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 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 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 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 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 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 4800 Capstone in Sociology (3 credits)

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