Generation Z has been called the most progressive generation since the 1960s. This course takes an in-depth sociologically informed look at what makes the generation of young Americans born between 1997 and 2012 different from previous generations. We ask what Gen Z has in store for American society and culture, and for sociological theory. In Part I, we establish what sociologists mean by Gen Z and this generation?s culture.

This class will serve as a gateway into the discipline of sociology. It examines Latin America using a sociological lens and helps students to grasp some of the basic concepts that sociologists use to understand the social world. At the same time, it takes an interdisciplinary approach drawing on history, anthropology, political science, development and education, as well as sociology.

Interpretations of social life developed by symbolic interactionists. Topics include the interactionist approach to language, the self, deviance, social relationships, social structure and collective behavior. (Gen.Ed. SB, DU)

One of every ten people in the world lives in a megacity (>10 million people). Understanding urbanization and the culture of city life is essential, as is understanding the global connections of people, products, cultural values, and capital as they flow through these nodes. This course explores the history of urbanization and how places become centers of production and consumption.

This course examines the social processes of rule-making and rule-breaking, and how categories of "normal" and "deviance" change historically. We examine different theories of conformity and deviance, using topics such as sexuality and politics.

This course examines who, why, and how different groups immigrate to the U.S. and what happens once they arrive -- how they are received by mainstream society and how they perceive their experience in a new country. Specific topics include entry, immigration controls, education, identity, discrimination, employment, language, legal status, belonging, settlement, trans-nationalism, political participation, and examples of efforts to reform U.S. immigration laws. (Gen.Ed. SB)

Aspects of drugs (alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, psychedelics, depressants, opiates): historical and cross-cultural perspectives; behavioral effects; social and cultural factors affecting use; addiction (including alcoholism); political economy of drugs; drugs and social reality. (Gen.Ed. SB)

Introduction to the study of criminology, definitions of crime, criminals and delinquents, demographics of crime and criminals, the work of the courts, law, police, and punishment in the production and administration of crime and criminals, society and crime, problems of prevention and control.

The nature of social classes in society from the viewpoint of differences in economic power, political power, and social status. Why stratification exists, its internal dynamics, and its effects on individuals, subgroups, and the society as a whole. Problems of poverty and the uses of power. (Gen.Ed. SB, DU)

First part: historical transformations in family life (relationships between husbands and wives, position and treatment of children, importance of kinship ties); second part: the contemporary family through life course (choice of a mate, relations in marriage, parenthood, breakup of the family unit). (Gen.Ed. SB, DU)