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Sociology

Courses of Instruction

(SOCI)

Available as a major on the B.A. degree and as a minor on the B.A. and B.S. degrees.

Requirements for the B.A. degree with a Major in Sociology. Twenty-four semester hours in Sociology, including SOCI 20213, 30383, and 30833. Students must average a minimum of 2.0 in all letter-grade courses taken for the major. Students interested in emphases in Law, Justice and Society, or Social Inequality, or Health and Well-Being should consult with their faculty adviser. Associated Requirement: Math 10043 to be taken within the first 9 hours of sociology course work. Any approved field may be selected as a minor.

Requirements for a Minor in Sociology. Eighteen semester hours, including SOCI 20213.

Requirements for Teacher Certification in Sociology. Twenty-four semester hours, including SOCI 20213, 30383, and 30833.

Honors Program. Sociology majors who plan to pursue Departmental Honors must be members of the Honors Program and should enroll in SOCI 30003 during their junior year and SOCI 40003 during the fall semester of their senior year.

Honor Society. The Department sponsors Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, national honor society in sociology.

Pass/No Credit Option. All upper division courses in the major except 40610 must be taken on the letter-grade system.

CLEP. The Sociology Department approves the awarding of 3 semester hours of credit for a score of 55 on the CLEP Subject Exam in Introductory Sociology, equivalent to SOCI 20213.

The following is a complete list of courses offered by this department. Go to Class Search on Registrar's Page to see which courses are being taught this semester.

Courses of Instruction

20213 INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY. Differing patterns of human relationships; application of sociological concepts to the understanding of human behavior.

20223 SOCIAL PROBLEMS. Utilizing several sociological perspectives, current societal problems are examined. Emphasis on those problems relating to social disorganization, value conflict and deviance.

30003 HONORS SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGICAL IDEAS. Open to honor students with 6 semester hours of sociology and/or permission of the students adviser and the instructor. A sociological analysis of the interplay of ideological and social factors in the development and decline of social systems and of present trends in world ideologies and societies, with some possible implications for the future.

30223 CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY. Topics of current interest in the discipline of sociology and society. Illustrative topics likely to be offered during the catalog period include: Sociology of Sex Roles, Political Sociology, The Role of Sociologists in Society. (1-6 sem. hrs.)

30243 VIOLENCE IN SOCIETY. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223 or permission of instructor. A survey of the major forms of violence in contemporary society. Examining the extent and distribution of violence and the sociological, anthropological, and psychological theories devised to account for violence.

30303 MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY. The social psychology of courtship, marriage, and family relations; the social significance of the family; its origin and development; the family in transition; its organization and disorganization.

30313 CRIMINOLOGY. (CRJU 30313) Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. Study of crime in America, with focus on sociological theories of crime causation, treatment and prevention. The function and structure of the criminal justice system.

30343 AMERICAN MINORITY GROUPS. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. Demographic, institutional, and social psychological aspects of minority group relations, with emphasis on Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians.

30383 RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY. Prerequisite: MATH 10043. An introduction to sociological research procedures, with emphasis on the collection, analysis and interpretation of social data.

30393 SOCIOLOGY OF CORRECTIONS. (CRJU 30393) The study of correctional agencies and programs, including the social structure of the prison and its impact on the offender, deterrent and treatment effects of correctional practices, probation and parole, and an examination of various experiments in institutional and community-based corrections.

30423 MEDIA, SELF, AND SOCIETY. A critical examination of various media, especially print, film and television, from a sociological point of view. An introduction to various theories of mass media and to current research on the effects of mass media on the human self in particular and society as a whole. The media as an agent of socialization, social control, and social discourse. Examination of videotapes of news, entertainment, sports, advertising and special events, interspersed with lectures and discussions.

30443 MEDIA IMAGES OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE. A critical examination of how the media responds to and helps create images of a particular social problem drug abuse. An introduction to theories and research pertaining to drug abuse, to policies dealing with drug abuse and abusers, and to distinctions between justifications for the legality of some drugs and the illegality of others. Examination of various media representations (through photographs, slides, videotapes) of drugs, drug taking, drug abusing, and drug celebrating, interspersed with lectures and discussions.

30463 POPULAR CULTURE. This course examines how groups of people create alternative and novel forms of cultural expressions (popular culture), and how such expressions eventually are filtered through media, either oral, electronic or print. It also considers how the meaning of popular cultural expressions both influence and are influenced by broader and institutionalized societal arrangements.

30563 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223 or permission of instructor. Theoretical and empirical literature on deviance and social control, showing how deviation arises from social interaction. Specific attention to forms of deviance including substance abuse, sexual deviance and violent behavior.

30643 SOCIOLOGY OF AGING. The sociological and social psychological examination of the impact of aging on individuals and on society. Focus is on such dimensions of aging as health status, work and retirement, family and living arrangements in later life, and death and dying. The course is primarily concerned with aging in Western mass society, especially in the U.S.

30683 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION (RELI 30683). Prerequisite: SOCI 20213; SOCI 20223 or permission of instructor. An introduction to understanding the role of religion in society and to sociological methods for the study of religion. The course will introduce theories and research pertaining to types of religious experience, conversion and commitment, denominationalism, secularization and fundamentalism. Class, gender, race and ethnicity will also be addressed as they influence religion in society.

30743 MEN, WOMEN AND SOCIETY. Critical examination of new ideas, data and theories about the roles of men and women in contemporary society. Focus is on a sociological analysis of gender stratification in our society.

30803 VICTIMOLOGY. (CRJU 30803) Major aspects of the emerging field of victimology. Topics include the historical role of victims, the nature of victimization in modern America, the victimization experience, legal aspects of victimization, victimization and the political process, solutions to victimization, and the future of victims rights and victimology.

30833 SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213 or permission of instructor. An exploration of the foundations of sociological theory through the works of the classical theorists (e.g. Marx, Durkheim, and Weber), assessing the impact of their work on current sociological thinking and practice and on society itself. Attention will be paid to the intellectual heritage of the thinkers, their historical context and their biographical selves.

30903 LAW AND SOCIETY. (CRJU 30903) An examination of the relationship between legal institutions and social processes. Topics include the nature of law, historical evolution of legal systems, creation and organization of law in modern societies, social functions of law, and the limits of law as an instrument of social control.

40003 SENIOR HONORS RESEARCH PAPER. Offered fall only. A supervised research experience culminating in the writing of a research paper typically based on the subject matter studied in SOCI 30003: Honors Seminar in Sociological Ideas. The course is offered on a directed study basis and this must be arranged prior to the semester enrolled.

40373 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223 or permission of instructor. Contribution of sociologists to theory and research in social psychology, including theory of conformity, reference groups, and symbolic interaction.

40383 SEMINAR IN FAMILY RESEARCH. Prerequisites: SOCI 30303 or permission of instructor. Research review and project on the structural interfaces between families and organizations. Special focus on areas including: ex-offenders, mental patients, alcoholics and elderly.

40463 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. (CRJU 40463) Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. Its causes, treatment, and prevention; the child, the clinic, and the court; philosophical and traditional foundations of juvenile law.

40523 HEALTH, ILLNESS AND MEDICINE. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. Critique of the changing structure and functioning of the institution of medicine in America and the continuing inter- and intra-institutional contention for authority. Focus on current issues, problems, and trends such as litigation, governmental financing and regulation, corporate entry into medical care, sexism in medicine, and alternative medicines and practitioners.

40533 SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESS. Prerequisites: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. Study of the evolving arrangements through which society responds to the disruptive actions and nonconsensual beliefs of its members. Exploration of alternative frameworks for understanding mental illness. Evidence serving to critique practices such as involuntary commitment, allegations of danger, imposition of somatic treatments, and social exclusion. Focus on functional disorders.

40610 DIRECTED STUDY IN SOCIOLOGY. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. (1-3 sem. hrs.)

40803 SOCIAL INEQUALITY. Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. A survey of the development, maintenance and consequences of social inequality. Focus upon contemporary American inequalities in power, wealth and prestiges and consequences thereof.