In this course, we will engage in a sociological examination of major social problems facing the contemporary US and abroad. I will focus on the US and students will choose a country to compare social problems.
Some of the social problems cover are: Transgender rights, Environmental Justice, The War on Drugs, Fake news and campus sexual assult.
We explore the origins and causes of different social problems, seek to understand how they impact individuals, groups, and the society as a whole, and evaluate solutions. We ask how an issue becomes defined as a "social problem," discuss the social construction of reality and deviance, and consider the primary frameworks under which societies have organized their responses to different social problems.