SOC 187 A-Z - (BH) Special Topics

Semester Hours: 3

Current Special Topics

SOC 187I - Playlist for Revolution

“What does music have to do with revolution? How has music been used to call attention to and challenge injustice? What role, if any, does music play in effecting social change? In this course, we’ll use sociological lenses to explore the relationship between social injustice; cultural, social, and political movements; and music. Together, we’ll analyze song lyrics, music, music videos, and events in North, Central, and South America; Africa; Asia; and Europe. We’ll consider how music fosters social cohesion. We’ll examine instances where music has served as a cultural vehicle for imagining alternative futures, a mode of storytelling to document movement history and social transformation, and a political tool for rights movements. Students will have opportunities to collect memories of music and revolution and to curate their own playlists for revolution.”

SOC 187K - Islamophobia

A current surge in anti-Muslim sentiments and their religion, Islam, has been widely manifested in political and social discourse. These are all signs of Islamophobia based on the belief in stereotypes that marginalize people who are Muslim. This course explores these anxieties, covering topics such as the role of the media, the rise in hate crimes and bigotry and the funding of hate groups. The course also examines how Islamophobia can be understood within the broader history and of race relations in the U.S.

SOC 187Z - Violence and Society

Even though the study of violence is an important part of sociology, its study has been pushed to the margins of our discipline. We rarely take the time to reflect on this prevalent social fact. And when we do it, it is to morally judge the agents of violence. But what is violence? Is it only a physical phenomenon? Do we only experience violence individually, or is it also a collective experience? What are the sources of organized violence? Do social structures and institutions produce violence? Do power and domination relate to violence? Is the use of violence a rational enterprise? Violence and Society explores these and other important social inquiries. To do so, it takes a marked structural approach to the examination of violence. The readings selected focus - not exclusively but mainly- on how the State produces violence and how non-state organizations implement violence to match, respond to, and/or contest what they perceive as State, economic, and/or cultural violence.

Same as CRM 187Z  

 

Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
May be repeated for credit when topics vary. As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.

View Course Offering(s):

Summer Session I 2026

Summer Session II 2026

Summer Session III 2026

Fall 2026