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Undergraduate Courses:
- Environmental Sociology
- This course examines the relationships between environment and
society. In the past few decades sociologists have been increasingly
recognizing both the role of humans in shaping the biophysical
environment, as well as the role of the biophysical world in shaping
society. This course is intended to help us develop a deeper
understanding of the dynamics of environment/society interactions.
The first section of the course considers environmental problems we
currently face and the driving forces behind them. The second
section examines the relationship between ideology and the
environment. Finally, we ask what we might do to move towards
ecological reorganization, that is, towards social relationships
with the environment that are more stable and sustainable.
- Rural Sociology
- Rural societies are currently undergoing profound transition.
While changes in the economic base, population dynamics, and
cultural/ethnic diversity are all a major part of this transition,
they are by no means manifested uniformly in rural places around the
world. In other words, rural places are changing, but they are not
all changing in the same ways. This course is intended to help us
develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics of these transitions.
We want to be able to understand and explain this change. To do so,
we will apply some of the conceptual tools developed in the course
to case studies, both in our readings and in your own research
project.
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Graduate Courses:
- Contemporary Social Theory
- This course is intended to provide a graduate level survey of
contemporary sociological theory. We will review the major schools of
structural functionalism and neo-Marxism, as well as some of the major
perspectives, including symbolic interactionism, post structuralism, and
post modernity (among others). Our goal is to gain a critical
understanding of these perspectives that have shaped sociology, which
includes understanding their emergence, strengths and weaknesses, the
critiques of them, and their evolution.
- Sociology of Agriculture
- In this course we will survey the subfield of sociology of
agriculture, including an examination of its intellectual roots, growth
and current theoretical and substantive directions. The framework of the
course is built around exploring the linkages between agriculture, food,
environment and social justice. Among the substantive topics to be
examined are: the globalization of agrifood systems, agricultural
policy, labor issues, the role of science and technology in transforming
agrifood systems, and the environmental and social consequences of
current agrifood systems.
- Technology and Social Development
- This course provides a survey of theoretical perspectives and
current research on the role of technology in social development. Among
the topics to be examined are: the conceptualization of technology in
national development, the relationships between ideologies/values and
technological choices, the role of technology in developing countries,
the role of technologies in producing and maintaining social
inequalities, notions of technological progress , technology and risk,
and the role of the public in shaping technological choices. Generally,
we will be drawing on the broad literature in development studies and
science/technology studies to examine the ways in which these two bodies
of literature interact , and consider how they might better inform each
other.
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