Sociology Course Descriptions

S100 Introduction to Sociology (3 cr.)
Every semester. Introduction to the concepts and methods of sociology with an emphasis on the understanding of contemporary American society.

S101 Social Problems and Policies (3 cr.)
Every semester. Provides an introduction to sociology through an in-depth study of major social problems; explores the policy implications of the general sociological perspective and of sociological knowledge of particular problems. Problems include population, drug use, science and technology, and poverty.

S252 Methods of Sociological Research (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology, K300, or consent of instructor. A survey of methods and techniques used by sociologists for gathering and interpreting information about human social behavior.

S302 Organizational Life (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Sources, types, and consequences of variations in organizational structures and functions. Varying organizational arrangements as they have affected and are affected by changes in input and output. Complex organizations and their impact from a comparative perspective.

S314 Social Aspects of Health and Medicine (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Survey of the nature of health care systems. Patient and professional role behavior are explored as well as the characteristics of different health care settings.

S315 Work and Occupations (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Treats work roles within such organizations as factory, office, school, government, and welfare organizations; career and occupational mobility in work life; formal and informal organizations within work organizations; labor and management conflict and cooperation; problems of modern industrial workers. Not open to students who have taken S303.

S316 The Family (3 cr.)
Every semester. Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Focus on relationships of the family to other subsystems of the larger society, and on interaction within the family in connection with these interrelationships Stress on development of systematic theory. Not open to students who have taken S416.

S317 Inequality (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Nature, functioning, and maintenance of systems of social stratification in local communities and societies. Correlates and consequences of social class position and vertical mobility.

S325 Criminology (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Factors in genesis of crime and organization of criminal behavior from points of view of the person and the group.

S328 Juvenile Delinquency (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Legal definition of delinquency, measurement and distribution of delinquency. Causal theories considered for empirical adequacy and policy implications. Procedures for processing juvenile offenders by police, courts, and prisons are examined.

S331 Sociology of Aging (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Survey of the social dimensions of the aging process. Emphasis on patterns of adjustment, social support, and crosscultural perceptions of the aging process.

S335 Race and Ethnic Relations (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Relations between racial and ethnic minority and majority groups; psychological, cultural, and structural theories of prejudice and discrimination; comparative analysis of diverse systems of intergroup relations.

S338 Gender Roles (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Exploration of the properties, correlates, and consequences of gender roles in contemporary societies. Emphasis on defining gender roles, tracing their historical development, considering their implications for work, marriage, and fertility. Includes cross-cultural comparisons.

S340 Social Theory (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Sociological theory, with focus on content, form, and historical development. Relationship between theories, data, and sociological explanations.

S344 Sociology of Childhood (3 cr.)

P: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Analysis of childhood as a structural form and children as social agents who contribute to societal reproduction and change. Considers the relation of childhood to other social institutions and children’s contributions to society historically and cross-culturally. Examines how social policies in education, family and work affect children’s lives.

S360 Topics in Social Policy: Drug Abuse and Society (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. An examination of the sociocultural foundations of illegal and legal drug abuse. Emphasis on the relationship between drug abuse and law enforcement, the medical profession, and advertising. Specific topics include the process and consequences of addiction, drugs and sports, and historical and cross-cultural perspectives on drug abuse.

S360 Topics in Social Policy: Crime (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. This course is an introduction to the major efforts designed to control or reduce crime. A review of existing knowledge is followed by an investigation of current crime control theories, proposals, and programs.

S360 Topics in Social Policy: Family Violence (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: S100 or S101 and S316 or by consent of the instructor. Theories and research about family violence including courtship violence, date rape, spousal abuse, child abuse and mistreatment of the elderly. Emphasis on social psychological and sociological theories and empirical research describing and explaining violence in the family and its consequences for family functioning in society. Cross-cultural evidence will also be examined.

S361 Cities and Suburbs (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Introduction to theory and research on the changing scale and complexity of social organization (urbanization), the quality of life in urban areas, demographic and ecological city growth patterns, and public policy concerns in contemporary urban society.

S363 Sociology of Development (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. An introduction to the various theoretical perspectives and empirical studies pertaining to development. Specific topics include women in development, sustainable development, and the third world within the context of the global political economy.

S411 Sociology of Power (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Power in social systems; its nature, organization, distribution, determinants, and consequences.

S419 Social Movements and Collective Action (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Change oriented social and political collective action and consequences for groups and societies. Resource mobilization, historical and comparative analysis of contemporary movements, and collective action.

S420 Topics in Deviance: Corrections (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 credit hours of sociology or consent of instructor. Investigation of the rationales for punishment, the structure and function of jails and prisons, and the impact of probation and parole. Covers both adult and juvenile corrections with an emphasis on historical and cross-cultural data. Not open to students who have completed SPEA J331.

S420 Topics in Deviance: White Collar Crime/Organized Crime (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: 3 hours of sociology or consent of instructor. An examination of the historical development, causes, and consequences of collar and organized crime. Emphasis given to law enforcement response these forms of criminal behavior.

S470 Senior Seminar (3 cr.)
Prerequisite: Written consent of instructor. A seminar designed to explore a specific topic in sociology. Emphasis given to student presentations on the methodological and theoretical aspects of the selected topic. Topics announced each semester.

S494 Field Experience in Sociology (3 cr.)
Every semester. Prerequisite: Written consent of instructor. Faculty-directed study of aspects of sociology based on field experience, in conjunction with directed readings and writings. Specifically, each intern is required to keep a daily or weekly journal that is given at regular intervals to the faculty sponsor and write an analytic paper dealing with the field experience.

S495 Individual Readings in Sociology (cr. arr.)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Prior arrangement required.