Minor Course Descriptions - Social Sciences

American Studies Minor Course Descriptions
Social Sciences (6 credits; no more than 3 credits to be taken in any one subject):

CSD 1710:  Phonetics  A study of articulatory phonetics, broad and narrow transcription of American English (using the International Phonetic Alphabet); elements of dialects and accents.
GOV 1350: The American Experience  
GOV 2160/ESP 2160: American Environmental Politics and Policies An analysis of the evolution of the United States environmental policy and the influence of politics on those policies with particular emphasis on the late 20th century.
GOV 2240:
 Federalist Papers Explores the evolution of the American Presidency; the roles played by the chief executive; the various concepts of the office; the president’s position in the Congress; the president’s relationship with Congress.
GOV 2510: American Political Parties and Interest Groups The nature and operation of the political process in the United States; organization and function of the political parties; nominations and elections; voting behavior, the nature of the two-party system; effects of social, economic and cultural forces upon party government; the dynamics of political power.
GOV 2640:
 Foreign Policy of the United States The origin, development and application of the major principles controlling American foreign relations.
GOV 3330:
 American Political Thought of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries The nature and purpose of the state as expressed by selected writers from colonial times to the Populist Era.
GOV 3590:
 American Government and Business Relations The relationship of government and business emphasizing industries with seller concentration and their market conduct. Consideration of selected activities and industries: agriculture, inventions and patents, banking and finance, public utilities, and the shaping of public policy.
GOV 3800:
 American Econopolitics The role of economics in domestic and foreign politics, with special attention to recent developments; political consequences of economic growth; public and government policy in prosperity and recession.
SOC 1170:
 Inequality:  Race, Class and Gender Analysis of the social factors determining class, power and prestige in American society; poverty and the effectiveness of welfare policies; interclass conflicts; the impact of changes in the labor market and in sex roles.
SOC 1190: Sociology of Poverty in America An examination of the everyday life of poor people in the U.S. Critical analysis of the development of social policy, social movements and the conditions that would have to be changed if poverty is to be ended.
SOC 2410:
 Race and Ethnicity in America American ethnicity in comparative cultural context. Majorities and minorities in terms of stereotyping, prejudice, unequal distribution of goods and services, discrimination and conflict.  Major contributions of ethnic groups to American life.
 
SOC 2440:
 Gender Identity in Popular Culture Exploration of the social construction of gender in popular culture and the interaction between the individual and these images in the formation of the self. Special attention is given to the construction of gender identity in films, television and music.
SOC 2450:
 Sociology of the Black Experience This course examines the content and nature of African-American experience and how it has changed over time. Economic, cultural, religious, political and sociological aspects of the black and African-American experience will be examined. The struggle for equal rights, social justice and empowerment will be central.
SOC 2420:  Immigration and Inequality  
SOC/ANT 2750:  The North American Indian The history and nature of American-Indian cultures: pre-history and archaeology; contemporary problems of the American Indian as a subculture in modern USA; world industrial expansion and the plight of the American Indian.