Courses

• CAS SO 420: Seminar: Women and Social Change in the Developing World
  Studies women in nonindustrial countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, stressing empirical research, theory, and methodology. Comparisons between regions and with industrial countries. Focus on sex segregation, female labor force participation, migration, fertility, family roles, and women and political power. Also offered as CAS IR 425.
• CAS SO 434: Seminar: Sociology of Mental Illness
  An evaluation of current theories and research on the social sources and consequences of mental illness. Featured topics for discussion include social-psychological perspectives on the definition, diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of mental disorders.
• CAS SO 437: Seminar: Sociology of Culture
  The sociology of culture in the twenty-first century. Focuses on the connection between the mind and culture. Examines the interdependence between culture, society, and individuals, and how belief, faith, knowledge, symbol, ritual, and the like both produce and are products of social organization.
• CAS SO 438: Seminar on International Migration
  Explores the social dynamics of contemporary international migration, ranging from the development of transnational migrant communities to the impact of state policies that strive to regulate migrant labor flows.
• CAS SO 447: Seminar: Global Sociology
  (Meets with CAS IR 447.) Examines different sociological perspectives on global social dynamics and processes.
• CAS SO 452: Contemporary Debates in Sexualities Research
  Engages debates about sexual identities, practices, and communities, conceptualizing sexuality as both a social construct and an institution. Students consider how sexualities operate across social contexts, their effects on systems of inequalities, and their intersections with race, class, and gender.
• CAS SO 455: Topics in Social Issues
  Topics seminar that takes in-depth look at a social issue. May be repeated for credit as topics change.
• CAS SO 459: Deviance and Social Control
  Sociological explanations of types of deviancy and methods of controlling it. Students select research topics ranging from behaviors and conditions perceived as deviant (e.g., crime, terrorism, sexual deviance, addictions) to methods of control (e.g., law, medical treatment, social exclusion, war).
• CAS SO 460: Seminar in Economic Sociology
  Introduction to core theoretical perspectives and debates in contemporary economic sociology (structural/network, cultural, institutional/political, and performativity) with a special attention paid to morality of markets, commensuration and construction of value, money, credit and finance and inequality.
• CAS SO 490: Seminar: Global Health: Politics, Institutions, and Ideology
  What is global health? Who are the main actors in global health debates? This seminar explores the politics of global health, providing students with sociological tools, concepts, and knowledge to help make sense of conflict in contemporary global health debates.
• CAS SO 491: Directed Study
  Individual instruction and supervised study project in sociology for concentrators and nonconcentrators.
• CAS SO 492: Directed Study
  Individual instruction and supervised study project in sociology for concentrators and nonconcentrators.
• CAS SY 101: Senior Year Topics
  SY101 is an activity and discussion based class focused on a specific topic area to help students prepare for life after college. Topics vary by section number.
• CAS WR 097: Academic Writing for ESL Students 1
  Study of academic conventions and effective strategies of academic reading and writing, along with needs-based review of grammar and mechanics. Emphasis on comprehension, summary, and critical analysis of a wide range of texts. Focus on improving both fluency and accuracy in writing and speaking. Frequent papers and in-class writing.
• CAS WR 098: Academic Writing for ESL Students 2
  Emphasis on critical reading and analytical writing in response to various theme-based texts. Review of grammar and mechanics in context. Intensive practice in the patterns of academic argumentation through multiple writing assignments of increasing complexity. Refinement of speaking skills through discussions and oral presentations.
• CAS WR 100: Writing Seminar
  Topic-based seminar in academic reading and writing. Attention to reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources, argumentation, prose style, revision, and citation. Significant writing and individual conferences.
• CAS WR 150: Writing and Research Seminar
  Topic-based seminar in academic reading, writing, and research. Continuing attention to argumentation, prose style, revision, and citation, with additional emphasis on college-level research. Significant writing and individual conferences.
• CAS WR 202: Children's Literature in the Elementary School
  An introduction to the world of children's literature. Classics and exemplary modern works are studied, with a particular focus on literary techniques, nonfiction text structures, cultural diversity, and gender. Covers children's literature recommended by Massachusetts English Language Arts Framework (2001).
• CAS WR 415: Public Writing
  Students will learn about the growing call for scholars to communicate their research to the public, study and practice several public genres, and rewrite a research project from a previous course to "translate" it for a public audience.
• CAS WR 598: Tutoring in ESL
  Prepares Writing Center tutors to work effectively with ESL and multilingual students. Modules balance theory and practice. Tutors gain knowledge about ESL writing and pedagogical ability to help students become independent writers. No familiarity with linguistics or language teaching required.

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