Social & Behavioral Sciences Courses

(Also PSY/SOC 308). This course considers several different cross-disciplinary theoretical frameworks that are relevant to understanding social problems (e.g., HIV/AIDS, poverty and homelessness, teenage motherhood, hunger, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, aging, child welfare issues, etc.). The course investigates the ways in which these social problems and people’s needs are addressed by our social welfare and human service institutions, both public and private. Ethical issues surrounding the provision of care and services in the human services are emphasized. Principles of group dynamics, needs assessment, participant observation and evaluative research methods are also studied.

(Also PSC/SOC 308) This course considers several different cross disciplinary theoretical frameworks that are relevant to understanding social problems (e.g., HIV/AIDS, poverty and homelessness, teenage motherhood, hunger, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, aging, child welfare issues, etc.). The course investigates the ways in which these social problems and people’s needs are addressed by our social welfare and human service institutions, both public and private. Ethical issues surrounding the provision of care and services in the human services are emphasized. Principles of group dynamics, needs assessment, participant observation and evaluative research methods are also studied.

(Also GIS/SOC 308) This course considers several different cross disciplinary theoretical frameworks that are relevant to understanding social problems (e.g., HIV/AIDS, poverty and homelessness, teenage motherhood, hunger, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, aging, child welfare issues, etc.). The course investigates the ways in which these social problems and people’s needs are addressed by our social welfare and human service institutions, both public and private. Ethical issues surrounding the provision of care and services in the human services are emphasized. Principles of group dynamics, needs assessment, participant observation and evaluative research methods are also studied.

(也GIS / 308)这门课涉及了几个different cross disciplinary theoretical frameworks that are relevant to understanding social problems (e.g., HIV/AIDS, poverty and homelessness, teenage motherhood, hunger, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, aging, child welfare issues, etc.). The course investigates the ways in which these social problems and people’s needs are addressed by our social welfare and human service institutions, both public and private. Ethical issues surrounding the provision of care and services in the human services are emphasized. Principles of group dynamics, needs assessment, participant observation and evaluative research methods are also studied.

An in depth analysis of development from early adulthood through old age. The course focuses on current literature in areas such as physical, cognitive, and personality changes, relationships, parenthood, work and retirement. Central questions: Is adulthood a period of decline or development? How is the experience of aging affected by cultural attitudes toward the aged?

“Global Crime” examines the growth of transnational crime and criminal behavior carried out by cartels, mafias, corporations, institutions and governments.We will analyze the integration of the global criminal economy into the formal economies of nations throughout the world. Emphasizing critical thinking skills and introducing students to a diversity of perspectives and frameworks, this course is intended to expand our definitions and categories of criminal activities. In addition to international crimes such as money laundering, the trafficking of drugs and weapons, and terrorism, we will include crimes against humanity –genocide, “ethnic cleansing,” war, slavery, human trafficking (for labor, prostitution, organs and adoptions) –and against the environment –ecocide, oil spills, the dumping of toxic wastes, nuclear disasters and the trafficking of endangered species –which threaten the very existence of the planet. Readings, discussions, films and research projects will help us to make sense of the word in which we live and come to understand that global social justice is possible through both individual and collective action.

The course addresses issues relating to the death penalty, including its history as well as its level of effectiveness, costs, and discriminatory application. In addition, the course will analyze data on miscarriages of justice and public opinion and the effect of Supreme Court decisions.

This combined lecture and laboratory course includes research projects based on traditional research designs as well as archival, observational, correlational, and quasi-experimental methods. A laboratory component is included in the course.

在波里政府官僚机构的影响cy-making process. Internal processes of the federal administrative units including recruitment, budgetary conflicts, formal and informal rules and rule making; regulatory distributive and control functions. Interaction between bureaucracies and state and local governing agencies.

The course addresses issues relating to the death penalty, including its history as well as its level of effectiveness, costs, and discriminatory application. In addition, the course will analyze data on miscarriages of justice and public opinion and the effect of Supreme Court decisions.

Major issues in macroeconomic Public Finance. The course examines the process by which government provides and allocates public goods. Major topics include the impact of Federalism upon fiscal policy, voting and interest group behavior impact upon Finance policy as well as the empirical and normative issues of taxation.

This combined lecture and laboratory course primarily focuses on qualitative and applied research methods used in educational, social services and corporate settings. Methods covered will include focus groups, structured interviews, archival research and program evaluation.

This course explores the theoretical basis of the nonprofit sector in the Untied States, both historically and in today’s society. Differences in theory and practices in the nonprofit sector which distinguish it from private for-profit and government sectors will also be studied.

This course provides an introduction to Positive Psychology. We will explore the concepts and research of Positive Psychology and complete exercises that will enhance your own understanding of well-being. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. It is a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakness; as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst; and as concerned with making the lives of “normal” people fulfilling as with healing pathology.

(Also WMS 314) Using historical documents, social statistics, works of literature, anthropology, and social and psychoanalytic theory, this course examines the process of marginalization, compares conceptions of sanity and insanity among different cultures and sub-cultures, and analyzes the consequences of institutionalization, stigmatization, and marginalization.

(Also BUS 317) The study of individual and group behavior in organizations. Key topics include job satisfaction; motivation; group dynamics, leadership; conflict and change; communication; job design; power and influence; organization concepts and design; organizational development.

Our contemporary political world is a complex one, characterized by both tremendous promise and enduring human misery. Political theory is a realm of intellectual inquiry where we examine our most basic concepts and definitions, engage in normative judgment of our existing systems of government, and articulate and defend a vision of the system of political organization we envision to be ideal. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with important themes within contemporary political theory and the ways in which they relate to the world in which we reside. We will accomplish this through surveying the most influential political theorists of our time. To the extent that this course has an overarching theme, it is a the issue of difference in contemporary political societies whether that difference is encountered in the form of ascriptive identities such as gender and ethnicity, or simply deep disagreements in a more ideological sense.

Analysis of the development of motivation from simple drives to complex social needs, including the nature of emotion, attitudes and motives. Emphasis on current research in motivation and its theoretical implications.

This course provides a basic survey of classical sociological theory. It explores the methodological and substantive concerns in the writings of classical theorists, including Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. It examines those theorists’ views on science, social structure and social change.

This course provides an introduction to the politics of international economic relations. The primary purpose is to give an overview of the field by exploring the theories that political scientists have traditionally used to analyze the origins of particular international economic arrangements. Much of the class is therefore devoted to lectures and readings that delve into these issues. The course has a second, equally important intellectual project, however. there is a significant difference between most economists and political scientists on the one hand and many sociologists on the other about what each filed believes drives human behavior. Based on those different assumptions, the social science tend to diverge on questions concerning how we can study the social world. We will also spend considerable time discussing the various assumptions that underpin theory. Finally, we will debate which of the approaches presented in the readings and lectures are the most convincing in their assesment of problems.

This is an introduction to notable topics and controversies concerning international crimes, transnational crimes, and social justice. Throughout the course students will gain a general understanding of some of the world's most pressing crime problems, and the international justice systems working to control these crimes and seek justice.

As a region, East Asia looms large in internation politics. Four of the world’s fifteen most populous countries (China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam) occupy the region, as do three of the world’s fifteen richest countries by nominal GDP (China, Japan, and South Korea). At the same time, international politics in East Asia is complex and at time volatile. The primary objectives of this class are to help enhance the students analytic ability for the study of political dynamics and policy behaviors of the most intriguing systems of East Asia (two Chinas, two Koreas, and Japan). The course examines and compares the major aspects and functions of political systems, processes, and changes (general patterns of similarities and differences) in each of these countries. Major contemporary issues and policies of the East Asian systems are also surveyed, with particular emphasis on how (in what ways) each government enhances its regime’s claim to political legitimacy.

The study of the biological bases of behavior. The focus is on the role of genetics, neruophysiology, hormones and drugs on sensation, perception, learning, consciousness, emotion, motivation, sexual behavior and psychopathology.

This course provides an introduction to research methods used by sociologists. It reviews the guidelines, principles, and techniques for collecting social science data, including measurement, sampling, survey instrumentation, and field research.

This course touches on the topic of immigration, the legal road blocks, social contexts, health and well-being challenges, human rights threats, and social justice concerns as they relate to the experiences of immigrants and refugees who resettle in the United States. The course is divided into 4 main sections: 1- the contexts and realities under which immigration occurs, 2- issues and challenges to the health and well-being of immigrants and refugees, 3- violence experienced by immigrants and refugees, and 4- resilience among immigrant and refugee communities. Throughout this course students will gain a general understanding of the complexities of the immigrant experience in contemporary society and become familiar with important empirical works that highlight the lifelong journeys taken upon by those who migrate searching for a better life.