DSOC 1200 - FWS: Topics in Development Sociology

Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 FWS: Writing in the Anthropocene E. Andrews

The Anthropocene is more than just weird weather; the name of this new era flips our understanding of the relationship between humans and the environment. In this course, we will seek to understand ongoing environmental changes and the effects of naming or narrating them in particular ways. We will also try to work out how best to write and communicate in the Anthropocene, searching for thoughtful approaches to studying crisis and controversy. Readings will be wide-ranging, some popular, e.g., Elizabeth Kolbert’s essay on extinction and Bill Cronon’s classic rejection of wilderness; others new and experimental, e.g. recipes for “Colony Collapse cuisine”. Writing assignments will build towards a social science research proposal in which students will articulate realistic, data-driven research questions about relevant topics of their choice. 

Fall 2017  FWS: “You Want Fries with That?” Food Work & Workers C. Freshour

This is a course for students who want to understand the everyday lives of workers in some of the most vital, yet difficult, dangerous, and dirty jobs in the U.S. We will trace the working lives of the 21.5 million people who plant, harvest, process, pack, transport, prepare, serve, and sell the food we eat. This course brings food work and workers to the center of students’ writing, critical thinking, and discussion. Assigned readings will come from scholarly journal articles from the fields of sociology, ethnic studies, anthropology, geography, and history. Students will also read shorter pieces of journalism, industry and advocacy reports, and fiction, alongside film clips and oral histories highlighting the everyday experiences of food workers.

Spring 2018  FWS: Sugar, Caffeine, and the Global Economy Y. Chung

It’s 3 p.m. and you would like a cup of coffee, and maybe a chocolate chip cookie, too. How do we connect our modern penchant for sweets and caffeine to the history of slavery, racism, patriarchy, and corporate capitalism?  This couse will examine the historical processes and social relations through which primary commodities– such as sugar, cocoa, coffee, and tea– are produced, exchanged, and consumed globally. Students will be exposed to readings on these substances, written from a variety of different perspectives by social scientists, policymakers, corporate lobbyists, medical professionals, journalists, activists, novelists, and poets. They will learn to think critically abou the relations of power and inequality concealed in everyday sweetness and bitterness. They will also develop skills and build confidence in analytical writing.