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Sociology: Courses
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology
Credits: 3Semester(s): F Sp
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces fundamental ideas and concepts of sociology, including culture, norms, status, role, socialization, stratification, industrialization, urbanization, and bureaucratization.
SOC 111 Contemporary Popular Music
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Same as AMS 111. Outlines historical developments that helped formulate today's jazz and rock movements. Emphasizes roots and foundations of the forms.
SOC 201 Structure of American Society
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces principal features and modern tendencies of patterned behavior in American society.
SOC 205 Sociology of Art
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines the linkages between social processes and artistic endeavors. Emphasizes the manners in which art, both historically and currently, has affected societies and influenced social behaviors.
SOC 206 Social Problems
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines social problems and their history, theoretical perspectives in the literature, and social problems as related to and distinguished from the concepts of deviance and social disorganization.
SOC 211 Sociology of Diversity
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Provides a sociological introduction to diversity in American society. Explores the bases and social implications of difference with particular reference to issues of race, ethnicity, religion, class, and gender.
SOC 235 Sociology of American Jews
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces the sociology of American Jews. Addresses the social foundations of the Jewish cultural experience, and, specifically, the relationship between the diverse population of Jewish religious adherents in the United States and the larger American society. Pays particular attention to issues of identity, family, social institutions, educational systems, assimilation, accommodation, and community matters. Additionally, the course moves beyond a strictly sociological perspective to present a survey and overview of the issues pertinent to the Jewish experience in America.
SOC 238 Women, Work, and Family in the 20th Century
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Same as AMS 238. Explores the experience of women of different race, class, and ethnic groups regarding changes in women's responsibilities in the family, participation in the labor force, and the development of new family forms. The course illuminates contemporary issues regarding work, marriage, and family from a historical perspective.
SOC 293 Social Research Methods
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines content analysis, unobtrusive measures, participant observation, surveys, field experiments, the relationship of methods to social theory development, ethical implications of the methods, and the use of research findings for designing social programs.
SOC 294 Basic Statistics for Social Sciences
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Provides a foundation in the mathematics underlying statistical techniques for interpreting quantitative social data.
SOC 304 Sociology of Aging
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores social and historical currents in the study of aging; physiological, social, and theoretical perspectives of gerontology; issues of daily living impinging on older persons; and the institutional and social structural consequences of demographic trends.
SOC 307 Criminology
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explains patterns in the incidence and frequency of crime and delinquency based on criminological theory and research.
SOC 308 Sociology of the Life Course
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces theories and research on socialization processes. Provides an overview of development and socialization in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
SOC 309 Introduction to Social Change
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Basic issues and forces of social and cultural changes, both historic and contemporary.
SOC 310 Sociology of Education
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores schools and colleges as social institutions in the United States and other societies.
SOC 313 Sociology of the Family
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines the family in terms of its internal structure and its relationships with major social institutions. The analysis is generally cross-cultural, specifically emphasizing the American family.
SOC 314 Sociology of Gender
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Makes visible what has been invisible through much of sociology's history. Examines both the social process and social structure of gender relations.
SOC 315 Sociology of City Life
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Studies cities and metropolitan regions in terms of history, types, institutions, social organizations, ecological structure, and classes; urban problems; and city and regional planning.
SOC 317 Criminal Justice Systems
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Studies the institutions that administer criminal law: police, prosecutor, courts, probation service, and prisons and jails. Introduces substantive and procedural criminal law as applied by those institutions.
SOC 319 Juvenile Justice
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Reviews past and current legal reactions to adolescent deviance, delinquency, and crime.
SOC 321 Race and Ethnic Relations
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores intergroup relations in the United States among racial, religious, nationality groups. Considers factors in the development of intergroup hostility, acculturation, assimilation, and pluralism.
SOC 322 Introduction to Medical Sociology
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines social epidemiology, including the influence of social conditions on health status, and the effect of social milieu on the appearance of chronic degenerative disease and mental disorders.
SOC 325 Friendship and Life Course
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines theories and research on social networks, small group development, and social support. Focuses on friendship across the life course.
SOC 326 Group Dynamics
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: permission of instructor
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Improves the student's ability to observe, conceptualize, and explain small-group processes by analyzing events that occur in the group. Meetings are videotaped or sound-taped to aid analysis.
SOC 328 Social Stratification
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores systems of inequality in society, including theories of social stratification from Marx to the functionalists, forms of stratification systems, inequality in the United States, class consciousness, and class action.
SOC 329 Population Problems
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces the principles and methods of demographic analysis in sociology as it is used to examine population changes and their social, political, and economic implications for human societies.
SOC 332 Sociology of Work
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Presents an historical analysis of the meaning, function, and commitment to work of people in industrial societies, emphasizing the United States. Also studies the extent of job satisfaction and alienation from work.
SOC 334 Introduction to Mass Cultural Studies
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines popular culture and mass media through their relation to social processes. Introduces the tradition of cultural studies, especially the Frankfurt School of Sociology and the Birmingham School. Further considers contemporary approaches including cultural criticism, postmodernism and semiotics. Studies media culture as institutionalized in the film, music, television, advertising and publishing industries. Analyzes the relationship between popular culture and subcultures, especially adolescent subcultures.
SOC 335 Sociology of Adolescence
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores social processes and the socialization of children and adolescents, including current patterns of generational conflict, generational succession as a social problem, and age gradings and the status system.
SOC 336 Sociology of Communication
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines patterns of communication implied by senders or inferred by receivers drawn from media. Also explores categories and rules for interpreting and creating patterns; the genesis of patterns in social science, conventional thought, practical experience, and imagination; and their effects on class, ethnic, sex, and age groupings.
SOC 337 Sociology of Punishment
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Studies the organizational emergence of legal institutions to treat, isolate, and punish the criminal offender.
SOC 338 Sociology of Sexuality
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: SOC 101 recommended
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
An overview of current theoretical and empirical approaches to the sociological study of sexuality. Sexuality is discussed at both the micro-level, including sexual practices and sexual identities of individuals, and at the macro-level, with a focus on how sexuality is shaped within institutions and by the historical context.
SOC 348 Urban Sociology
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Considers urban and metropolitan communities and their problems, including housing, transportation, urban renewal, race relations, poverty, and suburbanization.
SOC 349 History and Development of Sociological Theory
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores the development of sociological theory and the forerunners of sociological thought, including contributions of Saint-Simon and Comte, Spencer, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and others.
SOC 350 Contemporary Sociological Theory
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces contemporary sociological theories; studies the historical background of and systematically analyzes sociological perspectives, such as functionalism, symbolic interaction, systems approaches, structuralism, and contemporary Marxism.
SOC 351 Sociology of Religion
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores religious behavior as it relates to the larger social system, including American religious phenomena and its cross-cultural perspective.
SOC 365 Sociology of Developing Countries
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Provides a theoretical and cross-societal comparative analysis of the social-structural, cultural, and motivational changes in developing countries.
SOC 368 Special Topics
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
The content of this course is variable and therefore it is repeatable for credit. The University Grade Repeat Policy does not apply.
Special topics in sociology determined by individual faculty interest. Topic titles and content vary from semester to semester. Check with the department for current offerings.
SOC 370 Special Topics
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
The content of this course is variable and therefore it is repeatable for credit. The University Grade Repeat Policy does not apply.
Special topics in sociology determined by individual faculty interest. Topic titles and content vary from semester to semester. Check with the department for current offerings.
SOC 371 Individual and Society
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Studies the relation between the individual and society. Examines major theoretical problems, such as human nature; communication and language; perception; socialization; role playing; and the interdependence of values, ideologies, and social structures.
SOC 373 Sociology of Law
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introduces social science materials on the nature of law, legal institutions, the legal profession, and the impact of law on behavior. Also considers theories of law and legality, comparative legal systems, police, lawyers, judges, jury, the effect of law on behavior, and the use of social science in the courts.
SOC 375 Postmodernism and War
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores war as a system of organized violence. Also examines state war (external war) and class war (internal war), the military-police complex, and the polymorphous violence of contemporary society.
SOC 379 Sociology of Literature
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines popular magazine fiction in relation to levels of taste and general values, and novels as presenting social strata. Utilizes selected scientific studies. Requires individual projects.
SOC 381 Contemporary Protest Movements
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Introductory course; involves the theoretical and empirical study of reform movements.
SOC 384 Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Studies the individual's participation in, and the structure, strategies, and developments of, organized groups that attempt to change society.
SOC 390 Race, Class, and Gender in the U.S. Military
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines race, class, and gender relations in the United States armed forces. Studies the military as a social institution. With the help of sociological concepts, theories, and methods, students analyze both the internal organization and the practices of the armed forces and the relationships between the military and other institutions. Additional topics include recent Congressional hearings and military policies on race relations, women in combat, sexual harassment, sexual orientation, and quality-of-life issues.
SOC 401 Sociology of East Asian Families
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: SOC 101
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Examines families in East Asia through the lens of sociological and economic family theory. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate different theories, comparing the assumptions on which they are based and ultimately discussing which theoretical perspectives most closely fit the data available for East Asia. During the semester, we will look at topics such as marriage, cohabitation, fertility, the division of household labor, divorce, remarriage, and intergenerational transfers in the context of East Asia.
SOC 405 Sociology of Deviance
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Explores deviant behavior, and studies the sociological determinants of crime and delinquency, mental disorders, alcoholism, and drug addiction.
SOC 422 Senior Seminar in Medical Sociology
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Social factors play a critical role in health. Social conditions and situations not only promote the possibility of illness and disability; they also enhance prospects of disease prevention and health maintenance. Examines the social facets of health and disease, the social functions of health organizations, the social behavior of health personnel and the users of health care, and the relationship of health-care systems to other social systems.
SOC 431 Historical Sociology
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Investigates the connection between biography, social structure and history.
SOC 440 Social Theories of Gender
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Reviews issues in critical theory, feminist theory, and postmodernism as they relate to sociology.
SOC 446 Environmental Sociology
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Examines the emerging field of environmental sociology in theoretical and substantive ways, focusing on issues of importance in all modern industrial societies. Concerns the reciprocal relationship between human societies and change within the natural environment.
SOC 464 Sociology of the Arts
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Considers reflection, social control, influence, and other theories of how the arts function in primitive and modern societies and cultures; also examines audiences and their relation to artists' roles.
SOC 467 Sociology and Social Policy
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Provides a critical evaluation of how sociological research can affect the development, revision, and application of social policies. Conducts a broad examination of legislative and economic issues within a sociological perspective.
SOC 468 Special Topics
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
The content of this course is variable and therefore it is repeatable for credit. The University Grade Repeat Policy does not apply.
Special topics in sociology determined by individual faculty interest. Topic titles and content vary from semester to semester. Check with the department for current offerings.
SOC 477 Sociology of Health Care
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Explores sociological perspectives on the role of health care facilities and systems in the larger society. Topics covered include the quality and availability of health care, training and socialization of care providers, governmental versus private control, and individual rights within health care.
SOC 481 Special Topics
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
The content of this course is variable and therefore it is repeatable for credit. The University Grade Repeat Policy does not apply.
Special topics in sociology determined by individual faculty interest. Topic titles and content vary from semester to semester. Check with the department for current offerings.
SOC 482 Senior Seminar: Sociology of Law
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: Completion of 64 undergraduate credit hours including a minimum of two of the following sociology courses: criminal justice systems, punishment, deviance, juvenile justice, criminology, and sociology of law, or by permission of the instructor.
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Covers advanced topics in deviance, juvenile justice, legal institutions, and criminology.
SOC 485 Social Change
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC
Examines class interests, agency, social movements, culture and other important issues embedded in historical and contemporary perspectives on the processes of social change. We consider such topics and their place in understanding how society changes. Our focus is on change in the United States; however, we also look at case examples from other parts of the world and discuss how globalization impacts on our understanding of the processes of social change.
SOC 492 Analysis of Social Data
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM
Special topics in the quantitative analysis of social data.
SOC 496 Internship Program
Credits: 1 - 6Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT
Typically conducted in a community agency, government office, or private setting. Gives students the opportunity to observe and participate in a variety of work experiences related to sociology. Open to sociology majors with junior or senior class standing only.
SOC 497 Honors Program
Credits: 3Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: minimum GPA of 3.25 in sociology and overall, completion of 64 credit hours, and permission of department
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT
Participation in the departmental honors program
SOC 499 Independent Study
Credits: 1 - 12Semester(s): N/A
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT
The content of this course is variable and therefore it is repeatable for credit. The University Grade Repeat Policy does not apply.
A program of work agreed upon by the student and a faculty sponsor. Requires a faculty sponsor in the department before registering.
Updated: Jul 15, 2008 10:26:57 AM