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. Liberal Education Goal Area 5.
Common Course Outline

SOC 2200 Social Movements and Change (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. Liberal Education Goal Area 8.
Common Course Outline

SOC 2210 American Culture: A Sociological Interpretation (3 credits)

This course traces the origins of American cultural patterns and institutions and examines contemporary elements of diversity and social change. Readings explore the mores associated with the American character, focusing on individualism while investigating how public and private life is framed. Unifying themes involve theoretical discussions regarding the degree to which the "decentered" experience of individuals in the United States today raises questions about the meaning of the very term "American culture." Liberal Education Categories 7 & 9
Common Course Outline

SOC 2220 Sociology of Marriage and Family (3 credits)

A study of the various forms of family structure, including variations that occur by social class and ethnic status. Examination of the changing forms of American families throughout history and consideration of the issues and evidence surrounding the debate over the nature of the family. The topics of gender roles, romantic love, courtship, nonmarital life styles, divorce, remarriage, and stepfamilies will also be examined from the sociological frame of reference. Liberal Education Category 5
Common Course Outline

SOC 2230 Race and Ethnic Relations (3 credits)

Study of dominant-subordinate relations with emphasis on racial and ethnic inequalities. Examination of privilege, prejudice and discrimination. Liberal Education Goal Areas 7 & 9.
Common Course Outline

SOC 2240 Men, Women, and Society: A Sociological Interpretation (3 credits)

Study of the construction of gender in society and the differential consequences of particular social arrangements on the lives of men and women. Examines gender, male and female sexuality, intimate relationships, gendered patterns of work and education, the gender of violence, and sociological theories of femininity and masculinity. Emphasizes changes in gendered social patterns in U.S. society in the 21st century and compares those changes to shifting patterns in other societies. Liberal Education Goal Areas 5 & 7.
Common Course Outline

SOC 2925 People and the Environment: Sociology Perspective (3 credits)

This course is a section of the interdisciplinary environmental issues course, People and the Environment. The focus of this course is to understand that environmental problems are both problems for society and problems of society. Students explore how sociology and its unique viewpoint add much to understanding the environment/society nexus. Liberal Education Goal Area 10.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3000 Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits)

Principles, techniques, and practices in the conduct of field research in natural social settings, focusing on participant observation, unstructured and semi-structured interviewing, use of informants, personal and public documents, content analysis, unobtrusive research techniques, interpreting narrative data, and preparation of a field research report (ethnography). Prerequisite: SOC 1104 or ANTH 1110. Also ANTH 3000.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3001 Social Statistics (3 credits)

Covers a conceptual understanding of basic descriptive and inferential statistics. Choice of statistic and interpretation of SPSS results is discussed. Prerequisite: Completion of Liberal Education mathematics requirement (Goal Area 4) or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3002 Quantitative Research Methods (3 credits)

Examines the basic quantitative methods sociologists and other social scientists use to study diverse social processes and to improve our understanding of social issues. Students gain hands-on experiences developing a quantitative research project and work on various aspects of actual research projects. Prerequisite: SOC 3001 or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3003 Research Methods (3 credits)

Examines the basic methods used to study diverse social processes and to improve our understanding of social issues. Topics include the relationship of theory to research, research ethics, evaluation of qualitative and quantitative research designs and patterns of analysis, and associated concerns. Prerequisite: SOC 1104.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3010 Social Theory (3 credits)

An overview of selected sociological theories and theorists considered against the background of the classical period of sociological theorizing in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Emphasis on comparative understanding of the major models of society - order, pluralism, conflict, etc. - that have dominated sociological thinking in the modern period. Prerequisites: SOC 1104 or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3020 Urban Sociology (3 credits)

Explores the social factors that impact the culture and politics of urban environments. Examines the history of cities and the social theories that are used to interpret urban development from modern to postmodern times. Emphasis on understanding urban enclaves, patterns of inequality, the meanings of place and space, and the impact of global economic and cultural forces on city life. Students compare and contrast current trends in U.S. development of place and community with those in other societies. Each term, students are required to travel to a U.S. metropolitan area where they engage in first-hand observations of a particular city through this sociospatial lens. Prerequisites: SOC 1104 and junior standing.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3040 Global Issues (3 credits)

Study of global and local forces that affect groups, organizations, institutions, and societies. Involves an exploration of the rise of contemporary social issues, with a particular focus on developments associated with ethnic, religious, and regional affiliations and shifting social, economic, and political alliances. Students will have a chance to explore the development of global patterns of stratification and its effects on particular groups and societies.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3050 Environmental Sociology (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. Prerequisites: SOC 1104 or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3080 Education and Careers (3 credits)

Studies how educational institutions and individual experiences affect education and the outcomes of education. Provides students with an opportunity to explore career and civic engagement interests.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3090 Social and Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine (3 credits)

Examines social and ethical issues related to the practice of medicine. Students develop an understanding of the sociological causes of illness, the medicalization of society, and the values and assumptions of those who define and deliver medical care in society. Today people point to the fact that we are experiencing a crisis in health care in the U.S. Costs have skyrocketed, access to primary care is inequitable, infant mortality rates remain high, public accountability problems persist, and we continue to emphasize medical care over and above health care. Sociological interpretations raise questions about these issues, and point to the ways in which society continues to produce disease and illness. As these topics are explored through the sociological lens, the complex ethical dilemmas associated with medical understandings and possible alternatives that emphasize health are identified. Liberal Education Goal Area 9.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3120 Organizations in Society (3 credits)

An analysis of complex organizations in societies. Examines the rise of bureaucracy in business and government, following through to contemporary times, and contemporary shifts in form from modern to postmodern. Emphasizes the tensions, contradictions, and paradoxes found in these organizational arrangements. Other topics may include the differential experiences of workers in complex organizations. Prerequisite: SOC 1104 or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3230 Social Psychology (3 credits)

An overview of theory and research in social psychology from a sociological viewpoint. Emphasizes the impact of social location on thought, behavior, and emotion. Explores patterns of interpersonal relationships and small group processes, and why humans establish certain "taken-for-granted" meaning systems and ways of being. Prerequisite: SOC 1104 or consent of instructor.
Common Course Outline

SOC 3270 Intersections of Sexuality and Gender (3 credits)

Exploration of the sexual norms associated with being male and female in Western and non-Western societies. Examines how particular forms of sexuality are privileged and the social and political implications of these hierarchies. Also examined is how the nature of race, sexuality, and gender creates hybrid identities, communities, and cultures that resist and reinforce ethnic and national boundaries.
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. Liberal Education Goal Area 5.
Common Course Outline

SOC 4700 Career Preparation (3 credits)

Provides students with an opportunity to explore careers that require the substantive knowledge and skills developed through their course of study. Students identify their career interests, create resumes and cover letters, engage in mock interviews, and explore graduate school options. They are also asked to consider how they might use their sociology skills and knowledge in their future roles (as individual, employee, citizen). Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and Sociology major.
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