200 - Foundations of Sociology - A rigorous team-taught survey course designed to provide prospective majors or minors with appropriate preparation for further study in sociology and anthropology. This course provides an introduction to sociological and anthropological theory, methodology, and research findings. Topics covered may include: methods of social research, cultural anthropology, structure and inequality, criminology and social control, and medical sociology/anthropology. This course is required for most courses in the department above the 200 level. Offered every semester. Four hours. Staff.
210 - Population, Poverty and the Environment - The course will take an interdisciplinary look at the complex and interrelationships between population, the environment and economic development. Two hundred years after Thomas Malthus wrote his famous treatise on population, the debate continues. Does population growth spell environmental disaster? How should it be controlled? What are the implications for economic growth, well-being, and social justice? Critical global issues such as environmental degradation, restrictive family planning policies, international migration, and food security are all implicated in these persistent and often explosive debates. During the semester, this course will examine the leading theories for understanding the interactions between population growth, environmental quality and economic development, as well as case studies and policy questions from around the world. Among the issues covered will be debates over the earth's carrying capacity, demographic transitions in the Third World, relationships between fertility levels, gender equality and development, national immigration policies, poverty and resource degradation, food security, and the role of technological change and social institutions. Offered every year. Four hours. Ms. Gill.
212 - Sociology of the Family - This course analyzes the structure and functions of the family, with emphasis on the changing nature of the family in our society. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of family structures and to analyze values underlying family dynamics and change. Offered every year. Three hours. Mr. London.
215 - Cultural Anthropology - This course is an introduction to cultural anthropology, with an emphasis on the diversity of cultures. The cultures studied range from preliterate to industrialized. Offered every year. Four hours. Mr. London.
217 - Social Problems - This course surveys, from a number of theoretical perspectives, the nature and range of social problems, the conditions that give rise to them, and the methods by which society attempts to cope with them. Offered every year. Three hours. Ms. Bissler, Ms. Chesser, and Mr. Dennis.
219 - Death and Dying - This course develops the social and cultural sources of our hopes, values and fears toward matters of dying and death. Beginning with historical and cross-cultural analyses of death orientations, the course proceeds to sociologically develop the role of religion, philosophy, psychology, science, politics and medicine in shaping our orientations toward war, abortion, suicide, environmental destruction, organ transplants, euthanasia, funeral ritual and capital punishment. It concludes with analyses of the experiences of those who die and those who survive, including Kubler-Ross's studies of the stages of death, the out-of-body sensations reported by those surviving clinical death, and the experiences associated with grief and bereavement. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Ms. Gill.
224 - Deviant Behavior and Social Control - This course studies behavior that violates norms (e.g., crime, delinquency, drug addition, or suicide) and mechanisms of social control (e.g., law enforcement, courts, prison, and probation) and implications of these for social policy. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Ms. Bissler.
225 - Introduction to African-American Studies - This course examines African-American studies as an interdisciplinary academic area. For this reason, the course analyzes the sociology, psychology, politics, economics, history, and culture of African-Americans from historical, contemporary, national, and international perspectives. In studying African-Americans from the perspectives, the student will better understand the internal dynamics of minority group life in the United States; in addition, the student will better understand the impact of African-Americans on the larger dominant culture as well as the reverse, the impact of the larger culture on African-Americans. Interracial, interethnic, as well as interclass issues will be examined. Same as BLST 201. Offered every year. Three hours. Mr. Dennis.
230 - Peoples and Cultures of Africa - This course serves as an introduction to African society and culture from an historical, anthropological, and sociological perspective. Relying on fiction and ethnography as well as research literature from several disciplines, it takes four complementary approaches to understanding Africa. The first, "mythbusting" approach, challenges the misconceptions many Americans hold about Africa. The second, historical, approach identifies the transformations and influences from the past that shape contemporary life in Africa. The third, case study, approach highlights the great range of diversity on the African continent socially, culturally, and politically. Finally, the course takes a critical and analytical approach to understanding social problems in Africa and identifying potential solutions. Counts on the major in international studies Africa and the African Diaspora emphasis. Same as IRIS 230. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Mr. London.
241 - Racial and Ethnic Relations - This course presents the major concepts and methods developed for gaining insight into dominant-minority relations. It considers the past and present positions of ethnic and racial minorities in historical and cross-cultural perspective. Offered every year. Three hours. Ms. Chesser.
260 - Health, Healing and Gender in Ghana - This course provides an introduction to non-Western medical systems and how these articulate with Western systems in an attempt to develop an understanding of alternative beliefs and practices about health, illness and healing in Ghana, as well as to the role played by gender in each system and their articulation. Representative topics covered include: the role of traditional medicine in health care delivery; the roles of international organizations in health and their activities in global and Ghanaian health development; the health impact of regional and global economics. The role played by gender in each of these areas will be examined, as well as maternal and child health; and the impact of gender on health, human rights. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Ms. Gill.
300 - Methods of Social Research - This course analyzes the aims, scope, and methods of scientific inquiry into the nature of society and social behavior. The course includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: the logic of empirical social inquiry; methods used to collect qualitative and quantitative data; techniques of analyzing qualitative and quantitative data; and the principles of interpreting data for purposes of description and hypothesis-testing. Student projects in participant observation, construction of survey questionnaires, interviewing, and computer analysis are an integral part of the laboratory portion of the course. Three lectures and a one-hour laboratory session per week. Prerequisites: Sociology 200. Computer intensive. This course should be taken as the second course in the department for all students planning to major in sociology. Not open to freshmen. Offered every year. Four hours. Ms. Chesser.
301 - Sociological Theory - This course surveys social theory from its beginning up to modern social inquiry. Students will be expected to discover the relationships among theorists' assumptions and their macrosociological theories and case studies, and those between empirical research and theory. Sociology majors and minors. Prerequisites: Any 200 level course in sociology. Speaking intensive. Offered every year. Four hours. Ms. Gill and Mr. Dennis.
320 - Aging and the Life Course - This service learning seminar course will examine these processes of aging as they affect individuals, families, cohorts, and societies and how the aging process is affected by psychological, historical, political, economic, and cultural factors. Students explore the dynamic interactions between people and their environments, and the ways in which society's beliefs, values, and attitudes are reflected in the aging experience. Special attention is given to the impact of social policy on the lives of older individuals focusing on how racial, ethnic, class, and gender differences shape the nature of health and human service policy and delivery on behalf of older persons. Prerequisitess: Any 200 level course in sociology or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. Four hours. Ms. Gill.
322 - Criminology - This course provides an introduction to the field of Criminology and the type of research criminologists' conduct. Students explore the nature of crime, the variety of theoretical explanations for criminal behavior, the measurement of crime, patterns and correlates of crime, and the mechanisms for control of criminal behavior. This course is an upper-level reading-intensive and theoretical analysis of crime as a sociological construct. Primary objectives are to foster critical thinking in relation to the causes and control of crime and to explore the social construction of crime. Prerequisites: Any 200 level course in sociology. Offered every year. Four Hours. Ms. Bissler.
331 - Peoples of Latin America - This course offers an overview of contemporary Latin American cultures through readings, visual documentaries, and group projects. After briefly examining the history of the region, we will turn to contemporary issues such as ecological sustainability, the changing nature of peasant societies, issues of ethnicity and identity, popular forms of religion, the changing role of women, life in the region's growing megalopolises, and the resistance and struggle of Latin American peoples for a democratic and just society. Counts on the major in international studies/Latin America emphasis. Same as IRIS 331. Prerequisites: Any 200 level course in sociology or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Staff.
336 - Brazilian Culture - This course introduces students to the geography, historical development, political economy, and cultural diversity of Brazil. As large as the continental United States, Brazil is home to the world's largest rain forest and mightiest river, and it is the world's eighth largest economy. Brazil also offers a unique and fascinating blend of African, Native American, and European cultures, which we will explore through readings, visual documentaries, and group projects. Counts on the major in international studies/Latin America emphasis. Same as IRIS 336 Prerequisites: Any 200 level course in sociology or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Staff.
340 - Gender, Sex and Society - This course offers a sociological and anthropological analysis of the status of women in the U.S. and cross-culturally. Special emphasis is placed on the role culture and socialization play in determining women's interaction patterns and society's response to them. The course will use an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the social sciences and the humanities to determine how women develop cultural, sociological, and historical realities. Prerequisites: Any 200 level course in sociology or consent of instructor. Offered alternate years. Three hours. Mr. London.
400 - Power, Politics and Ideology - This is an upper-level reading and research-intensive course designed to help students understand and analyze the political world from an informed and critical position, to give students an overview of some of the ways sociologists think about power and politics, and to provide students the tools for understanding their relationship to the political world. In particular, this course considers the many processes that influence the political system and political outcomes, such as: the power and resources of groups (e.g., corporations, interest groups), individual voting and civic participation, the activities of protestors and social movements, the advice of policy experts and scientists, the expansion of a global economy and cultural system, and others. By drawing on the insights of sociology, we are better able to understand these processes, and thus gain a better understanding of how the political system works. Much of the focus of the course is on the United States and the global socio-political system, but we also explore developments in other countries. Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. Four hours. Ms. Chesser.
410 - Juvenile Delinquency - This course provides an overview of the current theoretical and methodological issues concerning Juvenile Delinquency. This course examines the nature, extent, and causes of juvenile delinquency. The course is structured to focus on the social construction of delinquency, the development of the juvenile justice system, theoretical explanations of delinquency, and the current research on juvenile delinquency in the United States. This course is an upper-level reading-intensive and research-intensive analysis of delinquency and the development of research in this field. The primary objectives of this course are to foster critical thinking about how we define and punish delinquency and to understand how sociologists research the problem of delinquency Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 or permission of instructor. Offered every year. Four hours. Ms. Bissler.
420 - Law and Society - The focus of this course is on the reciprocal relationship between law and society, and on the social nature of the law. Topics include: comparative legal systems, theories of law, and various issues in the sociology of the law, including mental illness and obscenity. Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. Four hours. Mr. London.
430 - Health, Illness and Healing - This course is an upper-level reading and research-intensive survey of sociological and anthropological ideas and theories about health and illness. In particular, the course looks at medicine from a cross-cultural perspective, focusing on the human, as opposed to biological, side of things. Students learn how to analyze various kinds of medical practice as cultural systems. Particular emphasis is placed on Western (bio-medicine); students examine how biomedicine constructs disease, health, body, and mind, and how it articulates with other institutions, national and international. Topics of study will include, but are not limited to nature of disease, the doctor-patient relationship, the structure and dynamics of health care facilities, the structure and role of medical occupations and their occupational ideologies, the growth of medical technology and its challenge to medicine's moral stability, the medical research process (including ethical issues), problems of discrimination and inequality, as well as health care policy. It is likely to be of interest to sociology majors and students intending to pursue a career in the health professions. Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. Four hours. Mr. Gill.
450 - Field Studies in Sociology - This course provides an opportunity for interested students to gain practical experience with the application of sociological theories, methodologies, principles and techniques to actual research situations in the field. Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 or permission of instructor. Offered every year. One term only. Junior and senior sociology majors. Three hours. Staff.
455 - Internship in Sociology - Students in this course are placed in a social agency or business and follow an arranged set of readings relevant to their internship experience with their instructor and site supervisor. Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 or permission of instructor. Offered every year. Open to seniors only. Application required; see page 45. Three hours. Staff.
497-498 - Senior Project - This two-semester sequence allows qualified senior majors in the department to research a topic intensively and independently. A formal paper and an oral examination are required. Majors who intend to attempt a senior project are urged to notify the department of their intention during the spring term of their junior year at the latest. Prerequisites: SOCI 200 and SOCI 300 and permission of instructor. Offered every year. Senior sociology majors. Three hours each. Staff.
Study Abroad course offered at Wroxton College in England
SOCI3440 - Women and Race in Modern Britain - An examination of the varied circumstances of women and ethnic minorities in contemporary Britain, of the extent of sexual and racial discrimination which exists, and of strategies adopted to remove or overcome both forms of discrimination. This course counts as an elective in the Structure and Inequality area toward the sociology major or minor.
Study Abroad course offered at the Irish College for the Humanities in Ireland
ICHHI360 - Women of Ireland
This course will deal with European and Irish women and will focus on the historical reasons for women's position in society today. Topics will include the exclusion of women from history, changing roles in society, education, women in the arts, women in politics, the spiritual lives of women, the immigration of Irish women to the US 1870-1940, the role of nuns in Irish society, and the Irish Constitution. Extensive use will be made of primary source material such as photographs, diaries, and illustrations as well as contemporary newspapers and literature. This course counts as an elective toward the sociology major or minor. This course will also count as an elective on the women's studies major or minor.