Spring 2026 – Two Great Sociology Courses available: SOCL 397 and SOCL 325
Are a Sociology major, someone who has taken Sociology classes, or someone who has expressed interest in taking Sociology courses.
I wanted to bring two exciting courses to your attention, both of which are 300-level electives taught by amazing instructors in Spring 2026.
SOCL 397: Sociology of Hip Hop
Schedule: W: 1:30PM-4:10PM, TBA Instructor(s): Hall, Rhys
and
SOCL 325: Sociology of Law
Schedule: R: 6:30PM-9:00PM Instructor(s): Duncan, Armanthia
Please consider registering for these classes, and spread the word to your friends and fellow students about them! They no longer require pre-requisites, so if people are interested who have not taken SOCL 101, please tell them to reach out to Prof. Alyson Spurgas for a PIN so they can register.
SOCL 397: Sociology of Hip Hop
Schedule: W: 1:30PM-4:10PM, TBA Instructor(s): Hall, Rhys
Distribution Requirement: Meets Social Sciences Requirement
Course Description:
Sociology of Hip Hop exposes students to a decade-based approach to the origins and development of the popular music and cultural genre, beginning with its predecessors and the initial pillars of hip hop. We assess the significant technological developments of each era that pushed artistic expression and production to new levels, and students utilize weekly “song of the week” breakdowns to highlight an artist or style that resonates with them and is emblematic of key evolutions in the genre. Students will complete a final project that demonstrates budding mastery of one component of music creation or appreciation; show how broader sociological debates surrounding race, class, gender, sexuality and other social variables are taken up in lyrics, videos, and associated media; and consider how both fans and critics respond to, embody, and in some cases co-opt the imagery, affect, and political messages of hip hop. We will also consider what the future holds for the medium.
SOCL 325: Sociology of Law
Schedule: R: 6:30PM-9:00PM Instructor(s): Duncan, Armanthia
Distribution Requirement: Meets Social Sciences Requirement
Course Description:
This course offers a sociological perspective on the law, as well as the causes and consequences of the legal system. Topics covered include a comparison of scientific and legal modes of inquiry, the uses and importance of social science findings in judicial and policy decision-making, social factors affecting jury selection and jury decisions, racial and class inequalities and the law, law as a form of social control, legal organizations and professions, and law as an instrument of social change.
More on SOCL 325: Sociology of Law taught by Professor Duncan:
In this course we will examine the reciprocal influences between society and law. How do each mutually shape each other, and how are we impacted by this relationship? When studying the sociology of law, it is imperative to study legal structures (like the legal system), legal processes (how laws are created) and the role law plays in socializing members of our society. It is crucial to this course (and most Sociology courses tbh) to understand the social implications of law from how it has played a vital role in social stratification of groups to how it is weaponized as a means of addressing social problems and at times creating them.
Early in this course we will read the works of theorists who examine and interrogate the complicated role of law in society. Specifically, how law serves selective interests and the culpability of law in transforming society. These reviewed theories will then be applied to current social phenomena entangled with law. Knowledge of and engagement with law is a necessity for serious and concerted efforts for social justice in modern society, and if we aren’t careful and accurate with our understanding of social dynamics, participation with law can threaten these efforts. So, it is a must that we arm ourselves with sociological imaginings of law and society!
Prof. Duncan’s bio:
Armanthia Duncan-Tudeme works full-time for a college access non-profit organization housed on Trinity College’s campus, Hartford Youth Scholars. She has worked for this organization for over 10 years. She supports and guides students and their families from marginalized backgrounds to and through college starting as early as middle school. Mrs. Duncan-Tudeme is a proud native of Mississippi. She began her collegiate trajectory at Jackson State University, the historically black university in the state’s capital, studying political science under the tutelage of some of the state’s most ardent and influential civil rights activists. She was trained early on to view her educational pathway as a vital tool to elevate the causes of racial uplift and liberation. She attended the University of Memphis where she earned two Masters of Arts degrees in History and Sociology. During that time, she also earned a Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies. Upon graduating from the University of Memphis, she was accepted into the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Department of Sociology doctoral program, where she is currently ABD.
During her time at UMASS, she worked on NSF-grant-funded research on job insecurity among New Haven’s black residents; worked for the Graduate Student Union and Senate. Mrs. Duncan-Tudeme is a tried and true educator who also has extensive experience inside the classroom having taught both History and English Literature to Middle School students for The Collegiate Academy, she also taught at the collegiate level while at UMASS-Amherst teaching several courses including Social Inequality, Criminology, Gender and Crime, and Sociology of Law, and has also been a visiting faculty member for Trinity College teaching on several occasions over the years introduction to Sociology and Sociology of Law.
