Constellation: How Does Social Control Operate in the Modern World?

The United States incarcerates nearly two million of its citizens. How and why did this happen? How much of it is just? This interdisciplinary cluster of courses examines mass incarceration through the lenses of law, media theory, sociology, history, and more, encouraging students to critically explore the systems and ideologies that shape modern social control. All courses taught in English.

Students enroll in one fall course and one spring course for their matched Constellation. Students are assigned to the fall semester to enroll in one integrated W120 course.

Fall 2025

SOCIOL 128CN Incarceration Nation

WRITING 120 Dystopian Fiction
WRITING 120 Reproductive Justice
 

Spring 2026

HISTORY 161CN Race, Policing, and Social Control in U.S. History
HISTORY 158CN Fascism: A History
POLSCI 109CN Police, Prisons and Politics
NEUROSCI 178CNS Mental Illness, Addiction, and Incarceration
GERMAN 185CN Surveillance and Society: Big Brother, Secret Police, and Reality TV

Note: Use the advanced search tool in Duke Hub to see Fall 2025 course information. Select Fall 2025 for the term, Constellation course for the attribute, and Social Control for the attribute value.