Courses

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

• CAS RN 770: Topics in Medieval Religious Culture
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar ( e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). - Topic for Spring 2025: Early and Medieval Christian Pilgrimage. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS RN 771: Topics in Ancient Christianity
  Topic for Spring 2021: The Book of Revelation: Contexts and Meanings. Close study of the Apocalypse, its historical context, imagery, and influence through modernity. Attention given to constructions of Judaism, depictions of gender, and visionary performance, while emphasizing an historical-critical approach to this ancient text. Prior coursework in New Testament preferred.
• CAS RN 790: Topics in the Materiality of Ancient Mediterranean Religions
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: prior coursework in archaeology or ancient religions, or consent of i nstructor. - Investigates material traces and contexts of religion in the Greco-Roman world, including iconic, architectural, votive, magical, and other archaeological remains; and draws on theories of space, image, and ritual performance. Topics vary. Also offered as GRS AR 735.
• CAS RN 791: Approaches to Religion I: Classical Approaches
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Admission to the GDRS PhD program, or permission of the instructor. - Surveys in roughly chronological order classic theoretical and methodological works in religious studies. Covers the history of the field, and critically analyzes the ways religion is studied and taught in modern universities.
• CAS RN 792: Approaches to Religion II: Religion and Contemporary Theory
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Admission to the GDRS PhD program, or permission of the instructor. - Surveys contemporary theoretical and methodological works in religious studies. Topics might include the category of experience; ritual; modernism and postmodernism; sexual, racial, and cultural difference; postcolonial theory; historicism; narrative theory; gender and sexuality studies; secularism; and the politics of interpretation.
• CAS RN 793: Professional Development Seminar for Doctoral Students in Religion
  Graduate Prerequisites: Required course for all first and second year students in the GPR - Prepares Religion doctoral students for advanced research, writing, and teaching in the field. Topics include: comprehensive exams, conference presentations, syllabus design, fellowship applications, and job markets.
• CAS RN 794: Magical Texts: Literature & Practice
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: prior coursework in theory of religion (e.g., RN 200 or 242), ancient religions, or anthropology of religion recommended. - An advanced course in the interpretation of ancient magical texts that emphasizes the use of theoretical models (Malinowski, Levi-Strauss, Tambiah, J.Z. Smith, et al.) for understanding the complementary uses of sound and symbol, myth and nonsense, and forms of verbal/scribal efficacy in magic, all with attention to social context. Texts include a selection of ritual manuals, amulets, binding tablets, and mystical ascent texts from Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian antiquity. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry I.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry I
• 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry I
• CAS SO 201: Sociological Methods
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one introductory course or consent of instructor. - Required of sociology majors and minors. Scientific method, conceptualization, measurement, experimentation, survey research, observational methods, and content analysis. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Social Inquiry I
• CAS SO 203: Introduction to Sociological Theories
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one introductory course or consent of instructor. - Required of sociology majors and minors. The works of major theorists of the discipline are the focus: W.E.B. Du Bois, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Social Inquiry I
• 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
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  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Social Inquiry I
• CAS SO 207: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
  Examines the fundamental theoretical and empirical approaches regarding race/ethnicity and the current state of race relations in the U.S. that explore both contemporary social problems. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • The Individual in Community
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS SO 208: Sociological Approaches to Current Issues
  Topic for Fall 2024: Gender and Health. Gender power relations and inequalities in health, healthcare institutions, medical research, public health policy, and global health politics. Examines the intersection of gender with other systems of power in medical practice, research, and the experience of health and illness.
• 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Social Inquiry I
• CAS SO 225: Law and Society
  The development and impact of law as an institution. Analysis of the social and political foundations of law, the legal profession and the legal system in the U.S. context. Examination of law in everyday life and in social change. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry I
• CAS SO 230: Crime and Justice
  Examines sociological research on the social context of crime and justice in the US. Considers how research can inform policy reform. Introduces students to data science and real-world datasets on criminal justice. Key topics: policing, racial disparities, incarceration, and abolition. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS SO 238: Sociology of Aging and the Life Course
  Examines the social, psychological, and biological factors that shape aging and human development. Considers how childhood conditions affect later-life experiences. Reviews life course theories and research methods. Explores the importance of race, gender, and social class in shaping human experiences. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • Social Inquiry I
• 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • Social Inquiry I
• 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. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Teamwork/Collaboration