New Courses for Spring 2026

Collage of photos to represent SOC 290 various topics for sections 1, 2, and 3

290.01: Power and Society 

Professor Mary Hovsepian 

TuTh 1:25 PM - 2:40 PM

Exploration of power as people's or groups' ability to impose their will on others, even against resistance. Interrogates the basis, forms, and relations of power through a sociological lens.  Analyzes interconnections between power and social, economic, and political inequalities. Critically explores how power operates in states, corporations, and other institutions at the national and international levels. Considers options and obstacles to challenging power.

290.02: Managing Disruption

Professor Daniel Scott Smith 

WF 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM

From vaccines to AI, breakthroughs shape our daily life and sometimes disrupt it. How do ideas develop, gain momentum, and shatter the status quo? Drawing on research in management and sociology, students explore how ideas become industries, how organizations take off or fall flat, and why some innovations spark revolutions while others fade. Case studies range from medical advances to tech startups, offering insights into the strategies, movements, and institutions that give power to our new ideas and catalyze cultural change. By the end, students will understand disruption not as a buzzword, but as social process — one they can recognize, analyze, and manage in their future careers.

290.01: Labor Market Stratification 

Professor Wenhao Jiang

M 3:05 PM - 5:35 PM 

Exploration of power as people's or groups' ability to impose their will on others, even against resistance. Interrogates the basis, forms, and relations of power through a sociological lens.  Analyzes interconnections between power and social, economic, and political inequalities. Critically explores how power operates in states, corporations, and other institutions at the national and international levels. Considers options and obstacles to challenging power.