian Americans; relationship with the larger Asian American community and other communities of color; immediate and enduring effects of 9/11; media representations; memory; and family and kinship. Students will study and analyze narratives as well as start collecting life stories of South Asian Americans in New England to contribute to an existing digital repository or create a new one. (Same as: ASNS 3550)
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and SOC 2000 - 2969.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2023.