Sociology (SOCY1-UC)

A study of society, social groups, and culture, and an introduction to sociological theory as a means for interpreting and understanding social human behavior. Topics of discussion include the process of social and cultural change, social structure and stratification, social institutions and politics, social roles and gender, the family, and social control.

This course offers an examination of 20th century theory in the social sciences, focusing on contributions from symbolic interactionism, neo-Marxism, structuralism, cultural materialism, feminism, social constructionism, and postmodernism. Students evaluate the contribution of these theories to the meaning, analysis, and interpretation of social and cultural institutions, ideologies, and behavior.

This course explores the ways in which social change in the 19th and 20th centuries gave rise to the intellectual responses that would form the basis of the social theory that informs the contemporary academic fields of sociology and anthropology. The works of major social theorists are considered in order to reveal such central concepts as social class and social stratification; power, authority and institutions; and social change.

This course explores today’s global challenges through the lens of the past with a social sciences and interdisciplinary approach, examining not only how past events have shaped today’s world, but also how earlier societies sought to solve similar challenges. By placing past and present in dialogue the course offers a comparative perspective on how people across time and space have confronted such issues as globalization, technological change, sustainability, epidemic diseases, and social inequalities. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, students will engage these issues through both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources allow students to understand how people perceived these issues in the past and thus to see how ideas about globalization, technology, the environment, diseases, and social differences have changed over time. The course provides students the opportunity to actively engage with solutions to global problems while learning from the deep past how to navigate the present and prepare for the future.

This course is an in-depth introduction to the key sociological categories of race, class, and gender. The course explores the classical and contemporary theories of social stratification and inequality as well as contemporary trends in the distribution of wealth, income, and education in the U.S. It addresses the social and historical construction of race and ethnicity, gender roles, and class categorical differences.

This course explores the sociological roots of political action, such as the relevance of race, ethnicity, age, gender, and occupation. It raises questions of political concern about the participants, leaders, and who is different in those categories.

Examples of complex organizations include schools, places of employment, the military, and churches. This course examines types of organizations, organizational goals and outcomes, institutional authority and structure, organizational change, and organizational fields. Students learn to develop an analytical framework and apply it to specific complex organizations.

This course examines deviance as a social process involving many divergent yet intersecting segments of society. To explain this process, the course focuses on individual pathology, value-conflict, social disorganization, and functionalist theories of deviation.

This course provides a historical and cross-cultural perspective on the nature and foundation of the family and other kinship systems. Students trace and assess the sources and implications of changes in the American family unit. The focus is on ways in which the families and kinship systems shape individuals and affect the structure of society.

This course provides an analysis of major issues related to the economic, political, and social transformation of developing countries. The course examines theories of development and underdevelopment, history of linkages of the developed and underdeveloped world, the role of the state, class structure, ideology and political mobilization, peasantry and rural development, urbanization and marginality, revolutionary movements, and the agents, goals, paths, and prospects of development.

This course fosters the development of responsible and engaged global citizens who understand their roles in an interconnected world. Amidst pressing global issues such as sustainability, climate change, conflict, and war, students are encouraged to cultivate skills to navigate diverse cultures, values, and perspectives with sensitivity and ethical clarity. The course highlights the urgency of ethical decision-making in a global context by examining environmental stewardship, the societal impacts of climate crisis, and the humanitarian challenges posed by conflict and war. Students will hone their intercultural communication skills, fostering empathy and inclusivity, which are critical for addressing and understanding complex worldviews and global conditions.

This course explores the relationship between sexuality and society in historically and cross cultural contexts. It examines the biological bases of sexuality and the social construction of gender identities, including heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, and gay. It presents the history of sexual liberation social movements in the 19th and 20th century and contemporary sexuality issues as viewed by sociology, anthropology, feminist, and gay studies.

This course introduces the sociology of religion and a comparative analysis of religion in the modern world. It begins with an overview of classical approaches within the social scientific study of religion, including historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. It then examines contemporary approaches with an emphasis on the role of religions within social movements, social contestation, and social change. Specific topics include the Enlightenment critique of religion, the secularization debate, the resurgence of religion in late modernity, and new and emergent religious movements.

This course provides intensive study of specific topics in sociology, focusing on a different theme or topic each semester. Example topics are social policy in the United States, sociology of work and occupations, comparative urban sociology, and sociology of revolutions. The specific topic is listed in each semester's schedule.