SOC – Sociology
SOC 120 Principles of Sociology (3)
Presents key basic concepts and principles of the discipline. Designed to introduce students to how sociologists use these tools to analyze society, including social and cultural change. (SB, GPC, EXP)
SOC 225 Social Problems (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 or instructor’s permission. Explores contemporary social issues, such as poverty, race, gender, including analysis of the breadth and depth of the problems, the causes of the problems and some potential responses to them. The focus is on understanding the dimensions of the problems that can then be used to analyze and critique contemporary society.
SOC 235 Schools and Societies (3)
Prerequisites SOC 120 or EDUC 110. Designed to provide an overview of sociological theories that examine education in modern societies. Utilizing a global, comparative approach, the course investigates topics such as: the historical origins of schooling and education systems; the effects of school characteristics on student achievement and educational attainment; education and inequality; cross-national differences in educational systems; the organizational characteristics of schooling; and prospects for school reform. Discussion of research in these areas helps to dispel myths about formal education and provide a sense of the powerful impact — and also the limitations — of schools in modern societies. (SB, GPN)
SOC 241 Criminology (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120. Criminology is designed to provide an overview of sociological and criminological theories that explain crime and deviance in the contemporary period. In addition, we examine the consequences and patterning of crime, and analyze the criminal justice system and corrections policies. (SB)
SOC 242 Sociology of the Family (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 or instructor’s permission. Examines the interaction of family with conditions and structures in society. Surveys the social history of the family and examines factors bringing about changes. Explores some contemporary family topics and looks at available alternatives. (SB)
SOC 248 Statistics for Sociologists (4)
Pre-requisites: SOC 120 and a declared sociology or anthropology major or minor. Serves as an introduction to statistical analysis used in sociological research. Explores how and when to use descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency and dispersion, inferential statistics, including analysis of variance and chi-square, bivariate analysis, including nominal, ordinal, and interval-ratio level variables, and multivariate analysis. We will pay particular attention to how these techniques serve as tools to help provide answers to sociological questions. (MR)
SOC 250 Introduction to Social Work (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 or instructor’s permission. Provides an overview of the applied field of social work. Explores the various theories and approaches used by social workers to help improve the quality of their clients’ lives. Highlights the range of human service organizations operating in today’s society.
SOC 320 Sociology of Gender (4)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 or equivalent. Examines ways in which society and culture shape gender expectations. Focuses on the impact of gender on identity, life-long socialization, work and violence. Also covers the dynamics of race and gender.
SOC 333 Sociology of Popular Culture (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 and second-year standing. Popular culture has become a taken-for-granted part of our everyday lives. Using tools sociology provides, we will examine its production, consumption, expansion, and impact. Topics explored may include the relationship between popular culture and social order, norms, identity, taste, persuasion, and propaganda.
SOC 335 Globalization and Development (4)
Prerequisite SOC 120. Explores historical and contemporary processes that are leading to greater cultural, economic, and political interconnectedness at individual, local, and national levels. A central goal of the course is to clarify what is meant by the ideas “globalization” and “development” and to better understand how and to what extent these forces affect societies and individuals around the world. Provides an overview of globalization and development drawing on theoretical ideas from sociology and related fields. (GPN, GS)
SOC 336 Status and Inequality in Social Life (4)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 or instructor’s permission. An examination of the distribution of economic, social and cultural resources such as income, wealth, education, social networks, etc. The analysis will include how possession of such resources determines status in society, including both opportunities for and obstacles to social mobility.
SOC 340 Sociology of Sport (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 and second-year standing. Sport in the United States pervades social institutions throughout society, including family, education, economy, and government. This course focuses on sport – from youth sports to the professional level – as a social and cultural phenomenon utilizing sociological concepts to analyze the influence sport has on individuals and society. Particular attention will also be paid to issues of race, gender, and class as they relate to sport.
SOC 342 Sociology of Religion (3)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 or instructor’s permission. Examines the impact that religious belief and practice have upon contemporary life in the U.S. and abroad. The course also investigates how religious institutions are affected by other forms of social life. Offered alternate years.
SOC 346 American Ethnicity (4)
Prerequisite: SOC 120 and second-year standing. Explores the meaning and consequences of race and ethnicity in the United States. Explores how race and ethnicity are impacted by social, structural, and historical changes in society. Gives special attention to theories utilized by sociologists to explain demographic and social trends related to race. (GPC)
SOC 350 Methods of Social Research (4)
Prerequisite: SOC 248 (or its equivalent); SOC 120 or instructor’s permission. Focuses on the major consecutive steps involved in a scientific inquiry into social relations, and, in addition, deals with problems particularly characteristic of social scientific research. Special emphasis on group research projects, questionnaire construction, data analysis and data presentation. (WRT)
SOC 397 Internship: Sociology (Arr)
Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. Students will work under supervision of professionals in one of several areas, e.g., corrections, social work, hospital, school, adoption agency, etc. for a semester. Focus will be on learning by observing and practicing. Pass/No Credit basis.
SOC 450 Sociological Theory (4)
Prerequisite: five courses in the department. Provides analysis of sociology’s major theorists with an emphasis on classic works, such as those by Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Cooley, Mead, and others. The goal will be on both learning the contact of various theoretical perspective and on application of such models to critique contemporary society.
SOC 485 Senior Seminar (4)
Prerequisite SOC 450. A capstone course where students integrate and assess acquired sociological knowledge through applied research, guided discussion, and written analysis. In addition, students will prepare for their transition from college to professional life by investigating prospective post-graduate educational and career paths and produce documents (e.g., resume, cover letter, statement of purpose, etc.) relevant to each of these paths. (WRT)