Teaching

COURSES TAUGHT

University of California, Riverside:

Graduate Courses:

SOC 285F: NEUROSOCIOLOGY: This graduate seminar is designed to introduce students to the core concepts and theories of Neurosociology—a new Sociological subfield that aims to understand how societal level cultural and structural factors (such as systems and institutions) shape neural pathways and processing of social behavior, attitudes and other core processes of social cognition. We explore several topics linking sociology with the neurosciences, psychology and philosophy such as the socio-cultural foundations of basic mental processes like cognition, emotion, language, memory, identity and categorization as well as the seemingly dualities of brains vs. minds, cognition vs. emotions, and structure vs. agency.

SOC 248: CORE COURSE ON SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: This graduate seminar covers topics in sociological social psychology. We will cover a range of theoretical perspectives including but not limited to symbolic interactionist theories, identity, status and exchange perspectives as well as some current research within these theoretical frameworks.

SOC 285J: Social Psychology of Emotions: This graduate seminar covers topics in sociology of emotions from a social psychological lens. We cover a range of theoretical perspectives including evolutionary and biological theories, social constructionist and symbolic interactionist theories, identity, status and exchange perspectives as well as some selective topics like morality, gender and race.

SOC 301: Teaching Practicum : This course is designed to improve Sociology graduate students’ teaching skills at the undergraduate level. Throughout the course, we discuss several topics that will help design a good course, explore different teaching styles and techniques and finally assist students in becoming reflective teachers of sociological knowledge. Another goal of this course is to help students create a teaching portfolio that will serve as the foundation for teaching their own courses and, if you keep it up to date, will be useful throughout their career.

Undergraduate Courses:

Social Psychology: This is a survey course that covers the major theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches and their applications to several topics including but not limited to self & identities, inequalities, deviance, emotions, attitudes, mental illness and collective behavior.

Theories of Interpersonal Behavior: This course investigates contemporary social psychological approaches to the study of interpersonal behavior. The course is organized into two sections: “the bad and the ugly”, and “the good and the happy”. In the first half of the course, we focus on the intentional and non-intentional negative consequences of human social interactions, including a basic understanding of societal inequalities, racial/ethnic and social class relationships and various implicit and explicit biases that plague interpersonal relationships and divide groups. In the second half of the course, we cover the brighter side of human relationships ranging from what makes people happy, how friendships and interactions with diverse others might improve well-being, and whether or not it is possible to create a happy planet through sustainable living practices.

Methods of Sociological Inquiry (See below for description)

GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY:

Graduate:

SOCI 8040: Cognitive Sociology (Graduate Course), Spring 2017: This graduate seminar is designed to introduce students to the core concepts and theories of human social cognition from an interdisciplinary perspective in an attempt to open the so-called “black box.” We explore several topics linking sociology, psychology and philosophy such as the socio-cultural foundations of basic mental processes like cognition, emotion, language, memory, identity and categorization as well as the seemingly dualities of brains vs. minds, cognition vs. emotions, and structure vs. agency.

GLOS 6210/PSYC 8210/SOCI 8900: Global Issues In Social Psychology (Graduate Course), Fall 2016: This graduate seminar covers topics in social psychology from a global lens. This seminar covers topics in social psychology from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating theories and literature from sociology, psychology and the political sciences. Topics include cultural values, methodological equivalences, inter-cultural group conflict, self and identity, aggression and violence, attitudes about immigration and refugees, and altruism.

Undergraduate:

SOCI 3020: Research Methods (Undergraduate Course), Spring 2016, Fall 2017

This is a required course for Sociology undergraduate majors on the logic and practice of social science research. It is a practical course designed to teach students the concepts and skills that sociologists use to analyze social life. This course involves dealing with the theoretical and technical principles that form the basis of social research, including determining appropriate research strategies, developing measurable concepts, building and revising social theories in light of empirical data, and confronting ethical dilemmas.

PERS 2002: Scientific Perspectives on Global Problems: Happy 🙂 – The Science of Happiness (Undergraduate Course), Spring 2018: This course investigates contemporary approaches to the study of happiness by focusing on research from a wide range of disciplines including psychology, sociology, economics, philosophy and the neurosciences. Throughout the course, we answer several questions like: What is happiness? Why are some people happier? Does money buy happiness? Are people living in rich countries happier? Can we improve happiness? We will particularly focus on the issues around happiness with global and cross-cultural lenses.

University of Iowa:

 34:066: Social Inequality (Undergraduate Course), Fall 2011

This is an elective course for undergraduate students (Sociology major and non-major alike). Curriculum included an overview and major trends of inequalities in the US as well as inequality from a cross-cultural comparative perspective. A publicly available class wikispace (http://inequalityprojects.wikispaces.com/) was developed with the contributions of the students.

34:066: Social Inequality (Online Undergraduate Course), Spring 2011