Description

This course examines causes of and responses to critical social problems in different world regions with a focus on the dimensions and impacts of globalization. This course is designed to introduce you to the basic concepts that sociologists use to analyze various aspects of social life while discussing current global social issues. The goal is not to have you accumulate "facts" about societies, but rather to give you the tools that to think critically about important current social issues. Topics in this course will include: challenges of global inequalities in life chances, wages and work, gender and education; conflict and violence at all levels (from crime to politics, terrorism to war); and finally issue of sustainability and the problems of urbanization, crowding and environmental destruction.