Sociology Courses

Sociology | Courses | Faculty

(All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise noted.)

103 Social Problems (SBU)

Introduction to sociology. The major social problems facing American society today, such as crime, mental health, drug addiction, family tension, gender, race, ethnic, and social inequalities, are reviewed contemporarily and historically.

105 Self, Society and Interpersonal Relations (SB)

Introduction to sociology and social psychology. Topics reviewed include social perception, socialization, concepts of self, personal and gender identity, expressions of emotion, social roles, group formation and power, prejudice, racism, sexism, and other topics relevant to studies in social psychology.

106 Race, Gender, Class, and Ethnicity (SBU)

Introduction to sociology. Discussion of the effects and experiences of race, gender, and social class on social and economic processes and their relationship to family, occupation, and other aspects of social life.

107 Contemporary American Society (SBU)

Introduction to sociology. Basic sociological concepts presented. Emphasis on American society, particularly economic trends and their influence on Americans' lives.

109 Population and Environment (SBU)

Introduction to sociology. Analysis of population trends such as fertility, mor-tality, and migration. The sociological significance of population pressures on human environments, environmental changes, and changes in populations themselves.

110 General Introduction to Sociology (SB)

Introduction to sociology. Theory, methods, and approaches to the study of society. The use of several key sociological perspectives such as culture, social class, social psychology, and organizational pow-er to analyze contemporary social issues.

120 Introduction to Macrosociology (SBG)

How biological and cultural forces shape the development of human social organization. Social class, race and ethnic divisions, technological innovation, growth of human population, and the emergence of widespread participation in the direction and control of social life explored in studying how organizational change has created modern society.

201 Theories and Perspectives (HS)

The major theoretical sociological perspectives; their initiation, and initiators, and their uses in modern sociological empirical investigations.

210/211 Data Collection and Analysis

Overview of research methods used in sociology. Research design, measurement, survey research, questionnaire design, interviewing, sampling theory, techniques of observation, field methods, use of documents, data analysis.

212 Elementary Statistics (R2)

Introduction to basic statistics employed in the sociological analyses. Descriptive statistics, probability, sampling distributions, inferential statistics, tests of significance, contingency tables, measures of correlation, etc.

220 Sociology of American Culture

The elements and dynamics of culture everywhere; special reference to Americana. Topics include culture as a set of historically grounded values and beliefs; culture's role in both expressing and subverting ideals; the frequent gap between ideals and reality. Case studies range from politics to religion, gender to social class, and high art to low funk.

222 The Family (SBU)

First part: historical transformations in family life (relationships between husbands and wives, position and treatment of children, importance of kinship ties); second part: the contemporary family through life course (choice of a mate, relations in marriage, parenthood, breakup of the family unit).

224 Social Class Inequality (SBU)

The nature of social classes in society from the viewpoint of differences in economic power, political power, and social status. Why stratification exists, its internal dynamics, and its effects on individuals, subgroups, and the society as a whole. Problems of poverty and the uses of power.

225 Revolutions and Social Change (SBG)

Causes and outcomes of revolutions, the most dramatic and controversial form of social change in the modern world, focusing primarily on the French, Russian, and Chinese revolutions. Also, violent and profound social change in Latin America and the Caribbean.

241 Criminology

Introduction to the study of criminology, definitions of crime, criminals and delinquents, demographics of crime and criminals, the work of the courts, law, police, and punishment in the production and administration of crime and criminals, society and crime, problems of prevention and control.

242 Drugs and Society (SB)

Aspects of drugs (alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, psychedelics, depressants, opiates): historical and cross-cultural perspectives; behavioral effects; social and cultural factors affecting use; addiction (including alcoholism); political economy of drugs; drugs and social reality.

244 Sociology of Immigration (SBU)

The lives of voluntary immigrants to the U.S. from Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, and the lives of their descendants. Who migrates and why, how different groups are received by the dominant society, and how the newcomers adjust to their new home. Immigrant adaptation from such perspectives as geographic location, educational attainment, employment outcomes, marriage patterns, religious practices. Immigrant experience in other countries.

261 Population Studies

Introduction to demography. Population size, distribution, and composition; their change through fertility, mortality, and migration. The social and economic determinants and consequences of population trends.

297 Special Topics

Different seminars are offered under this general topic each semester.

301 Writing in Sociology

Writing for sociologists: extensive practice in several styles of writing using sociological materialsóqualitative and quantitative, popular and professional, critical and expository. Frequent writing assignments; critiques by professor and fellow students; revising critiqued work. Prerequisite: junior standing. For sociology majors only.

313 Survey Design and Analysis (R2)

All pertinent topics in design and analysis of survey data, including sampling, measurements, questionnaire design, mail and telephone surveys, interview techniques, coding and data reduction, item analysis and index construction, data analysis, and presentation of results.

314 Qualitative Research Methods

Topics include the philosophy of science and the distinctive stance underpinning qualitative, ethnographic approaches to data collection and analysis. Advantages and limitations of such strategies as participant observation, informant and respondent interviewing, and exploratory, descriptive, and hypothesis-testing study designs. The role of the observer, observation, units of observation, amenability of sites and occurrences to study are selected as fundamental to field work.

321 Sociology of Religion (SBU)

Religion in its social context. Topics include theories of religion and society, religion in church, sect, and mystical forms, contemporary Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism, cults, and new religious movements. Focus largely on American religious scene; last quarter of course on other world religions, especially in India.

322 Sociology of Education (SBU)

Sociological perspectives on educational issues; social class differences in school achievement, the crisis in educational credentials, school reform movements, the erosion of public support for education, schools, and jobs.

325 Political Sociology

Basic issues in political sociology and politics: interaction between the political and social-cultural spheres, sources and manifestations of political inequality; variety of social conflict and its major theories; relationship between political ideas and political behavior. Issues of political violence and coercion, political propaganda and legitimation, intellectuals and political power.

327 Social Change

Focuses on social and cultural change in American society since 1960. Changing roles of women, young people, and minorities; expanded conceptions on virtually everyone's part of rights and entitlements to greater justice and equity; increasing social conflict; polarization of opinion; heightened dissatisfaction with almost all institutions; and indications, by the early 1990s, of a reversal of many trends that began 30 years before and the beginning of a new, more conservative era.

329 Social Movements

A variety of approaches to the study of social movements and collective behaviors. Simultaneous critical appraisal of these approaches. Reference to empirical studies to illustrate the more and less valid ways of depicting social movements and collective behaviors.

332 Social Change in China (G)

China's approach to modernization since the communist victory of 1949. Emphasis on Chinese strategies to reduce inequality between the city and the countryside, the leaders and the masses, and men and women.

340 Race Relations (SBU)

A social-historical approach to race relations in the U.S. Analysis of contemporary race relations links to major social issues in American society.

341 Social Welfare

Critical introduction to social welfare in the U.S. Assumes that welfare programs have frequently been long on promises and short on results. The instructor's position argues for a restructuring of American welfare programs because more often than not what has been done in the name of social welfare has been less than helpful, and in many instances has rendered even more difficult the circumstances of those in need. Whether this premise can be sustained by the facts.

342 Deviance and Social Order

The relation of deviant behavior to acceptable social patterns of behavior. Several forms of deviant behavior, both economic and personal transgressions of acceptable behavior. The causes and conditions for the creation of deviant behavior and the mechanisms for its social control.

344 Gender and Crime

The extent and causes of gender differences in crime, from the "streets" to the "suites." Topics include problems in the general measurement of crime, historical and cross-cultural differences in the gender gap, the utility of general theories of the causes of crime in explaining the continuing gender gap, and a detailed look at the question and magnitude of gender discrimination in the American criminal justice system.

345 Juvenile Delinquency

Interrelationships among three aspects of juvenile delinquency in the U.S.: administration of justice by police and courts, causation, and prevention and treatment.

347 Corporate Deviance and Official Corruption

Lecture. The rise of the "corporate actor" in terms of social organization and social policy, and concerning interest, rights, power, and trust. Organizational processes and deviance in production markets; deviance by, within, among, and against businesses as corporations. The roles of government and state in both the social production of deviance and its regulation: deviance by within, among, and against government(s). How actors in settings of trust define and enforce trust norms; how opportunities for illegal action and abuse of trust arise; and how the actual patterns of organized misconduct, deviance, and illegality unfold.

363 Techniques of Demographic Analysis (R2)

Introduction to population analysis through application of simple computer programs to source materials describing the growth and change of populations, from local to national levels, mainly in developed societies such as the U.S. but with some consideration given to developing nations. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

383 Gender and Society

Analysis of: 1) historical and cross-cultural variation in positions and relationships of women and men; 2) contemporary creation and internalization of gender and maintenance of gender differences in adult life; 3) recent social movements to transform or maintain "traditional" positions of women and men.

386 Complex Organizations

Issues of hierarchy, control, productivity, and ethics discussed in light of global markets and recent participatory organizational reforms.

387 Sexuality and Society (SBU)

The many ways in which social factors shape sexuality. Focus on cultural diversity, including such factors as race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity in organizing sexuality in both individuals and social groups. Also includes adolescent sexuality; the invention of heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality; the medicalization of sexuality; and social theories about how people become sexual.

391 World Religions and Worldly Politics

The social dimensions of religion and the religious dimensions of the social. Topics include changing and contested theories of religion and society, and especially the volatile and often violent relations between church and state and between religion and politics. Examines countries around the world and such religions as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam.

392 Race, Class, Crime

Theoretical, empirical, and ethical issues raised by linkages of race and class to crime and responses to crime. Basic concepts and issues; suggestions and claims of racial and social class bias within and outside of the system of justice and their impact on crime data. Review of factual information centered on reports of the racial and income characteristics of victims of crime, the race and sex characteristics of offenders as suggested by arrests, and the characteristics of those incarcerated or punished in other ways.

393 U.S. Latinos

A sociological introduction to the histories, economies, politics, and cultures of U.S. Latinos framed in a global and hemispheric perspective, with a focus on the particular historical experiences and social conditions of Latinos in specific U.S. regions. Special attention to the Northeast region of the United States.

395 Criminal Violence in America

A survey of trends and patterns in criminal violence in the United States from 1930 to the present. Topics include the measurement of criminal violence, characteristics of violent offenders, and changing patterns and causes of violent crime. Special attention to issues involving age, race, gender, seasonality, region, medical care of victims, and prevention and deterrence policies. Prerequisite: SOCIOL 241.

397 Special Topics

Different seminars are offered under this general topic each semester. Please see the Sociology Department during preregistration week for the most up-to-date information on these courses.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement

The role of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the Civil Rights Movement. How successful the SCLC's strategy of nonviolent direct action was and how successful the movement was in achieving its goal of full citizenship for African-Americans. Strategies and successes of King and SCLC compared with other movement leaders and organizations.

Sociology of Childhood

A sociological introduction to the study of child and adolescent development emphasizing social and societal factors. Objectives include gaining insight into how cultural and social structural variables affect the acquisition of skills, attitudes, and identity, and influence social relationships in childhood and adolescence.

Racism and Sexism Globally

Race and gender relations and discrimination around the globe; sociological approaches to explaining racial and gender discrimination; the origins and practice of racial, ethnic, and gender domination and empowerment in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States.

Social Justice: Citizen Participation as a Force in Community Affairs

Students acquire knowledge of aspects of citizen participation both through lectures and reading assignments, and field activities involving observation, recording and/or analysis of citizen participation in public affairs. Possible field work may include study of participation in jury pools, voting registration, volunteer activities, and community service. Practical understanding of community participation integrated with analytical knowledge of community organization. Possible field trips into candidate community locations.

442 Sociology of Medicine

Literature on health and illness from three sociological perspectives: 1) epidemiologicalófocus on social and psychological factors as causes of disease; 2) illness-behavior perspectivesófocus on variation between persons and groups in their evaluation and response to pain and symptoms; and 3) organizationalóemphasis on problems in organization and delivery of medical services.

481 Sociology of Mental Health

Introduction to the sociology of mental illness, definitions and descriptions of mental illness, social and cultural causes for mental illness, family and public reactions and the problems of measuring mental illness and methods for its cure.

563 Macrosociology and Human Ecology

Readings and discussion, with some lectures, on scientific literature dealing with community and other organizational features of modern societies. Role of population, technology, and social organization defining ties to material, living, and social environments. Growth of cities; communi-cation, transportation and social change; dimensions of variability in the composition of comunities; dependence of human life on energy conversion capacities; specialization in a territorial division of labor; some topics to be identified by students. Prerequisites: division standing and consent of instructor.

565 Sociology and Ecology of the Community: Development and Decline

Study of local communities; as settings for daily life; as biosocial organisms, linking social life with environmental forces including the economy and demographic change, and impact of technological innovations on daily life. Growth and decline of urban and rural communities under deindustrialization, multinationalism, the rise of megacities, economic restructuring and deconcentration. Attempt to define underlying forces and responses to social and economic change. Prerequisites: course work in economics, sociology, geography or related field, and junior or senior standing; or consent of instructor.

591 Analyzing Crime

For juniors and above, and particularly for students in the Criminal Justice program. Introduction to the quantitative analysis of crime data. Review of major issues in the measurement and analysis of crime. Prerequisite: one or more courses in criminology. A basic course in statistics and some familiarity with the use of personal computers recommended.

Sociology | Courses | Faculty