Courses

Faculty present courses based on their area of expertise and specialization in the field of sex and gender. Students should check current sociology department notices of course offerings for specific topics. Students may receive credit for this course up to three times for different topics. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Restricted to junior/ senior SOCY majors. Same as WMST 3046.

Considers theory and research about American social movements. Emphasizes leadership, ideology, recruitment, strategy, organizational dynamics, public response, and reasons for success or failure. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

Explores how modern social institutions and culture shape our personal experiences, how personal experiences can affect the nature of those, institutions and culture, and how strategies can be developed for achieving balance between the individual and society. Prereqs., SOCY 1001 and SOCY 3001 3011. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: United States context or ideals and values. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

Addresses three subtopics of race from a sociological perspective: ethnic and racial identities, immigration, and race and ethnicity in Latin America. Recommended prereq., SOCY 1001.

Uses the conceptual framework of the sociology of race and ethnic relations to explore whiteness as a racial category that is centered and privileged in American society. Investigates the development of whiteness from past white supremacy, current colorblindness, to possible future multiculturalism. Analyzes the consequences of whiteness as a racial identity and a social structure. Prereqs., SOCY 1001 and 1021.

Teaches quantitative research methods and, particularly, methods of survey research. Topics include sampling, interviewing, schedule construction, data analysis, computer methods, index construction, and statistical analysis. Students participate in a survey project, design, collect data, and prepare a research paper on the basis of collected data. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, 2061, and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

Focuses on aspects of the victimization of women and girls that are "Gendered" - namely, sexual abuse and intimate partner abuse. Also explores the importance of race, class, and sexuality in gendered violence. Same as WMST 3314.

Skill development prepares students to conduct qualitative sociological research. Emphasizes ethnographic techniques, including intensive interviewing, direct observation, coding, participant observation, and report writing. Students conceive and execute a field research project with data collection, analysis, and a report. Prereqs., SOCY 1001 and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

Studies the persistence of genocide and the effects of mass trauma on women and girls. Within the framework of political and social catastrophe, the course examines cataclysmic world events and the traumatic consequences for women of religious persecution, colonialism, slavery, and the genocides of the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Prereq., SOCY 1016 or WMST 2000 or SOCY 3314. SOCY 4000 and WMST 4010 are the same course.

Studies present and future roles of the aged in the family, the community, and the larger society. Considers economic, political, and health consequences of various retirement systems. Prereqs., Socy 1001, and Socy 3001 or 3011. Restricted to junior/senior Socy majors.

Variety of courses in criminology. See current departmental announcements for specific content. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours for different topics. Prereq., SOCY 1001 or 1004. Restricted to junior/senior SOCY majors.

Examines global environmental issues from sociological perspectives. Focuses on such problems as overpopulation, world hunger and poverty, pollution, resource shortages, environmental impact of technology and population dynamics, public policy, and strategies for change. Credit not granted for this course and SOCY 1002 or SEWL 2000. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

Scientific study of criminal behavior with special attention to development of criminal law, definition of crime, causes of law violation, and methods of controlling criminal behavior. Prereq., SOCY 1001 or 1004.

Studies status and power differences between the sexes at individual, group, and societal levels. Examines empirically established sex differences, and reviews biological, psychological, and sociological explanations for gender differences. Prereqs., SOCY 1016 or WMST 2000. Restricted to junior/senior SOCY majors. Same as WMST 4016.

Examines the role of non-human animals in human society. Investigates the social construction of the human/animal boundary. Challenges ideas that animals are neither thinking nor feeling. Examines the many ways humans rely on animals. Considers the link between animal cruelty and other violence. Explores the moral status of animals. Prereq., SOCY 1001.

Explores conflict resolution theory and method as applied to interpersonal, intergroup, and interorganization conflict. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, and SOCY 3001 or 3011.

Examines the history, incidence and prevalence of delinquent behavior, as well as why children become involved in criminal activity. Prereq., SOCY 1001 or 1004. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: contemporary societies. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Sociology (SOCY) majors only.

Focuses on the structural forces affecting environmental degradation and environmental behaviorby examining the relationships between (a) inequality and democratic decision making and (b) undemocratic decision making; U.S. and corporate food and energy policy; and global environmental degradation. The course also focuses on the role that global inequality plays in fostering environmental degradation. Restricted to juniors/seniors. Same as ENVS 4027. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Studies individuals in social context. Reviews philosophical and sociological treatments of the relation between the individual and society. More specific topics include the socialization process,theories of human development and personality formation, language acquisition, conformity, aggression, sex differences in personality and gender identity, and the relation between attitudes and overt behavior. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Restricted to junior/senior SOCY majors. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Explores the societal dimensions of hazards and disasters, emphasizing disaster theory and research, key issues in the sociological study of disasters, social vulnerability, the impacts of disasters in the U.S. and worldwide, and the U.S. Emergency Management System. Prereq., SOCY 2077. Same as SOCY 5037.

Defines relationship between economy and society; sociological approach to study of economic activity and organization; difference from the theoretical and methodological assumptions orienting the discipline of economics; tackles these questions in two ways: studies foundations as established in works of Smith, Marx, Weber, Polanyi, and Schumpeter, and considers current research in economic sociology, focusing on concepts of markets, networks, and embeddedness. Prereq., SOCY 1001. Restricted to sophomore, junior, senior SOCY majors.

Variety of courses taught by visiting and regular faculty. See current departmental announcements for specific content. May be repeated up to 9 credit hours for different topics.

Focuses on social inequalities in health in both U.S.and international contexts. Reviews the link between health status and various types of social statuses, including but not limited to socioeconomic status, gender, race, and ethnicity. Explanations for the relationships between these factors and various health outcomes are discussed. The class focuses on multiple levels of analysis, from the physician-patient interactions to health care systems and social policies. Students have the opportunity to develop their own specific research interests in this field. Prereq., SOCY 1001. Restricted to junior/senior SOCY majors. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Studies theories of class, ethnic, sex, and age stratification. Examines social inequality in the United States and analyzes the resulting conflicts. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Restricted to junior/senior SOCY majors. Same as SOCY 5071.

Analyzes the school as a social organization. Among topics considered are power and control in the school; classroom interaction and its relation to learning and personality development in students; roles of educators; and reciprocal relations of school andcommunity. Prereqs., SOCY 1001, and SOCY 3001 or 3011. Restricted to junior/senior SOCY majors.