Syllabus Excerpts from Sociology Courses with an International Focus:
SOCI (280) Foundations of Sociology – Dr. Robin Moremen
The course includes a focus on HIV/AIDS from a global perspective. Using a first-hand account of Nkosi Johnson from South Africa who is struggling with
the AIDS virus, students are introduced to this global social problem.
Readings: Jim Wooten We Are All The Same
SOCI (335) Migration – Dr. Abu Bah
Examines the national and international dynamics of migration, the causes and effects of migration, migration policies, and the experiences of immigrant
communities in the United States and beyond.
SOCI (352) Popluation – Dr. Carol Walther
This course explores the field of demography, focusing on theories and the population processes of mortality, fertility and migration with an emphasis on
population movement and migration. Special attention is given to effect of globalization on migration, migration streams, documented and undocumented
migration, and assimilation of migrants. This course will focus on understanding the similarities and differences among immigrant groups who migrate with
different social and human capital. The course also addresses immigration policies in the U.S. The course specifically focuses upon immigration from Latin
American and East Asian countries.
SOCI (357) The Sociology of Gender – Dr. Kristen Myers
In this class we are reading Fugitive Denim, a book about the fashion industry, exploitation of workers, and the global gendered division of labor. You will
build on this book by working with a group to analyze another fashion item, tracking its global production and distribution, analyzing the gendered processes
that occur from the factory to the shop floor.
Readings: Rachel Louise Snyder Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade
SOCI (361) Race and Ethnicity – Dr. Carol Walther
This course explores the historical and current deabates that influence theoretical perspectives between immigration and race relationships. This semester,
we will be reading and analyzing the book, The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation, which focuses upon how we have constructed
immigrants, but specifically Latinos, as threats to the United States and to the “American dream”.
SOCI (379) Collective Behavior & Social Movements – Dr. Diane Rodgers
This course will provide you with a background in the definitions, theories and analysis of collective behavior and social movements. You will learn how to
apply analysis to particular social movements, local, national and international.
Selected Readings: Richard Stahler-Sholk, Harry E. Vanden and Glen David Kuecker(eds) Latin American Social Movements in the Twenty-First Century CadenaRoa. Jorge. 2002. “Strategic Framing, Emotions, and Superbarrio—Mexico City’s Masked Crusader.” Mobilization: An International Journal 7(2):201-216.
Wapner, Paul. [1995] 2003. “Transnational Environmental Activism.”
Finnegan, William. [2000] 2003. “Affinity Groups and the Movement against Corporate Globalization.”
Martinez-Torres, Maria Elena and Peter M. Rossest. 2008. “La Vía Campesina: Transnationalizing Peasant Struggle and Hope.”
SOCI (457/557) Families in Global Perspective – Dr. Kerry Ferris
In this course we examine the global diversity of family forms and experiences from a sociological perspective. We study the relationship between culture
and family, and the ways in which family systems differ in cross-cultural, subcultural, and bi-cultural settings. In particular, our focus will be on Hmong and
Iranian immigrant families in the U.S. and abroad.
Readings: Elaine Leeder The Family in Global Perspective: A Gendered Journey
Anne Fadiman The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Tara Bahrampour To See and See Again
SOCI (482/582) Sociology of Death and Dying – Dr. Robin Moremen
The purpose of this course is to examine, from a sociological perspective, the last stage of the life cycle. By examining death and dying historically and crossculturally, we will come to appreciate how our won particular location in time and culture informs our thoughts about death.
Selected Readings: Kathleen Garces-Foley (ed.). 2006. Death and Religion in a Changing World.
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Death Chapter 2, “Contemporary Hindu Approaches to Death: Living with the Dead,” Mark Elmore; Chapter 4, “Buddhisms
and Death,” Robert E. Goss and Dennis Class; Chapter 7, “Muslim Ways of Death: Between the Prescribed and the Performed,” Juan Eduardo Campo; “The
Days of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico: An Historical Inquiry,” Judith Strupp Green
SOCI (495) The Sociology of Terrorism – Dr. Kristopher Robison
This media-intensive course surveys the modern history of terrorism from a global sociological perspective. Videos, readings and writings will be used to
develop an understanding of the who, what, when, where, why and how of terrorist groups from around the world.
Readings: Gus Martin Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives and Issues
Franz Fanon Wretched of the Earth (conclusion)
Film-100 Years of Terror: Terror Goes International