Sociology

 

Professors:  Ferrari, Gay; Assistant Professors:  Harris, Jafar; Visiting Associate Professor:  Flores; Professor Fainstein, chair

 

The Major in Sociology

 

The major consists of at least nine courses, including 103, 325, 354, and one 400-level course other than 403, 493B, or 494B.  One course, but no more, may be chosen from the following:  Psychology 201; Mathematics 107 or 206; Computer Science 110.

                Advisers:  N. Fainstein, A. Ferrari, R. Flores, R. Gay, F. Hoffmann, C. Harris, A. Jafar

 

The Minor in Sociology

 

The minor consists of five courses in sociology:  103; 325 or 354; two additional 200-level courses; and one 400-level course.

                Advisers:  N. Fainstein, A. Ferrari, R. Flores, R. Gay, F. Hoffmann, C. Harris, A. Jafar

 

The Major in Sociology-based Human Relations

 

The major consists of nine courses, including six in sociology:  103; 354; 493B or 494B; and three courses chosen from 223, 227, 257, 262, 333, 364, or 403.  Students must also take three of the following courses:  Education 460; Human Development 302, 304, 307, 321; Psychology 203, 205, 206, 210, 318, 441, 442.

                Advisers:  N. Fainstein, A. Ferrari, R. Flores, R. Gay, F. Hoffmann, C. Harris, A. Jafar

 

*For the above listed Psychology courses Sociology 103 serves as a prerequisite for human relations majors.

 

The Minor in Sociology-based Human Relations

 

The minor consists of five courses:  Sociology 103; Sociology 354 or 493B; and three electives chosen from the list of courses satisfying the Sociology-based Human Relations major.  Two of these electives must be at the 200 level and one at the 400 level; one must come from a discipline other than sociology.

                Advisers:  N. Fainstein, A. Ferrari, R. Flores, R. Gay, F. Hoffmann, C. Harris, A. Jafar

 

The Major in Urban Studies

 

The major consists of at least nine courses, including Sociology 103, 264, 354, 364, 405, 418, and Economics 247.  Additional courses may be chosen from Computer Science 110; Environmental Studies 115; Government 260; History 225; Psychology 320; Sociology 203, 493A, 494A.  Courses in statistics and computer science and a reading and speaking knowledge of Spanish are recommended.

                Advisers:  N. Fainstein, A. Ferrari, R. Flores, R. Gay, F. Hoffmann, C. Harris, A. Jafar

 

Courses

 

SOCIOLOGY  102  SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS  An analysis of sociological approaches to the understanding of social problems and social policy and of vital issues facing American society.

                Enrollment limited to 40 students per section.  This course satisfies General Education Area 3.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  103  INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY  A study of the basic principles underlying the functioning of human society.  Special emphasis will be given to social interaction, social structure, and social change.

                Enrollment limited to 40 students per section.  This course satisfies General Education Area 3.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  203  IMMIGRATION IN AN URBAN CONTEXT  This course addresses questions of immigration by focusing on theories of immigrant incorporation and examining patterns of immigrant employment and settlement.  Special attention is given to immigration trends that occurred after the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, which abolished the country of origin quota and increased the number of immigrants to the United States.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  206  IDENTITY, COMMUNITY, AND DEMOCRACY  An exploration of the nature of self and identities, how they are shaped, and their relationship to recent trends in the American economy, ?community,? culture, political participation, and social movements.  Special consideration given to early Roman contributions to American governance, to the apparent decline of Americans' participation in civil society, to recent communitarian critiques of liberal individualism, and to how both individualism and community are important to the future of democracy.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology or government, or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  A. Ferrari

 

SOCIOLOGY  207  PERSPECTIVES ON DEVELOPMENT  Seminar on socio-economic conditions in Latin America, their effect on growth and development, social and political organization, class conflict and public philosophies concerning social protection and its funding.  The class will include guest lectures providing students an opportunity to engage leading scholars in the field in a focused and informed discussion of their work.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  R. Gay

 

SOCIOLOGY  212  SEX, GENDER AND SOCIETY  What is the difference between sex and gender?  How do we act out, perform, recreate gender?  This course is designed to familiarize students with the prominent discourses and major issues related to sex stratification.  It examines how notions of masculinity and femininity evolve and how they affect social reality in such spheres as culture, work, politics, and the family.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  213  GENDER THEORY  An introduction to gender theory.  Theoretical concepts related to gender theory, such as social construction, standpoint, and intersectionality.  New directions in gender theory pertaining to race and ethnicity, colonialism, globalization, and sexuality.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  214  SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE  Culture as a site of sociological analysis; definitions and theories of culture; distinctions in the study of culture (e.g., folk versus mass; high versus popular, etc.); cultural sites (e.g., the media; cinema; popular music); cultural stratification; the production of culture.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology or anthropology.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

Sociology  215  Drugs AND Society  The study of the use and regulation of psychoactive drugs from a social perspective.  An analysis of the use of psychoactive drugs in contexts of religion, health care, divination, celebration, recreation, and cuisine.  A focus on the association between drug use and specific immigrant, ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic characteristics.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  217  HEALTH AND ILLNESS  Course examines the distribution, experiences and consequences of health, illness, and disease as products of political, economic, cultural, and professional forces.  Topics include relationship between disease, race, class, gender, age, and social change; interactions between healthcare providers and patients; changing definitions of risk and illness; and issues in bioethics.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  218  THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK  A study of the changing nature of work.  How work processes have shaped race and gender relations.  The impact of immigration on labor market opportunities.  The future of organized labor.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  223  ETHNIC AND RACE RELATIONS  Ethnic and racial groups analyzed according to historical, cultural and social conditions; the racial and national composition of the U.S. population; cross-national consideration of group interaction patterns; the social structure of racism and minority status.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology or anthropology.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  227  DEVIANT BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL CONTROL  Critical analysis of perspectives that focus on:  origin and implementation of ideas that define immoral behavior; causes of behavior; consequences of labeling such behavior; role of conflict and power in establishing norms and laws.  Consideration of social policy, especially toward crime.

                Prerequisite:  Psychology 102 or 206, or a course in sociology.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  A. Ferrari

 

SOCIOLOGY  257  ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS  An analysis of the structure and function of complex, formal organizations or bureaucracy with attention to human service organizations and corporations.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology, anthropology, economics, or government.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  262  FAMILY ANALYSIS AND LIFE STYLES  Family as a structural basis for social order; dynamic role relations within the family unit and interaction between the family and the broader social network; dating, courtship, marriage, socialization, alternative life styles; and the future of the family from a theoretical and empirical perspective.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology, psychology, anthropology, or human development.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  264  URBAN SOCIOLOGY  Historical and cross-cultural perspective; cities as communities; urban form and growth; urbanization as a major force shaping societies and interpersonal contact; anti-urban bias and the city as a site of social problems; urban/regional planning and other approaches to developing social policy.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology, anthropology, or government.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  315  GENDER AND HIGHER EDUCATION  Examination of U.S. higher education as a gendered social institution in structure, curriculum, campus life, and history.  Focus on sex discrimination legislation affecting higher education policy and practice.  Specific topics include admissions policies, coeducation, affirmative action, women's studies and related curricular initiatives, sexual harassment, campus violence, and athletics.  This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies 315.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology or Gender and Women's Studies.  Enrollment limited to 25 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  325  FOUNDATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY  A study of the origins of sociological theory in the context of 19th-century Europe and the development of sociology as an analysis of industrial and post-industrial societies.  Special emphasis on the relationships of contemporary theory to the works of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.

                Prerequisite:  One course in sociology, anthropology, or government; or History 107.  Open to juniors and seniors.  Enrollment limited to 25 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  333, 334  SELECTED TOPICS

 

SOCIOLOGY  354  METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS  An examination of the research process in sociology.  Topics covered include:  the development of a research design, methods of data collection and basic analysis, problems of measurement and bias.  Projects will involve problem formulation, organization, analysis and presentation of data

                Prerequisite:  Course 103.  Enrollment limited to 25 students.  R. Gay

 

SOCIOLOGY  364  URBAN PROBLEMS  Integration of service in community settings with the intellectual study of sociology.  Students will serve as volunteers in a non-profit or advocacy group dealing with a specific urban problem.  Two hours class meeting plus a minimum of six hours community service per week.

                Prerequisite:  Course 103 and one 200-level course or above, or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  Offered second semester.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  400  THE SOCIOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION  An analysis of recent processes of globalization.  How globalization is perceived and resisted.  A focus on how globalization affects corporations, nation-states, workers, social inequality, immigration, popular culture, and other aspects of society.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  403  GROUP DYNAMICS  Analysis of the nature and functioning of groups, especially principles governing their development and participants actions.  The class will form a group and serve as a laboratory offering first-hand experience of group processes.  Consideration will be given to how knowledge of group dynamics is applied to enhance personal growth, management, education, and therapies.

                Prerequisite:  Open to junior and senior Sociology Based Human Relations majors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  A. Ferrari

 

SOCIOLOGY  405  URBAN POVERTY AND PUBLIC POLICY  This course examines the nature and causes of urban poverty by surveying theories of poverty and their policy implications.  Special attention is given to the role of education, employment and family status, gender and race, metropolitan location, and global economic restructuring.  The goal of this course is to understand both the evolution of intellectual thought and practical solutions for reducing and eliminating poverty in American cities.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  408  MIDDLE CLASS MINORITIES  Race and class in society examined through a focus on the middle class racial minority groups.  Topics include:  historical development, racial parity, race relations within the middle class, attitudes and ideologies, intra-racial class relations.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  410  INDUSTRIALIZATION, DICTATORSHIP AND DEMOCRACY  The relationship between social and political forms of organization in the developed and less developed world through a combination of sociological theory, historical text, novel and film.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  R. Gay

 

SOCIOLOGY  412  AIDS AND SOCIETY  Seminar examining the global HIV/AIDS epidemic through the lenses of the sociologies of:  race, class and gender inequalities; sexualities; drug use; knowledge; deviance and social control; and social movements.  Consideration of what these insights offer for addressing current critical issues in HIV/AIDS transmission, prevention, treatment and care.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

SOCIOLOGY  414  POST-AUTHORITARIAN BRAZIL  An examination of trends and processes since the transition to democracy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Topics include democratization, social movements, economic restructuring, violence, and religion.  Emphasis on ethnography and oral history.  Course 414 may include an optional section, Sociology 414f, that will meet outside of class to discuss supplemental readings in Portuguese.  Students participating in the section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  R. Gay

 

SOCIOLOGY  414f  POST-AUTHORITARIAN BRAZIL  (In Portuguese)  This optional section of Course 414 will regularly meet with the professor outside of class to discuss supplemental texts in Portuguese.  Students participating in the foreign language section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.  Students electing Course 414f must concurrently register for Course 414.  R. Gay

 

SOCIOLOGY  418  CITY AND SOCIETY  Human settlements express social processes, while urban forms shape social life.  How this happens is a central element of social theory.  Topics include the rise and transformation of the industrial city; modernism and post-modernism; globalization; gender and domestic life; race and class inequality; culture as a social force; and the city in Western humanism.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  N. Fainstein

 

SOCIOLOGY  420  FAMILY VIOLENCE  An introduction to the study of family violence.  A focus on issues related to child abuse, gender violence, and elder abuse in families, as well as institutionalized violence targeting the family.  An examination of the relationship between the domestic and public realm, ideology of the family, types of violence, and methods of intervention.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

sociology  422  American Society and Politics  The political sociology of the United States in historical and comparative context.  Topics may include American exceptionalism, a comparison of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, inequality and the welfare state, domestic politics and global behavior, democracy and capitalism, race and class in American history, and the origins of a suburban nation.  This is the same course as American Studies 422.

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16  students.  N. Fainstein

 

SOCIOLOGY  493, 494  ADVANCED STUDY SEMINARS  The topics are subject to annual change.

 

                SOCIOLOGY  493A, 494A  INEQUALITY  (for sociology and urban studies majors).

                Prerequisite:  Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

                SOCIOLOGY  493B, 494B  SELF AND SOCIETY  (for human relations majors).

                                Prerequisite:  Open to junior and senior Sociology Based Human Relations majors who have taken Course 103, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  A. Ferrari

 

SOCIOLOGY  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

SOCIOLOGY  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

SOCIOLOGY  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

SOCIOLOGY  395, 396  FIELD WORK  Supervised field work.  Students will work 8-10 hours per week under the direction of a faculty member and will write a term paper analyzing the experience from a theoretical perspective.  Except in unusual circumstances, the course may be taken only once.

                Prerequisite:  Students anticipating enrollment should contact an appropriate instructor no later than three weeks before the end of the semester preceding the anticipated enrollment.  Approval by the department is required.

 

SOCIOLOGY  497-498  HONORS STUDY