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Sociology Course Descriptions
SOC 1301 (SOCI 1301) Introduction to Sociology
(3 semester hours) An overview of the sociological perspective and its
application to social research and social policy. (3-0) Y
SOC 2300 Introduction to Gender Studies
(3 semester hours) An introduction to the way gender shapes individuals,
social institutions and culture. Examines gender, class, sexuality,
race/ethnicity, and nationality as interactive systems. Topics include
biological arguments about gender and sexuality; the cultural construction
of gender; the psychology of sex roles; the ways gender shapes families,
workplaces and other social institutions. (Same as GST 2300) (3-0) Y
SOC 2319 (SOCI 2319) Race, Gender and Class
(3 semester hours) The study of how race, gender, and class systems
are interwoven. Explores how the multiple statuses of individuals (race,
gender, and class) combine to produce packages of privileges and disadvantages.
Topics include the social meanings of color, sex/gender systems in historical
and contemporary perspectives, theories of power, stereotyping, affirmative
action, and welfare debates. (3-0) Y
SOC 3303 Social Theory (3 semester
hours) Survey of the main currents of social theory as developed by
European and American theorists and applied in contemporary social thought.
Prerequisite: SOC 1301. (3-0) Y
SOC 3304 Research Methods in Sociology
(3 semester hours) Examines methods of sociological research. Topics
include the nature of scientific inquiry, framing a research problem,
choosing a research design, developing hypotheses, sampling designs,
and measuring variables. Topics will be covered as students conduct
their own study. (3-0) Y
SOC 3306 Professional Writing for Sociology
(3 semester hours) A review of professional writing and analytic skills
used by sociologists. Students will prepare and revise a series of written
assignments including, but not limited to, a literature review, a research
design, a research report, and a policy analysis. Satisfies the Advanced
Writing Requirement for sociology majors. Enrollment limited to sociology
majors except with permission of instructor. Prerequisites: SOC 1301,
3303, and 3304. (3-0) Y
SOC 3314 Individual and Society
(3 semester hours) The study of the relationship among the individual,
social structure, and culture. Explores self concept and personality,
the process of socialization, role taking and social interaction, norms,
values, group membership, and group processes. (3-0) R
SOC 3321 Deviance (3 semester hours)
Analysis of historical and contemporary perspectives which propose the
causes, consequences, and cures for deviance. Description of theories,
research, and public policy associated with efforts to control deviant
behavior and deviant groups, and to establish normalcy. (3-0) R
SOC 3322 Social Problems (3 semester
hours) An overview of how sociological concepts and approaches can be
applied to the study of the causes and consequences of various social
issues in contemporary society. Topics may include poverty, crime, violence,
social isolation, social conflict, and failing social institutions.
(3-0) T
SOC 3325 Race, Ethnicity, and Community
(3 semester hours) Considers cultural and social behavior in multiracial
and multiethnic societies. Issues include the formation and maintenance
of individual and group identity, patterns of socioeconomic achievement,
intergroup conflict, and the causes and consequences of public policy.
(3-0) R
SOC 3332 Social Control and Criminal Sanctions
(3 semester hours) Examines the means by which society attempts to control
the deviant/criminal conduct of its members. Analysis of formal and
informal means and a variety of institutions and social processes meant
to deter, punish, and reform inappropriate conduct. Prerequisite: CJS
3302 or CJS 3303. (Same as CJS 4305) (3-0) R
SOC 3333 Religion in Society (3
semester hours) An assessment of the origins and forms of religious
movements, including the practices and beliefs through which the religious
experience is channeled; the impact of religious movements and cults
on social, economic, and political institutions; the societal response
to religious movements; the personality and behavioral changes wrought
by religions. (3-0) R
SOC 3342 The Life Cycle (3 semester
hours) An examination of the institutions that shape the course of people’s
lives from birth to death. Topics include primary socialization, family,
schools, peer groups, occupations, retirement, and death. (3-0) R
SOC 3343 Sociology of the Family
(3 semester hours) Trends in family life are examined with special attention
to how these relate to changes in men’s and women’s roles.
Topics include sex role socialization, division of labor in the household,
sexuality, emotional aspects of marriage, marital power and decision
making, and divorce. (3-0) R
SOC 3352 Gender Roles (3 semester hours)
Examines female and male gender roles in both historic and contemporary
contexts. Topics may include the sex/gender distinction, gender socialization,
masculinities, the sexual division of labor, gender and power, and the
interaction of gender with race, class, and sexuality. (3-0) R
SOC 3353 Law and Gender (3 semester
hours) Examines how laws and legal institutions reflect and reproduce
cultural notions of gender. Focuses on how legal equality and sex discrimination
have been defined and challenged. Topics include rape law, reproductive
issues, marriage and divorce, pornography, workplace regulations, and,
generally, how gender and race ideologies interact in legal decision
making. (Same as GOVT 3353) (3-0) R
SOC 3354 Gender, Society, and Politics
(3 semester hours) Addresses the influence of gender on the distribution
of public goods and the way gender, interacting with race and class,
shapes social, political, and economic institutions. Introduces students
to traditional notions of rights and citizenship as conceptual underpinnings
for contemporary political and legal debates (on welfare, reproductive
rights, childcare, job segregation, women in the military, prostitution).
(Same as GOVT 3354 and GST 3303) (3-0) T
SOC 3357 Spatial Dimensions of Health and Disease
(3 semester hours) Examines the spatial dimensions of health, disease,
and the public health and health care systems. Provides an introduction
to spatial epidemiology and a bridge to the terminology of medical and
health care professionals. (Same as GEOG 3357) (3-0)
SOC 3358 Population: Concepts and Issues
(3 semester hours) Introduces the key measures, data sources, concepts
and theories to document and understand the variation of fertility and
mortality, interregional migration, population distributions and their
compositions in space and time. Historic, present and future population
trends are discussed and analyzed in relation to biological principles
and environmental challenges as well as diverging societal organizations
and economic constraints. (Same as GEOG 3358) (3-0)
SOC 3361 Crime and Justice Policy
(3 semester hours) Study of the forms, meanings, measurements, costs,
and explanations for crime. Analysis of criminal justice policy, including
issues of social control, deterrence, punishment, rehabilitation, danger,
and justice. (Same as CJS 3311) (3-0) T
SOC 3362 Youth Crime and Justice
(3 semester hours) Study of the social phenomenon of juvenile delinquency
and state supervision of youths. The causes of delinquency and the social
and legal agencies established to deal with it. (Same as CJS 3310) (3-0)
R
SOC 3372 Population and Development
(3 semester hours) Examines the relations between population, development,
and the environment. Essential components of demographic analysis lay
the foundation for a critical evaluation of demographic transition theory.
Other topics include public health, population structure and life chances,
cultural differences and women's status, aging, environmental impacts
and population policy. (same as ECO 3371 and GEOG 3371) (3-0) T
SOC 3377 Urban Planning and Policy
(3 semester credit hours) Explores important substantive areas and concepts
in the field of urban and regional planning and current urban planning
and policy issues and debates. Topics include: forces that have historically
guided and are currently guiding U.S. urbanization; land use, growth
management, transportation and traffic congestion, economic development,
housing and community development, environmental planning; legal, environmental,
governmental contexts. (Same as GEOG 3377, PA 3377.)
SOC 4302 Class, Status, and Power
(3 semester hours) The nature of systems of differentiation and ranking
in societies and their consequences; examination of how prestige, occupational
skills, education, and economic assets are used to create class distinctions
in the United States; the impact of class on life chances; concepts
and processes of social mobility; and the influence of power inconsistencies
on income, wealth, and status. Prerequisites: SOC 1301, 2319, or 3303.
(3-0) Y
SOC 4335 Immigrants, Immigration, and American
Society (3 semester hours) An examination of immigrants and
immigration policy in relation to the U.S. labor market, industry, and
economy, as well as American politics and political culture. Also examined
are the processes of occupational and settlement adaptation, becoming
legal, and attaining citizenship. (3-0) R
SOC 4340 Organizations (3 semester
hours) A survey of current ideas about the structures and dynamics of
modern formal organizations. Considers such topics as technology, hierarchy,
goals, information systems, control structures, power and politics,
decision making, environments, and change. (Same as PA 4312) (3-0) T
SOC 4348 Business and Technology
(3 semester hours) This course explores the role of technological innovation
in macroeconomic performance and firm-level business activity. It highlights
theoretical and research contributions from across the several social
sciences, engineering, and management. Topics included all reflect on
how technical advances emerge from - and have their impacts shaped within
- markets and broader societal organization. The roles of domestic political
institutions and public policy, as well as geo-political contexts, will
be used to illustrate the broader implications of the technology-business
relationship. Prerequisite: ECO 2302 or permission of the instructor.
(Same as ECO 4348) (3-0) Y
SOC 4350 Political Sociology (3
semester hours) The analysis of political behavior, political institution
formation and change, and the state, from a sociological perspective;
voting behavior, political attitude formation, and the interaction of
the state with other social institutions. (Same as GOVT 4350) (3-0)
R
SOC 4355 Social Movements (3 semester
hours) The structure, causes, and consequences of change oriented social
movements. Historical and contemporary case studies, including the American
labor movement, the civil rights movement, and the feminist movement.
(Same as GOVT 4358) (3-0) R
SOC 4361 Law and Society (3 semester
hours) Analyzes laws and legal institutions as forms of regulation and
social control. Explores the links between legal decision making, social
structure, and cultural knowledge systems. Theoretical perspectives
on law and society, law and ideology, the relation of law to public
policy, and legal change as a strategy of social reform are explored.
(Same as GOVT 4361) (3-0) R
SOC 4364 Civil Rights Law and Society
(3 semester hours) Examines the development of civil rights law, and
how social ideologies are reflected and reproduced in race and sex discrimination
law. Explores how power is exercised through law, and how legal change
is pursued as a strategy for social reform. Topics include antislavery
and the judicial process, the Reconstruction Amendments, the role of
the Supreme Court in U.S. society, school segregation cases, and hate
speech. (Same as GOVT 4364) (3-0) Y
SOC 4370 Poverty and Unemployment
(3 semester hours) The historical, economic, political, and cultural
context of poverty and unemployment in the United States, and the social
and governmental response to these conditions. (3-0) R
SOC 4372 Health and Illness (3 semester
hours) An examination of the social conditions and correlates of diseases,
the social behavior of the sick, health institutions and professions,
and the formulation and implementation of health policies and programs.
(3-0) R
SOC 4375 Gender and Work (3 semester
hours) A sociological analysis of historical trends and current patterns
of gender inequality in paid and domestic work; examination of theories
and research related to the role of gender in shaping labor market opportunities,
experiences, and rewards; identification of various forms of workplace
discrimination and potential remedies. (3-0) R
SOC 4378 Work and Occupations (3
semester hours) The structure of work, occupations, and industry with
an emphasis on the rise of management and the modern corporation, productivity
and work performance, the growth and decline of labor unions, and the
emergence of service and high- tech industries. (3-0) R
SOC 4379 Women, Work and Family
(3 semester hours) An examination of the relationship between women's
work for pay in the marketplace and their unpaid work in homes across
time and in different cultures. Topics include the historical separation
of work from home under capitalism; division of household labor between
men and women; public policy initiatives (socialized/commercial housework
and daycare, family leave, telecommuting, part-time and flex-time work)
designed to make juggling work and family easier; the ways class, race,
and ethnicity constrain and enable women's choices. (Same as ISGS 4320.)
(3-0) Y
SOC 4396 Selected Topics in Sociology
(3 semester hours) Subject matter will vary from semester to semester.
May be repeated for credit (9 hours maximum). (3-0) R
SOC 4V97 Independent Study in Sociology
(1-6 semester hours) Independent study under a faculty member’s
direction. May be repeated for credit (6 hours maximum). Consent of
instructor required. ([1-6]-0) S
SOC 4V98 Internship (1-6 semester
hours) May repeat for credit up to total of six semester credit hours.
Consent of instructor required. ([1-6]-0) S
SOC 4V99 Senior Honors in Sociology
(1-6 semester hours) For students conducting independent research for
honors theses or projects. May be repeated for credit, but no more than
six hours may be taken by a student under this number. ([1-6]-0) S
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