Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry I.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS SO 302: Social Networks
    Examines social networks in the economy, family and community, technology, politics and crime, religious and social movement organizations, and popular culture. Introduces the social network perspective, and its tools of analysis.
  • CAS SO 303: Substantive Themes in Sociological Theory
    Critique and application of major sociological theories to key themes and topics. Connections between classical and modern arguments, syntheses of alternative perspectives, and gaps between various perspectives. Themes include the maintenance of social order, power and authority, conflict and change, and sources of alienation. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS SO 306: Boston's People and Neighborhoods
    A comparison between nineteenth- and twentieth-century neighborhoods, connecting changes in everyday life to larger demographic, economic, physical, and political changes affecting the whole city and immediate suburbs. Includes tours of several Boston neighborhoods and archival research using neighborhood newspapers. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS SO 313: Economic Sociology
    Presents the sociological approach to the study of production, distribution, consumption and markets, emphasizing the impact of norms, power, social structure, and institutions on the economy. Compares classic and contemporary approaches to the economy by the social science disciplines. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS SO 314: Social Problems and Social Change
    Focuses on social problems such as ethnic and sexual discrimination, deviance and crime, and mental disorders. A theoretical approach is taken to identify and interpret changes generated by the contradictions of industrialization and modernization.
  • CAS SO 315: The Social Nature of Technology
    Theoretical foundations of sociology of technology from antiquity through the modern age. Explores the paradox of technology as being socially constructed, but treated as similar to nature.
  • CAS SO 317: Gender and Crime
    Examines social forces shaping gender discrepancies in crime. Using a feminist lens, students explore how cultural ideologies about masculinity and femininity shape criminalization, victimization, and offending. Topics include the gendered contexts of crime and punishment, gender-based violence, and intimate labor.
  • CAS SO 318: Sociology of Childhood and Youth
    Uses in-depth studies centered on children and youth to examine the socially stratified and fragmented experiences of young people historically and contemporarily. This course focuses on the social construction of youth and the cultural and institutional forces that shape the social experiences of youth and our knowledge of them. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS SO 320: Political Sociology
    This course traces the sociology of politics from ancient times to modern era. Analyzes U.S. & global political shifts. Topics include: political cultures, constitutions and laws; political authority; political parties; revolutions and war; mass media, and politics of violence. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS SO 323: Markets in Biomedicine and Healthcare
    Complex ways in which market exchange impacts the practice of medicine, the delivery of patient care, and the medical profession; commodification of bodies and emotions; theoretical discussion of the market and overview of US health care system Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS SO 334: 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. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS SO 335: Sociology of Race, Class & Gender
    No one of us is one thing, one identity, nor motivated by one singular interest, nor privileged or subjugated by one singular form of power, but how do those multiple forms of ourselves affect how we are advantaged, disadvantaged, viewed, and understood by the social world? Our social world, is, by default, a vast web of social intersections between and across groups with shared, overlapping, and conflicting identities. Race, class and gender affect nearly all of our lived experiences and greatly complicate and nuance concepts of diversity and difference. Also offered as CAS AA 335 and CAS WS 335. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS SO 352: American Masculinities
    This course will explore masculinity: as a historical, social construct and site of power and violence; as a facet of identity and system of oppression; as style, myth, and representation; as something perpetually in "crisis" and in need of recuperation; as a process that helps and harms; as a set of ideals, practices, and traditions; and as system that cuts across race, ethnicity, sexuality, social class, nation, geography and place, age, and other lines of difference. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS SO 400: Advanced Research Practicum
    Prepares students planning to conduct honors research project in their senior year. Students interested in developing a research project for alternate purposes will be admitted with permission of the instructor. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS SO 401: Senior Independent Work
  • CAS SO 402: Senior Independent Work
  • CAS SO 403: Seminar: Gender Stratification
    Considers how the social production of gender contributes to various forms of gendered inequalities in employment, the family, dating markets, media representation, etc., with a special emphasis on how race, class, sexuality, and disability mediate the process. Also offered as CAS WS 403.
  • CAS SO 404: Seminar: The Family
    Explores the rise of "modern" families and the plurality of contemporary family forms and processes including gay and lesbian families and new reproductive technologies. Particular attention to social and economic inequalities and their implications for family life. Also offered as CAS AA 404.
  • CAS SO 408: Seminar: Ethnic, Race, and Minority Relations
    Formation and position of ethnic minorities in the United States, including cross-group comparisons from England, Africa, and other parts of the world. Readings and field experience. Also offered as CAS AA 408.

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