Introduction to the sociology of mental illness, definitions and descriptions of mental illness, social and cultural causes for mental illness, family and public reactions and the problems of measuring mental illness and methods for its cure. Prerequisite: 100-level SOCIOL course.

Social networks are commonplace in our everyday world and increasingly relevant online. This is an undergraduate-level introductory course on the study of social networks. This course provides a survey of substantive topics in the area of social networks and introduces fundamental concepts and methods of social network analysis. In addition, students will receive hands-on experience learning how to work with social network data. No prior experience with statistics or programming languages is required.

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'. Prerequisite: 100 or 200-level Sociology course.

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.

The sociology of aspirations: What do I really want to do when I grow up? is a new course examining the role of social forces in shaping our hopes and dreams. In this course students will have a chance to reflect on their own life goals and aspirations, as well as those of others, and consider the role of gender, economic class, race, and culture in shaping these. For example, in this course we consider how social forces like gender and economic class may influence our career goals and the kind of relationships and family life we seek to create.

At least since the 1960s, sociology and the other social sciences have largely sidestepped questions of inequality in relation to Asian Americans, simplistically and indiscriminately positing them as a "model minority." This course examines various forms of social inequality between Asian Americans and other groups as well as among Asian Americans, including those based on race, gender, class, citizenship, and sexuality.

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.

Basic issues in political sociology and politics: interaction between the political and social-cultural spheres, sources and manifestations of political inequality; variety of social conflict and its major theories; relationship between political ideas and political behavior. Issues of political violence and coercion, political propaganda and legitimation, intellectuals and political power.

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.