Sociology

SOC 1301 (SOCI 1301) Introduction to Sociology (3 semester hours) An overview of the sociological perspective and its application to social research and social policy. (3-0) Y

SOC 2300 Introduction to Gender Studies (3 semester hours) An introduction to the way gender shapes individuals, social institutions and culture. Examines gender, class, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and nationality as interactive systems. Topics include biological arguments about gender and sexuality; the cultural construction of gender; the psychology of sex roles; the ways gender shapes families, workplaces and other social institutions. (Same as GST 2300) (3-0) Y

SOC 2319 (SOCI 2319) Race, Gender and Class (3 semester hours) The study of how race, gender, and class systems are interwoven. Explores how the multiple statuses of individuals (race, gender, and class) combine to produce packages of privileges and disadvantages. Topics include the social meanings of color, sex/gender systems in historical and contemporary perspectives, theories of power, stereotyping, affirmative action, race and gender in U.S. law, and welfare debates. (3-0) Y

SOC 3303 Classical Social Theory (3 semester hours) Introduction to the classic theorists in sociology, primarily works by Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Georg Simmel. This course examines how these early theorists defined and described society within their own social contexts, as well as how we derive meaning from their writings to understand and explain issues of twenty-first century societies. Prerequisite: SOC 1301. (3-0) Y

SOC 3304 Research Methods in Sociology (3 semester hours) Examines methods of sociological research. Topics include the nature of scientific inquiry, framing a research problem, choosing a research design, developing hypotheses, sampling designs, and measuring variables. Topics will be covered as students conduct their own study. (Same as CRIM 3304 and PA 3304) (3-0) Y

SOC 3306 Research and Writing for Sociological Practice (3 semester hours) This course examines the relationship between theory and research and will require students to develop a research project that focuses on an area of sociological practice including but not limited to race and ethnic relations, education, the environment, social movements, stratification, the family, health care and workplace diversity. Implications for public policy will also be considered. Satisfies the Advanced Writing and research methods requirements for sociology majors. Prerequisites: SOC 1301 and SOC 3303. (3-0) Y

SOC 3314 Individual and Society (3 semester hours) The study of the relationship among the individual, social structure, and culture. Explores self-concept and personality, the process of socialization, role-taking and social interaction, norms, values, group membership, and group processes. (3-0) R

SOC 3321 Deviance (3 semester hours) Analysis of historical and contemporary perspectives which propose the causes, consequences, and cures for deviance. Description of theories, research, and public policy associated with efforts to control deviant behavior and deviant groups, and to establish normalcy. (3-0) R

SOC 3322 Contemporary Social Issues (3 semester hours) An overview of how sociological concepts and approaches can be applied to the study of the causes and consequences of various social issues in contemporary society. Topics may include poverty, crime, violence, social isolation, urban decay, changes in the family, consumerism, and health disparities. (3-0) R

SOC 3325 Race, Ethnicity, and Community (3 semester hours) An examination of the role race and ethnicity play in the social stratification of Americans in U.S. social institutions, including the economy, education, health care, and government, and of ways in which public policy addresses disadvantages of stratification. (3-0) R

SOC 3331 Sociology of Education (3 semester hours) An examination of how educational institutions reflect and, in turn, influence social, economic, and political forces in the larger society, with an emphasis on education in the United States. Major topics will include the relationship between schooling and social inequality; how public policies such as Brown v. Board of Education and No Child Left Behind have shaped American education; current public debates over educational equity and effectiveness; and the challenges facing public education in post-industrial society. (3-0) R

SOC 3333 Religion in Society (3 semester hours) This course examines religion as a social institution, its impact on other social institutions, including the economy, education, and government. (3-0) R

SOC 3334 The World's Professional Religions (3 semester hours) The world's recognized religions are not only systems of beliefs. They are also organized, with professional staff, literary and scholarly traditions, finances, and methods of sustaining and perpetuating themselves. This course reviews the major Asian and Western traditions from the perspective of how their main ideas and practices reflect and support this larger organizational context. Religious traditions and philosophies studied include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Legalism, and Shinto. (3-0) R

SOC 3336 Culture Regions (3 semester hours) Survey of a major region of the world as defined by a set of common cultural traditions and institutions such as Latin America, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, or South Asia. Each time the course is offered, it will review the key cultural, social, economic, and political features of the region being addressed. The specific region to be studied will be announced in advance, and the course may be repeated for credit when a different culture region is treated. (3-0) Y

SOC 3337 Media and Politics (3 semester hours) This course examines how American media, in a variety of forms, direct political debate, influence decision-making and agenda-setting, and facilitate the flow of political news and information in the United States. (3-0) R

SOC 3338 Japanese Culture and Society (3 semester hours) This course provides an introduction to the key cultural, social, economic, and political features of Japan. The course will cover traditional/historical as well as contemporary aspects. (3-0) R

SOC 3339 Media and Society (3 semester hours) This course examines the role of the mass media in contemporary society. The course will take an integrated approach to studying mass media of various types and explore different dimensions of the media process as well as different types of media. (3-0) R

SOC 3341 Internet and Society (3 semester hours) This course examines the ways that the Internet technologies are affecting our everyday life, culture, institutions, groups, and identity, dealing with issues about the representation, identity, production, consumption and regulation of the Internet. (3-0) R

SOC 3342 The Life Cycle (3 semester hours) An examination of the institutions that shape the course of people's lives from birth to death. Topics include primary socialization, family, schools, peer groups, occupations, retirement, and death. (3-0) R

SOC 3343 Sociology of the Family (3 semester hours) Trends in family life are examined with special attention to how these relate to changes in men's and women's roles. Topics include sex-role socialization, division of labor in the household, sexuality, emotional aspects of marriage, marital power and decision making, and divorce. (3-0) R

SOC 3344 Film and Society (3 semester hours) Utilizes full-length commercial films and documentaries to illuminate and demonstrate sociological concepts, phenomena and important contemporary social issues. The course also assesses the impact of films on American culture and society. (3-0) R

SOC 3346 Sociology of Sport (3 semester hours) Analyzes sport and its place in the culture of contemporary societies. Focuses on how sport and sport experiences are related to social development, social relations and major spheres of social life such as the economy, education and religion. (3-0) R

SOC 3347 Religion in International Development (3 semester hours) An examination of the involvement of contemporary world religions in the social and economic development of their home countries and regions, and, through these, their involvement in development of international public policy concentrated on development. (3-0) R

SOC 3352 Gender Roles (3 semester hours) Examines female and male gender roles in both historic and contemporary contexts. Topics may include the sex/gender distinction, gender socialization, masculinities, the sexual division of labor, gender and power, and the interaction of gender with race, class, and sexuality. (3-0) R

SOC 3354 Gender, Society, and Politics (3 semester hours) Addresses the influence of gender on the distribution of public goods and the way gender, interacting with race and class, shapes social, political, and economic institutions. Introduces students to traditional notions of rights and citizenship as conceptual underpinnings for contemporary political and legal debates (on welfare, reproductive rights, childcare, job segregation, women in the military, prostitution). (Same as GST 3303) (3-0) Y

SOC 4302 Class, Status, and Power (3 semester hours) The nature of systems of differentiation and ranking in societies and their consequences; examination of how prestige, occupational skills, education, and economic assets are used to create class distinctions in the United States; the impact of class on life chances; concepts and processes of social mobility; and the influence of power inconsistencies on income, wealth, and status. Prerequisite: SOC 1301 or SOC 2319 or SOC 3303. (3-0) Y

SOC 4337 Immigrants and Immigration in U.S. Society (3 semester hours) The course examines the assimilation into U.S. society and its main public social institutions of immigrants arriving after 1965 with a focus on the two largest groups: Mexicans and Asians, as well as immigrants from the Middle East. The course considers the effects of the economy and immigration law and policy on assimilation. Other topics include the impact of these 'newest' immigrants on the racial and ethnic as well as cultural diversification of the U.S. population, the second generation, and the future of immigrants and immigration in U.S. society. (3-0) R

SOC 4355 Social Movements (3 semester hours) The structure, causes, and consequences of change-oriented social movements. Historical and contemporary case studies, including the American labor movement, the civil rights movement, and the feminist movement. (3-0) R

SOC 4356 Social Welfare Policy (3 semester hours) Explores the origins of social welfare institutions, programs, and services in American and European societies. Reviews critiques of social welfare policies from diverse ideological and political perspectives as well as recent studies of program implementation and effectiveness. Examines the politics of social welfare reform. (3-0) R

SOC 4357 Drugs, Alcohol and Society (3 semester hours) This course examines the societal influences that lead to illicit drug and alcohol use and misuse, as well as the social consequences of those actions. The focus is on the social construction of addiction rather than on individual pathological behaviors. The relationship between individual and group behavior, and social structure is also explored. (3-0) R

SOC 4361 Law and Society (3 semester hours) Analyzes laws and legal institutions as forms of regulation and social control. Explores the links between legal decision making, social structure, and cultural knowledge systems. Theoretical perspectives on law and society, law and ideology, the relation of law to public policy, and legal change as a strategy of social reform are explored. (3-0) R

SOC 4369 Public Health and Society (3 semester hours) An overview of public and population health, with an emphasis on the relationship between social forces and health. Topics to be covered include the history of public health institutions and occupations; the determinants and social components of infectious and noninfectious diseases, including major public health epidemics and the response to them; public health rates, risk factors, indicators, and vital statistics; public health law, policy, and ethics; and the effects of social forces on health, including social inequality, culture and lifestyle, and environmental and occupational influences on health. Particular emphasis will be devoted to health disparities in the U. S. and globally. (3-0) R

SOC 4370 Poverty and Unemployment (3 semester hours) The historical, economic, political, and cultural context of poverty and unemployment in the United States, and the social and governmental response to these conditions. (3-0) R

SOC 4371 Mental Health and Illness (3 semester hours) Explores the diverse, disturbing, disruptive, and disabling phenomena of mental disorders. Topics to be covered include the classification of mental disorders, the etiology and epidemiology of mental illnesses, and the history of societal responses to mentally ill, including public policies. (3-0) R

SOC 4372 Health and Illness (3 semester hours) An examination of the social conditions and correlates of diseases, the social behavior of the sick, health institutions and professions, and the formulation and implementation of health policies and programs. (3-0) R

SOC 4375 Gender and Work (3 semester hours) A sociological analysis of historical trends and current patterns of gender inequality in paid and domestic work; examination of theories and research related to the role of gender in shaping labor market opportunities, experiences, and rewards; identification of various forms of workplace discrimination and potential remedies. (3-0) R

SOC 4377 Aging Society (3 semester hours) A study of the aging of society, including the biomedical, social, economic, and political forces shaping societal aging and public policies for the aged. (3-0) R

SOC 4378 Work and Occupations (3 semester hours) The structure of work, occupations, and industry with an emphasis on the rise of management and the modern corporation, productivity and work performance, the growth and decline of labor unions, and the emergence of service and high-tech industries. (3-0) R

SOC 4380 Women, Work and Family (3 semester hours) An examination of the relationship between women's work for pay in the marketplace and their unpaid work in homes across time and in different cultures. Topics include historical separation of work from home under capitalism; division of household labor between men and women; public policy initiatives (socialized/commercial housework and daycare, family leave, telecommuting, part-time and flex-time work) designed to make juggling work and family easier; the ways class, race, and ethnicity constrain and enable women's choices. (Same as GST 4380) (3-0) R

SOC 4384 Social Epidemiology (3 semester hours) A non-technical overview of epidemiology and its role in public health theory and practice, with emphasis on the social dimensions of health, illness, and injury. Topics include the history and conceptual basis for epidemiology; the basic tools of epidemiologic analysis, including case definitions and populations, incidence, prevalence, and case-fatality rates; public health surveillance and measures of health status; methodological approaches to inference, association, and causation; and the analysis of harm, benefit, cost, and intervention effectiveness. (3-0) R

SOC 4385 Health and Illness in Global and Cross-national Perspective (3 semester hours) A review of frameworks for understanding global health issues and the improvement of health at a population level. Topics include measurement of (and strategies for reducing) the burden of morbidity and mortality; the relationships among culture, political economy, and health; comparative health care systems and health policies; the relationship between economic development and health; and the role of global governmental and nongovernmental institutions in promoting health. Course concepts will be examined in the context of case studies of global epidemics and the response to them. (3-0) R

SOC 4386 Social Policy in Modern Societies (3 semester hours) Examines the controversies and research concerning the development of welfare states and public social provision. Particular emphasis is placed on the U.S. public social spending system, in historical and comparative perspective. Explanations of developments in social policies and an assessment of their applicability to the American welfare state and those of other societies are considered. (Same as PA 4386) (3-0) R

SOC 4396 Selected Topics in Sociology (3 semester hours) Subject matter will vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit (9 hours maximum). (3-0) R

SOC 4v97 Independent Study in Sociology (1-6 semester hours) Independent study under a faculty member's direction. May be repeated for credit (6 hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-6]-0) S

SOC 4v98 Internship (1-6 semester hours) May repeat for credit (6 hours maximum). Instructor consent required. This course can only be taken credit/no credit. ([1-6]-0) S

SOC 4v99 Senior Honors in Sociology (1-6 semester hours) For students conducting independent research for honors theses or projects. May be repeated for credit (6 hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-6]-0) S