101. INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY I. Concepts and methods necessary for studying society. (3).
301. THE FAMILY. The American family as an institution and a group of interacting persons; the nature and problems of courtship, husband-wife, and parent-child relationships. (3).
303. THE SOCIOLOGY OF DEATH AND DYING. Definitions and taxonomies of death. Changing attitudes and practices toward and locations for death. Death as an “official,” structural, interpersonal, and private event. Passing through “passing on”. stages in and the organization of death. Death and identity. physical, psychological, and social autopsies. (3).
307. URBAN SOCIOLOGY. The city as the nucleus of modern industrial society; its institutions, populations, ecology, and problems. (3).
311. SOCIAL PROBLEMS. The concept of social problems as a moral construct. Theoretical approaches to identifying social problems. Analysis of some currently defined major problems of U.S. society (e.g., environmental degradation, war and militarism, violence and crime) arguments for remediation, approaches to policy. (3).
312. POVERTY AND SOCIETY. Introduction to the sociology of poverty. Topics include inequality and poverty, structural causes of poverty, social programs, and possible remedies for poverty. (3).
313. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. Covers civil rights, global justice, feminist, conservative, environmentalist, and sexual identity movements. How movements emerge, why people participate, tactics, ideology, how groups frame issues, culture and lifestyle, authorities’ response, and the role of religion. (3).
315. LEISURE AND POPULAR CULTURE. This course will survey contemporary theories of popular culture and provide critical analysis of various aspects of popular culture such as music, television, fast food, fashion, theme parks, advertising, malls, tourism, recreation, shopping, and the Internet. (3).
317. THE SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE. An analysis of the organization, production, distribution, labeling, and consumption of literature as art. Topics include. types of literature; audiences; the culture and commerce of publishing; socialization of artists; and criticism. (3).
321. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY. An examination of the nature of relationships that exist between the development of a civilization and science as a concept and as a method, combined with technology as a series of engineering discoveries and inventions. (3).
322. ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY. Introduction to economic sociology. Topics include outsourcing to low-wage zones, consumerism, environmental degradation, transnational corporations, and proposals for alternative development. (3).
323. OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS. Selected occupational roles ranging from unskilled labor through the professions; requirements, rewards, and social adjustments from training to retirement. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
324. MEN AND MASCULINITIES. This course examines the social meanings of masculinity and men’s lives. Students will study men’s movements as well as the “crisis of masculinity and the costs and benefits of patriarchy for men”. (3).
325. SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER. Examines the social and cultural construction of gender differences in contemporary U.S. society, focusing on the social history of gender roles and gender inequality in current cultural and institutional practices. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
327. GENOCIDE AND WOMEN. Exploration of the roles of women as victims of gender abuse and sexual violence and as perpetrators of violence in modern ethnic genocides. (3).
328. AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMINIST THOUGHT. Exploration of the micro-level and institutional intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality as articulated by African American women intellectuals from the 19th century to present with particular emphasis on social scientific theory and methodology. Topics include. early black feminist thought; comparisons of black and white women’s feminisms; third-wave black feminist thougt; sexuality, the body and hip-hop. Pre-requisites: Aas 201 or Aas 202 or G St 201 or 101 (3).
329. IDENTITIES, INTERACTION & SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. In this course, students will examine individual identity and social life. what defines who we are, how we live, and how we participate in society. This course will analyze personal styles and our attitudes toward our bodies, politics and global society. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
331. SOCIOLOGY OF LAW. Introduction to the sociology of law. Topics include historical conflicts over law, the social context of law, the use of law by social movements and NGOs, and proposals for a legal framework on a global scale. (3).
332. SOCIOLOGY OF PEACE AND JUSTICE. Introduction to the theoretical, methodological, and substantive problems of peace studies. Topics include peace movements, non-violent conflict resolution, and proposals for new institutions to supplement the United Nations Organizations. (3).
333. JUVENILE CORRECTIONS. Causative factors in home, school, and community; extent of the problem; methods of prevention and treatment. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
334. INTRODUCTION TO FIELD WORK TECHNIQUES. Examination of the theory, practice, and tradition of documentary field research, including the use of photography, film and video, and tape recorders. Special emphasis on documentary study of the American South. (3).
335. THE SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD. An examination of the socio-cultural, economic, and political aspects of food production, distribution, and consumption. Topics include group identities and food choices, the role of food in family activities, food in media, food fads, food as a manufactured product, and food as a global issue. (3).
336. SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION. Social scientific study of religion as a social institution. Examines behavior, belonging and belief, as well as the relationships and processes that sustain religious systems of meaning. Impact of religion on other social categories such as gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
345. POPULATION TRENDS AND PROBLEMS. Population distribution, composition, growth, migration, vital processes, and problems. (Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
349. APPLIED DEMOGRAPHY. Essentials of demography (data sources, population composition, structure, change, and distribution) and their application to the needs of government and business. (3).
351. SOCIAL CHANGE. Nature of theories of social change; causes and types of social change; the social effects of invention in the modern world and the adjustments of contemporary social institutions to technological change. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
353. SOCIOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Examines the central social scientific theories regarding the economic, political, and social development of nations. Focus on the evaluation of different approaches to international development in theory and practice. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
355. SOCIOLOGY OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Introduction to the sociology of human rights. Topics include the historical origins of human rights, movements for economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights, and the functions of NGOs and United Nations agencies. (3).
359. SOCIOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION. Examines the causes and consequences of globalization from an interdisciplinary perspective. Focus on the evolution of the global economy, the formation of international political structures, and the emergence of global culture. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
361. THE SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION. The school as a social system; function and role of education in contemporary society; major trends. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
365. METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH. An introduction to social science research. Topics include conceptualization and research design, sampling, measurement, data collection and analysis, and the logic of scientific inference within one or more of the research techniques used by sociologists (survey research, field research, historical and comparative research, content analysis etc.). Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
385. TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY ABROAD. Students do approved course work at a university outside of the U.S. May be repeated once for credit with permission of department chair. (3).
399. DEVIANCE AND YOUTH SUBCULTURES. Students learn theories of deviant behavior and how issues of race, social class, gender, and sexuality emerge in youth subcultures. Students study various subcultures such as hip hop, tattoos and body modification, skinheads, punk, heavy metal, virginity pledging, and video gaming. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
409. THE SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE. Relationships between the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge and the character and structure of society. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
411. ENVIRONMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY. This course will explore the ways people relate to their natural environments. Topics may include economic production and consumption, culture and knowledge, mass media and environmental justice. (3).
413. RACE AND ETHNICITY. Economic, political, cultural, and historical dimensions of contemporary racial and ethnic relations in both U.S. and international contexts. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
427. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION. Theories of stratification, class, social status, gender and conceptions of power. Empirical findings on the distribution of wealth and income in the United States, their concentration, income disparities for women and minorities, poverty and upward mobility. Federal tax polices and spending priorities as they affect life chances. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
429. JUDAISM AND RELIGIOUS ETHNIC IDENTITIES. Comprehensive overview of Judaism’s complex history with a focus on ethnic identity formation. (3).
431. CRIMINOLOGY. Crime and delinquency; their causes, prevention, and treatment; nature, types, and extent of crime; preventive and correctional programs. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). Junior Standing Required (3).
440. SOCIOLOGY OF MUSIC. How and why music matters for people, and how and why people matter for music. Topics may include cognition, emotion, and music interaction; technology and social construction of music; corporate marketing and control of music; music in politics and social movements. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
445. SOCIAL CONTEXT OF HOLOCAUST ART. Examination of Holocaust art and artists during the period of imprisonment and since liberation. Emphasis on sociological relevance of artists’ lives and work. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
451. TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY. Content varies. May be repeated for credit. Pre-requisites: May not book until successfully completing DS097. (3).
466. POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY. A sociological examination of power, politics, and ideas. An emphasis on theories of power, processes of political influence, the legitimization of authority and inequality, ideologies of movement for social change, mass media and public opinion. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
468. SOCIOLOGY THEORY. An introduction to the ideas of 19th and 20th century sociological theorists such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Mead and the orientations of major schools of contemporary sociological theory. Pre-requisites: 101. Introductory Sociology I (Minimum grade. D). (3).
498. PROFICIENCY IN SOCIOLOGY. A self-study review of the basic subject areas of sociology and an assessment of student knowledge of the field used to evaluate basic knowledge gained in the undergraduate sociology curriculum. (0).