Students will understand their personal life in relation to broader social structures and change. This awareness is accomplished through the application of the sociological perspective to human interactions, relationships, groups, and social institutions.

Every Fall and Spring in person, Summer online

Previously: SOCI 110

Popular culture informs and expresses our humor, politics, fears, and fantasies; it reveals the lines of solidarity and exclusion in our social groups. Drawing on a variety of sociological perspectives, this course examines pop culture phenomena from sports fans to social media influencers to the Marvel Comics Universe. Particular attention is paid to cultural production, fandom, and celebrity culture. At the end of this course, students will be able to critically examine objects of popular culture, the processes by which these objects are created and disseminated, and the many ways consumers respond to and interact using these objects. 

What is justice? What makes a social movement successful? How can we involve ourselves in social change? This course will explore these questions alongside approaches to the pursuit of social justice. We will examine a broad range of processes such as individual action, community-action research, social movements, public policy, and more. The course materials will encourage students to consider differing perspectives as to what social justice is, and the ways we choose to pursue it. We will study methods of resistance as well as transformative visions of possibility.

J-Term