Degrees and Course Information

For a detailed statement of M.A. and Ph.D. regulations, please view the Sociology Graduate Student Manual.  Prospective doctoral candidates should examine this statement carefully.

 

Social Theory and Methods

 

034:200 Graduate Proseminar	1-2 s.h.
General introduction to department and discipline for entering graduate students; departmental and graduate college requirements, program and career planning, interaction with faculty members, consideration of student interests and concerns. Two semesters beginning in fall.

034:201 History of Sociological Theory	3 s.h.
Ideas of major 19th- and 20th-century social thinkers (e.g., Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, Mead).

034:202 Theory Construction and Analysis	3 s.h.
Contemporary theoretical issues and nature of theory, theory's place in research, strategies of theory construction.

034:203 Seminar: Selected Topics in Sociological Theory	3 s.h.
Repeatable.

034:205 Seminar: Selected Topics in Sociology	3 s.h.
Current theoretical and methodological issues. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.

034:213 Qualitative Methods	3 s.h.
Logic of qualitative research; basic skills necessary for a qualitative research project. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.

034:214 Introduction to Sociological Data Analysis	3 s.h.
Statistical measures for descriptive methods and association; logic of statistical inference, hypothesis testing; background essential to understanding linear models, models for categorical data analysis. Prerequisite: introductory statistics or consent of instructor.

034:215 Sampling, Measurement, and Observation Techniques	3 s.h.
Research designs; sampling designs and techniques; questionnaire construction, interviewing techniques; participant and non participant observation; coding and preparation of data for analysis; measurement techniques, reliability, and validity. Prerequisite: 034:214 or consent of instructor.

034:216 Linear Models in Sociological Research	3 s.h.
Statistical techniques associated with general linear model; emphasis on multiple regression, its generalizations; corresponding computer programs. Prerequisite: 034:214 or consent of instructor.

034:218 Advanced Statistical Modeling of Data	3 s.h.
Models for analysis of categorical data, including loglinear, logit, related discrete data models. Prerequisites: advanced graduate standing and consent of instructor.

034:219 Structural Equation Modeling	3 s.h.
Overview of structural equation models (SEMs), also known as LISREL models, covariance structure models; specific types of SEMs, such as simultaneous equations and confirmatory factor analysis; intermediate topics.

 

Social Psychology

 

034:220 Contemporary Approaches to Social Psychology	3 s.h.
Review and critical analysis of current theoretical approaches to and systems of social psychological analysis.

034:221 Seminar: Selected Topics in Social Psychology	3 s.h.
Selected theoretical and methodological issues. Repeatable. Selected topics: Social Networks; Self and Identity; Status, Power, Leadership, and Trust; Social Psychology in Virtual Reality; Social Psychology of Crime; Contemporary Methods in Social Psychology.

 

Crime, Law, and Social Control

 

034:240 Seminar: Criminological Theories	3 s.h.
Theories of crime causation and their relationships to the cultures in which they have functioned.

034:242 Communities and Crime	3 s.h.
Distribution of crime as rooted in community-level conditions such as concentrated affluence or poverty, racial residential segregation, unemployment, family disruption, and immigration. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.

034:244 Seminar: Selected Topics in Deviance and Control	3 s.h.
Critical analysis of current research; emphasis on theoretical contributions and methodological foundations. Repeatable.

034:246 Morals, Markets, and Crime	3 s.h.
Impact of markets on the moral and social order of advanced capitalist societies; market conditions that promote or suppress crime. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.

034:248 Social Psychology of Crime and Delinquency	3 s.h.
Social-psychological explanations of crime and delinquency examined by tracing the origins of individual-level criminological theories. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.

034:282 Sociology of Law Seminar	3 s.h.
Relationship between law and society explored through writings and research of classical and contemporary sociologists and legal scholars. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor

 

Gender and Family

 

034:256 Gender Stratification Seminar	3 s.h.
Occupational gender segregation; gender gap in pay; role of family caregiving in women's lower pay; devaluation of caregiving work; comparable worth. Same as 131:256.
034:266 Gender Inequalities	3 s.h.
Current sociological research on public policies that affect family life and well-being; divorce and child custody policies, teen pregnancy and abortion, family poverty, child care and work/family policies. Same as 131:266.

034:269 Seminar: Selected Topics in Family Sociology	3 s.h.
Selected theoretical and methodological issues. Repeatable. Prerequisite: social science graduate standing or consent of instructor.

 

Social and Political Organizations

 

034:253 Social Stratification	3 s.h.
Classical and contemporary theories; current research on the causes and magnitude of inequality in economics, power, and prestige; social mobility; critical issues in stratification.
034:254 Seminar: Selected Topics in Social Stratification	3 s.h.
Prerequisite: social science graduate standing or consent of instructor.
034:257 Seminar: Sociology of Labor Markets	3 s.h.
Sociological and economic theories and research concerning area/regional/local labor markets, industrial sectors and the dual labor market, occupational/internal labor markets; other structural explanations of inequality.
034:258 Seminar: Economy and Society	3 s.h.
Relationships between social classes and nation-states in capitalist societies; historical experience of the United States; comparative perspective, especially regarding Western Europe.
034:259 Social Network Analysis	3 s.h.
Relational, data-oriented approach to representing linkages or relationships among social units, and to examine the relevance of these social structures in social processes. Prerequisite: basic multiple regression or consent of instructor.
034:275 Development Policy and Planning in the Third World	3 s.h.
Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary analysis of problems associated with urbanization and development in the developing nations. Prerequisite: graduate standing in a social science. Same as 07B:275, 042:275, 044:275, 102:275, 113:275.

034:285 Complex Organizations	3 s.h.

034:291 Seminar: Collective Action and Social Movements	3 s.h.
Comparative, historical analysis of variations in social movements, their impact on social change.

034:310 Education and Social Change	2-3 s.h.
Role of educational institutions, in connection with political and economic structures, in social change; illumination of theories of social change through case studies of educational systems in less developed nations. Same as 07B:210.

 

Teaching

 

034:382 Teaching Sociology	2-3 s.h.
Supervised preparation for teaching sociology courses; literature on teaching; course objectives, alternative teaching techniques; preparation of course syllabus, lectures, discussions, exams. Prerequisites: advanced graduate standing and consent of instructor.

 

Independent Reading and Research

 

034:381 Summer Research Practicum	2 s.h.
Students discuss their participation in ongoing research, review and critique each other's projects, write research reports describing their work. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.