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.

This course will provide an understanding of how sociologists interpret the body in modernity. Topics will include the body in consumer culture, the gendered body, body modification, identity and the body, technology and the body, the regulation of bodies, and vulnerable bodies. Students will be able to understand the central issues and concepts used by sociologists who study embodiment and the relationship between the body and society.

This course focuses on various aspects of religion and society such as American culture, gender and the family, politics, science, religious diversity and pluralism, violence, and other emerging issues.

This course examines sociological theories of power and their intersections with culture. It focuses on oppression and social change in the 20th and 21st century U.S. through the lens of cultural expression, beliefs and meaning. It includes close reading of social theories of power and empirical studies of social institutions and social identities. Prerequisite: Six credits in Sociology or permission of instructor

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

This course will examine various types of inequality (race, class, gender) in the US and abroad. We will discuss sociological theories covering various dimensions of inequality, considering key research findings and their implications. We will examine to what extent ascriptive characteristics impact a person's life chances, how social structures are produced and reproduced, and how individuals are able or unable to negotiate these structures.

This course delves into sociological approaches to health, including the social construction of health and wellness, medicalization, the intersections of culture, power and inequality with systems of diagnosis and treatment, the social determinants of health, and the subjective experiences of health and disability/illness. Prerequisite: Six credits of Sociology or instructor permission.

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

Markets, firms, and money are part of everyday experience. Economists insist that they should work similarly independently of their social context. The central idea of economic sociology is that economic institutions are 'embedded' in social relations. We will study what embeddeness means, and what it implies. We look at how institutions constitute markets; how rationality varies; and how money interacts with social relations in unexpected ways.

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