Profile of <span>Trinh Tran</span>
Office
Robert A. Jones '59 House B04
Tel
(802) 443-3641
Email
trinht@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Spring Term: Tuesdays 4-5pm via Zoom, Thursdays 9:45-11:45am in person, RAJ B04

Courses Taught

Course Description

The Causes, Dynamics, and Consequences of International Migration
Whether they are asylum seekers, undocumented or legal migrants, large-scale movements of people across international borders raises important questions about human rights, nationality, and place. This global flow also presents unique challenges to both newcomers and residents of the receiving society as both sides contend with issues of loyalty, belonging, and identity. In this course we will examine these important issues using the United States as the primary (though not exclusive) context. Drawing upon historical and contemporary material, we will also discuss the social, cultural, political, and economic consequences of global migration.(formerly SOAN 0274) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2023

Requirements

AMR, CMP, NOR, SOC

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Course Description

Cities of Hope and Despair
Why have some cities outlasted empires and nation states while others exist on the edge of marginality and loss? In this course, we will use historical and contemporary examples to explore the rise and fall of urban centers around the world. What is the meaning of urbanity across cultures? What different purposes do cities serve? What challenges confront them, from climate change to gang warfare to new forms of human precarity? In this course we will also investigate how processes like colonialism, imperialism, and global migration shape the evolution of cities and how they exist in our imaginaries. 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2024

Requirements

CMP, SOC

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Course Description

Prior to registering for ANTH 0500, a student must enlist the support of a faculty advisor from the Department of Anthropology. (Open to Majors only) (Approval Required)

Terms Taught

Spring 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

One-Semester Senior Project
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a student will carry out an independent, one-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 25-40 pages, due the last day of classes.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Multi-Semester Senior Project
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a senior will carry out an independent multi-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 60-100 pages, due either at the end of the Winter Term or the Friday after spring break.

Terms Taught

Spring 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Education and Social Policy
School choice programs like charter and magnet schools are dramatically altering the educational landscape in the United States. In this course we will examine the premise that we can overcome the challenges of children living in poor neighborhoods by severing the traditional link between neighborhoods and schools and by providing access to extralocal high-quality schools. But who gets to exercise such choice? Does school choice result in better educational outcomes? We will also explore the relationship between school and neighborhood inequality. How do these two contexts work together to reproduce, intensify, or ameliorate spatial and educational inequities? (formerly SOAN/SOCI 0351) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Spring 2024

Requirements

AMR, NOR, SOC

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Course Description

International and Cross Cultural Education
Who gets to own knowledge? Who can acquire it? How do we construct advantage and disadvantage? Comparative and international education examines the intersection of culture and education and the ways they are inextricably related through history, politics, and literature. In this course we will explore major concepts, trends, and methodologies across disciplines, focusing on the effects of globalization, the maintenance and dissolution of borders, the commodification of knowledge, the social creation of meaning, and the consequences of those constructions. We will examine global educational traditions and realities on the ground in case studies of Western and developing nations.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2023

Requirements

CMP, SOC

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Course Description

School Lunches
In this course we will chew through critical analysis on the production and consumption of school lunches. We will examine how diverse actors—state and national governments, big corporations, food service companies, celebrity chefs, community activists, and concerned parents—battle over what lands on the cafeteria tray. Using readings from the social sciences as well as food documentaries, we will explore how initiatives like school gardens and cooking classes shape child development and socialization. The laboratory component of this class will look beyond the U.S. context by making and eating meals served up to students around the world. Food preparation and consumption practices will be adjusted, as necessary, to comply with COVID restriction guidelines.(There will be a $50 lab fee for this course to cover the cost of ingredients needed for making school lunches from around the globe.)

Terms Taught

Winter 2022

Requirements

WTR

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Course Description

Schools and Inequality
In this course we will explore fundamental questions about the relationship between schools and society. What should be the normative goals of education? How do we explain educational disparities? We will look at theories on race, class, disability, gender, and sexuality to examine the role that schools play in reproducing or circumventing inequality in society. Drawing upon both domestic and international contexts, we will incorporate theories and methods from across the social sciences. 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2021

Requirements

CW, SOC

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Course Description

Middle East Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)

Terms Taught

Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Global Migration and Diaspora Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Only)

Terms Taught

Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

The City and Its People
We all live somewhere, and increasingly we find ourselves living in an urban environment. In this course we will explore current topics in urban sociology, with particular emphasis on the power of place, culture, and community in U.S. cities. We will study the historical, cultural, and political conditions that have shaped contemporary U.S. cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. We will examine how cities change and resist change through the lens of such subjects as migration, poverty, urban arts, crime, and education as it pertains to the city. Students will read a variety of ethnographic and sociological materials, in order to gain an understanding of the complexities of both urban life and processes of representation. (formerly SOAN 0235) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

Requirements

AMR, NOR, SOC

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Education and Social Policy
School choice programs like charter and magnet schools are dramatically altering the educational landscape in the United States. In this course we will examine the premise that we can overcome the challenges of children living in poor neighborhoods by severing the traditional link between neighborhoods and schools and by providing access to extralocal high-quality schools. But who gets to exercise such choice? Does school choice result in better educational outcomes? We will also explore the relationship between school and neighborhood inequality. How do these two contexts work together to reproduce, intensify, or ameliorate spatial and educational inequities? (formerly SOAN 0351) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

Requirements

AMR, NOR, SOC

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Prior to registering for SOCI 0500, a student must enlist the support of a faculty advisor from the Department of Sociology. (Open to Majors only) (Approval Required)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2025

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

One-Semester Senior Project
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a student will carry out an independent, one-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 25-40 pages, due the last day of classes.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2025

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Multi-Semester Senior Project
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a senior will carry out an independent multi-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 60-100 pages, due either at the end of the Winter Term or the Friday after spring break.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2025

View in Course Catalog