Elective courses

Sociology and Anthropology

• SOCI/ANTH 230 – Race and Ethnic Relations
• SOCI/ANTH 252 – Food and Culture
• SOCI/ANTH 276 – Gender and Society
• SOCI/ANTH 277 – Contemporary Issues in Economy, Society and Biodiversity
• SOCI/ANTH 284 – Risk Society and Social Control

Sociology

• SOCI 203 – Introduction to Society
• SOCI 221 – Digital Culture
• SOCI 225 – Sociology Through Film
• SOCI 261 – Social Problems
• SOCI 262 – Social Deviance (online through eConcordia)
• SOCI 275 – Self and Society
• SOCI 280 – Debates and Challenges in Contemporary Quebec Society (online through eConcordia)

Anthropology

• ANTH 202 – Introduction to Culture
• ANTH 203 – Culture and Biology
• ANTH 204 – Indigenous Peoples of North America
• ANTH 212 – Linguistic Anthropology
• ANTH 221 – Symbolic Anthropology
• ANTH 231 – Culture and Commerce
• ANTH 270 – Anthropology and Contemporary Issues

Sociology and Anthropology

• SOCI/ANTH 303 – Indigenous Resurgence
• SOCI/ANTH 319 – Socio-Environmental Issues
• SOCI/ANTH 322 – Popular Culture in the Middle East
• SOCI/ANTH 349 – Youth: Anthropological and Sociological Perspectives
• SOCI/ANTH 363 – Law and Society
• SOCI/ANTH 375 – Social Construction of Sexualities
• SOCI/ANTH 378 – The Family
• SOCI/ANTH 380 – Contemporary Issues in Human Rights

Sociology

• SOCI 321 – Sociology of Health, Illness and Medicine
• SOCI 325 – Social Change
• SOCI 329 – Sexual Labour and Society (online through eConcordia)
• SOCI 376 – Socialization

Anthropology

• ANTH 302 – Art, Aesthetics and Anthropology
• ANTH 320 – The Governance of "Nature"
• ANTH 326 – Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa
• ANTH 332 – Health, Illness and Healing in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Sociology and Anthropology

• SOCI/ANTH 429 – The Thought of Karl Marx
• SOCI/ANTH 433 – Theories of Identity
• SOCI/ANTH 441 – Material Culture
• SOCI/ANTH 449 – The Culture of Touch
• SOCI/ANTH 474 – The Body Social
• SOCI/ANTH 475 – Men and Masculinities
• SOCI/ANTH 484 – Surveillance Studies

Sociology

• SOCI 417 – Understanding Popularity: Cultural Objects and Desire
• SOCI 421 – Sociology of Emotions
• SOCI 424 – Applied Social Statistics
• SOCI 460 – Sociology of Fear and Risk

In our globalized world, business is a powerful social force that shapes how we understand ourselves, others and the world around us. This course explores business as a key driver of cultural, social and individual change. Using a sociological lens, students will critically examine how businesses interact with other areas of society and influence everyday life.

Topics include: 

• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
• The Attention Economy and Digital Distraction
• Surveillance Capitalism and Data Ethics
• Risk, Entrepreneurship and the Culture of Hustle
• Personal Branding and Identity in the Market
• Marketing, Consumer Culture and Environmental Responsibility

The course’s central theme is understanding how business functions within broader social and cultural systems. Students will engage with contemporary debates and develop tools to critically analyze how global business systems shape — and are shaped by — society.

By the end of the course, students will gain:

• A deeper sociological understanding of business in the modern world
• Insight into the cultural and social dynamics behind corporate practices
• A broadened worldview of business as both a personal and societal force

Ideal for students interested in sociology, business, communications, media, environmental studies and anyone curious about the intersection of markets, identity and culture.

Course description to come.

This course is designed to deepen your understanding of feminist theorizing about women and gender, particularly as these relate to multiple axes of difference and oppression, including ‘race’, class, culture, geography and sexuality. You will learn to distinguish between, articulate and critique various feminist ideas, while expanding your understanding of historical and ongoing debates within feminist theory. This course is designed to introduce students to the theoretical and practical frameworks of feminisms developed by women of color. We will explore notions of social location, identity and difference as a challenge to hegemonic feminism.

Presently engineers do not work in isolation — they operate in a world where projects span borders, cultures and disciplines. Whether building a small system with a few components or managing a large-scale infrastructure project with a global supply chain, engineering now demands far more than just technical know-how. Modern engineering is not only technologically complex — it is also socially complex. Engineers must be prepared to navigate human dynamics, diverse teams and a wide range of stakeholders.

This course is designed to build the essential human and strategic skills that employers now expect from engineers, including:

• Intrapersonal and interpersonal communication
• Conflict resolution and negotiation
• Critical thinking and problem-solving
• Cross-cultural communication
• Leadership and adaptability
• Cultural competency and stakeholder engagement
• Active listening and team collaboration

To develop these capabilities, students will explore real-world scenarios using game theory, scenario-based learning and Theory of Change frameworks. These interactive approaches will help students understand the human, cultural and social challenges that impact engineering outcomes.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Anticipate and address stakeholder concerns
• Manage interpersonal and team conflict
• Navigate cultural differences in global project environments
• Lead with empathy and strategic insight

This course is not just about improving soft skills — it is about preparing the next generation of engineers to lead with confidence in a complex, interconnected world.

Course description to come.

This course is designed to introduce you to the field of addictions adopting a critical sociological approach.

The course content will be structured around four main themes:

1. The theoretical perspectives and the medicalization of addiction
2. Addiction, inequality and social control
3. The expansion of addiction
4. The theoretical and empirical implications

The objective of the course is threefold:

1. A reflexive understanding of addiction as an elastic and complex phenomenon its theoretical underpinnings
2. An appreciation of the individual, social, political and sociocultural dimensions implicated in the construction of addiction and its governance
3. A reframing of addiction in the realm of neoliberalism and the theory of consumption.

This course examines social inequalities in health, specifically, what shapes population health inequities. This includes structural systems and ideologies, public policies, living and working conditions and stressors among others. Key to this course is the critical analysis of why health inequalities are maintained and exacerbated.