Courses

• Sociology 364: Agriculture, Food, & Global Society

  This course explores major theoretical and empirical issues in the field of agriculture and food in local, national, and global contexts. Considering agriculture and food from a sociological perspective highlights the interconnected nature of the agro-food system. This course focuses on the social organization of agricultural production and food consumption, identifying key policy debates and choices regarding how we produce, distribute, and consume food.

• Sociology 333: Gender & Society

  This course explores major theoretical and empirical issues related to gender and society. We examine how gender affects expectations regarding our social behavior, contrasting the social construction of women and femininity with that of men and masculinity. We analyze how gender influences our personal relations and families, our work relations and employment, and our political power and opportunities for bringing about social change. The course emphasizes throughout how gender, class, and ethnic/racial inequalities intersect.

• Sociology 330: Social Inequality

  This course explores major theoretical and empirical issues in social inequality. We review classical theories and debates regarding social stratification and consider their applicability in understanding inequalities in the contemporary era. The course analyzes the interconnections between social class, gender, and race/ethnicity and examines the ways in which these divisions structure our life chances and experiences. We focus largely on issues of stratification in the U.S. context but conclude with a discussion of global stratification.

• Sociology 660: Theories of Development & Social Change

  This course analyzes major theoretical issues in the sociology of development and social change. We examine central formal development theories, including modernization, dependency, and world systems theories. We will (1) identify their major arguments regarding local, national, and international development; (2) examine their intellectual roots in classical social theory; (3) investigate their links to changing world realities; and (4) evaluate their major areas of agreement and disagreement. We then investigate more contemporary debates, critiques, and theoretical reformulations in development sociology.

• Sociology 666: Globalization & Socio-Economic Restructuring

  This course analyzes ongoing processes of globalization and their implications for socio-economic restructuring. We set globalization in historical context, identifying what is new about current processes of social transformation. We focus on key theoretical and methodological issues in understanding globalization’s causes and consequences, focusing on concrete processes of socio-economic restructuring in the agro-food and other key sectors. We ask: How has globalization affected patterns of production and the role of transnational corporations? What are the implications of globalization for restructuring work, labor forces, and livelihoods? To what degree has globalization caused a political restructuring of the state? How has globalization transformed culture and patterns of consumption? Has globalization closed off some political spaces and opened up others?