SOC 265(F) Drugs and Society

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 limited to 40; preference given to Sociology and Anthropology majors.

Hour: NOLAN