Sociology

This course explores the history of race, ethnicity, nationalism, nation-building processes, and migration in Latin American countries. It offers a study of the influences of Asian immigrant communities on Latin American populations. This course discusses the dynamics and demographics of Asian migration to Latin American and migrants' integration processes into the education system, labor market, and social, political, and cultural life. It focuses on the responses of host societies to Asian immigrant groups such as racism, xenophobia, and other forms of exclusion.

This course on French gastronomy provides an overview of how the food and wine culture became such a distinctive feature of life in France. It addresses both the subjects of food and wine, with a view to giving as informative a perspective as possible. The course covers the evolution of French food culture as well as regional cuisines. It also gives special attention to wine areas as well as the rituals around food and wine. The course thus relies on historical facts, sociological data, and economic figures but is also be an opportunity to get as close as possible to French gastronomy with field trips, dinners, and tastings. The perspective is both French and foreign as it welcomes students’ experience and ideas about French gastronomy.

This course examines the ecology and the socialization processes surrounding child development. Students review the ecological perspective and identify multiple layers of ecological systems including family, school, community, and media to explain their influences on child development. 

Social justice has long been at the heart of 'development' – alongside economic growth, environmental sustainability and accountable governance. Further, these other goals are often regarded as instrumental to justice: growth enables surplus for redistribution; sustainability ensures fairness to future generations; and accountability promotes more equitable shares. Rather than debate ‘social justice’ in abstract terms, this course engages with embedded, ethnographic perspectives: why does injustice prevail; why do inequalities persist; why are states violent; how do people come to resist and mobilize for change; engage with the state; or turn to violent opposition? In listening to people’s perspectives, understanding their beliefs and desires, the course also introduces the anthropological approach to development at large. 

Being healthy is a fundamental human desire. But different cultures have different understanding of the body and employ a wide variety of methods for curing ill-health. Consequently, the history of medicine provides an important avenue for deepening understanding of global diversity and cross-cultural interactions. Since the 19th century, both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine have played important roles in curing the Chinese. This course focuses on the social, cultural and political contexts underpinning the transmission of Western medicine and the transformations of traditional Chinese medicine from the early 19th century to the present. Assessment: tutorial presentation and participation, short essay, journal, final exam.