SOC 265 Drugs and Society (Not offered 2006-2007; to be offered 2007-2008)
From nineteenth-century opium dens to early-twentieth-century speakeasies to
late-twentieth-century crack houses, this course investigates the important
impact of drugs on American society. Focusing on the social control of drug and
alcohol use, particularly legal forms of social control, the course analyzes such
historical developments as the rise and fall of prohibition; the
early-twentieth-century illegalization of narcotics; the emergence of Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and other self-help groups; and
the recent advent of drug courts and juvenile boot camps. The analysis will
include evaluation not only of the social influence of drugs typically classified as
"illicit," such as cocaine, opium, morphine, heroine, and marijuana, but also of
alcohol, tobacco, and the recent emergence and popularity of
psycho-pharmaceutical drugs like prozac and ritalin. Rooted in a sociological
perspective, the course reviews different theoretical explanations of drug and
alcohol consumption and of the different strategies, legal and otherwise, that
have been employed to define and regulate drug use in American society.
Requirements: a research paper, a take-home midterm, and a final exam.
Enrollment limit: 40 (expected: 25). Preference given to Anthropology and
Sociology majors.