Courses

    Examines how both natural and built environments influence human behavior and social organization. Focuses on microenvironments and their influence on individuals; the impact of macroenvironments on societal organization; and environmental movements. Credit not granted for this course and SOCY 3091. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: ideals and values.

    Examines global environmental issues from sociological perspectives. Focuses on such problems as overpopulation, world hunger and poverty, pollution, resource shortages, environmental impact of technology and population dynamics, public policy, and strategies for change. Credit not granted for this course and SOCY 1002 or SEWL 2000. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

    Examines the role of non-human animals in human society. Investigates the social construction of the human/animal boundary. Challenges ideas that animals are neither thinking nor feeling. Examines the many ways humans rely on animals. Considers the link between animal cruelty and other violence. Explores the moral status of animals. Prereq., SOCY 1001.

    Focuses on the structural forces affecting environmental degradation and environmental behaviorby examining the relationships between (a) inequality and democratic decision making and (b) undemocratic decision making; U.S. and corporate food and energy policy; and global environmental degradation. The course also focuses on the role that global inequality plays in fostering environmental degradation. Same as ENVS 4027. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

    Explores the societal dimensions of hazards and disasters, emphasizing disaster theory and research, key issues in the sociological study of disasters, social vulnerability, the impacts of disasters in the U.S. and worldwide, and the U.S. Emergency Management System. Prereq., SOCY 2077. Same as SOCY 5037.

    Variety of courses taught by visiting and regular faculty. See current departmental announcements for specific content. May be repeated up to 9 credit hours for different topics.

    Examines the food system along the lines of social justice and environmental sustainability. Investigates the institutional and cultural supports of major food system problems and contemporary efforts to address those problems, including the realms of food production, processing, distribution, marketing, policy, regulation, consumption, and activism. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

    Same as SOCY 4037.

    Offers the opportunity for sociology graduate students specializing in environmental sociology to work with local governmental or non-profit organizations on research assignments. The research topic, academic reading list, and expectations for the final project will be developed collaboratively with a faculty sponsor and organizational representative.

    Provides overview of environmental sociological theory and research including topics such as: public environmental perception, concern, and knowledge; environmentalism as a social movement; environmental justice; energy, technology, and risk; human dimensions of environmental change; and natural hazards and disasters. Same as ENVS 6007. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

    Focuses on the structural forces affecting environmental degradation and environmental behaviorby examining the relationships between a) inequality and democratic decision making and b) undemocratic economic and political decision making, U.S. and corporate food and energy policy; and global environmental degradation. Focus will also be placed on the role that global inequality plays in fostering environmental degradation. Prereq., graduate standing. Formerly SOCY 5137.

    Reviews research on human-environment interactions, with a focus on ways in which demographic processes influence, and are influenced by, the environmental context. Specific topics include conceptual and analytical frameworks; methodologies; intervening factors shaping human dimensions of environmental change; and regionally-focused research. Prereq., graduate standing. Formerly SOCY 5117.