STSO 4430 - Drugs in History

This course teaches basic historical, anthropological, and sociological concepts that can be used to make sense of a wide variety of contemporary phenomena students encounter in everyday life. The focus is on analyzing how licit and illicit drugs serve as “technologies” within specific social contexts or subcultures; what drug policy reveals about social, political, and economic organization; and the impacts of biomedical knowledge and practice on specific population groups. The course focuses on the representation of drug use and drug users in popular culture, science and medicine, and history and the social sciences.

Prerequisites/Corequisites: Prerequisite: 1000-level course (or higher) in STS

When Offered: Spring term annually.

Credit Hours: 4