Designed primarily to permit the instructors to deal with a topic with which they are especially concerned, more focused than the subject matter of a regular lecture course. Does not count towards the requirements of the Sociology major, but may satisfy other campus requirements.

In the quest to find romance, more and more people are turning to online dating for answers. A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that almost half of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. have dated online and that 17% have committed either to a relationship or marriage with someone they have met through a dating site or app. Today, online dating is a multibillion-dollar industry that has caught the attention of academics and researchers. What kinds of people find partners online? Is online dating changing the ways we relate to others? How has it opened up more possibilities for those who belong to the ‘thin market’ of dating (i.e. non-heterosexuals, non-whites, seniors, and the divorced, etc.)? And what does this phenomenon say about our ever-shifting attitude around new technologies? This course will examine the state of modern romance from various angles, incorporating discourses on culture, gender, sexuality, race, class, and selfhood.

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