Significant aspects of the history of African Americans with particular emphasis on the evolution and development of black communities from slavery to the present. Interdisciplinary introduction to social, political, legal and economic roots of contemporary problems faced by blacks in the United States with applications to the lives of other racial and ethnic minorities in the Americas and in other societies.

Students will examine the birth of the racial caste system following the abolition of slavery, the parallels between the racial hierarchy of the Jim Crow system and contemporary mass incarceration, and the rise of the prison industrial complex as a multi-billon business which thrives on the oppression of low-income populations and poor communities of color.

Prevailing thought suggests that we live in an era that is post-racial, particularly after the election of Barack Obama. Media often serves to drive our assessment of where our nation stands on issues like race, gender and sexuality. This course uses the film Get Out to delve into the production, evolution and significance of race in present day America. The course will engage multiple forms of media to investigate life in "Post-Racial" America, including but not limited to the role of stereotypes, interracial relationships, police-community relations, etc.

From yellow peril invaders to model minority allies, Asian Americans have crafted their own dynamic cultural expressions in a number of media from film, television, and music to fashion, sports, and food that reveal and contest the contradictions of the U.S. nation-state. Asian American culture also uniquely sits at the nexus of immigration flows and digital technologies, providing a transnational lens to view the US place in the world. This advanced course, then, will introduce students to the study and practice of Asian American culture as multiple , hybrid, and heterogeneous. It will do so through three sections: section one will introduce students to classical, cultural, and media concepts as well as relevant keywords outlined by Asian American Studies scholars; section two will review the work of Asian American cultural theorists; section three will focus on analyses of particular Asian American cultural productions. In doing so, students will gain an understanding of the shifting and interlocking tensions among the local, the national, and the global that form the cultural geographies of Asian America.

Explores how Asian Americans have historically been represented in the U.S. by Hollywood, and in turn, how independent and Hollywood Asian American filmmakers have represented themselves. It covers the history of racial, gendered, and sexualized representations of Asian Americans in Hollywood, as well as Asian American filmic responses within and outside Hollywood. It also introduces how four basic tools of film analysis mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound work together to create meaning in moving images. It examines how these elements are put together in three different types of films by Asian American filmmakers: narrative, documentary, and experimental. How films function in society to circulate ideas that reproduce and challenge stereotypes about Asian Americans.

Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of American Studies by examining concepts such as culture, identity, cultural practices, and globalization, as well as theories underlying these concepts. Engages key themes, especially constructions of difference and identity, cultures of everyday life, and America and the world.

An introduction to American popular culture, its historical development, and its role as a reflection of and influence on our culture and society.

Historical survey of American material culture. Ways of describing and interpreting accumulated material evidence (e.g., buildings, town plans) introduced by stressing relationship between artifact and culture.

Explores theories of disability justice as they intersect with feminist and antiracist struggles. Analyzing how disability has been an important aspect of institutions and social experience in the United States and beyond, the course considers how disability activists have responded to ableism by developing art, political strategies, and subcultures that promote a more just society built for a wider variety of human bodies.

Explores how Asian Americans have historically been represented in the U.S. by Hollywood, and in turn, how independent and Hollywood Asian American filmmakers have represented themselves. It covers the history of racial, gendered, and sexualized representations of Asian Americans in Hollywood, as well as Asian American filmic responses within and outside Hollywood. It also introduces how four basic tools of film analysis mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound work together to create meaning in moving images. It examines how these elements are put together in three different types of films by Asian American filmmakers: narrative, documentary, and experimental. How films function in society to circulate ideas that reproduce and challenge stereotypes about Asian Americans.

An introduction to the central concepts in medical anthropology and the anthropology of global health. This course is a survey of anthropological notions of health, disease, and the body in cross-cultural and global contexts, including classic and contemporary texts. It will provide an examination of systems of knowledge and practice with regard to illness, healing, and global health inequities.

An introduction to the evolution of human physiology and human behavior, the relationship between hominid and non-hominid primates, and the study of relationships between a population of humans and their biophysical environment.

Exploration of the variety of past human societies and cultures through archaeology, from the emergence of anatomically modern humans to the more recent historical past.

An overview of sexuality from an anthropological perspective, looking at aspects of sexuality within our own culture and in cultures around the world. Course topics include the biology and culture of sex, gender, physical attraction, sexual orientation, marriage and mating taboos, fertility control, sexually transmitted diseases, and commercial aspects of sex.

An examination of the phenomenon of international migration, or immigration. Students develop awareness of how immigration has been framed in the general public and examined by social science disciplines, most prominently anthropology. Examination of case studies of different immigrant groups in distinct geographic contexts will illuminate the varied incorporation experiences of immigrants into U.S. society.

An overview of the growing field of global health including health care systems, medical practices, ideas about illness in cross-cultural contexts, issues of health development, global health inequity, and human rights issues. The course will focus on the history of global health, the critique of major international health agencies and their development paradigms, and the political economy of social inequalities and health.

Examines the material culture and visual expressions of Mediterranean and European societies from early times until ca. 1300 CE, emphasizing the political, social, and religious context of the works studied, the relationships of the works to the societies that created them, and the interrelationship of these societies.

Examines representative European and American works of art from the later Middle Ages to the present, highlighting the dynamic exchange between artistic and cultural traditions both within periods and across time.

Explores how communication shapes constructions of gender, sex, sexuality and other identity markers. Topics include issues of oppression, identity, and power and social, political, and economic situations and examines how these issues impact our daily lives.

A deep dive into the intersectionality of disability, culture, social norms, policy and more that impacts educational access for people with disabilities in a global context.

Designed to give an understanding of the needs of all types of exceptional children.

Comparative analysis of forms, themes, and the politics of representation in film and video by and/or about LGBTQ people.

The objective of this gateway course is to help you understand and apply basic theories and empirical data on family health. The course is designed to provide you with skills to think critically about theories including: Life Course Theory, the Bio-Ecological and Social-Ecological Models, and Systems Theory. We will ask questions about the distinct qualities and intersections of contexts and characteristics that impact the functioning of families. We will apply theory and research to topical issues in family health that are impacted by social structures such as conflict, crisis, migration, incarceration and inequalities.

Theories of child, spouse, and elder abuse in the family setting. Emphasis on historical, psychological, sociological and legal trends relating to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Introduction to methods for prevention and remediation.

The most critical issue facing the world today is the sustainability of both human and physical systems in the 21st century. This class uses the context of regions of the world to explore the 21st century issues of climate change, development, politics, economy, and demography. Each region will be used to highlight aspects of sustainability.

Cultural geography course on society and sustainability. Culture is the basic building block that is key to sustainability of societies. Course will cover sustainability of societies on different scales, examining local, regional, and worldwide issues. Sustainability will be examined as a key element of environmental sustainability. How societies adjust to rapid world change will be examined as a positive and/or negative factor in sustainability.

A study of the major factors underlying international relations, the causes of conflict and cooperation among international actors, the role of international institutions, the interactions of domestic and foreign policies, and major issues in security, economy and the environment.

The development of Europe in the Middle Ages; the role of religious values in shaping new social, economic, and political institutions; medieval literature, art and architecture.

The United States from the end of the Civil War to the present. Economic, social, intellectual, and political developments. Rise of industry and emergence of the United States as a world power.

An analysis of the information, values and underlying messages conveyed via television, newspapers, the internet, magazines, radio and film. Examines the accuracy of those messages and explores how media shape views of politics, culture and society.

Sport will be related to such social problems as delinquency, segregation, collective behavior, and leisure; to social processes such as socialization, stratification, mobility, and social control; and to those familiar social institutions the family, the school, the church, the military, the economy, the polity, and the mass media.

Environmental Justice will be explored in the context of the built environment. What unequal public built environmental threats exist? How can these threats be prevented or eliminated? Public schools, public parks, access to clean water, air pollution, tree coverage are among the built environments examined in the course.

Comics push the boundaries of representation in art, tempting curious readers with the hybrid possibilities that come from combining words and images. American comics have been met with restrictions due to reactionary fears about corrupting children. However, comics have a long history of challenging the status quo and forging a space for queer, women, and other marginalized communities to share their experiences through sequential art. With a focus on comics, zines, and self-published narrative images by trans, queer, and women artists, students explore the possibilities of comics as a medium of subversion and possibility. Read comics by Alison Bechdel, Bishakh Som, Lynda Barry, Julie Doucet, and others, and explore the image-texts that reshaped queer arts and literature. Students create their own comics in the tradition of boundary breaking narrative art. Prior experience in drawing is not required for success in this class.

Comparative analysis of forms, themes, and the politics of representation in film and video by and/or about LGBTQ people.

Traces black popular music in the U.S. with a special focus on spirituals, ragtime, the blues, early jazz, R&B, Motown, funk, soul, and rap. Examines how these styles have been borrowed by the American music industry.

A historical survey of rock music (blues, rock, soul, metal, rap, etc.) from circa 1950 to the present, with emphasis on popular music as music and popular music as social history.

A focus on addressing social and structural inequities within race, gender, disability, and class through various perspectives in the field of public health. Students explore the causes, challenges, consequences, and extent these injustices have on health disparities from local, national, and global perspectives. Students view these inequities through the lens of the affected populations, and work interactively and collaboratively to interpret, design, and evaluate public health interventions and approaches to address key health disparities within specific communities. The aim of this course is to help students define appropriate research and address structural inequities with innovative approaches through the professional practice of public health.

A broad-based overview of inequality in contemporary U.S. society, focusing on measuring patterns and trends over time. A series of learning modules familiarizes students with how inequality unfolds in relation to social stratification processes along the lines of race, gender, education and social class, income and wealth, and health.

Interrogate musical theater's political history, investigating how this uniquely American genre uses narrative, song, and dance to weave critical differences across race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, gender, sexuality, and ability into our national fabric.

Explores theories of disability justice as they intersect with feminist and antiracist struggles. Analyzing how disability has been an important aspect of institutions and social experience in the United States and beyond, the course considers how disability activists have responded to ableism by developing art, political strategies, and subcultures that promote a more just society built for a wider variety of human bodies.

Comics push the boundaries of representation in art, tempting curious readers with the hybrid possibilities that come from combining words and images. American comics have been met with restrictions due to reactionary fears about corrupting children. However, comics have a long history of challenging the status quo and forging a space for queer, women, and other marginalized communities to share their experiences through sequential art. With a focus on comics, zines, and self-published narrative images by trans, queer, and women artists, students explore the possibilities of comics as a medium of subversion and possibility. Read comics by Alison Bechdel, Bishakh Som, Lynda Barry, Julie Doucet, and others, and explore the image-texts that reshaped queer arts and literature. Students create their own comics in the tradition of boundary breaking narrative art. Prior experience in drawing is not required for success in this class.

Comparative analysis of forms, themes, and the politics of representation in film and video by and/or about LGBTQ people.