The Sociology of Love looks at a subject that we all take for granted, but none of us understand. Love is both a physiological state and a socially constructed experience. We will examine the major bio-chemical, psychological, and sociological theories that have attempted to explain the causes and nature of love and attraction. We will also look at the social construction of love through Western history, as well as in other cultures, and at the complex relationships that exist between love, "courtship", marriage, and sexuality.

Basic urban sociological concepts. Topics include the development of cities, the emergence of suburbs, the residential segregation of ethnic minorities. Considers trends in the US and abroad.

An introduction to how social forces shape health throughout the lifecourse, with special focus on human development. Topics include social origins of disease, health disparities, the influence of peer and family relationships, how social forces interact with genetic background, neighborhood effects, and social status.

This course will take an historical approach to understanding the relationship between race, class and the criminal justice system. We will analyze the various ways that social inequality, as a result of race and class, mediate individual and social group experiences with crime and the legal system. We will also analyze the affect of mass incarceration on poor and marginalized communities. The main goal of the course is to situate contemporary inequalities in the criminal justice system and their impact on communities, social groups, and populations in an historical context.

Crime is not equally distributed amongst cities and neighborhoods. In this course, we will examine how, where and why crime is unequally distributed. Particular attention will be focused on locations, such as public housing development, where crime is perceived to be heightened. Theories of social disorganization, collective efficacy and broken windows will be explored.

Critical introduction to American welfare programs, past and present. Analysis of why programs change over time and of the effects of those changes on the people that welfare purports to "help."

This course will explore the role that community supervision plays in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. The course will span the evolution of probation services from the 19th Century father of probation, John Augustus, to the modern day focus on evidence-based practices supervision. Likewise, the history of parole will be explored from its origin in England and Ireland to its current practice in community corrections. We will also focus on the federal probation system, which is practiced across the United States and its territories.

Explores how and why social movements occur, what strategies they use, how they create collective identities, how issues such as civil rights, workers' rights, women's rights, the environment, the global economy mobilize activists' participation within the circumstances faced.

An introduction to the major subfields of the profession, the populations social workers serve, the types of interventions they use, the theories behind those interventions, and the obstacles to success.

This course has two main objectives: 1) to provide a theoretical and empirical foundation for the sociological study of law, legal institutions, and legal actors and 2) to enhance critical thinking about the role of law and legal institutions in social life.