SOC 1010 – Introductory Sociology (3)

Mullins, enrl 240, MW 10:00am - 10:50am

The fundamental concepts and principles of sociology with special attention to sociological theory and research methods. Survey of the diverse substantive fields in the discipline with a primary emphasis on the institutions in contemporary American society.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2052 – Sociology of the Family (3)

Wilcox, enrl 180, MW 11:00am - 11:50am

Comparison of family organizations in relation to other social institutions in various societies; an introduction to the theory of kinship and marriage systems.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2056 – The Sociology of Culture (3)

Greenland, enrl 60, MW 3:00pm – 3:50pm

Examines the role of meaning in social life, with a focus on how different theories of culture allow analysis of the relationship of culture to exchange, authority, solidarity, and domination. Analysis of key cultural artefacts (movies, texts, monuments, etc.) is combined with the study of theories of social performance, fields of cultural production, and semiosis. The role of culture in social transformation is also considered.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2220 – Social Problems (3)

TBA, enrl 60, TR 9:30am – 10:20am

An analysis of the causes and consequences of current social problems in the United States: Race and Ethnic relations, poverty, crime and delinquency, the environment, drugs, and problems of educational institutions.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2280 – Medical Sociology (3)

Aviles, enrl 60, TR 12:30 - 1:20pm

This course examines how the medical system is shaped by cultural and societal forces, analyzing unique dimensions of medicine from varying perspectives prominent in the discipline of Sociology. Topics will focus upon the interaction of social categories (e.g., socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality) upon the distribution of diseases, experiences of illness, and relationships between patients and medical professionals

Discussion Required.

SOC 2320 – Gender & Society (3)

Skubby, enrl 60, MW 9:00am - 9:50am

This course emphasizes gender in the United States in today’s world. We begin with how gender role socialization, education, language and the media teach us our places as female and male. Then we go on to examine how the genders fare in the major social institutions of our society: the family, the economic sector, the polity, the military, the criminal justice sector, the religious sphere and the health/sports sector. We examine how we got to where we are and how we compare with other women and men in other ages and other places. We conclude by assessing where the genders are heading in the 21st Century.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2470 – American Society and Popular Culture (3)

Foster, enrl 60, MW 12:00pm – 12:50pm

This course is an early level course, which aims to introduce students to a sociological perspective on popular culture, and to examine the working of selected sociological concepts in several examples of popular culture.  A familiarity with introductory level sociology is suggested, but not required.  The course has two parts.  In the first we will become acquainted with sociological perspectives and theories on culture; in the second we will look at several popular novels and movies and discuss how they might be interpreted sociologically.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2559-001 – New Course in Sociology – Topic: Sociology of Ignorance (3)

Mullins, enrl 35, MW 2:00pm – 3:15pm

People often mistake ignorance as the mere lack of knowledge or that which we do not yet know.  They fail to consider that ignorance exists in a variety of different forms, or that ignorance is often produced and maintained through sets of practices—whether intentional or not.  This course investigates both ignorance and the consequences that particular forms of ignorance have upon our society.

SOC 2559-002 – New Course in Sociology – Topic: Sociology Through Science Fiction (3)

Reed, enrl 35, TR 12:30pm – 1:45pm

This class develops several sociological themes via engagement with the history and present dispersion of “science fiction” as genre. Students read science fiction novels and short stories, and watch science fiction movies, to develop a clearer grasp on key themes in the sociology—among them power and politics, race and gender, technology and society, cultural transformation, and transitions to modernity.

SOC 2595-100 - Immigration and Society (3)

Vickerman, enrl 60, MW 1:00pm – 1:50pm

Immigration is a deceptively simple process, involving, at the simplest level, merely the movement of people across international borders.  But why they move, how they move, and how the process is sustained over time are difficult questions to answer. This course examines these key questions and others from a global and historical perspective, with the goal of deepening our understanding of theoretical and policy issues related to immigration.

Discussion Required.

SOC 2680 – Introduction to Demography (3)

Sullivan, enrl 25, MWF 2:00pm – 2:50pm

Demography is the scientific study of human populations. We will emphasize fertility, mortality, and migration, and the social and economic factors that affect them.

SOC 3020 – Introduction to Social Theory (3)

Polillo, enrl 60, TR 2:00pm - 2:50pm

An introduction to the major theoretical issues and traditions in sociology, especially as developed in the writings of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, Sociology majors are expected to take this course in their third year.

Discussion Required
Required core course for SOC major.

SOC 3120 – Sociology Research Workshop (4)

Skubby, enrl 72, MW 1:00pm - 1:50pm

An introduction to data analysis and data processing, as well as the conceptualization of sociological problems.  Emphasis on individual student projects.

Discussion Required.
Required core course for SOC major.

SOC 3290 – Sociology of Childhood (3)

Skubby, enrl 60, TR 11:00am – 11:50am

The class introduces the “new social studies of childhood” and the idea that the experience of childhood is a social construction, not a string of biological facts.  Topics include: how caring for children varies across time & space, and considering childhood in the context of Western cultural trends - increasing inequality, unequal distribution of overwork, poverty, war, liberty, decreasing privacy, consumerism, sexualization, networked society.

SOC 3400 – Gender and Sexuality (3)

TBA, enrl 35, TR 9:30am – 10:45am

Focuses on the construction of gender and of sexuality, and of the many ways human groups regulate and attach meanings to these categories.  Some general themes addressed will be: contemporary and historical definitions of gender, sex, and sexuality; gender socialization; the varieties of sexual identities and relationships; embodiment, childbearing, and families in the contemporary United States.

SOC 3410 – Race & Ethnic Relations (3)

Buckelew, enrl 60, TR 9:30AM – 10:20AM

Introduces the study of race and ethnic relations, including the social and economic conditions promoting prejudice, racism, discrimination, and segregation. Examines contemporary American conditions, and historical and international materials.

Discussion Required.

SOC 3700 - Health and Society (3)

Skubby, enrl 60 MW 2:00pm - 2:50 pm

This course explores the social dimensions of health and illness, focusing especially on the social experience of illness, the social determinants of disease, and the role and meaning of medicine and public health in modern U.S. society. The class examines how we define health problems and their solutions, and it considers the ways in which race, gender, class, age, and sexuality matter for understanding health- related experiences and discourses.

Discussion Required.

SOC 3730 – Creativity and Innovation: A Sociological Approach (3)

Polillo, enrl 35, TR 11:00am – 12:15pm

Innovation and creativity are universally celebrated aspects of modern life. We celebrate geniuses and innovators because they reject tradition and produce ideas that are intuitively innovative. In this course we challenge these myths and develop the tools to understand innovation and creativity sociologically, and to explain why creativity and innovation tend to be rare, celebrated, and valued.

SOC 3820 – Social Movements (3)

Slez, enrl 35, TR 9:30am - 10:45am

Social moments are an historical and global phenomenon of great complexity and variety.  Because the topic can be so broad, the course is organized around case studies of civil rights, the industrial workers’ movement, environmentalism, religious fundamentalism, and the counter movements to globalization.  These cases will be used to illustrate variety of themes and principles, and you will learn about specific events, personalities, organizations, and dynamics that shaped these movements.  By this method, you will gain specific knowledge about important social movements, as well as an overview and general orientation to the sociology of this dynamic area of social life.

SOC 4054 – Political Sociology (3)

Mullins, enrl 20, TR 9:30am – 10:45am

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor

This course studies the relationship between social structure and political institutions.  Competing theories about such topics as power structures, political participation, ideology, party affiliation, voting behavior, and social movements are discussed in the context of recent research on national and local politics in the U.S.

SOC 4058 – Unequal Families (3)

Wilcox, enrl 20, MW 2:00pm – 3:15pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor

Family inequality is an enduring feature of American family life--both within and between families in the US. This seminar will focus on the ways in which class, race, and gender structure inequality within and between families--and the effects of that inequality on the social, emotional and financial well-being of men, women and children. We will also explore the causes and consequences of growing class-based inequality in marriage.

SOC 4100 – Sociology of the African-American Community (3)

Foster, enrl 20, MW 3:30pm - 4:45pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor

Study of a comprehensive contemporary understanding of the history, struggle and diversity of the African-American community.   

SOC 4230 – Deviance and Social Control (3)

Buckelew, enrl 20, TR 12:30pm – 1:45pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor

An examination of a variety of deviant behaviors in American society and the sociological theories that explain societal reactions and attempts at social control.  Focus on enduring conditions such as drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness.

SOC 4280 – Sociology of Mental Health and Illness (3)

Skubby, enrl 20, TR 11:00am – 12:15pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor.

This course explores mental health and illness in social context, focusing especially on the history, definitions, social and cultural determinants, and consequences of conceptualization and treatment of mental illness.  It includes an examination of perceptions of mental illness in popular culture, and the spread of psychiatric ideas in more global context.

SOC 4559-001– New Course in Sociology – Topic: Politics of Data (3)

Sullivan, enrl 20, MW 4:00pm – 5:15pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor.

This course examines the many uses of data from the Federal Statistical System for governance, environmental and human health, and private sector uses. We will examine how the data are produced and disseminated and how assertions of data manipulation may be evaluated. We will examine how social scientists and data scientists identify and possibly correct data errors. Cases we will examine include census data, labor stats, immigration stats and health data.

SOC 4559-002– New Course in Sociology – Topic: American Dream and Its Limits (3)

Vickerman, enrl 20, MW 3:30pm – 4:45pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor.

In 1932, referring to the American dream, James Truslow Adams portrayed America as a nation in which life can be “better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” To subsequent generations of Americans and immigrants this meant endless upward mobility and material prosperity but, also, the denial of persistent social inequality. This course examines both sides of the American Dream.

SOC 4559-003– New Course in Sociology – Topic: Race and Racism in Science (3)

Aviles, enrl 20, TR 2:00pm – 3:15pm

Prerequisites: Six credits of sociology or permission of instructor.

This course explores the place of race and racism in science from a sociological perspective, locating the origins of race science in political and social projects from the 18th century to the contemporary period. We will explore the continued relevance of race as a proxy for human differences and analyze why scientists in biology, medicine, public health, and behavioral science find racial categories to be useful constructs despite their flaws.

SOC 4980 – Distinguished Majors Thesis Research (3)

Gorman, enrl 12

Prerequisites: Admission to the Distinguished Majors Program in Sociology.

Independent research, under the supervision of a DM faculty adviser, for the DMP thesis.