SOC 2210 - Animals and Human Society

• Students will be able to explain primary concepts, theories, and methodologies that social scientists use to understand the animal-human relationship.
• Students will be able to use social scientific concepts to discuss the various ways that animals are used in human societies.
• Students will be able to identify and analyze the sociocultural reasons for, and consequences of, animal domestication.
• Students will be able to analyze and evaluate empirical findings about the human-animal relationship, including the identification and critical assessment of primary and secondary sources, data sets, and other relevant materials in the field.
• Students will be able to critically discuss and explain the development of the human-animal relationship.
• Students will be able to critically discuss and explain the biocultural implications of the human-animal relationship.
• Students will be able to identify and explain ways that human societies have used representations of animals in art, religion, and literature from a sociocultural perspective.
• Students will be able to critically discuss the complex role played by pets in modern human society.
• Students will be able to apply social scientific theories to analyze contemporary issues in human-animal relationships, such as animal rights movements and environmental justice.
• Students will be able to use and apply social scientific concepts and theories to analyze the ethical dimensions and social dynamics in current debates involving animals.
• Students will be able to critically analyze their own assumptions about the animal-human relationship, and discuss how this relationship is represented in different contexts.
• Students will be able to critically discuss the future of the animal-human relationship in the context of climate transformation.