Topics course. This course charts the artistic experience in Central America from the first Mayan texts to the revolutionary poetry of the Sandistas, to the eerie magnetic prose of Miguel Angel Asturias to the indigenous struggles of today, from poetry workshops for the masses to political and racial oppression. Using primary texts, both visual and print, we examine gender, sexuality, ethnicity and artistic expression, culminating in the New Song movement. Readings include Rigoberta Menchu and the controversy surrounding her, Gioconda Belli, Ernesto Cardenal, Claribel Alegria and others.

Topics course. This course considers the formation and interrogation of national identities in three post-colonial settings: Angola, Brazil and Cuba. Our readings and discussion focus on notions of race, culture and hybridity in the narration of these national identities. How do different artists and intellectuals respond to the urge for national, cultural and racial unity in the face of dramatic diversity? How do they respond to the racialized legacies of colonialism and Eurocentrism?

Theory and research on the construction of and change in gender categories in the United States, with particular attention to social movements that seek to change gender definitions and stratification, including both feminist and anti-feminist movements. Theoretical frameworks are drawn from feminist theory and social movement theory. Readings examine historical shifts in gender relations and norms, changing definitions of gender in contemporary everyday life, and politicized struggles over gender definitions.

This course examines sexuality from a sociological perspective, focusing on how sexuality is constructed by and structures major social institutions. We examine the social construction of individual and collective identities, norms and behaviors, discourses, institutional regulation, and the place of sexuality in the state, education, science, and other institutions, and social movements. Consideration of gender, race, class, time, and place are integrated throughout.

This course introduces students to environmental, economic, feminist and nationalist perspectives on population growth and decline. We examine current population trends and processes (fertility, mortality and migration) and consider the social, political, economic and environmental implications of those trends. The course also provides an overview of various sources of demographic data as well as basic demographic methods. Enrollment limited to 35. Prerequisite: SOC 101.

This course provides an in-depth examination of major sociological theories of collective action and social movements. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of social movement dynamics including recruitment and mobilization, strategies and tactic, and movement outcomes. The empirical emphasis is on modern American social movements including student protest, feminist, civil rights and sexual identity movements. Enrollment limited to 35. Prerequisite: SOC 101.

An introduction to classical and contemporary approaches to class relations, status and social inequality. Topics include Marxian and Weberian analysis, social mobility, class consciousness, class reproduction, and the place of race and gender in the class order. Enrollment limited to 35. Prerequisite: SOC 101.

For first-year students and sophomores; juniors and seniors with permission of the course director. Perspectives on society, culture and social interaction. Topics include the self, emotions, culture, community, class, ethnicity, family, sex roles, deviance and economy. Colloquium format.

Topics course. This course examines the biblical idea of divine election, the notion that God specially favors certain individuals and nations, a notion that sits at the heart of ancient Israel's theological self-understanding.

Same as REL 304. What is happiness? What is personal well-being? How are they achieved? This course examines the core ideas of the Buddhist science of mind and how they are being studied and employed by psychologists, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists and psychotherapists. The focus of the course is the notion of "happiness" -- its cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary definition as well as the techniques advocated for its achievement by both the Buddhist and the psychologist.