Updated Course List: Sociology

For the 2005-6 Schedule of Anthropology classes see CNAV or printed "Schedule of Classes" 

List of Sociology Classes
For course descriptions, scroll down or click on the titles

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  Soc 101:  Introduction to Sociology
  Soc 202:  Wealth, Power, and Prestige
  Soc 204:  Sociology of Mass Media and Popular Culture
  Soc 205:  Sociology of Religion
  Soc 206:  Sociology of the Family
  Soc 207:  Criminology
  Soc 209:  Racial and Ethnic Relations
  Soc 212:  Deviance, Diversity, and Difference
  Soc 217:  Gender Inequality
  Soc 231:  Self in Society
  Soc 233:  Science, Knowledge and the New Age
  Soc 239 Health, Medicine, and Society
  Soc 240 Sexualities
  Soc 241 Globalization
  SOC 243: The Chinese Connection: Chinese Demographics from a Global Perspective
  Soc 262:  Social Development of Latin America
  Soc 267:  Society and Politics in Latin America
  Soc 302:  Research Methods
  Soc 303:  Data Analysis and Statistics
  Soc 306:  Introduction to Sociological Theory
  Soc 310:  Seminars in Sociological Theory
  Soc 311:  Theories of Community
  Soc 312:  Theories of Social Change
  Soc 313:  Theories of Politics and Society
  Soc 323:  Field Methods in Social Research
  Soc 331 Reinventing Latin American Societies
  Soc 400:  Sociology Seminar
  Soc 450s, 470s:  Individualized Study
  Soc 460:  Research Course

Soc 101:  Introduction to Sociology
Study of basic structures and dynamics of human societies, focusing on the development of principles and concepts used in sociological analysis and research.  Topics include culture, socialization, social institutions, stratification, and social change.  No prerequisite.  (Offered every semester.) 

Click here to see how SOC 101 contributes to the Multiple Inquiries goal of the new curriculum.

Go to class webpage for Soc 101A (Prof. Potuchek)

Download syllabus for Soc 101B (Prof. Emmons, Fall 2003) in PDF format (45K)

Download syllabus for Soc 101D (Prof. Gill, Fall 2003) in PDF format (25K)

Soc 202:  Wealth, Power, and Prestige
Examination of distribution of valued resources and associated social ranking and rating systems.  Topics include social classes, social mobility, economic and political power, and informal prestige and fame.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.  (Offered every other year.)

Download syllabus in PDF format (70K)

Soc 204:  Sociology of Mass Media and Popular Culture
Analysis of broadcast and print media institutions.  Perspectives include the "production of culture," cultural content analysis, socialization effects, and media coverage.  Various popular culture genres, both mass and folk, are covered, with special emphasis on music.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.(Offered once a year.)

Download syllabus for Soc 204A (Prof. Emmons, Fall 2003) in PDF format (52K)

Soc 205: Sociology of Religion
This course has two main objectives.  One is to use sociological perspectives to examine the importance of religion in human societies with emphasis on contemporary spiritual movements. A second is to apply this understanding to an analysis of our own attitudes about or involvement in religion or other core value systems. Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.

Download syllabus for Soc 205A (Prof. Emmons, Fall 2003) in PDF format (51K)

Soc 206:  Sociology of the Family
Analysis of the family as a social institution.  Course takes a comparative and sociohistorical approach to the study of American families, with a particular focus on the interaction between family and economy.  Topics include intrafamily relations, work family links, and family policy. Prerequisite: Sociology 101.  (Offered once a year.)

Go to class web page

Soc 207:  Criminology
Introduction to the sociological study of crime.  Course begins with a discussion of criminal law andthe extent of crime, then continues with a comprehensive examination of police, courts, and corrections.  Theories of crime causation, criminal behavior systems, and victimology are also examined.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.(Offered once a year.)

Soc 209:  Race and Ethnic Relations
Comprehensive study of ethnic and minority relations.  Topics include immigration and assimilation, prejudice and discrimination, and the structure of the ethnic community.  Study of African-American, European-immigrant, and Asian-American communities is emphasized.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.(Offered once a year.)

Soc 212:  Deviance, Diversity, and Difference
Examination of the concept of deviance and exploration of various sociological theories and  perspectives for viewing deviant phenomena.  In-depth analysis of alcohol and drug use, variations in sexual behavior, pornography, violence, child abuse and homelessness.  Prerequisite: Sociology 101. (Offered once a year.)

Soc 217:  Gender Inequality
Examinations of patterns of gender stratification in American social structures.  Course centers on various forms of sexual inequality in today's world, examining the positions of women and men in families and occupations.  Topics include socialization, image of women in the media, violence against women, and possibilities for change.  Prerequisite: Sociology 101.  (Offered once a year.)

Soc 231:  Self in Society
Study of theories of social psychology, methods of social psychological research, the self, socialization, social roles, social relationships, communication, and group behavior.  Emphases include group dynamics and differences in male/female perceptions and social behaviors.  Readings include theoretical works and emphasize classic and recent research in the field.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.  (Offered on an occasional basis.)

Soc 233:  Science, Knowledge and the New Age
Exploration of science as a social institution.  History and ideology of science as an objective method are examined, drawing from Merton, Kuhn and others.  "Antiscience" and New Science" perspectives include postmodernist, feminist, and New Age views.  UFO studies and other paranormal topics receive special attention as alternative knowledge systems.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101 or Anthropology 103, or consent of instructor.   (Offered once a year.)

Download syllabus for Soc 233A (Prof. Emmons, Fall 2003) in PDF format (43K)

Soc 239:  Health, Medicine, and Society
Analysis of social factors that influence health and illness and of health care as a social institution. Topics include the cultural consturction of health and illness, the sick role, the effects of social inequality on health and illness, health occupations and professions, and the social organization of health care systems in various societies. Prerequisite:  Sociology 101

Go to Class web page

Soc 240:  Sexualities
Examination of how sexualities are socially constructed and controlled and how sexualities directly and indirectly shape our daily lives. Both a life-course perspective and a cross-cultural perspective are used to understand the fluidity of sexual identities (lesbian, straight, gay, and bisexual) throughout our lives and within different cultural contexts. Topics include categorization of sexualities, representations of sexualities, sexual identities, sex practices, sexual health and disease, commercial sex, and social control of sexualities. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 or permission of instructor.

Soc 241:  Globalization
Examination of the cultural, political and social consequences of increasing social interdependence. No prerequisite.(Offered once a year.)

Soc 243: The Chinese Connection: Chinese Demographics from a Global Perspective
Examination of the relationship between China's political and socioeconomic changes and the Chinese diaspora over the past century. Study explores how the diaspora has been affected by China's changing global positions. North America and Singapore are used as case studies to examine the relationship of overseas Chinese people with China. Prerequisite: Sociology 101.

Soc 262:  Social Development of Latin America
Formation of Latin American republics, focusing on interplay between internal processes and external influences.  Students examine Latin Americans' struggle for political and cultural integration to overcome their colonial heritage and to build nation-states.  (Same as LAS 262.)  No prerequisite.(Offered once a year.) 

Soc 267:  Society and Politics in Latin America:  A Case Study of the Dominican Republic
Study of the sociopolitical evolution of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century Dominican Republic.  Course examines the tension between dictatorship and democracy, changing economic patterns of Dominican life, and influence of the U. S. military interventions of 1916-1924 and 1965-1967 on the modern Dominican state.  Same as LAS 267.  No prerequisite.  (Offered once a year.)

Soc 302:  Research Methods
Introduction to the logic of social science research.  Goal is to develop student's ability to critically review and evaluate critically social research findings and to prepare for planning and carrying out research.  A variety of qualitative and quantitative designs are examined, including survey, experiment, participant observation, and evaluation research.  Issues of sampling, measurement, causality, and validity are considered.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 101.   (Offered every semester.)

Go to class webpage, Prof. Potuchek

Download syllabus for Soc 302A (Prof. Emmons, Fall 2003) in PDF format (64K)

Soc 303:  Data Analysis and Statistics
Treatment of the analysis and reporting of quantitative data.  Logic of data analysis; selection, use, andinterpretations of statistical techniques; and use of the computer form basis of the course.  Includes laboratory.  Prerequisite:  C- or better in Sociology 302 or consent of instructor.  Fulfills Liberal Arts core requirements in Quantitative Reasoning.  (Offered once a year.)

Soc 306:  Introduction to Sociological Theory
Exploration of the nature of sociological theory and major theoretical orientations (paradigms.) Courseexamines the origins and creation of these paradigms in the nineteenth and early twentieth century--the period of "classical sociology"--and their development, elaboration, and application in contemporary sociology. (Offered every semester.)

Download syllabus in PDF format (104K)

Soc 310:  Seminar in Sociological Theory
Examination of a topic in sociology from a number of theoretical perspectives.  Emphasis is on gaining an in-depth knowledge of the topic, while also learning how theoretical perspectives shape research and analysis.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 306 or consent of the instructor for non-majors.  (Offered on an occasional basis.)

INCLUDES:

Theories of the Self
Examination of the nature of the self and how it is shaped by social experiences. The course examines classical and contemporary explanations of the origins of self and explores how individuals come to perceive themselves as gendered and sexual beings. We explore symbolic interaction, psychoanalytic, object relations, and post-modern theories with attention to the influence of the family, work, and relationships on emotions and cognitive structures. (Prof. Gill, offered Fall 2005)

Soc 311:  Theories of Community
Study of communities from a sociological perspective, with major emphasis on urban areas. Theoretical perspectives of Weber, Simmel, Spengler, Park, Wirth, Redfield, Duncan, and others are examined and used to understand the historical development of cities, the ecology of cities, the development of suburbs, urbanism as a way of life, city planning, metropolitan dynamics, and contemporary urban problems.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 306 or consent of instructor for non-majors.   (Offered once every one or two years.)

Soc 312:  Theories of Social Change
Applications of theories of social change to contemporary trends and changing norms, values, and expectations.  Emphasis is on a critical examination of recent changes in the economy and political structure of U. S. society and on the assessment of the efforts by social movements to direct social change.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 306 or consent of instructor for non-majors.  (Offered once every one or two years.)

Soc 313:  Theories of Politics and Society
Analysis of the role of power in social and political institutions.  Course examines the bases, distribution, and exercise of power in organizations, communities, and nations, as well as organized attempts to change existing power relationships.  Theoretical perspectives include Marxism, Weberian theory, elitism and pluralism, resource mobilization, and new social movements theory.  Prerequisite:Sociology 306 or consent of instructor for non-majors.   (Offered once every one or two years.)

Soc 323:  Field Methods in Social Research
Seminar on how sociologists and anthropologists conduct ethnographic fieldwork.  Topics include how theory informs research, ethical issues, and developing descriptive fieldnotes.  Students carry out original research projects using field methods such as participant observation and qualitative interviewing, and learn how to gather data, analyze results, and write up ethnographic reports.  Prerequisite:  C- or better in Sociology 302. (Offered once a year.)

Soc 331: Reinventing Latin American Societies
Study of the changing role of the state in twentieth-century Latin America. Course explores why Latin American states shifted from promoting national development to preparing the region for globalization. Issues of social movements, political control, citizenship, and neoliberalism are examined in the context of widespread economic, social, and political structuring of Latin Amerin societies. Prerequisite: LAS 140 or any other course with a focus on Latin America. (Same as LAS331).

Soc 400:  Sociology Seminar
Intensive culminating experience for sociology-track majors.  Under the direction of a faculty member, students work to integrate their major and their understanding of the sociological perspective.  Prerequisite:  Sociology 302 and Sociology 306 or Anthropology 308.  The second 300-level theory course (Sociology 310) is a strongly recommended prerequisite for sociology majors.   (Offered once a year.)

Click here for an overview of the Capstone Experience in Sociology

Download syllabus for Soc 400 (Prof. Emmons, Fall 2003) in PDF format (42K)

Download syllabus for Soc 400 (Prof. Gill, Fall 2003) in PDF format (24K)

Soc 450s, 470s:  Individualized Study
Independent study in fields of special interest, including internships, outside the scope of regular courseofferings.  Prerequisite:  consent of faculty sponsor.  (Offered by special arrangement only.)

Click here for the department's Guidelines for Individualized Studies.

Soc 460:  Research Course
Individual investigation of a research topic in sociology in the student's special area of interest under the guidance of a faculty member.  Topic must be approved by department.  Project culminates in written and oral presentations of a formal paper to the departmental faculty.  Required for departmental honors. Students must submit a proposal to the department a minimum of two weeks before the end of the semester preceding the proposed study.  Prerequisite:  consent of department faculty.  Open to juniors and seniors only. (Offered by special arrangement only.)