Sociology Courses
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology (3) s
Study of human groups, with special attention to analysis of contemporary American society. Graded ABCDD->N.
SOC 180 Social Problems (3) s
Selected issues which challenge today's world at various levels of social complexity. Delinquency and crime, segregation, substance abuse, problems of aging, unemployment, poverty, impact of high technology, and international conflict, from a sociological perspective as to their trends, consequences, and commonly proposed solutions. Graded ABCDD->N.
SOC 210 Introduction to Social Research. PR: SOC 100 or ANT/INT 100. (3) s/ar2
Social research and techniques used in research. Elements of research design, measurement, sampling, interviewing, and use of computers in data analysis.
SOC 215 General Statistics PR: One college course in mathematics or consent of instructor. Some preparation in algebra desirable but not required. (3) ar2
Techniques and interpretation of statistical measures.
SOC 220 Social Psychology SOC 100 or PSY 100. (3) s
Interaction among individuals in social systems. Concepts of role, attitude, group membership, and culture as determinants of individual actions. Problems of prejudice, mass phenomena, and group efficiency.
SOC 265 Caribbean Society and Culture (3) cs2
Introduction to social, political, economic and cultural life of the Caribbean, focusing on the English-speaking Caribbean while also addressing important lessons in the experiences of peoples from the wider Caribbean. Social-scientific disciplinary focus combining historical and thematic issues, with particular attention to problems of colonialism, race, inequality, and efforts towards democracy.
SOC 270 Race and Ethnic Relations PR: SOC 100 or ANT 100. (3) s/vi2
Implications of racial differences, factors affecting prejudice and discrimination, structural aspects of group conflicts, and possibilities of change in American and other societies. Also listed as AFA 270.
SOC 302 History of Social Thought PR: SOC 100 or ANT 100. (3) s/wc1
Development of sociological-anthropological theory from its origins to the present. Selected major theorists; readings chosen from original works. Also listed as ANT 302.
SOC 303 Contemporary Social Theory PR: SOC 100 or ANT 100. (3) s
Critical review of classical and contemporary social theory; problems concerning nature of sociological and anthropological explanations of society and inequality; significance of theoretical concepts in relationship to practice. Survey and comparison of recently articulated theoretical orientations. Also listed as ANT 303.
SOC 316 Philosophy of Sociology PR: A course in philosophy and a course in sociology; junior standing; or consent of instructor. (3) h
Philosophical issues in sociology. Nature of sociology, its goals and methodology; philosophical presuppositions and issues behind some of the controversies in sociological theory. Philosophers and movements that have influenced sociology; some important sociological theories. Also listed as PHL 314.
SOC 320 Sociology of Small Groups PR: SOC 100. (3) s
SOC 323 Statistical Packages PR: A course or approved background in probability or statistics; admission to the professional program in physical therapy or consent of instructor. (2)
Introduction to collection and interpretation of data utilizing computer technology. Value and utility of statistical tools and computer technology as a technical adjunct for critical inquiry and decision making in research and practice. Also listed as BIO 323 and PTP 323.
SOC 325 Culture and Personality PR: PSY 100 or SOC 100 or ANT 100. (3) s/cs1
Cross-cultural examination of the construction of personhood and relationships between individuals and culture. Critique of psychological interpretations in anthropological texts and of universalizing tendencies in the field of psychology; the basic Freudian model in contrast with models of self in African, Asian, and Native American cultures. Also listed as ANT 325.
SOC 330 Population Problems PR: SOC 100. (3) s
Social causes and consequences of population structure and change. How variations in fertility, mortality and migration arise, and how they affect society. Illustrations from the United States and a variety of developed and less-developed countries.
SOC 340 Urban Sociology PR: SOC 100. (3) s/cs1
Urban areas from sociological and ecological perspectives. Impact of population and spatial characteristics on subcultures, social interaction, and lifestyle. Consideration of prospects for altering the nature of urban life.
SOC 354 Sociology of the Family PR: SOC 100. (3) s/vi2
The family as a social institution: its place in the social structure; its internal dynamics. Comparative analysis of evolution of modern family patterns in the United States and other societies. Also listed as WGS 354.
SOC 359 The Black Family PR: SOC 100. (3) s/cs3
Sociological and social-psychological analysis of the Black family in America. Impact of changes in race relations and of urbanization on the Black family. Assessment of various stereotypes existing in mass media and in sociological and psychological literatures. Also listed as AFA 359 and WGS 359.
SOC 361 (466) Work and Professions PR: SOC 100. (3) s
Examination of sociological dimensions of the division of labor in contemporary society. Topics may include: occupational and labor market structures, organizational context of work, the employment relationship, job satisfaction, labor-management relations, implications of technological change and globalization, and effects of gender, age and race/ethnicity on employment. Also listed as PUB 361.
SOC 362 Women and Work PR: POL 100 or SOC 100 or consent of instructor. (3) s
Women's paid employment and job segregation by sex: relation of women's paid work to women's family work, nature of women's jobs and occupations, and a variety of state policies that influence women's employment (e.g., anti- discrimination law, maternity and parental leave.) White women and women of color in the advanced capitalist economy of the United States. Also listed as POL 331 and WGS 331.
SOC 365 Industrial Sociology PR: SOC 100. (3) s
Relations among workers, unions and management in cooperation and conflict. Social significance of industrialization of factory and farm. Changing job structure and labor force. Possible implications of automation. Unions and management as bureaucracies.
SOC 368 Sociology of Health and Illness PR: SOC 100. (3) s
Sociological view of health, illness, and the delivery of care. Social and social-psychological factors involved in being ill; social relationships and organizations associated with medical treatment; roles of providers and patients; national health care systems. Also listed as HCR 368.
SOC 373 Institutional Racism PR: SOC 100 or consent of instructor. (3) s
Racism within the basic institutions of American society. Emphasis on the way institutional racism affects members of various ethnic minorities. Also listed as AFA 373.
SOC 375 Social and Cultural Change PR: ANT 100 or SOC 100. (3) s
Institutions and social change. Emphasis on theories, ideologies, social movements and revolutions. Study of colonialism, economic crisis, peasant struggles, nationalism, indigenous rights, independence movements, and struggles over development and underdevelopment. . Also listed as ANT 375 and INT 375.
SOC 376 Sex, Work, and International Capital PR: SOC 100 or consent of instructor. (3)
Analysis of significance of women's labor to international capital in a cross-cultural perspective. Examination of social construction of “third world” and “development,” and potential and limits of these categories in understanding ideological and material conditions of lives of women across race, class and national boundaries in the world of work. Also listed as ANT 376, INT 376 and WGS 376.
SOC 380 Sociology of Deviance PR: SOC 100. (3) s
Sociological factors producing deviance; effect of efforts at social control on the course of deviant development; functional significance of deviance in social systems.
SOC 382 Juvenile Delinquency PR: SOC 100. (3) s
Delinquency examined from several different perspectives in sociology, such as deviance theory, social psychology, and social organization. Social institutions dealing with delinquency, including police, courts, and penal system.
SOC 384 Criminology PR: SOC 100 or consent of instructor. (3) s/vi1
Criminal behavior in relation to the institutional framework of society. Interaction between criminals, victims, police, and other elements in the system of criminal justice.
SOC 391 Directed Reading/Research in Sociology PR: Consent of instructor and junior standing. (1-3)
Directed reading or research study by qualified students under instructor's supervision. By special arrangement only. Also listed as ANT 391.
SOC 445 Ethnicity in American Society PR: SOC 100, at least junior standing; or consent of instructor. (3) s
Critical examination of ethnicity as a dynamic and major social process. Ethnicity as identity politics considered both necessary and problematic. Particular emphasis on the American experience in historical perspective, as well as implications for contemporary analyses of American society.
SOC 446 Occupations and Professions PR: SOC 100 and at least junior standing. (3) s
Role structure of occupations. How people are recruited into and socialized by their occupations. Theories of work and occupations. Also listed as PUB 466.
SOC 452 Sociology of Education PR: At least junior standing, consent of instructor. (1-3)
Critical examination of schools and schooling in American society. Contemporary relationship of education to political, economic, and social structures of society. Alternative perspectives on education. Also listed as EDU 452.
SOC 456 Political Sociology PR: SOC 100 and senior standing, or consent of instructor. (3) s
Issues, debates, and research constituting the sub-discipline of political sociology. General overview of such core concepts as power, interests, and the state; additional topics including processes of state formation in historical and comparative perspective, revolutions and peasant revolts, social movements, the problem of collective action, and the sociology of democratic politics.
SOC 457 The Family in Historical Perspective in Europe and America PR: Two courses in history, sociology, or related fields, or junior standing. (3) s
Evolution of the family between 1600 and the present in Europe and America, including peasant family, pre-industrial urban family, wage-earning nuclear family, and contemporary household. Social, economic and demographic factors that influence the forms families have taken, quality of family life, and ideas about the family. Also listed as HIS 457 and WGS 457.
SOC 458 Religion in American Society PR: SOC 100 and at least junior standing. (3) s
Sociological treatment of religion both as a social institution and as a significant factor in behavior and attitudes. Role of religion in social change and significance of religious training and commitment compared to social class position and ethnicity.
SOC 460 (360) Formal Organizations PR: Background in social research and statistical methods and social theory recommended.
Introduction to theories, processes and problems of organizations, their impact on society, and relationships between organizations and individuals. Classical and contemporary perspectives on issues related to organization design, control, change and effectiveness. Also listed as PUB 460.
SOC 470 Social Stratification PR: SOC 100 and at least junior standing. (3) s
Emergence and perpetuation of social inequalities in societies. Description and assessment of the American class system and effect of class position on life styles and life chances.
SOC 471 Social Movements in America PR: Senior standing or consent of instructor. (3) s
Analysis of social context, goals, internal organization, strategies, and tactics of social movements in American society. Utopias, revolutions, communes, political extremism, civil rights, and student radicalism. Effects of social movements on American society, assessed through sociological literature and anthropological studies, literature, music and films.
SOC 474 Gender and Society PR: SOC 100, at least junior standing; or consent of instructor. (3) s
Nature and causes of sex stratification in society. Cross-cultural regularities in sex role development. Freudian and neo-Freudian perspectives, Marxist perspectives, structural functionalism, and radical feminism. Interpersonal and institutional processes which operate to keep women and men in their place in American society. Alternatives to structured sexual inequality in societies. Also listed as WGS 474.
SOC 485 Sociology of Law PR: At least junior standing or consent of instructor. (3) s
Law as a system of social control and a mechanism for conflict resolution within society as it has evolved from mores and folkways. Relationship of law to political, economic and social systems as approached from conflict and traditional perspectives.
SOC 495 Honors Thesis I PR: Consent of Department Chair. Open only to Honors Program students in sociology. (4)
Credit and grade for SOC 495 is not given until successful completion of SOC 496. Also listed as HON 495.
SOC 496 Honors Thesis II PR: Prior or concurrent election of SOC 495 and consent of Department Chair. Open only to Honors Program students in sociology. (4) Also listed as HON 496.
SOC 499 (399) Senior Seminar Senior standing; consent of instructor. (3)
Critical review of sociological and anthropological literature, with attention to the interaction of theory and research. Also listed as ANT 499.
Graduate Courses in Sociology
SOC 545 Ethnicity in American Society PR: Graduate standing. (3)
See SOC 445 for description. Not open to students with credit for SOC 445.
SOC 558 Religion in American Society PR: Graduate standing, SOC 100. (3)
See SOC 458 for description. Not open to students with credit for SOC 458.
SOC 566 Work, Occupations and Professions PR: Graduate standing or consent of instructor. (3)
Examination of sociological dimensions of the division of labor; particular emphasis on professional/managerial occupations. Topics may include: occupational recruitment and socialization, occupational and labor market structures, organizational context of work, employment relationship, job satisfaction, labor-management relations, implications of technological change and globalization, effects of gender, age and race/ethnicity on the work experience. Also listed as PUB 572.
SOC 569 Sociology of Education PR: Graduate standing; SOC 100 or consent of instructor. (3)
See SOC 452 for description. Not open to students with credit for EDU/SOC 452. Also listed as EDU 569.
SOC 570 Social Stratification PR: Graduate standing, SOC 100. (3)
See SOC 470 for description. Not open to students with credit for SOC 470.
SOC 571 Social Movements in America PR: Graduate standing. (3)
See SOC 471 for description. Not open to students with credit for SOC 471.
SOC 574 Gender and Society PR: Graduate standing, SOC 100 or consent of instructor. (3)
See SOC 474 for description. Not open to students with credit for SOC/WGS 474. Also listed as WGS 574.
SOC 585 Sociology of Law. Graduate standing. (3)
See SOC 485 for description. Not open to students with credit for SOC 485.