This module focuses on the ways in which non-fiction media such as news, documentary, lifestyle journalism and popular factual television articulate and explore contemporary experiences of profound social change. It focuses especially on the changing landscape of social class, race, ethnicity and gender and asks how the media engages with these changes and presents them to its publics.
Topics include: narratives of social aspiration and social mobility, class labelling, depictions of the upper and elite classes, rhetorics of race, immigration, home and belonging.
While the public is captivated and horrified by mass violence, there is disagreement among academics and criminal justice practitioners about how best to define mass shootings. This course begins by examining definitional issues and why these issues matter to our overall understanding of mass violence in the U.S. and abroad. During the course, we will also examine how news media has influenced the public’s understanding of mass violence and their causes in the U.S., contributed to many widespread myths about mass violence, and possibly contributed to the phenomenon of “fame-seeking” mass shooters. In this class, we will also focus on typologies of mass murderers, work toward an understanding of correlates of mass violence, and take a special look at the topic of school violence. As we conclude the term, we will look at evidence and debates about prevention strategies including threat assessments, firearms legislation, and zero-tolerance policies.
PREREQUISITES: None
Course syllabi are provided as a guide only. Class timetables are released closer to program start date.
The Wire is arguably the greatest television program ever made. Written by David Simon, a former Baltimore Sun journalist, and Ed Burns, a former Baltimore homicide detective turned public-school teacher, The Wire is a literary television series which unflatteringly eulogizes the city of Baltimore, Maryland and its sprawling web of bureaucracy that mystifies, demonizes, and ultimately ensnares its most vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens. An extremely diverse group of sociologists and philosophers including the likes of Sudhir Venkatesh, Frederic Jameson, and Slavoj Zizek, have treated The Wire to a range of academic interpretations. Former President Barack Obama’s favorite TV show is The Wire; his favorite character is the magnanimous robber of drug dealers Omar Little. The Sociology of The Wire will focus on four key sociological themes that are prominently represented in the show including deindustrialization and the decline of the labor movement, urbanization and the postindustrial city, the failed policies of the War on Drugs and their impact on policing and low income and minority communities, and racial and economic disparities in the educational system. We will analyze these themes in the relevant sociological literature while simultaneously examining how they are unflinchingly captured in The Wire. Alongside the academic literature on these topics, we will also read excerpts from Homicide and The Corner, two books written by David Simon and Ed Burns that inspired the show.
PREREQUISITES: None
Course syllabi are provided as a guide only. Class timetables are released closer to program start date.
Though food diversifies throughout the world according to local cultural backgrounds, there is a common ground in the universal approach to food: it is a part of everyday life and sharing food is still one of the greatest examples of humans acting as social creatures. Italy represents a unique case for now food is both celebrated and is involved in cultural celebrations that are still fundamental in Italian society. This course will provide students with a full immersion in the relationship between food and the local community in Italy, focusing on the many moments that represent conviviality in Italian culture and society. Coursework includes a wide variety of field learning activities through which students will be introduced to local and traditional crafts, food markets, typical street food vendors, local purchasing groups, community-supported agriculture, and countryside food festivals as fundamental milestones in the Italian gastro-social tradition. Through hands-on experiences and on-site activities students, will learn the fundamentals of community-geared food production and will acquire a deeper understanding of food as an essential element of society. This class includes experiential learning with CEMI.
This class includes food labs, food tours, and one aperitivo project per session. Uniform required for food labs, rental available upon arrival.
This course discusses the origins and development of the Mafia in the context of Italian politics, economics, and society from the nineteenth century to the present day. It analyzes the nature of Mafia activities and their international relevance. Special focus will be given to judicial procedures against the Mafia and the experiences of key individuals and groups contrasting their illegal activities.
“We see the world as we do, not because that is the way it is, but because we have these ways of seeing” (Wittgenstein). Social psychology is a scientific discipline that explores how the individual is influenced by social contexts. Students will learn to identify how social, environmental, and cognitive factors shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The course covers theories regarding attraction, aggression, conformity, and pro-social behaviour. As this course is taught in Italy, students will have the advantage of observing and testing theories learned in class in a foreign environment.
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the sociological and analytic study of religion, identity, conflict and violence within a local, national and global context. It will examine issues such as nationalism, colonialism, international affairs and the role of those charged with reporting such conflicts. Extensive attention will be paid to the representation of religious conflict in the arts, such as literature and films, alongside a detailed examination in of the violent groups that have arisen as an apparent reaction to religious fundamentalism as a rising narrative of a new cultural war.
Excursion(s): Students will attend a guided visit to Stirling Castle.
This course will provide a general overview of Japanese society and culture in the postwar period. This course will introduce students to the historical background and modern social implications of contemporary Japanese culture. We will explore a wide range of artistic mediums including music, art, manga, animation, fashion, advertising, and film. Topics will include hikikomori (shut-ins that refuse to leave the home for work or school), chronic over-work including karoshi (death from overworking), declining population and the population bomb, and extreme population density in cities. In addition, the concepts of kaizen (continuous improvement), and wa (social harmony) will be introduced and analysed.
The focus of this course is to give an expansive outline of gender, sexuality and society with a specific spotlight on contemporary Japanese society. Class content exposes material from sociologists, historians, journalists, and literary scholars to analyse how gender and sexuality have been socially developed and experienced in post war Japan.
