2007-08 - Pitzer College

278 SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
36. Sociology of Deviance. Nonconformity & norm-violation can be dangerous, noble, or
bizarre. Either way, deviance poses serious challenges to sociological analysis. How do
we explain why some go against the grain? Who decides when behavior is good/bad?
Wrong/right? Moral/evil? Theories of deviance and contemporary issues will be explored.
P. Zuckerman. [not offered 2007-08]
40. Introduction to Urban Sociology. An introductory course to urban sociology, that
examines urbanization and urbanism. It looks at the causes and consequences of these
processes in order to demonstrate how environmental considerations converge and
interact with the factors of class, race, gender, lifestyle, economics, politics, and culture.
The course is aimed to acquaint students to the history, theories, and applications of
urban sociology in contemporary society. D. Basu [not offered 2007-08]
44CH. Latino Migration to the U.S. This course provides a broad overview of
international migration to the United States, paying particular attention to Latin
American migrants. The course attempts to understand what life is like for Latinos
involved in migration to and from the United States. Attention is given to the diversity of
today’s Latino migrants—their social origins and contexts of existence and their
adaptation experiences and contexts of incorporations. [not offered 2007-08]
46. Sociology of Immigration. This course is a comprehensive overview of the key
current and empirical debates in the study of international immigration. The course will
primarily focus on the sociology of contemporary immigration to the United States
including history, the causes and consequences of immigration and patterns of economic
and social adaptation. [not offered 2007-08]
59. Sociology of Gender. Some argue that gender determines how much individuals are
paid, how beer is marketed, and how much violence people endure. From cultural
production to social policy issues, students will examine how gender is constructed in the
context of inequality and in relation to race, class, geography, generation, and sexuality.
Students will combine theory and practice by engaging with the community-at-large.
K. Yep. [not offered 2007-08]
GFS 60. Women in the Third World. (See Gender and Feminist Studies 60). Fall, M. Soldatenko.
MS60/SOC60. Transnational Migrations and Circulations. How do immigration laws,
air travel, international money orders and couriers shape the experience of communities
in which the majority of working adults living in the North? How do these communities
use media to maintain connections across an international border? Students will
collaborate with a class at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. J. Lerner and J.
Calderon. [not offered 2007-08]
64. LGBT Social Issues. The debates about gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered
people include questions about media images, hate crimes, social movements and
politics, religion, the military, relationships and marriage, gender roles, and health. We
explore the historical changes, focus on the contemporary issues, and discuss social
change. Spring, P. Nardi.
70. Media and Society. This course will be a critical exploration-on both the “personal”
and the “objective” level-of the phenomenon conventionally labeled “mass
communication,” and how it constructs meanings and images. We will examine the
origin, history, and functions of “mass communication,” including such media as films,
television, newspapers, and computers, and its pervasive effects on our social life.
Enrollment is limited. [not offered 2007-08]
71BK. Sociology of Popular Music. In seminar we treat music, its culture, and its
consumption and production as important sites for the mediation of social categories
such as race, class, gender, sexuality, nationhood and identity. We cover basic concepts in
the study of popular music with particular emphasis on punk, hip hop, house and
reggae/dancehall; invisible communities in musical subcultures; how music creates a
sense of community through language, performance practices, technology and performance;
the dynamics of global/local circulation, creation and consumption of music; the political
economy of music production; the cultural politics and the burdens of representation of
Black music; and musical meanings and value in post-colonial societies. Fall, D. Basu.
75. Global Media and Culture. This course explores how the process of globalization is
transforming media internationally, with a particular emphasis on audio-visual media. It
also examines the impact of new technologies, especially the Internet, on global
communications. Emphasizing the transnational context of media and culture, the course
approaches global media and cultural production from a range of theoretical frameworks
relevant to media and cultural production from a range of theoretical frameworks
relevant to contemporary media-from liberalism to political economy to cultural studies.
How do we make sense of the rapid flow of global consumer culture across national borders.
A. Mezahav. [not offered 2007-08]
78. Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Colonization, Identity, Resistance. This course
will critcally examine the experience of the indigenous peoples in the context of the
European and Euro-American expansion. The focus will be on processes of institutional
change, ethic group formation, and collective action under colonialism. While the
predominant focus will be on indigenous people in the U.S., the course will also analyze
developments elsewhere in North, Central, and South America. Fall, E. Steinman.
79. Scandinavian Culture and Society. This is a general introduction to Scandinavia. We
will look at various aspects of Scandinavian society and culture: politics, history, art,
economics, film, etc. Fall, P. Zuckerman.
Asam 82/Lgcs 82. Race, Ethnicity and the Politics of Teaching. This class examines how
race and ethnicity are constructed in schooling from sociological, linguistic, and ethnic
studies standpoints. Specifically, we will discuss how race and ethnicity are constructed
in schooling and ways teachers/educators may refine their pedagogies in relation to race
and ethnicity. Students will do a research project. Fall, C. Fought/K. Yep.
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