How are race and gender constructed and regulated in U.S. law?  How have activists challenged such constructions and regulations?  Is it possible to use the law even as we critique it?  How can we demystify the power of the law and legal language?  Why is it important to see the intersections... Read more

This course will explore systems of inequality and their relationship to 'crime,' violence and the criminal justice system. Students will gain a firm understanding of race, class, gender, and sexuality as categories of analysis and as structures, which influence the life course. How is the body... Read more

Law and Society represents a rich area of study, drawing on a diverse array of academic disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, economics, cultural studies and political science. This course will provide a broad overview of the field’s central questions, including: what... Read more

By now you have spent time thinking about the ways we, as a society, define, monitor, punish and talk about crime. In this course, you will dive into one of the most important aspects of criminology— criminological theory. In this class, we will explore various sociological explanations for why... Read more

“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” -Audre Lorde

This course introduces students to the field of critical prison studies, to prison activist social movements and to the relationship between the two. We will set critical prison studies within the wider scholarly literature on forms of punishment more generally and think about the connections... Read more

This course is aimed at a comprehensive understanding of Federal Indian Law and its development of federal Indian law from the late 19th century to the present. Emphasis is given to unique principles of law concerning tribal sovereignty, the federal trust relationship, and the interplay between... Read more

Broadly, we will examine the various direct and indirect policy actors in—and their influences on—the United States criminal justice system. Furthermore, we will analyze the role of said players in the politics and politicization of crime in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of... Read more

While it is entitled “Legal Research”, this is not a course that one might encounter in law school. Rather, it is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of thinking about and framing legal problems. In order to be successful in legal research, we must first learn and understand the... Read more

This course provides an introduction to sociological perspectives on social problems. We will explore how particular social conditions come to be defined as problematic and targeted for intervention by policymakers, while other issues struggle to gain traction. In the process, we will examine... Read more

Topics vary by semester. Talk to your advisor to see where a special topics course will fulfill course requirements towards gradaution. Speical topics include:

A course addressing the development, structure, and functioning of socio-ecological relationships centered around forests. Specific topics include capital accumulation, urbanization, deforestation, community management models, bioregionalism, sustainability and development, and local topics... Read more

Race is part of our everyday lives. We see race in our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, our jails, and all over the media. It’s a social category that shapes nearly every interaction and institution in the contemporary U.S. Despite the prevalence of racialized issues and meanings in... Read more

This course will examine the social, economic, and political forces and transformations pervading the globe in the current era commonly known as globalization.  By globalization we mean a process, not an end-state or a stage reached. It characterizes the increasing scope and intensity of... Read more

This is an upper level GE course, with a “Diversity and Common Ground” designation. There are no prerequisites but it does assume a basic knowledge of social science.  The family, as a basic social institution, will be examined from historical, social and cultural variations. This course... Read more

This is an upper level, Area D GE course. There are no prerequisites but it does assume a basic knowledge of social science.  Altruism and compassion are studied as an antidote to a world polarized in conflict. Focus will be on how to create a more caring society by understanding what motivates... Read more

This course is an in depth study of classical sociological theory focusing on the shapers, intellectual visionaries, and seminal scholars who forged the backbone upon which the discipline and profession of sociology is based.  We will explore the life and writings of a number of these theorists... Read more

This course will introduce you to some of the basic theories of social ecological relations and the debates among their respective adherents.  You will learn about the sub-discipline of environmental sociology, a field of inquiry that focuses on the relationship between humans and the... Read more

Social Deviance deals with the fringe (but not only the fringe) of any society; the “other” or the “outsiders.” One can be labeled a deviant for who one is or is not, or for what one does or does not do. What is considered deviant is related to what a society has constructed as their norms. This... Read more

This course explores the nature, causes and prevention of environmental crime.  Specifically it examines the many ways in which governments, corporations, military apparatuses, criminal organizations and individuals routinely harm ecosystems, humanity and animal life.  Eco-criminology assumes... Read more

We all “code switch” regularly depending on the context of our interactions.  In this workshop we will explore the codes most often associated with successful career building and professionalism. Remaining true to your values and overall sense of self, you will be challenged to build your “... Read more

What is social theory? What is the purpose of social theory? How can social theory help us understand how individuals, groups, social structures, and the natural environment interact as a historical and cultural project? These are some of the basic questions we will explore this semester through... Read more

We are living through a period defined by unprecedented shifts in human population.  By the end of 2017, the United Nations estimated that over 68.5 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war and sectarian conflict, environmental degradation, climate change, and... Read more

This course will develop student knowledge and understanding of community organizing history, theory and practice. It will provide insight into what propels people into action, the political independence and interdependence of various organizational forms, and how an organizational form, over... Read more

Capstone internship experience. Discuss opportunties for placement in an internship position for your Senior Capstone experience. Contact Karen August for more informaiton. View more information at:... Read more

This class is a workshop designed to prepare graduate students to teach their own courses in Sociology.  The reasoning behind this class is simple: most academics spend a large time of their work life teaching, yet most graduate training is focused on how to conduct research.  We are somehow... Read more

This course will introduce you to the theoretical, interactional, ethical and practical aspects of qualitative research with a focus on interviewing and focus group methodologies.  We will also discuss field research methods, unobtrusive methods such as content analysis and orientations to... Read more

What is social theory? What is the purpose of social theory? How can social theory help us understand how individuals, groups, social structures, and the natural environment interact as a historical and cultural project? These are some of the basic questions we will explore this semester through... Read more

Sociology originated as a field whose early practitioners and theorists were centrally concerned about human emancipation and liberation.