Class Information

Course Description

Sociology is a science that seeks to understand the different ways individuals, groups and institutions interact to shape our lives. The goal of this class is to provide a survey of Sociology and apply sociological concepts to the modern world we live in. A major focus of the class will be to look at human behavior and how groups develop, function, and adapt. However, students will also be given an opportunity to reflect upon and discuss how their own experiences and perspectives have been formed. The framework for our survey will be crafted around seven thematic units, and each unit will cover a specific theme in sociology.

Course Objectives:

• 1. Students will be able to use the conceptual language of sociology to analyze everyday social processes and current events.

  2. Explain how such factors as physical endowment and capabilities, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, attitudes, beliefs, work, and motivation contribute to individual identity and development.

  3. Compare and describe similarities and differences in the ways various cultures define individual rights and responsibilities, including the use of rules, folkways, mores, and taboos.

  4. Analyze the means by which and extent to which groups and institutions can influence people, events, and cultures in both historical and contemporary settings.

  5. Explain current and past efforts of groups and institutions to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against racial, ethnic, religious, and social groups such as women, children, the elderly, and individuals who are disabled.

Core Units of Study:

• 1. Developing a Sociological Perspective: An Introduction to Sociology

     1. What is Sociology?

     2. Sociological Imagination

     3. Development of Sociology

     4. Sociological Perspectives

     5. Application of Sociology: The Research Method and Ethics

  2. Culture

     1. Define Culture and its components

     2. Social Control and Cultural Change

     3. Diversity (variations) and Universals

  3. Socialization

     1. Personal Development

     2. Theories About Social Self

     3. Agents of Socialization

  4. Social Structure and Groups

     1. Status/Roles

     2. Social Interactions and Groups

  5. Deviance and Social Control

     1. Explanations of Deviance

     2. Crime and Justice System (punishment)

        1. Types of crime

  6. Social Inequalities

     1. Social Stratification

     2. Inequalities in Race, Ethnicity, Age and Gender

     3. Global Stratification

Potential Units of Focus:

• • Race, Ethnicity and Gender

  • Age and Aging

  • Collective Behavior, Social Movements and Social Change in the Global Perspective

  • Environmental Sociology

  • Specific Social Institutions (i.e. sports, school, religion, family, etc.)