Examines concepts and theories that describe and explain social life. Focuses on aspects of culture, social class, race relations, and gender relations as they are determined by society, and on how humans create and recreate groups, structures, and institutions. [Core Curriculum Goal Area 5]
Common Course Outline

SOC 2230 Race and Ethnic Relations (3 credits)

The course will examine the concepts of race and ethnicity in a variety of ways. We will start by examining the history of these concepts in the US and then examine how these histories have influenced and in turn been influenced by race in the rest of the world. We will study issues such as colonialism, immigration, nationalism and international relations in order to understand how race and ethnicity have shaped the history of the US and how these concepts continue to dictate domestic and international policies. The course will focus on current social, economic, political circumstances as they relate with race and ethnicity. We will discuss current topics like the changing demographics of people in the US, the nature of racism, movements that oppose racism, and the overall relationship between race, racism, religion, national identity and our chances of happiness in the US. Our overall goal is to understand how race and ethnicity influence our lives and our circumstances. [Core Curriculum Goal Area(s) 7 & 9]
Common Course Outline

SOC 2240 Sociology of Gender - Current Topics (3 credits)

Study of the construction of gender, sexuality, and related topics in society as they impact the lived experiences of individuals, groups, and cultures. Power, civil rights, and material inequalities will be analyzed through social institutions, culture, and globalization patterns. This course serves as a bridge between gender and women's studies and sociology. Thus, each semester current political, social, and economic events and issues impacting gendered social patterns in U.S. society and around the world will be analyzed. [Core Curriculum Goal Area(s) 5 & 7]
Common Course Outline

SOC 3001 Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences (3 credits)

Covers statistics as applied to social science research. Includes data collection, sampling, analysis, description, inference, and interpretation. Also features guidance on how statistics are (mis)used in public venues, specifically in terms of social science data.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3003 Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits)

This course examines the basic research methods used to study diverse social processes and improve upon our understanding of social issues through a qualitative research lens. We will understand the basic differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches and analyze the impact of these methods on data gathering and analysis. Prerequisite: SOC 1104 or instructor permission.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3010 Sociological Theory (3 credits)

In this class we will explore classic and contemporary sociological theories. We will begin by examining Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, and W.E.B. Du Bois, and then move toward more contemporary understandings about culture and society as discussed by symbolic interactionism, feminist theory and poststructuralism. The class is designed to help students understand how theorists think about structures and individuals, how historical time periods and intellectual environments shape theoretical understandings, and how theoretical discussions inform social research. Although much of the material in this class is designed to help students understand theory, another goal of the course is to help students critique existing theories and actually 'do theory'. Prerequisites: SOC 1104 or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3210 Social Movements - How to Change the World (3 credits)

A social history of social movements and change. Focuses on understanding and analyzing these dynamics as generational changes and as the emergence of broader social forces driving the major movements of the past fifty years. The shift from modernity to postmodernity sets the overall theoretical framework, with an emphasis on the dynamics of race, class, gender, environment, and culture. [Core Curriculum Goal Area 8]
Common Course Outline

SOC 3250 Religion and Politics: A Sociological Analysis (3 credits)

Religion and Politics are the things we U.S.-Americans are expected not to talk about in polite company. The U.S. appears to be deeply divided on a number of issues. But why? The goal of this course is to describe and explain. This course is not about taking partisan political positions, advocating for specific political interests, or arguing about the truth of religious worldviews. The sociological study of religion and politics involves understanding how religion as a worldview and social phenomenon is related to politics as interests and social phenomena, both in the U.S. and globally. Trends in religious identity and practice shape political behaviors, movements, and changes. They have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I'm going to examine a lot of controversial stuff in this course, but I'm going to "take a big step back" to do it. Perhaps it will provide you with the tools to have difficult conversations with friends, family, and strangers; and/or help understand why people disagree on what they disagree on and respond the way they do.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3300 Family and Society (3 credits)

After a brief introduction to basic sociological concepts, frameworks, methods, and relevant historical materials, students examine several documents that address particular contemporary family issues. Students also learn how to evaluate the materials discussed. [Core Curriculum Goal Area 5]
Common Course Outline

SOC 3310 Community Organizing for Social Change (3 credits)

This course explores the history of community organizing and how individuals have come together to more deeply understand the rights and obligations of citizenship and how to organize for social justice for themselves and others in their communities. Students will develop deeper knowledge of the overall worldview associated with community organizing and will be able to articulate and apply the tools and tactics to effect change. They will also learn how to assess action taken and they will address how alternative approaches inform future action cycles. [Core Curriculum Goal Area 9]
Common Course Outline

SOC 3320 Social Class and Inequality (3 credits)

On some level, most people understand that social class matters; rarely do they grasp how by how much. The primary goal of this course is to examine social stratification, particularly focusing on social class, primarily in the contemporary United States, but also including historical and comparative information. It is only by doing so that we can understand why stratification is as it is in the United States and how and why it is different from those systems found elsewhere. We will pursue this goal by contextualizing early work, reviewing central perspectives on stratification and inequality, and using these newfound theoretical skills to explore the issues of political economy, environmental degradation, geopolitics, and constructions of race, class, and gender. [Core Curriculum Goal Area(s) 5 & 7]
Common Course Outline

SOC 3330 Sociology of Health and Medicine (3 credits)

In this course we will explore, from a sociological perspective, how health care is organized, inequalities related to health care organization, and how, as an institution, health care systems interact with other institutions. We will also be examining delivery interactions within the medical systems, the culture of medicine, professional power, and who gets to define 'wellness'. Finally, we will explore how health care is shaping individual lives and the understandings of the human.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3340 Sociology of Education (3 credits)

This course will focus on relationships between education and society from multiple sociological perspectives. In particular, there is a focus on the role of schooling, past and present, as well as how formal education is connected to other social structures, and broader social inequalities. In this course, we will address several topics/themes, including: the development and functions of public education, how and to what extent education both fosters social mobility and reproduces social inequality, how patterns of racial segregation, gender inequality, and social/class divides were, and are, related to education, the cultural dimensions¿and conflicts¿surrounding education, and future possibilities in an economy increasingly shaped by information and automation. This course focuses largely (but not exclusively) on the United States, after the Second World War.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3925 People of the Environment: Sociology Perspective (3 credits)

Examines the relationship between society and the environment. Emphasis on political and economic institutions and the consumer lifestyle and values. Considers how the treadmill of production affects ecosystems and discusses possible solutions to environmental problems.
Common Course Outline

SOC 4270 Intersectionality (3 credits)

This course will explore the complexity of the interaction of race, class, gender, sexuality, citizenship, and age with a specific focus on sexual norms in Western and non-Western societies. As part of this exploration, we will examine aspects of inequality and privilege and the social and political implications of hierarchies. We will also look at how the nature of race, sexuality, and gender can create hybrid identities and communities and cultures that resist and reinforce ethnic and national boundaries. Prerequisite(s): SOC 2230 or SOC 2240.
Common Course Outline

SOC 4600 Work and Careers (3 credits)

Students identify career avenues complementary to their chosen major and develop materials necessary for conducting a job search. In addition, students will learn what sociology has to say about work, occupations, and the organizations within which that work takes place. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing suggested.
Common Course Outline

SOC 4800 Capstone in Sociology (3 credits)

Students decide on a research question and carry out an independent project.
Common Course Outline

SOC 4917 DIS Tchg Assoc | (1-2 credits)

Directed Independent Study | Teaching Associate
Common Course Outline