Sociology

The course provides a basic introduction to sociological studies of legal and illegal drug use. Readings emphasize classics such as Goffman, Becker, Collins, Bourdieu, and Latour, and show how these theories have been integrated in contemporary empirical research, in Norway and internationally. Topics include detailed studies of particular drugs (e.g. cannabis, MDMA, heroin, alcohol, tobacco) as well as studies of the formal and informal control of drug use and different treatment practices. It also discusses the phenomenological and philosophical background of concepts such as intoxication and addiction.

This course explores the relationship between science and society in both a historical and contemporary context. Since the days of Christopher Columbus, right down to the Apollo Space program, and more recently the large Hadron collider at CERN, it has become clear that ambitious scientific endeavor requires public confidence, communication, and funding in order to get from the original idea to something which has an impact in society. These considerations are just as valid in biology and medicine as they are in the physical sciences. This course draws on the unique range of museums, learned societies and organizations based in London to enable students to experience and appreciate the relationship between science and society and the need for scientists to engage and communicate with the wider world.

This course examines key concepts and values of the Western world that are still operating in our everyday life as individuals and members of a community-- political, social, and otherwise. It explores long-lived terms from their birth in the Greco-Roman world, their original meaning and function, and how we perceive them today.

This course examines approaches to Canadian society both past and present. It covers Canada at the national level, relationships within Canada, and Canadian institutions and life in Canada.