Courses
The following undergraduate courses are offered in by the department. Click on the link for additional information, including prerequisites (if any), from the university catalog.
Soc 101: Introductory Sociology
Concepts and methods necessary for studying society.
Soc 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. Cross-listed as GSt 303.
Soc 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.
Soc 307: Urban Sociology
The city as the nucleus of modern industrial society; its institutions, populations, ecology, and problems.
Soc 310: Sociology of Disability
This course focuses on disability by examining its relationship to theories of race, science, and laws concerning disability using two cases studies — disability in the United States and in Germany during the 20th century.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 322: Economic Sociology
Introduction to economic sociology. Topics include outsourcing to low-wage zones, consumerism, environmental degradation, transnational corporations, and proposals for alternative development.
Soc 323: Occupations and Professions
Selected occupational roles ranging from unskilled labor through the professions; requirements, rewards, and social adjustments from training to retirement.
Soc 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”. Cross-listed as GSt 324.
Soc 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. Cross-listed as GSt 325.
Soc 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. Cross-listed as GSt 327.
Soc 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. Cross-listed as AAS 328, GSt 328
Soc 329: Identities and Subjectivity
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.
Soc 330: Racism and Religion
This course examines the intersections between racism and religion in relationships between Christianity and African Americans in the U.S.; Jews in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries; and the treatment of Muslims in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001. Cross-listed as AAS 330, Rel 330.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 333: Juvenile Delinquency
Causative factors in home, school, and community; extent of the problem; methods of prevention and treatment.
Soc 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. Cross-listed as AAS 334, Anth 334, SSt 334
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 345: Population Trends and Problems
Population distribution, composition, growth, migration, vital processes, and problems.
Soc 349: Applied Demography
Essentials of demography (data sources, population composition, structure, change, and distribution) and their application to the needs of government and business.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 358: Religious Implications of the Holocaust
This course is a study of the Holocaust with a focus on the religious perspectives that led up to it and the religious responses to this historical event, including acts of resistance inspired by various religious traditions. Cross-listed as Rel 358.
Soc 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.
Soc 361: The Sociology of Education
The school as a social system; function and role of education in contemporary society; major trends.
Soc 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.).
Soc 370: Society and Population Health
This course will explore human population health from a multidisciplinary perspective, with particular attention to understanding complex health problems and informing solutions from the social sciences. Studies will include insights from community development, sociology, demography, anthropology, geography, and public health. Students will learn from diverse scholars and practitioners through readings, facilitated discussions, guest lectures, panel presentations, and field visits.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 403: Empire and Revolution
This course is an investigation of colonial and post-colonial eras and revolutionary action through attention to sociocultural theories of revolution, as well as ethnographies, histories, and case studies. Cross-listed as Anth 403.
Soc 407: Methods in Ethnography
Qualitative research methods appropriate for field studies. Students learn ethnographic and sociocultural research techniques, including participant observation and depth interviewing. Cross-listed as Anth 407.
Soc 409: The Sociology of Knowledge
Relationships between the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge and the character and structure of society.
Soc 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.
Soc 413: Race and Ethnicity
Economic, political, cultural, and historical dimensions of contemporary racial and ethnic relations in both U.S. and international contexts. Cross-listed as AAS 413.
Soc 414: Race, Place, and Space
This course explores the significance of race, place, and space to modern identity formation. Through a multiple-disciplinary exploration, we will analyze the influence of social, political, cultural, and historical factors on the development of real and perceived “racialized places and spaces,” identities, and experiences in America, with special emphasis on gender and the American South. Cross-listed as AAS 414, GSt 414, SSt 314.
Soc 425: Religion, Gender, and Sexuality
This course uses a sociological approach to study how religion is used to organize, control, and change gender and sexual norms. Cross-listed as GSt 425.
Soc 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.
Soc 429: Judaism and Religious Ethnic Identities
Comprehensive overview of Judaism’s complex history with a focus on ethnic identity formation.
Soc 431: Criminology
Crime and delinquency; their causes, prevention, and treatment; nature, types, and extent of crime; preventive and correctional programs.
Soc 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.
Soc 445: Social Context of Holocaust Art
Students will examine Holocaust art and artists during the period of imprisonment and since liberation, with an emphasis on sociological relevance of artists’ lives and work. Cross-listed as AH 458.
Soc 451: Topics in Sociology
Content varies. May be repeated for credit.
Soc 455: Population Studies Applied Research Proj
This course is intended to help students acquire practical knowledge and experience while working on a population studies project related to health and/or community development under the supervision of the Center for Population Studies. Student researchers will undertake various duties while working on CPS-sponsored projects and engaging with community partners in order to develop their professional analytical and research skills.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 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.
Soc 501: Statistics
This course is an introduction to quantitative data management and analysis with hand computations and computer software. Attention is given to descriptive and inferential statistics, combined with parametric and nonparametric hypothesis testing.
Soc 502: Social Research Methods
In this course, students will critically analyze the assumptions, strengths, and limitations of different research methods in order to develop a researchable sociological question, write a research proposal, and carry out an actual research project.
Soc 531: Lectures in Community Organization
Theoretical and pragmatic aspects of community problems and development.
Soc 545: Seminar in Population Studies
Population distribution, composition, growth, migration, vital processes, and problems.
Soc 552: Individual Study Project
Instructor Approval Required.
