Race, Ethnicity and the American Dream Do Americans talk about race all the time or not enough? How is the idea of race woven into the fabric of our nation? How does it shape our daily life and our sense of self? How does it structure inequality in our society? This class explores race and ethnicity in the U.S. today. Approved as: General Education Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity, or Non-Western Area Studies.

The Structure of Mind and Behavior Only for students who have not taken PSYC 101 (Introduction to Psychology). An introduction to mind and behavior. Broad coverage of wide-ranging issues including how minds reflect social influence and how neural systems underlie thoughts and conscious awareness.

Philosophical Perspectives on the Individual Philosophical perspectives on the Individual addresses the individual person construed as a cognitive agent.

Language Survey of linguistic concepts and methods: communication among animals, physiology of human speech, elementary phonetics, syntax, language and thought, language change, language and the brain.

The Politics of Difference This course examines the politics (understood broadly as differential access to material and symbolic resources) of difference (understood as institutionalized social hierarchies that oppress individuals.) We will focus on the hierarchies of ethnicity/race, class, gender and sexualities and how these interact to shape individual and collective experience.

Interpersonal Relationships in a Changing World Develop an understanding of how we relate to and communicate with others, verbally and non-verbally, individually and in groups, and how communication affects how we develop our own concept of who we are. Examination of the communication process, general concepts of stigma and prejudice and relate them to topics of racial bias, gender differences, sexual orientation, different abilities, and cultural differences.

Money, Consumers and the Family This course describes the prominent characteristics of consumption behavior, societal change that has influenced consumer-driven societies and pressures for change in the future. The course will examine the important economic variables that, on the one hand, have led to a rapidly growing worldwide consumer demand for goods and services and, on the other hand, have resulted in increased debt, overspending and an inability to achieve long term personal financial goals. An objective analysis of both personal and global consumption habits will provide the transition into sustainable strategies to increase personal financial solvency. The course will not provide you with the answers to achieving your personal financial goals, but rather will examine our consumer society and expose you to the major reasons why people spend and save. The aim of the course is to provide you with sufficient information to make judgments for yourself about your consumption patterns and long-term financial health.

Eastern European Cinema in Social Context Introduction to cinema for Eastern Europe and Russia from the end of the 19th century to the present with a focus on how film presents social problems and historical events.

Black and White: The Causes and Consequences Race remains, as Thomas Jefferson feared and Alexis de Tocqueville predicted, the most incendiary and intractable issue in American politics. It was a divisive issue when the Constitution was drafted in 1787; it was the central issue in a series of compromises that ultimately failed to hold the nation together in 1860; it was the most visible issue in both the Civil War and the worst riots in the nation's history that followed in the present century. In his Second Inaugural speech on January 20, 1997, President Bill Clinton correctly described racism as America's "constant curse." The purpose of this course is to identify and explain why this is so.

Business in Modern Society This course examines the place of business in the larger context of a society's multiple endeavors with an emphasis on three major roles: the creation of society's wealth, the creation of goods and services society needs to support an acceptable standard of living, and the creation of jobs that permit the society's members to claim a share of its wealth in order to partake of that standard of living. We will evaluate the extent to which business has achieved each of these goals throughout history, with special emphasis on present day America.

Gender and Contemporary Society This course will encourage students to consider the ways in which gender influences issues of self-identity, social differences, and social status. It will provide students with an understanding of the connections between the individual and institutions such as mass media, the disciplines of science, and political and economic systems.

Human Geography and Global Systems This course introduces students to fundamental issues and concepts pertinent to the study of individuals and societies. In focusing on models and explanations of how things are interrelated in earth space. Students are given a clearer understanding of the economic, social, and political systems with which individuals live and operate.

American Design on the Land This course is broad exploration of individuals from diverse backgrounds who have helped shape the American landscape. Examination of original writings, and built environments including cities, parks, gardens, vernacular expressions, and preserves of wild, scenic, and cultural landscapes will provide the framework for discussion about landscape design as a comprehensive art form and dialog between man and nature.

Modern Latin America: A Social Science Perspective An interdisciplinary introduction to the people, place and cultures of Latin America and to the political, economic and social institutions and conditions of the region. The course examines how and why environmental quality, economic development, living conditions, democracy, migration, trade, religion and US policy vary across different countries and social sectors.

Personal Morality This course studies modern ethics with attention to contemporary moral problems.

Current Issues in the Psychology of Gender An in depth exploration of societal and familial influences on gender development along with considerable self-exploration of individual conceptions of gender.

Social Issues in America The primary objective of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to become conversant with and think critically about various contemporary social problems that bear directly on aspects of their lives and futures and that are relevant to their communities and the nation more broadly.

Sex, Health and AIDS Recognizing that HIV/AIDS, has irretrievably changed the lives of individuals and societies across the globe, this course sets out to explore this social and disease phenomenon from a number of perspectives. Most importantly, the course approaches the topic with the recognition that most areas of concern surrounding HIV and AIDS are controversial and under debate, including the origins of the virus, ways to change behavior and conditions of sexual exchange, the social and economic causes of HIV transmission, funding allocations for research, and foreign policy concerning AIDS testing and aid.

Many Ways of Being Human: Anthropological Perspective This course introduces the student to anthropological perspectives on cultural diversity. The course focuses on gender, race, ethnicity and class through readings by and about peoples of the non-western world.

www.gender.com: Individuals and Information from Manuscript to Modem This course will encourage students to think about how information technologies shape self-identity, social difference, and social status; to theorize about how information technologies function politically to affect social systems, governments, and economies; and to form substantive opinions about the relationship between information and social identity based on a familiarity with a range of scholarly theories on the history and significance of such technological revolutions.

Lesbian and Gay Studies A study of issues related to sexual identity of individuals, communities, and whole societies. Special attention to norms and categories and to conceptual binaries such as Natural/Unnatural, Health/Illness, Knowledge/Ignorance, Public/Private, Same/Different, Hetero/Homo. The course is interdisciplinary with units drawn from sciences and arts as well as from the social studies.

Sport, Leisure and Consumer Culture Explores the economic, technological, political and socio-cultural forces that shape sport and leisure consumption, and how such consumption shapes individual and collective identities and differences.

The Role of Markets and Incentives This course focuses on a few first principles of economics with the aim of understaning 1)how markets work, 2)the normative significance of markets as a non-coercive and cooperative form of social interaciton, 3) circumstances under which the normative significance and efficacy of market outcomes might be questioned (so-called "market failure"), and 4) problems associated with government intervention to remedy "market failure" and other perceived ills (so-called "government failure"). Math proficiency at the basic university level is assumed

Environment and Society This course introduces students to the study of relationships between people and the environment from a social science perspective, and provides a context for thinking about the social causes and consequences of environmental changes in different parts of the world. It focuses on how and why the human use of the environment has varied over time and space; analyzes different approaches to decision-making about environment issues and examines the relative roles of population growth, energy consumption, technology, culture and institutions in causing and resolving contemporary environmental problems around the world.

An Economic Perspective The study of the interactions of individuals and societies from the viewpoint of economics. The Course examines a series of important social problems that lie on the intersections of economics and disciplines such as law, history, anthropology, political science, psychology, and so forth.

U.S. Society and Institutions Since 1877 This course examines and analyzes the social, political, and economic transformations of American Society since Reconstruction. It focuses on multiple levels of society as well as the groups and individuals who comprised it.

Modern Latin America An interdisciplinary introduction to Latin American societies from the 1820s to the present that gives special emphasis to diversity within Latin America and to dynamic and, hence, historical processes of social, political, cultural, and economic change over time.

What is Politics? Issues in contemporary political analysis, human values and political goals, how governments differ and why they change, how nations differ from on another.

World Food Issues This course will describe the prominent characteristics of the world food system in terms of the utilization of land, water and energy resources, the role of different technologies in world agricultural production, and the nutritional requirements of consumers. The primary focus of the course is on developing countries, however, important interactions between wealthy and poor countries will be emphasized. The course will include foundational knowledge about individuals and societies.

Philosophical Perspectives on Society This course addresses the fundamental moral questions regarding society.

Private, Public, or Profit? The Organization of Social Life Why is it illegal to sell your vote but legal to sell your ideas? Should we reform Social Security, privatize retirement savings, or count on families and charities to take care of the elderly? All these questions point to the diverse ways in which modern societies are organized.

World History, 1600-2000 Survey of world history, 1600-2000, emphasizing cross-societal encounters.

Globalization and Global Governance Globalization refers to rapidly increasing levels of political, economic and cultural interconnectedness among the world s separately constituted states, societies and economies. This course examines the causes and consequences of globalization and the transnational institutions established to cope with this process.

Popular Culture, Media, and Latina/o Identities This course provides a broad-based introduction to the growing interdisciplinary field of popular culture and media studies with an emphasis on the Latina/o experience. Students will explore current theoretical ideas and debates about popular culture and chart its growing importance in all aspects of life. It is a central course for students interested in the social sciences, as well as for students interested in cultural and media studies.

Europe in the Modern World Europe in the Modern World 1600-1989 presents student with the opportunity to inquire into the origins and development of the modern Western world. The goal is to instill a sense of the past as a viable part of any student's heritage, with all its diverse problems and rewards, and allow them to enrich their understanding of European culture through critical interaction with history.

Islamic Civilization: Traditional & Modern Middle East This course will introduce students to the basic principles of the religion of Islam and its historical development from the seventh century to the present day. We will focus on Islam as a culture by asking how it spread and changed, how it produced traditions and institutions, and how it has both shaped and adapted to the realities of the modern world. The course will ask students to consider the religion and civilizations of the Islamic world as dynamic processes by looking for patterns of structure formation, institutionalization, change and decline in the political, economic, military and cultural realms. While the main focus will be on the Middle East heartland of classical Islam, the spread of Islam to Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the west will also be examined. Students will be expected to illustrate mastery of basic geographical, historical and doctrinal information, as well as to show increasing ability to critically evaluate certain central questions with regard \to a variety of historical and geographical contexts and to mobilize evidence in defense of their views.