Courses

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  • CAS RN 561: Religion and International Relations
    (Meets with CAS IR 561 and CAS PO 589.) Explores the role of religion in contemporary international relations in the context of questions about the common core of modernity. Reviews scholarly and policy literature, and case studies, in order to elucidate religion's intellectual and operational diversity in international relations.
  • CAS RN 563: Muslim Societies: An Interdisciplinary History
    Examines the states, empires, faiths, and ideologies of the Muslim world over a 1500-year period, including states from North and West Africa, through the Middle East, to Turkey, Iran, and then to Central and Southeast Asia. Also offered as CAS AH 539, AN 548, HI 596, and IR 515.
  • CAS SO 100: Principles in Sociology
    An introduction to the major theories and basic principles of sociological analysis. Explores culture, media, socialization, race and ethnicity, globalization, capitalism, gender and sexuality, inequality and poverty, power in American society, and health and medicine from a sociological perspective. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS SO 201: Sociological Methods
    Required of concentrators and minor concentrators. Scientific method, measurement, experimentation, survey research, observational methods, projective techniques, and content analysis. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS SO 203: Introduction to Sociological Theories
    Required of sociology majors and minors. Theoretical problems in sociology. The works of the three major founders of the discipline are the focus: Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. In-depth comparisons and contrasts in respect to themes and approaches are offered.
  • CAS SO 205: American Families
    Examines the family as a historically and geographically contingent social construction. How families in the U.S. are organized. Considers diverse family formations and intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the operation of family dynamics and politics. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS SO 206: Introduction to the Sociology of Globalization
    A sociological introduction to globalization. Explores the roles of technology, transnational corporations, and the state. Considers globalization's impacts on the workplace, the environment, and other institutions as well as the emergence of global social movements. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS SO 207: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
    Social definition of race and ethnicity. The adjustment of different ethnic groups and their impact upon U.S. social life. How prejudice and discrimination create class identities and how caste relations have affected patterns of integration during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS AA 207.
  • CAS SO 208: Sociological Approaches to Current Issues
    Topic for Spring 2018: Crime and Justice. Examines sociological research on crime, the social context of violence, and criminal justice policy in the United States.
  • CAS SO 210: Confronting Persistent Social Inequalities in American Schools: Educational and Sociological Perspectives
    Examines issues of race, culture, gender, and identity in urban elementary classrooms. Course taught at the Trotter School; transportation provided. Includes a field placement.
  • CAS SO 211: Confronting Racial, Cultural, Gender, and Social Identities in Urban Classrooms: Educational and Sociological Perspectives
    Examines the sociological, cultural, and educational factors that contribute to the achievement gap and what it will take to close this gap. Course is taught at the Trotter School; transportation provided. Includes a field placement.
  • CAS SO 215: Sociology of Health Care
    Social, cultural, and intercultural factors in health and illness. Training and socialization of medical professionals, roots of medical power and authority, organization and operation of health care facilities. U.S. health care system and its main problems. Comparison of health care systems in the U.S. and in other countries. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS SO 220: The Nonprofit Sector in Society
    Examines the empirical composition and dynamics of the nonprofit sector. Introduces the sociological perspective on this societal space, including debates over its origins, behavior, and purpose in the US and abroad. Provides overview of market-based providers of social benefits.
  • CAS SO 225: Law and Society
    The development of law as an institution of social regulation. Analysis of law and order as pursued in enforcement agencies and courts. The education of lawyers and the ethics of legal practice. Student observations in local criminal courts. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to CAS SO 115. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
  • CAS SO 230: Crime and Justice
    This course examines sociological research on crime, the social context of violence, and criminal justice policy in the United States. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS SO 240: Sexuality and Social Life
    Introduction to sociological perspectives on sexuality. Historical and comparative analysis of sexuality, with a focus on the social and cultural institutions that shape sexuality in the contemporary U.S. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS SO 241: Sociology of Gender
    An introduction to the social construction of sex and gender with a focus on the economic, political, social, and cultural forces that shape gender relations. Examines gender as a social structure that patterns institutional inequalities and everyday interactions on society. Carries social sciences divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS WS 241.
  • CAS SO 242: Globalization and World Poverty
    (Meets with CAS IR 242.) Globalization and world poverty; how and why over 80% of the world remains poor and inequality increases despite economic modernization and democratization. Addresses urbanization, immigration, religion, politics, development politics, foreign aid, women, drugs, environment, food security. Special attention to Latin American, African, and Asian experiences. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS SO 244: Urban Sociology
    An analysis of cities and urban phenomena in preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial societies with an emphasis on European and U.S. urbanization. A comparison of social scientific theories used to explain urban dynamics, processes, and policies. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Individual in Community, Critical Thinking, Social Inquiry I.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • The Individual in Community
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS SO 253: Sociology of Popular Culture
    Sociological perspectives on popular culture and mass media, with a focus on the consumption and production of cultural goods; the effects of popular culture on politics and inequalities; and the mutual interdependence of consumer identities and cultural fields. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Individual in Community, Social Inquiry I.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • The Individual in Community

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