2018-2019 University Catalogue 
    
    Apr 25, 2024  
HELP
2018-2019 University Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

 

Religion
  

  • RELG 283 - Experiencing Judaism

    As a minority culture, throughout history, Jews and Judaism have always been subject to the influence of the majority cultures in which Jews have found themselves. In response to the shocks of modernity, ruptures, scientific advancements, and philosophical ideas and challenges, Jewish thinkers, culture, and individuals formulated responses—religious and otherwise. In Experiencing Judaism, students will explore how Judaism has responded to modernity, the “age of secularism.” To wit, students will focus on distinctively modern expressions of Judaism: the range of denominations, their historical origins, ideologies, and attitudes to Jewish law and its development, secularism, religious and secular Zionism. Students will explore these developments through primary texts within their historical contexts to better understand contemporary Judaism as it is expressed and practiced, mainly in North America and Israel, as a religion and also as a culture.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: JWST 283  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 284 - Christian Traditions

    This historical study of the development of the central Christian beliefs examines the development of the early creeds, the emerging of ecumenical consensus, and philosophical elaborations. The course highlights African contributions and involvement in the ecumenical councils (the first 500 years) that made major decisions concerning the central elements of the Christian tradition.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: RELG 301


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 285 - Buddhist Traditions

    Students will explore the many faces of Buddhism across time and space and seek to understand what has made Buddhism so successful. Some of the major themes running through Buddhism in various times and places include the allure of the motif of renunciation, the roles of scripture and literature in orienting devotion and community, an economy of merit wherein material goods and respect are offered to the Buddha and his community of monks and nuns in exchange for better rebirth and, ultimately, salvation, and Buddhism’s confrontation with modernity, the West, and science.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 286 - Catholic Traditions

    Central to this study is the understanding of Roman Catholicism as a living, dynamic, multi-faceted set of religious traditions. The focus may change each term. The time frame is usually from the Second Vatican Council (1962-5) to the present, although the full panoply of Catholic history, doctrine, and liturgy is under review, especially during the Catholic Reformation of the 1500s. Topics may include the Church’s self-understanding, the historical context of American Catholicism, cultural pluralism within global Catholicism, and contemporary issues such as war and peace, social and economic justice, sexuality and reproduction, grassroots liberation efforts, and environmental concerns.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 287 - Protestant Traditions: Revolutions and Reformations

    Considers the Protestant tradition in Europe and the United States. The great theological doctrines of the Reformation of 16th-century Europe are examined: salvation by grace, the authority of scripture as opposed to ecclesiastical edicts, freedom of conscience, the priesthood of all believers, and separation of church and state. The great themes articulated by Luther, Calvin, and others constituted a challenge to established authority that involved the Church, the monarchies, and the dissenters. The Protestant tradition that emerged gave rise to new conceptions of political order that profoundly impacted the ideological, social, and political foundations of the United States. Protestant vision contributed heavily to biblical metaphors shaping American self-understanding. Protestant vision and Protestant thinkers gave rise to various forms of Christian communities, such as the Society of Shakers, and provided the impetus for reform movements such as abolition of slavery, the Social Gospel, Prohibition, and the Civil Rights movement.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 288 - American Indian Religions

    The course introduces students to the variety of American Indian traditional religions and historical religious movements. After an evaluation of the methods used in understanding Indian religions and a survey of culture areas, students look at American Indian concepts of the supernatural, mythology, ceremonialism, dreams and visions, medicine, witchcraft, shamanism, nature-relations, and conceptions of the soul. Navajo, Lakota, Skagit, Inuit, Hopi, and Ojibwa religions are described in some detail, in order to show how the individual characteristics are integrated; then the class examines the effects of Christian missions and the most important religious movements among American Indians since white contact: Handsome Lake’s Religion, Ghost Dance, Peyote Religion, and others.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: RELG 318


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 289 - African Religious Traditions

    This course is an exploration of the nature and varieties of indigenous African religions. Issues examined include cosmology; concepts of divinity; ancestors; person; meaning of sacrifice; symbols and ritual practice; the relationships among art and religion, politics, and religious institutions; and the challenge of social change, Christianity, and Islam to indigenous religions. In addition, students examine the different methods used in studying African religions.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: RELG 314


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 295 - Tibetan Buddhism

    What accounts for the popularity of Tibetan Buddhism among certain Hollywood elite as well as a growing number of Chinese in the world today? Why did Tibet give rise to the unique institution of the reincarnating lama, best known in the West through the figure of the Dalai Lama? What goes on in Tibetan monasteries, the largest monasteries in world history? Understanding the answers to these questions requires that one examine the place and privilege of religion and Buddhism in particular in Tibetan culture. Through the close reading of the autobiography of a Tibetan saint, Buddhist myth, ethnographic descriptions, and philosophical treatises, as well as Buddhist art and other media, student will come to understand the centrality of religion to many aspects of life in Tibet, and gain a basic understanding of Buddhist philosophy, ritual/contemplative practices, pilgrimage, popular practices, monastic life, and other facets of religion and life in Tibet.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: RELG 327


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 306 - Dying for God: Martyrdom and Noble Death in Judaism and Christianity

    Examines the intrinsically-linked discourses and practices of martyrdom and noble death from the 8th century BCE to modernity. Theorizing the social constructions of martyrdom and noble death requires focused attention to the politics of sociopolitical and religious persecution within discrete historical contexts, and a sustained analysis of those heroic men, women, and children willing to challenge, resist, and face the public or private spectacle of persecution and death with resolute determination and certitude. Close analyses of the developing mythic frameworks, rhetoric, artistic and iconographical representations, and other textual records that coalesced to render suffering redemptive - and even salvific - will receive particular scrutiny (including translations of selected primary and secondary source documents and modern scholarly reconstructions).

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 308 - End of the World: Apocalyptic Thought and Movements in Historical Perspective

    Investigates the origin and evolution of apocalyptic literature and movements from antiquity to the present, beginning with the Second Temple and early Christian periods. What existential and ideological factors give rise to convictions of the world’s cataclysmic destruction, or civilization-altering fate? Why do apocalyptic movements forecast the inevitability of such life-threatening catastrophes as national or global revolution and warfare, plagues, ecological catastrophes, or profound existential threats from bioengineering or artificial intelligence menaces gone awry? Particular attention is focused on the sociohistorical factors that fuel and heighten apocalyptic fervor within discrete historical periods, inclusive of contemporary post-apocalyptic reconstructions of new world orders that inspire allegiance, hope, and notions of paradisal tranquility.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: JWST 308  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 309 - Religion and Medical Practice

    Explores the strategic and multifaceted ways in which cultural and religious values impact physicians and other healthcare professionals relative to patients and their families, both within, and across, national and global communities. Students examine ethical conundrums inevitably arising from such conventional and contested topics in health care ethics as autonomy, justice, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and confidentiality, and assess and deconstruct emerging issues rooted in the nexus of modern scientific and technological advances and traditional understandings of the meaning of the sacred nature of the human, and the integrity of human personhood (prayer and healing, euthanasia and do-not-resuscitate decisions and euthanasia, fertilization and abortion). Students explore how to preserve human dignity which is threatened by 1) those with compassion and seeking to relieve human suffering, 2) rationalists, and 3) rights advocates without regard to the mystery of life and the sacred nature of the human.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 310 - Islamic Jurisprudence

    Addresses Islamic jurisprudence from the historical background of Islamic law, known as Shari’ah, namely the five Sunni and Shiite Schools of Law, the concept of “Ijtihad,” and Islamic criminal law. Students also study the relationship between Islamic and other systems of jurisprudence. Consideration of Muslim theology offers an important context for understanding Islamic law.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MIST 310  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 313 - The “Word” in the World: The Bible in Global Perspective

    Using a form of biblical interpretation called contextual interpretation, this course explores how the Bible is read and interpreted by people around the world. Contextual interpretation takes the context or social location of the interpreter (their gender, class, race, nationality, etc.) as the starting point in the hermeneutical (interpretive) process. De-centering the predominantly male, patriarchal, and first-world orientation of more traditional biblical scholarship, the readings for this course foreground the perspectives and commitments of the interpreters as well as issues of identity, ethnicity, gender, class, location, and power.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 320 - Native Peoples and Modern Law

    Explores the role of Native peoples in the creation and ongoing development of modern law. It begins with an investigation of the use of Native peoples as a representation of human savagery within early modern European political thought — a representation that allowed political theorists to depict law as a solution to such savagery. More recently, and more positively, it explores the important role that indigenous peoples have played in the propagation of religious free exercise rights and international human rights law. Focusing particularly on the legal negotiation of Native religious practices in the US, this course encourages students to think critically about some of the most basic tenets and mechanisms of modern secular law.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: NAST 320  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 321 - Religion in Modern India

    What does Mahatma Gandhi’s reading of the Bhagavad Gita have to do with shamanic healing practices in the Himalayas or statues of Jesus painted blue in South India? They are some examples of the diverse sets of beliefs, practices, institutions, and communities that constitute religious life in modern India and that students will encounter in this course. Rather than view religion as an unchanging, closed, and monolithic assemblage of texts and concepts, students shall focus on how religious traditions are lived, practiced, and reconfigured by individuals and communities across this region. In so doing, we will explore how religion in India continues to engage, in vital ways, changing historical realities since the decline of the Mughal empire through the advent of British colonialism into the postcolonial present. Students will read historical and ethnographic writings not only about Hinduism but also Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity, while becoming familiar with significant theoretical and methodological currents within the broader academic study of religion.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: Familiarity with the religions of India through courses such as CORE 166, RELG 281 , ARTS 244 , or HIST 362  is advised.
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 329 - Global Islam in the Modern World

    Examines the key issues with which Muslim thinkers in the modern period (defined here as the colonial and post-colonial periods) have been concerned. Muslim responses to modernity in the US, East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Turkey represent the core focus of the course. A significant portion of the class is spent examining intellectual responses that have taken the engagement with modernity seriously. Students critically examine some Muslim responses to post-colonialism, feminist and womanist constructions, democratization of politics, pluralism, religious violence, extremism, and authoritarianism. Consists of close reading and discussion of texts, as well as exposure to multimedia resources that have played a key role in recent events, such as the Arab Spring.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 331 - The Problem of Evil

    Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does a benevolent, all-powerful God permit evil? This course explores historical, philosophical, and religious perspectives on the etiology, manifestations, and functions of human suffering and evil within global human communities.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 332 - Contemporary Religious Thought

    Selected historical perspectives on the connections among religion, violence, and power as a context for contemporary studies of the role of religion in society. Most of the course focuses on liberation theologies, with their emphasis on hope, empowerment, and right relationships. Voices of liberation theologians may be drawn from Latin America, Asia, and Africa, as well as marginalized people in the United States. The latter include womanist, mujerista, Latino/a, Asian-American, African-American, Jewish, homosexual, and feminist groups; most integrate personal experience with theological reflection.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 335 - Religion in the Genetic Age

    Twenty-first century genetic technologies present humanity with unprecedented possibilities for re-engineering human life and experience: genetic tailoring to treat and eradicate diseases, the creation of designer children, cyberconsciousness and unlimited physical prowess, radical life-extension technologies, and the development of virtual human beings. Scientific tinkering with food DNA heightens interest in “Frankenfoods,” while genetic tinkering with animals has raised the spectre of “Frankenbeasts.” The course foregrounds issues in the science of genetics and genethics—the social, ethical, legal, and, in this course, the notably religious implications of modern genomic and technological development - with an assessment of the promise and perils of these achievements for the future of humankind.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 336 - Religion and Capitalism

    “Christianity is freedom. Freedom is free enterprise; hence capitalism is Christianity in action.” Following contemporary research, students will explore the relation from the high medieval monasteries to the present, highlighting the 17th and 18th-century Christian and Jewish farmers and traders, 19th-century British industrialists, and the 21st-century consumers, financiers and traders in commodities and various financial instruments (e.g., stocks, bonds, equities, derivatives, and securities, etc.). The course will investigate how worldviews and religious teachings order a lifestyle and a value system that inform and influence a particular economic activity. The course includes: what capitalism is (i.e., its elements and types, and the classical theories of capitalism); investigate the religious views, the cultural and social history that gave rise to capitalism, and the intellectual and economic innovations that turned capitalism into a system. Topics of discussions will include: capitalism and the environment, poverty and the Puritan work ethic, culture and global capitalism, capitalism and moral values, and the relation between contemporary spirituality and capitalism.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 337 - Islamic Mysticism

    Seeks to engage the mystical interpretations of Islam (Sufism) as simultaneously one of the most important historical manifestations of the Islamic experience and one of the most pertinent ones for understanding Islam in the contemporary situation. Themes explored in this class include the tradition of love mysticism embodied by Rumi, the metaphysical formulations of Ibn al-Arabi, the formation of Sufi orders, the various meditative techniques, and Sufi poetry. The class also explores the controversies surrounding Sufism in the contemporary scene, ranging from attacks on Sufism from Muslim fundamentalists to the role of Sufism in the spread of Islam in Europe and North America.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MIST 337 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 338 - Sex, Law, and the American Culture Wars

    Explores the American church-state debate through the lens of abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage. These sexual freedom and reproductive rights issues raise questions that reach to the very heart of the American political project. What is the scope of our right to engage in private behavior? Do longstanding religious and moral traditions have a place within a secular legal system? Are there limits to the Constitution’s guarantee of religious free exercise, and, if so, how do we determine these limits? These issues have generated intense social and political conflict, and are at the center of today’s “culture wars” in the U.S. This course will provide students with a robust background in the legal history of these issues, and will furnish students with a framework for making sense of some of today’s most contentious political battles in the U.S.

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 339 - Modern Jewish Philosophy

    A course on European and American Jewish thought, covering a spectrum of liberal and traditional figures. The course studies the ways in which Jewish thinkers have responded to the challenges of modern philosophy, religious pluralism, and feminism. Modern reformulations of traditional Jewish ideas and religious practices are discussed as well as contemporary theological exchanges between Jews and Christians. Readings are taken from such figures as Mendelssohn, Buber, Rosenzweig, Heschel, Fackenheim, and Plaskow.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: JWST 339 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Recommended: Previous courses in the Jewish tradition and/or philosophy are recommended.
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 342 - Our Secular Age

    Do we live in a secular age? Most of us would assert that we do, but what do we mean when we make this claim? Are we referring to the political separation of church and state, to a decline in religious beliefs and practices, or to something else? These questions have recently come to occupy a central place within the study of religion. This course explores the topic of secularism from a variety of angles, including differing notions of what is meant by the term “secular”; an examination of the historical development of secular ideas and institutions; a comparison of different secular political projects; and a series of important critiques of secularism. This course encourages students to think critically and creatively about the relationship between “the religious” and “the secular,” and it thus enhances students’ understanding of religion, secularism, and modernity more broadly.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 343 - Gender and Judaism

    Focused on the creation and conception of gender within Judaism. Students explore the ways in which gender is built into the scriptures, structures, institutions, and ideologies of Judaism, into Jewish religious, cultural and social life. According to Genesis, from the beginning there were male and female. To what degree are these two categories essential? To what degree artificial? How do religion and tradition enforce the gender divide, and in what ways can they be used to blur the distinctions between male and female?

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: JWST 343 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 346 - Cognitive Science of Religion

    Central to much research in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) is the question of how the human brain and its evolved capacities inform and constrain the transmission of religious beliefs and ritual practices. The cognitive science of religion also seeks to answer why it is that certain beliefs and specific practices appear to outperform and outlive others. More generally, the CSR seeks to explain the persistence and pervasiveness of religious beliefs and practices throughout human history by drawing on the theories and methodologies of a range of disciplines, including cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, behavioral ecology, and several others, as well as disciplines more traditionally associated with the study of religion. Scholars in CSR embrace a variety of methods, including textual analysis, quantification of historical and archaeological data, statistical analysis of ethnographic data, controlled laboratory experiments, and mathematical modeling. This course is a survey of the most influential of the CSR theories and methods in the field.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 352 - Theory and Method in the Study of Religion

    Takes a critical look at the history of religious studies in the modern West and proceeds to chart some contemporary developments. Some of the issues that may come under investigation include, but are not restricted to, the quest for a science of religion, the impact of gender and race theory on religious studies, theories of religion and violence, the secularization of academic approaches to religion, and the nature of religion itself. The broad aim is to deepen reflection on the ways in which religion can become an object of study.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 355 - Religion and Human Rights

    What is the relationship between religion and human rights? Do human rights stem from particular religious ideals, and, if so, can such rights be universalized? What happens when human rights conflict with longstanding religious beliefs and practices? This course explores the complex relationship between religion and human rights from a variety of perspectives: theological, philosophical, sociological, and legal-political. Students will examine some of today’s most prominent voices on this topic, and will explore a variety of case studies involving both positive and negative interactions between religion and human rights. This course does not assume any prior knowledge of religion or human rights law.

    Credits: 1.00
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 411 - Senior Seminar in Religion

    Presents students with the opportunity to explore their own research interests and expand upon work that they have undertaken in previous religion courses. Students will read a selection of advanced texts related to the broader study of religion, and, in consultation with the faculty member, will undertake collaborative research, writing, and peer-editing of an independent research paper on a topic of their choice.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Fall semester only

    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year, Sophomore
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 415 - Advanced Topics in Religion

    A specialized seminar, offered when there is a critical mass of students interested in a particular subject. In recent years seminars have included Navajo Creation Narratives, Sacrifice, Islamic Jurisprudence, Comparative Scripture, Islamic Mysticism, Religious Conversion, Religious Experience, Religious Dialogue, Faith in a Religiously Plural World, Religion, the Body, and the Senses, The Bhagavad Gita, Philosophy and Faith, Religion and Violence, and Secularism.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: On an irregular basis

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Religion, Middle East and Islamic Study Majors and Minors
    Class Restriction: No First-year, Sophomore
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 490 - Special Studies for Honors

    Students pursuing honors in religion enroll in this course.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • RELG 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Religion Majors
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term

Russian and Eurasian Studies

Course classifications:

Pre-Modern and Imperial Russia (PR)
Post-Soviet Era (PO)
Soviet Era (SO)
  

  • REST 121 - Elementary Russian I

    Combines an overview of Russian grammar with an intensive emphasis upon classroom communication and the development of oral skills. In addition to the textbook, students make use of an array of web-based materials ranging from interviews with contemporary Russians, to YouTube videos, to cartoons in order to provide students with a sense for life in Russia today, as well to facilitate rapid acquisition of the language. Students cover the fundamentals of Russian grammar, learn a great deal of vocabulary, and should be able to converse effectively in a variety of everyday situations in Russian.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 122 - Elementary Russian II

    Combines an overview of Russian grammar with an intensive emphasis upon classroom communication and the development of oral skills. In addition to the textbook, students make use of an array of web-based materials ranging from interviews with contemporary Russians, to YouTube videos, to cartoons in order to provide students with a sense for life in Russia today, as well to facilitate rapid acquisition of the language. Students cover the fundamentals of Russian grammar, learn a great deal of vocabulary, and should be able to converse effectively in a variety of everyday situations in Russian.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: REST 121  or RUSS 101
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 195 - Elementary-Level Russian Language Abroad

    Elementary-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.

    Credits: 1
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 201 - Intermediate Russian I

    Complete the presentation of the fundamentals of the language and focus upon further vocabulary acquisition and developing more advanced conversation and writing skills, as well as real-life Russian in context. Students work through digitized segments of a beloved romantic comedy, The Irony of Fate to greater understand cultural commentary and develop transcription skills.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 202 - Intermediate Russian II

    Students gain additional proficiency in the Russia language by developing more grammar skills and gaining increased proficiency in reading and writing. Oral communication is also emphasized.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: REST 201  or RUSS 201
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 205 - Yiddish Fiction in Translation

    As European Jews began to develop a modern culture in the middle of the 19th century, an important set of writers began using Yiddish for fiction and poetry. All these writers were at least trilingual: They chose Yiddish–always the lowest status of the languages they knew–because they loved it and because it was the language their audience could really read. This course looks at Yiddish fiction and poetry written in both Eastern Europe and the United States. Students study these texts both as singular works of art and as ways of mirroring the Jewish experience for Jewish readers. Students examine both texts and the multiple contexts (historical, cultural, religious, linguistic) that give them shape.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: JWST 205 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 250 - Cyborgs of the World, Unite! Science Fiction from Russia and Beyond (PO)

    Introduces students to a wide range of science fiction literature and film from the 20th century to the present day, with a strong emphasis on works from Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe. This region offers some of the most sophisticated works of science fiction, owing to the radical “otherness” of its philosophical and political traditions and the challenges it offers to dominant Western constructions of self, nature, and society. Focusing on philosophical, ethical, and environmental questions, students will discuss such topics as human-machine interfaces and ethics, life-extension and transhumanism, space travel and colonization, and the prospects and perils of the rationally-planned society. Course readings are in English. No prior experience in Russian studies required. (PO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 253 - Lust, Murder, Redemption (PR)

    Written by an educated elite, eerily self-conscious because of czarist censorship and political repression, 19th-century Russian literature nevertheless confronts many of the crucial concerns of human existence. It often focuses upon characters who are at an existential breaking point because of ideological, spiritual, sexual, or economic pressures. Students read a combination of short stories and novels, concentrating upon canonical “greats” (Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov) but also sampling lesser-known writers, including neglected female authors. By examining literary depictions of such social institutions as warfare, dueling and gambling, courtship and marriage, adultery and spousal abuse, work and leisure, the course emphasizes the relationship between literary text and cultural context. Particular attention is paid to the cultural construction of gender, as well as the relationship between humans and nature. A range of theoretical and critical texts informs discussions, as do film adaptations of certain works. All works are read in translation, but a FLAC section of the course may be offered for advanced Russian language students who are interested in trying to read selections in the original Russian. (PR)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 258 - Reading the Russian Revolution (SO)

    This interdisciplinary course examines and re-examines the Russian revolution(s) through a close study of histories, cultural products, historical roots, later interpretations, and re-imaginings. Beginning with the idealists, nihilists, and terrorists determined to bring the Russian monarchy to an end in the 19th century, the course explores history, politics, and culture through a range of genres and media–from the 19th-century Russian realist novel, the political manifesto, the avant-garde film, revolutionary poetry, to the works of seminal historians who have shaped how we “read” the Russian revolution today. Is the revolution over, so to speak? Are we ever finished with an historical event of such monumental consequence? Course requirements include readings, film screenings, local Colgate events, and an excursion to New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. (SO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 295 - Intermediate-Level Russian Language Abroad

    Intermediate-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.

    Credits: 1
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 303 - Russian in Context

    Focuses on developing strong reading and translating skills while also developing students’ command of written and spoken Russian. The course explores some aspects of Russian and Eurasian culture.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: REST 202  or RUSS 202
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 306 - Advanced Russian

    Reading, discussion, and writing in Russian. Texts will be from contemporary online sources. Focus is on improving spoken Russian skills. Grammar review will be included as needed for readings.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: REST 202  or RUSS 202
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 308 - Authoritarian Capital Cities of Eurasia (Extended Study) (PO)

    Certain spatial and temporal patterns of urban growth characterize post-socialist Eurasia, due to the distinct mark that authoritarianism has left on past and present capital cities throughout this region. This course focuses on understanding authoritarianism in the past and present capital cities of Russia (St. Petersburg and Moscow) and Kazakhstan (Almaty and Astana). While remnants of the Tsarist and Soviet built environments still strongly shape urban character, new urban development and demographic change, alongside other economic and geopolitical transformations, have transformed them since 1991. Rapid and changing patterns and styles of urbanization create a multitude of perspectives and experiences within post-socialist cities as our globalizing world blurs the boundaries between urban spaces, individual lives, and abstract conceptualizations of the East, West, or even “post-” socialist places. This course uses a phenomenological methodology to examine post-socialist cities as sites of socio-cultural and political-economic transformations. Using this framework, students analyze their experiences in photographs, videos, and journals/blogs related to the encounters with spaces and places in post-socialist cities.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 308 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 314 - Dostoevsky and His World (PR)

    Reading Dostoevsky’s novels is tiring, exhilarating, exasperating, and unsettling. One of the greatest writers of the 19th century, Dostoevsky was obsessed both with the social injustice he saw in czarist Russia and with humanity’s eternal struggle between good and evil, religious faith and atheism, rationality and irrationality, sexual lust and purity. One of the characters in The Brothers Karamazov exclaims, “God and Satan are at war and the battleground is the human soul,” and Dostoevsky seems to have shared this conviction. In this course students read a variety of Dostoevsky’s fictional works, as well as selections from his diaries and journalism in a shared quest to unravel his complexity as a man and as a writer. All works will be read in translation, but a FLAC section may be offered for advanced Russian language students with a primary emphasis on the development of advanced language skills. (PR)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 323 - Arctic Transformations (PO)

    The Arctic is one of the most rapidly changing regions of the world today, environmentally, culturally, and politically. Rapid biophysical change occurs here today due to climate change, but equally noteworthy are cultural, social, and political transformations experienced by people living and working in the Arctic. People are under increasing pressure to change along with transformation of their biophysical environments, particularly as new actors express interest in the Arctic as space opening up to global transportation, mineral exploration, and trade and ecotourism. Within geography, interest in Arctic phenomena includes grappling with complex issues related to social and biophysical changes in this region, which often originate beyond the region but have specific meaning for the regions. Students investigate three vibrant areas of Arctic transformation: cultural transformation occurring among indigenous and local peoples, biological and physical transformation of the environment, and political transformation within and related to the region. (PO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 323 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 343 - The Formation of the Russian Empire (PR)

    A study of politics and society in the Russian lands from Kiev to Alexander I. The course focuses especially on the rise of the Muscovite state, its cultural diversity, and its preoccupation with trade, treason, and winning wars; the Petrine reforms and Russia’s emergence as a European power; the palace coups; and Catherine II and the Enlightenment. (PR)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: HIST 343 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 344 - Imperial Russia and the Soviet Revolution (SO)

    Russian history from Napoleon’s defeat to the collapse of the Soviet Empire since 1989. Topics studied include the autocracy of Nicholas I, the Great Reforms, the emergence of revolutionary movements, industrialization and a changing society, the revolutions and the Bolshevik 1920s, the rise of Stalinism, and World War II and the Cold War. It concludes with the disintegration of the U.S.S.R. into its component parts. (SO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: HIST 344 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 354 - On Tyranny (SO)

    Examines life under tyranny – Soviet and Nazi – as distilled through the fiction of Russian/East European and Jewish writers who experienced it firsthand. An intertwining of political and private life from the inception of a new regime, with many people exuberantly hopeful, through the various stages of acquiescence, resistance, escape, and sometimes death. Readings include Timothy Snyder’s essay On Tyranny, stories, novels, and poems by Chekhov, Mayakovsky, Babel, Vasily Grossman, Kundera, and Nabokov. (SO)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: JWST 354  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 395 - Advanced-Level Russian Language Abroad

    Advanced-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.

    Credits: 1
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 412 - Senior Seminar

    In this seminar students explore the theoretical, methodological, and linguistic challenges that underlie serious research in Russian and Eurasian studies. In addition to common readings and assignments, each student pursues an individual research topic, updating other seminar participants periodically via presentations and selected readings. By semester’s end each student has produced a substantial research paper that utilizes Russian primary sources appropriately. Students who wish to pursue a thesis topic in the spring will be required to obtain permission from the faculty supervisor and the department to enroll in an independent study in the spring semester following the senior seminar. 

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Russian, Russian & Eurasian Studies Majors and Minors
    Class Restriction: Only Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 490 - Honors

    Students pursuing honors in Russian and Eurasian Studies enroll in this course.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • REST 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term

Social Sciences
  

  • SOSC 275 - Volunteer Income Tax Assist

    Centered on service learning, where students prepare tax returns for low-income households in Madison and Chenango counties. Includes approximately 10 hours of class meetings and 15-20 hours of community service in the two-county area during the semester. Students work directly with various non-profit organizations. After successful completion of this course, students may participate again but can only receive credit twice.

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOSC 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOSC 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOSC 405 - Upstate Law Project: Poverty, Law, and Public Policy

    Introduces students to the Social Security system, discusses the barriers that low-income and disabled families face in accessing social services and medical care, and introduces students to the following legal topics: legal analysis, legal ethics, Social Security disability law, and legal writing. Students engage in a practicum experience, which involves assisting the instructor, an attorney, with pro bono work helping low-income children (many of whom suffer from psychiatric illnesses) in securing benefits through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program of the US Social Security Administration. The course practicum takes place at the Utica office of The Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Only students who have completed their Social Relations, Institutions, and Agents area of inquiry requirement can apply.
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOSC 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term

Sociology
  

  • SOCI 101 - Introduction to Sociology

    An introduction to sociology, with special emphasis on American society, using a historical and comparative focus. Introduces students to some of the basic concepts and methods used by sociologists. Students consider a selection of topics: racial inequality, class reproduction, gender roles, work and society, social movements, bureaucracy, and crime and deviance.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 101


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 201 - Classical Social Theory

    Examines some of the chief methodological and theoretical approaches used in the social sciences, primarily focusing on Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. In addition to original texts, works of anthropology and sociology are used to integrate the classics with a contemporary focus.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: SOCI 101  or SOAN 101
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 204


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 212 - Power, Racism, and Privilege

    Familiarize students with theoretical and historical perspectives of racial inequality and other ethnic and minority group relationships. The course primarily examines the relationship between racism and the socio-economic and political development of the United States. Course readings, lectures, and discussions are intended to aid students in gaining a clear understanding of the role race and ethnicity have played in shaping contemporary US society as well as the larger social world we live in and to therefore contribute to each student’s self-understanding and to a better understanding of others whose racial-cultural backgrounds are different.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 212


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 213 - Coming of Age in Unequal World

    Critically investigates how power, privilege, and oppression influence the coming of age experiences of young people from diverse backgrounds. Using sociological theories and intergroup dialogue (IGD) techniques, students grapple with the causes and consequences of inequality in early life. IGD blends theory and experiential learning to promote understanding, communication, and alliance building across differences. Culminates with a portfolio assignment that asks students to develop and co-facilitate an IGD workshop with community members.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 216 - Sociology of War

    In the modern world, war has usually been thought of as a clash between rival states. But, especially since WWII, much armed conflict has taken place between states and other kinds of entities — national liberation movements, criminal syndicates, warlords, terrorist groups. In an extreme case such as Somalia, states have totally disintegrated. This course asks what the consequences of this change are for our sociological understanding of the nature of warfare. It examines case studies of armed conflict in the present and recent past — Afghanistan, Kashmir, warlordism in West Africa, Northern Ireland, armed leftist movements in Western Europe during the 1970s; and in late colonial period and its aftermath, the Mau-Mau Rebellion, the Algerian war of independence, the Rhodesian War. A particular focus is on treating war as a cultural phenomenon, and to ask questions about the self-understandings of formal and informal military organizations and their consequences.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 216


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 220 - Gender, Sexuality, and Society

    This interdisciplinary course explores gender and sexuality as primary markers of social inequality in our society and among the most salient organizing agents of our everyday lives. Course readings span several disciplines, including literature, history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. Students analyze gender and sexuality using comparative historical and sociological perspectives. Subthemes of the course include culture, socialization, body and performance, intersectionality, essentialism, privilege, resistance, and social change.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 220


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 222 - Media and Modern Society

    Introduction to concepts, theories, and issues related to mass media and society. Over the last 200 years tremendous changes have revolutionized the nature of mass communication in modern societies. Designed to provide a basic understanding of the nature of mass media and its social significance. It addresses the impact of different types of communication from information exchange, to news, to entertainment, to advertising. Students are introduced to a wide range of media including print, telegraphy, film, recorded sound, radio, television, and digital. This course is about analyzing how media texts are produced; why some messages enter mass media channels and others do not; how these messages affect audiences and how audiences receive them; and the general impact of mass media on contemporary society, culture, and politics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 222


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 228 - Immigration

    An introduction to international migration, with a focus on post-World War II migration. Geographically, students focus on immigration to the United States from Latin America, where the bulk of post-1965 immigrants come from. Begins by introducing students to basic concepts and approaches related to migration studies. Students further examine different stages in the migration process, including the processes of migration, the adaption/incorporation of immigrants in U.S. society, and the future “assimilation” of their children.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 228


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 245 - Nature, Culture, and Politics

    The words “nature” and “the environment” conjure up visions of wild animals and open landscapes, but are people part of nature, too? This course shows how nature and human culture are intertwined, both in terms of how we shape our environment as well as how it shapes us. Through a series of case studies, students explore this relationship, focusing especially on the way that nature and culture are “political”: inequalities, social problems and movements, and power relations all flow from the way that we interact with our environment. The course takes a global, comparative, and historical view of this process, and includes the following special topics: the rise of environmental awareness and environmental social movements; globalization and environmental values; consumption and the environment; environmental inequalities and justice; risk, technology, and environmental politics; and public policy and the environment.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ANTH 245 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 245


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 250 - Sociological Research Design and Methods

    Introduces students to both the dominant areas of inquiry in sociology and the methods that have been devised to investigate them. Emphasis in this course is on investigation. Familiarizes students with the methods, techniques, and language of social science research. Focusing on field and survey research, students examine the ways social scientists formulate questions, collect and analyze data, and present their findings. Also concerned with the epistemological underpinnings of “doing sociology.” How do sociologists define “fact” and “truth”? What are the historical and contemporary debates over these concepts? To provide students with a hands-on understanding of concepts and issues, students are expected to collect and analyze original data. Students also do computer statistical analysis of pre-existing data bases.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: SOCI 101  or SOAN 101
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 210


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 251 - Media Frame and Content Analysis

    Mass media is a key set of institutions in modernity that shape our perceptions of the world, with important impacts on what we take to be reality. The media “frames” that structure how media is produced, conveyed, and consumed form the discourses that we use to understand mass politics and culture in our daily lives. This course provides students with the methodological tools to empirically study media frames through content analysis. Content analysis takes the stuff of media, such as music lyrics, news stories, or advertisements, and systematically analyzes the content for the explicit and implicit frames that represent the issues and perspectives conveyed through media. The course provides students hands-on training in content analysis through a series of workshops on content sampling, collection, coding, and analysis that culminate in a final research project. This course meets for the first 7 weeks of the term and may be used to satisfy the 0.50-credit methods requirement for the sociology major.

    Credits: 0.50
    Crosslisted: GEOG 251  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Geography, Sociology, Environmental Geography Majors and Minors
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: SOCI 250  (formerly SOAN 210)
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 253 - Interviews

    Introduces students to the nature of qualitative social science research using interviews. Interviews are a flexible method of in-person data collection that include a range of structures (from structured surveys to open-ended questions), with varying group sizes (from one to a large focus group), and using multiple methods of eliciting responses (verbal questions, oral history, photo-elicitation, etc.). Students develop a critical perspective on different epistemological approaches to research and analysis within the contemporary social sciences, including issues of generalizability and the validity and reliability of qualitative methods. A series of hands-on original research projects provides students with the skills of interview protocol design, sampling for interview projects, interview facilitation, data management and analysis, and professional communication of research results.

    Credits: 0.50
    Crosslisted: GEOG 253 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Geography, Sociology, Environmental Geography Majors
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 254 - Community-Based Research

    Introduces students to the principles of community-based participatory research within the context of sociology to critically examine the role of power and positionality in the construction of knowledge and difference. Students learn a range of community-based participatory research approaches and reflect on how to form collaborative relationships that incorporate community perspectives and interests in the research process. Students devote time outside of class to work in partnership with local community organizations to carry out a high quality research project that meets a community need. Research projects are identified in collaboration with the Upstate Institute based on community needs and student capacity.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: SOCI 250  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 303 - Sociology of Education

    An introduction to current theory and research on the role of education in contemporary US society, focusing specifically on higher education. Students will learn how to use a sociological lens to critically examine education as a social institution. This is a research-intensive course that requires students to conduct original empirical research related to inequality in higher education. (RI)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: SOCI 250  or SOAN 210
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Recommended: Prior completion of at least one research methods course.
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 303


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 305 - Urban Sociology

    Urban structures and problems are examined with an emphasis on the ways in which cities are embedded in a broader social and cultural milieu. The traditional concern of the impact of urban development on behavior is juxtaposed to an analysis of current fiscal problems and the potential for cities to grow, stagnate, or collapse.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 306 - Sociology of the Family

    The family is a personal, social, and political institution. Students critically consider how a range of historical, cultural, economic, legal and social factors shape our notions of family. Students examine recent family demographic trends and changes in gender roles and ideologies, and in doing so, investigate how and why family forms and decisions are differentiated by social class, race-ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. In addition, students examine the implications of different family formation trends for individual and child-well-being. Finally, students draw on sociological research and perspectives to evaluate how social policies impact families, including same-sex families, poverty and welfare, work-family balance, marriage promotion and father involvement, and sex education and contraception.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 311 - Sociology of Identity

    Instead of viewing identities as natural, true or inherent in individuals, this course examines the ways that identities are socially produced. The course explores classical and contemporary sociological theorizing about the question of identity, power and privilege in relation to gender, race, class, and sexual identities, and the intersections between these identity categories. This course will also examine the role that social institutions (families, schools, religion, media, workplaces, etc.) play in shaping individual identities. The course concludes by looking at the negotiation of, challenges to, and organizing around identities that occurs in subcultures and social movements.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 312 - Social Inequality

    Analyzes social structure and social stratification, emphasizing economic class, life styles, differential prestige, and inequality. The theory of social class and its measurement is discussed, and the change and stability of social class is considered. Comparative examples of stratification are examined, although the emphasis is on the American class system.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 312


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 313 - Environmental Problems and Environmental Activism in the People’s Republic of China

    Explores China’s complex environmental issues, their historical roots, and social implications. It also examines the rise of environmental social activism in China. The course will utilize pedagogical methods from InterGroup Relations (IGR) to provide students with the intellectual tools to analyze issues of power, privilege, and identity and by extension, their own position in the world in relation to these environmental issues. This course is linked to an extended study to China. Students will travel to the People’s Republic of China, where they will examine sites of environmental problems, but also meet activists and see their work in progress. The trip will also bring to the forefront some of the issues of power, privilege, and race issues that were discussed in the course.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ASIA 313  & ENST 313 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 313E - Environmental Problems and Environmental Activism in the People’s Republic of China (Extended Study)

    This extended study is linked to the on-campus course SOCI 313 . Students will travel to the People’s Republic of China, where they will examine sites of environmental problems, but also meet activists and see their work in progress. The trip will also bring to the forefront some of the issues of power, privilege, and race issues that were discussed in the course.

    Credits: 0.50
    Crosslisted: ASIA 313E  & ENST 313E 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 313L - Environmental Problems and Environmental Activism in the People’s Republic of China Lab

    Examines the rise of environmental social activism in China; the historical, political, cultural, and economic roots of China’s current environmental problems, including deforestation, air pollution, water pollution, and species loss. Students learn theories of environmental justice and explore the rise of environmental activism in the PRC. The course will utilize pedagogical methods from InterGroup Dialogue (IGD) to provide students with the intellectual tools to analyze issues of power, privilege, and identity and by extension, their own position in the world in relation to these environmental issues.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ASIA 313L  & ENST 313L  
    Corequisite: SOCI 313  
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 314 - Population Issues and Analysis

    Analyzes the role of population dynamics in ecological, social, and economic organization and change. Methods of incorporating demographic analysis into scientific and policy research are introduced. Approaches to assessing the implications of population growth are studied. The course considers the relationship of population to a range of policy concerns including environmental change, social welfare, and security; the status of women; poverty and economic development; and race and ethnic relations.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 314 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 314


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 318 - International Migration, U.S. Immigration, and Immigrants

    Introduces students to approaches to the study of international migration, immigrant assimilation and adjustment, ethnic social and economic stratification, and immigration policy formation and analysis. These topics are explored within the historical and contemporary context of the United States and New York. The class considers theoretical perspectives that have been applied to the study of migration as well as approaches used by sociologists and geographers in empirical analyses of US immigration, immigrant populations, and ethnic relations. These analytical issues are considered in detail for immigrant and ethnic groups within New York State and the New York metropolitan community. Finally, students consider the relationships among patterns of immigration and ethnic relations, cultural change, international relations and transnational linkages, and US immigration policy reform.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 318  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites:   or (SOCI 101  or SOAN 101) or (ANTH 102  or SOAN 102)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 319 - Food (CB)

    Food is fundamental — it sustains us and is essential for our survival — but food is more than just what we eat. Food is also a commodity with complex global markets and ecological impacts; it is highly regulated through our political processes and institutions; and it forms a key part of our culture and the social rhythms of everyday life. This course explores these many dimensions of food, focusing especially on key questions about where it comes from, how it is produced, and how it is embedded in our economic, political, and cultural institutions. Students participate in a service learning internship at Common Thread Community Farm in Madison, NY. The course also involves field trips to and guest speakers from local food and farming communities. (CB)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ENST 319 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210) or ENST 232   and students must have an open morning (no other enrolled courses) on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m., in order to accommodate the farm internship component of the course.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 319


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 320 - Social Deviance

    Examines the nature and consequences of deviant behavior in modern society. Students develop an understanding of the historical development of the study of deviance, the main theoretical perspectives on deviance, and some of the substantive concerns in the study of deviant behavior. This includes conceptualizations and definitions of deviance, the emergence and management of deviant identities, deviant careers, deviant subcultures, accounts of deviant behavior, and the social control of deviance. Specific types of deviance studied include substance use, sexual practices, non-violent crime, violent crime, mental illness, and youth subcultures.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 320


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 321 - Black Communities

    Uses a social scientific approach to examine the circumstances and dynamics characterizing black communities in the contemporary United States. Key areas of inquiry include the operation of major social institutions shaping community life, social class divisions, health and housing prospects, and the ways that the intersections of racial/ethnic identity, class, and gender shape the experiences of community members.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ALST 321  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210) or ALST 202  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 321


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 324 - Medical Sociology

    Introduces students to the uniqueness of sociological perspectives in understanding health care, and the social factors that influence health care. Students employ several levels of analysis: social history, social interaction, work roles, organizations, organizational relationships, and social policy. The framework for this course is that of social organization to show that the social organization of a society influences, to some degree, the type and distribution of disease, illness, and death found in that society. The social organization of a society also influences, to a significant degree, how the system of medical care responds. The values and assumptions underlying the medical definition of health are not necessarily the same as those underlying the sociological definition of health. A focus of the course is to examine race, class, and gender issues that influence the delivery of healthcare in this country. Attention is given to such topics as social epidemiology, the social demography of health, social stress, and illness behavior. Students also review the sick role, doctor-patient interaction, medical health professionals, hospitals and other health care agencies, and the healthcare delivery system in the United States and other countries.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 326 - Nations and Nationalism

    Nationalism is on the rise in the United Kingdom and the United States again, as well as in China, Russia, and elsewhere. But what exactly is nationalism? Why does it arise? And what are its effects on society? Students explore nationalism through case studies, both from history and in today’s news. Students investigate the relationship between nationalism and other social constructions of identity, such as language, religion, ethnicity, and gender. The course also examines contemporary phenomenon undermining nationalism: transnationalism, multinationalism, and globalization.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 326


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 327 - Sociology of Sports

    Draws on a wide range of theoretical perspectives to understand the enduring appeal of sporting practices, as well as the various processes of conflict, control, and power in and around sport institutions. Students examine major theoretical and empirical work in the sociology of sports in order to better understand the complex relationship between sport and society. Guiding questions include the following: Why do people play sports? Do all people play the same sports in the same ways? Is sport a microcosm of society? To what extent do sports matter in our daily lives? Are sports and politics separate or interrelated? Students examine various topics and issues such as gender and representation, violence and deviancy, sexuality and homophobia, commercialization and college sport, race and inequality, and sport and the media.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 328 - Criminology

    Designed to introduce students to the field of criminology, the concept(s) of crime, the dilemmas modern criminologists encounter in conducting research, and the major theoretical perspectives on crime and criminal behavior. Emphasis is placed on sociological determinants of criminal behavior, as well as the functioning of the US criminal justice system.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: SOAN 328


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 330 - Race and Crime

    Uses a social scientific approach to examine the relationship between race and crime in the contemporary United States, with a particular emphasis on the African American experience. Key areas of inquiry include the nature of mass incarceration, urban crime, the politics of the new law and order regime, the relationship between punitiveness and prejudice, racial profiling, the community-level impacts of mass incarceration, the legitimacy crisis facing the criminal justice system, media depictions of race and crime, and racial stereotyping.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ALST 330  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210) or ANTH 202  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Sociology & Anthropology, Sociology, Africana & Latin Amer Studies Majors and Minors
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 332 - Business and Society

    Analyzes the impact of corporations on US society in the context of changing technologies, the growing importance of service industries, and the need to remain competitive in the international economy. Students explore the effects of corporate strategies and decisions on industrial structure, employment, and social welfare.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 333 - Sociology of the Life Course

    Takes the human life span as the primary unit of analysis. Individuals live their lives within contexts supplied by an existing social framework. It is this framework that orders transitions between the various stages of life, constructs the various roles that individuals occupy over the course of their lives, and provides the set of historical conditions, ideas, and institutions by which individuals give meaning to their existence. Human lives are characterized by both continuity and change, and each human must negotiate the path of his or her life through a web of institutional networks. These pre-existing frameworks through which individuals travel are subject to the constraints of the past but are also open to possibilities created by each new generation. Understanding this complex relationship can not only broaden our notion of what it means to be human, but take our humanity to new heights as well.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 333L - Sociology of the Life Course Field Component/Lab

    This community-based learning “field” component, offered on an irregular basis, is an add-on to SOCI 333 . It entails a minimum of 20 hours in the “field,” conducting interviews, attending workshops, fulfilling assignments, and constructing a final project in the form of a podcast in partnership with a community-dwelling elder.

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: SOCI 333 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 337 - Globalization and Culture

    What does “globalization” mean, and what does it mean for societies and people facing the onslaught of global corporations? This course examines the phenomenon of globalization from a variety of theoretical perspectives, ranging from neo-liberal economics to cultural anthropology. It analyzes how each of these works defines the causes of globalization and its effects on traditional cultures, community relationships, economic wealth and justice, and political institutions. To put these theoretical works in perspective, interspersed with them will be actual case studies of real people and real communities, ranging from Costa Rican farmers to Thai factory workers, interacting with the forces of globalization. These case studies will allow students to test the abstract analyses and see which theories fit reality.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ANTH 337  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • SOCI 340 - Work and Society

    This study of the organization of work in industrialized societies includes the following topics: technology and work; hierarchy and control in the workplace; women, minorities, and work; worker discontent; and the professionalization of work. Special attention is given to the topics of skill and technology, especially with regard to workplace democratization.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (SOCI 201  or SOAN 204) or (SOCI 250  or SOAN 210)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
 

Page: 1 <- Back 10 … 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19

Catalog Navigation
  Catalog Home
  Majors and Minors
  Departments and Programs
  Liberal Arts Common Core
  Division of Arts and Humanities
  Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Division of Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics
  Division of Social Sciences
  Division of University Studies
  Course Information
  Course Descriptions
  Undergraduate Program
  Academic Regulations
  About the University
  Academic Calendar
  Admission
  Expenses
  Financial Aid
  Student Life
  Graduate Program
  Other Information
  Faculty, Staff, and Office Directory
  Faculty Awards and Endowed Professorships
  Organization of the University
  Colgate Bookstore
  PDF of the 2018-2019 Colgate University Catalogue