Courses Offered

 

The following courses are open only to undergraduates. Courses without prerequisites open to first-year students are 034:001, 034:002, 034:018, 034:020, 034:029, 034:066, and 034:158. All other undergraduate courses are open to first-year students with stated prerequisites.

034:001 Introduction to Sociology: Principles	3-4 s.h.
How individuals are organized into social groups, ranging from intimate groups to bureaucracies, and how these influence individual behavior; nature and interrelationships of basic social institutions, such as family, education, religion, economy. GE: social sciences.

034:002 Social Problems	3-4 s.h.
Emergence and distribution of selected social problems; alternative solutions; may include population, inequality, female-male relationships, racism, crime. GE: social sciences.

034:009 Sociological Theory	3 s.h.
Theoretical perspectives in sociology; construction, evaluation of sociological explanations. Prerequisite: 034:001 or consent of instructor.

034:010 Quantitative Data Analysis	3 s.h.
Applied statistics for sociology majors: frequency distributions, graphic presentation, measures of central tendency, measures of variability, elementary probability, populations and samples, sampling distributions, estimation and confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, chi-square test, regression and correlation, analysis of variance; computer software used in data analysis; emphasis on appropriate use and interpretation of statistics in the study of sociological topics. Prerequisites: 22M:009 or a higher-level math course, 034:001, 034:009, and sociology major or consent of instructor.

034:011 Research Methods	3 s.h.
Basic scientific concepts; emphasis on theoretical thinking, statement of researchable propositions, logic and meaning of proof operant in the research process; general issues in designing social research, including problems of sampling and measurement, analysis, presenting research data, interpreting research findings. Prerequisites: grades of C or higher in 034:009 and 034:010, and sociology major or consent of instructor.

034:029 First-Year Seminar	1-2 s.h.
Small discussion class taught by a faculty member; topics chosen by instructor; may include outside activities (e.g., films, lectures, performances, readings, visits to research facilities). Prerequisite: first- or second-semester standing.

034:100 Honors Proseminar	2 s.h.
Topic development for senior honors projects. Offered spring semesters. Prerequisite: sociology honors standing.

034:190 Selected Topics in Sociology	3 s.h.
Topics vary.

034:195 Capstone Course in Sociology	3 s.h.
Senior project illustrating student's accomplishments during his or her undergraduate career; prepared in collaboration with sociology faculty member or other experts in the student's area of sociological interest; record for student's own reflection, information for potential employers and graduate programs. Prerequisite: grade of C or higher in 034:011.

034:196 Field Experience	arr.
Supervised field experience in sociology; primarily for students participating in Washington Center internship. Prerequisites: sociology major, junior standing, and consent of advisor.

034:197 Teaching Internship	3 s.h.
Experience providing supervised support for instructors teaching basic courses in sociology. Prerequisites: appointment as sociology undergraduate teaching aide and consent of instructor.

034:198 Directed Individual Study	arr.
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

034:199 Honors Research	arr.
Research projects under faculty supervision. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

 

Advanced Courses

 

Social Psychology

 

034:020 Principles of Social Psychology	3-4 s.h.
Introduction to theory and research in small groups; interpersonal and intergroup processes. GE: social sciences.

034:125 Small Group Analysis	3 s.h.
Internal processes governing small groups (e.g., friendship cliques, families, the president's cabinet, committees); how small groups relate to the larger social environment; groups' impact on their members. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or 034:022.

034:128 Sociology of Mental Illness	3 s.h.
The socially constructed nature of mental illness; theoretical perspectives and research on social antecedents and social consequences of mental health. Prerequisites: 034:001, 034:002, and 034:020; or consent of instructor.

 

Crime, Law and Social Control

 

034:040 Criminology	3 s.h.
Nature and causes of crime; the criminal justice process, correctional treatment, crime prevention. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor.

034:141 Juvenile Delinquency	3 s.h.
Delinquency as an individual and social problem; theories of the causes of juvenile delinquency; law enforcement and the juvenile court; methods of correction and prevention. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor.

034:146 Deviance and Control	3 s.h.
Norm violation or deviant behavior; behaviors that, while deviant, do not violate legal norms, and ways of controlling these behaviors that do not involve the criminal justice system; ways of explaining deviance, consequences of deviant behavior for the deviant actor. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002.

034:147 Sociology of African American and Latino Crime	3 s.h.
Sociological approach to understanding African American and Latino crime in the United States.

034:148 Internship in Criminal Justice and Corrections	1-5 s.h.
Supervised field work in a criminal justice or correctional agency. Prerequisites: 034:040 or 034:141, sociology major, junior standing, and consent of director of the Center for Criminology and Socio-Legal Studies.

034:149 Sociology of Criminal Punishment	3 s.h.
Sociological theories and research on criminal punishment; classical and contemporary theories; research on imprisonment and capital punishment. Prerequisite: 034:009.

034:182 Sociology of Law	3 s.h.
Conceptual, historical, and theoretical issues of law and operation of the criminal justice system; theory and research on law and the criminal justice system. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor.

034:186 Criminal Legal System	3 s.h.
Discretionary decision making in the U.S. criminal courts, from arrest through sentencing; legal and sociolegal issues relevant to each stage of felony adjudication; sociological and social-psychological theories of decision making in adjudication, empirical research testing these theories. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor.

 

Gender and Family

 

034:018 Gender and Society	3-4 s.h.
Role and status of women in society; sex differences, sex role socialization, theories about origin and maintenance of sexual inequalities, changes in social life cycle of women, implications for social institutions and processes; focus on contemporary United States. GE: cultural diversity. Same as 131:018.

034:061 The American Family	3 s.h.
Structure and process; change over the life cycle; interrelations with other institutions; historical changes; variations by social class and ethnic group. Prerequisite: 034:001.

034:135 Sociology of Sexuality	3 s.h.
Sociological perspectives on sexuality, including theoretical and conceptual developments, empirical regularities, and social implications; sexual expression in the United States. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor. Same as 154:145.
034:156 Gender Inequality	3 s.h.
Gender issues in major social institutions such as family, education, workplace, culture; marriage, family care, childhood gender socialization, occupational segregation, wage gap, household division of labor, and so forth. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002.
034:159 Families in Comparative Perspective	3 s.h.
Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:061.

034:162 Work and Family Institutions	3 s.h.
Contemporary problems in the integration of work and family life; origins of work-family conflict in process of industrialization; effects of job-family conflicts on mothers, fathers, children; cross-cultural differences in dealing with work-family conflict. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor. Same as 131:160.

 

Social and Political Organizations

 

034:022 Introduction to Social Work	4 s.h.
Social welfare as a social institution; settings and methodologies of social work practice; profession of social work; historical development of American social welfare and social work; minimum of 60 hours volunteer work. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor. Same as 042:022.

034:066 Social Inequality	3 s.h.
Major theoretical perspectives for understanding inequality in economics, power, prestige; the magnitude of social inequality in the United States; sex and race inequality; trends in and causes of social mobility; selected consequences of social inequality. GE: cultural diversity.
034:126 Social Movements in the U.S.	3 s.h.
Social unrest; crowd behavior; social movements treated as a form of social change. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor.

034:150 Political Sociology	3 s.h.
Sociological analysis of political behavior and belief, group conflict and political process, group consensus, political institutions, power and policy-making systems; relationship of the political system to the social system. Prerequisite: 034:001 or consent of instructor.
034:152 African American and Latino Inequality	3 s.h.
African American and Latino experiences in inequality, such as skin-tone stratification, majority-minority group relations, and residential segregation.
034:153 Public Opinion	3 s.h.
Role of public opinion in making public policy; formation and change of political attitudes and opinion; political ideology; measurement of public opinion; understanding opinion polls. Prerequisite: 034:001 or consent of instructor. Same as 030:171.

034:155 Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity	3 s.h.
Study of intergroup relations, with emphasis on historical, sociological, and social psychological issues in the study of American minority groups.  GE: cultural diversity.

034:158 Economy and Society	3 s.h.
Economic debates that faced advanced market economies in the 20th century with extensions to the developing world; development and maintenance of investment elites and labor markets, development and extension of state activity.

034:164 Organizations and Modern Society	3 s.h.
Approaches to the sociological study of economic and noneconomic organizations; the role of power and authority within the organization, and between the organization and its environment. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:020 or consent of instructor.

034:165 Sociology of Work and Occupations	3 s.h.
Work commitment; prestige of occupations; occupational and professional careers; occupational groups and organizations; alienation; women, minorities, and occupational structures; capitalism and occupations. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:020 or consent of instructor.

034:175 Community and Urban Sociology	3 s.h.
Impact of urbanization on social life, social networks; how social forces shape patterns of urban growth; racial segregation, gentrification; consequences of the growth of suburbs; urban crises, including concentrated poverty and crime. Prerequisite: 034:001 or 034:002 or consent of instructor.