MANAGEMENT AND SOCIETY (MNGT)

Special topics course. Content will vary each semester. Honors version available. Honors version available.

An introduction to communication theory, research, and practice in a variety of interpersonal and organizational contexts. This course examines the role of communication in both personal and professional relationships. Honors version available.

Why do we work, and how does work shape our lives? This course examines the social organization of work through classical theory, ethnographic accounts, and first-person narratives. Students will explore how individuals experience work, how workplaces function, and how they reproduce inequality. Emphasizing critical sociological thinking, the course equips students with tools to analyze formal workplaces in the U.S. and reflect on the broader meaning of work in society.

Introduction to the theory and practice of communication in the small group setting. Topics may include group development, conformity and deviation, gender, problem solving, and power and leadership. Permission of the instructor for nonmajors.

Analysis of the ways in which consumers and business firms interact in a market economy. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 310 and 410.

The course explores the historical and theoretical developments in the research and practice of organizational communication. Permission of the instructor for nonmajors. Honors version available.

Main features of the American economy: colonial times to the present. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 330 and ECON 430.

Industry structure and its relation to performance; market imperfections; description and analysis of antitrust and regulation. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 345 and ECON 445.

A survey of the rise and development of the major financial, commercial, manufacturing, and transportation enterprises that transformed the United States from an agricultural into a leading industrial nation.

From the experience of colonial artisans to contemporary factory and office workers, organized and unorganized, this course examines the effect of the industrial revolution on the American social and political landscape.

An economic analysis of workplace issues, including worker quits, layoffs and unemployment, discrimination and affirmative action, and the setting of pay, fringe benefits, and working conditions. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 380 and ECON 480.

This course is for students selected as Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) for sociology courses.

How do organizations shape our lives and our society? This course explores the role of formal organizations in contemporary life, from local communities to global markets. Students will examine sociological theories of organizations, analyze how they reinforce social actions and inequalities, and consider their future in the 21st century. Through critical evaluation and applied analysis, students will gain tools to understand and assess the influence of organizations on broader social structures.

Social stratification explores how human society gets divided into haves and have-nots. It includes patterns of unequal resource distribution and the processes through which these inequalities occur. It also examines how individuals can change their social position over time. And, it asks how different dimensions of social status (such as race, class, and gender) matter for stratification patterns and processes.

Examination of the structure and operation of institutions where economy and society intersect and interact, such as education, industrial organizations, on-the-job training, labor markets, and professional associations. Emphasis on the contemporary United States, with selected comparisons with Western Europe and Japan.

This course examines characteristics of the jobs (the occupations and industries available in the labor market) and the workers (classified by gender, race, age, education) that comprise the labor force. Topics include the changing nature of work (automation and AI, employment relations and the gig economy, quality of jobs), the role of immigration, and the ways in which people are matched to jobs. Students will gain an understanding of work and workers in the United States.

This course examines how organizations negotiate with one another in economic, political, and social settings. Students analyze conflicts among corporations, governments, labor unions, nonprofits, and advocacy groups through case studies and negotiation simulations.

Directed independent research under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

Preparation of an honors thesis and an oral examination on the thesis.