Department of Sociology

Introduction

The Department of Sociology is the primary home for two majors (sociology major and management and society major) and two minors (health and society minor and social and economic justice minor).

The undergraduate major in sociology provides students with theoretical and methodological tools, and substantive insights for understanding human social life and institutions. The department’s faculty is particularly strong in the areas of social inequality, marriage and family, health and medical sociology, work and the economy, religion, formal organizations, sex and gender, social movements, population and human ecology, social networks, education, and political sociology. Course themes range widely from the theoretical to the applied and incorporate a broad array of methodological approaches including comparative/historical, participant observation and interviewing, survey data collection, and statistical analysis.

The undergraduate major in management and society is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the institutional context and inner workings of organizations and the economic system, with both a historical and contemporary perspective. Students take relevant topical courses from a diverse range of departments (including Sociology, Communication Studies, Economics, Psychology, Business Management, and History), in addition to some statistics courses. It prepares students for a variety of positions in private or public-sector organizations. Additionally, many students find the curriculum to be excellent preparation for a variety of business-oriented graduate and professional degree programs.

The undergraduate minor in health and society provides students with an opportunity to examine contemporary health patterns and trends characterizing U.S. society and societies around the world, as well as sociologically based explanations for those patterns and trends. It also provides students with an understanding of the social construction of health and illness in modern societies. The minor brings together courses focused specifically on linkages between health and society, along with courses focused on social organization and stratification, to provide students with insights into the ways that societies define health and illness and how social organization and stratification influence population health.

The undergraduate minor in social and economic justice is designed for students who want to understand how to think analytically about issues of justice and how perspectives on justice can be joined with the pursuit of it. An overarching objective is fostering attitudes and knowledge about human rights; racial, ethnic, and gender equality; economic justice; democratic participation; sustainable development; diversity; and peace. It is especially appropriate for students who anticipate working in advocacy roles in nonprofit organizations, in local communities, or in governmental organizations. In these inquiries about justice, students engage scholarship in a variety of disciplines and traditions of practice.

Advising

All majors and minors have a primary academic advisor assigned in ConnectCarolina. Students are strongly encouraged to meet regularly with their advisor and review their Tar Heel Tracker each semester. The department’s director of undergraduate studies and assistant director engage with current, transfer, and prospective majors/minors by email or appointment (see contact information on the program page of the catalog). Departmental academic advising is particularly important for those students who are double majors and those who may be considering going on to graduate school. Further information on courses, undergraduate research opportunities, writing an honors thesis, careers, and graduate schools is available on the department’s website.

Opportunities for Career and Further Education

Graduates from our department's programs are employed by research institutes, public health and welfare organizations, social work agencies, private businesses, law firms, international agencies, medical centers, educational institutions, advertising firms, survey and polling organizations, and the criminal justice system. Others work in politics and government and in community and social justice organizing.

A major in sociology also prepares students for law, medical, or business school and for graduate degree programs in social work, education, public policy, religious ministry, mass communications, public health, nonprofit administration, and international affairs. The sociology major also prepares interested undergraduates for graduate studies in sociology, should they choose to continue in the field to become researchers or teachers in educational or research institutions. Students interested in pursuing graduate studies after college may, with the instructor’s permission, enroll in graduate-level courses at UNC–Chapel Hill.

A major in management and society prepares students for virtually any aspect of a business or management career that does not involve highly specialized training and certification (such as finance and accounting). Employers are interested in students who can think on their feet, communicate effectively, write well, and make sense of the social and economic changes occurring in their industry. Management and society majors are educated in each of these skills, and are especially suited for entry-level positions in any aspect of human resource management, industry, or public-sector organizations. Among recent graduates who responded to a placement office survey, the largest number were employed in sales; management or management training positions with at least some supervisory or personnel-related responsibilities ranked second. Other graduates are working in customer service, purchasing, and marketing research, and several hold positions in the public sector.

Professors

Howard E. Aldrich, Kenneth (Andy) Andrews, Kenneth A. Bollen, Barbara Entwisle, Elizabeth Frankenberg, Guang Guo, Karen Guzzo, Kathleen M. Harris, Robert Hummer, Arne L. Kalleberg, Charles Kurzman, Ted Mouw, Lisa D. Pearce, Yang (Claire) Yang.

Associate Professors

Yong Cai, Neal Caren, Kate Weisshaar.

Assistant Professors

Scott Duxbury, Shannon Malone Gonzalez, Taylor Hargrove, Tania Jenkins, Alexandrea Ravenelle, Jessica Su.

Teaching Associate Professor

Kathleen Fitzgerald.

Teaching Assistant Professor

Matthew Lammers.

Research Professor

Glen H. Elder Jr.

Affiliated Faculty

John D. Kasarda (Kenan–Flagler Business School).

Adjunct Professors

Gail Henderson (Social Medicine), James H. Johnson Jr. (Kenan–Flagler Business School), Douglas L. Lauen (Public Policy), John D. Stephens (Political Science).

Adjunct Associate Professors

Tressie McMillan Cottom (School of Information and Library Sciences), Thurston Domina (School of Education), Zeynep Tufekci (School of Information and Library Sciences).

Adjunct Assistant Professors

Carmen Gutierrez (Public Policy), Francesca Tripodi (School of Information and Library Sciences).

Professors Emeriti

Judith R. Blau, M. Richard Cramer, Jacqueline Hagan, Sherryl Kleinman, S. Philip Morgan, Anthony R. Oberschall, John Shelton Reed, Ronald R. Rindfuss, Peter R. Uhlenberg.

Courses

MNGT–Management and Society

Undergraduate-level Courses

IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 120.  Introduction to Interpersonal and Organizational Communication.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to communication theory, research, and practice in a variety of interpersonal and organizational contexts. This course examines the role of communication in both personal and professional relationships. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: COMM 120.  
MNGT 131.  Social Relations in the Workplace.  3 Credits.  

Meaning and content of work in modern industrial society. Preparation for work; autonomy and control; inequality; consequences for health, safety, and family life.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 131.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 223.  Small Group Communication.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor for nonmajors. Introduction to the theory and practice of communication in the small group setting. Topics may include group development, conformity and deviation, gender, problem solving, and power and leadership.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-VALUES.
Requisites: Prerequisite, COMM 120.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: COMM 223.  
MNGT 310.  Microeconomics: Theory and Applications.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of the ways in which consumers and business firms interact in a market economy. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 310 and 410.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, ECON 101.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: ECON 310.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 325.  Introduction to Organizational Communication.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor for nonmajors. The course explores the historical and theoretical developments in the research and practice of organizational communication. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-KNOWING.
Requisites: Prerequisite, COMM 120.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: COMM 325.  
MNGT 330.  Economic History of the United States.  3 Credits.  

Main features of the American economy: colonial times to the present. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 330 and ECON 430.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: ECON 330.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 345.  Public Policy Toward Business.  3 Credits.  

Industry structure and its relation to performance; market imperfections; description and analysis of antitrust and regulation. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 345 and ECON 445.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-KNOWING.
Requisites: Prerequisite, ECON 310 or 410.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: ECON 345.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 364.  History of American Business.  3 Credits.  

A survey of the rise and development of the major financial, commercial, manufacturing, and transportation enterprises that transformed the United States from an agricultural into a leading industrial nation.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST or FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 364.  
MNGT 365.  The Worker and American Life.  3 Credits.  

From the experience of colonial artisans to contemporary factory and office workers, organized and unorganized, this course examines the effect of the industrial revolution on the American social and political landscape.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 365.  
MNGT 380.  The Economics of Labor Relations.  3 Credits.  

An economic analysis of workplace issues, including worker quits, layoffs and unemployment, discrimination and affirmative action, and the setting of pay, fringe benefits, and working conditions. Students may not receive credit for both ECON 380 and ECON 480.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, ECON 310 or 410.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: ECON 380.  

Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate-level Courses

IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 410.  Formal Organizations and Bureaucracy.  3 Credits.  

Varieties of organizational forms, their structures and processes; creation, persistence, transformation, and demise; role of organizations in contemporary society.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 410.  
MNGT 412.  Social Stratification.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of social structure and stratification in terms of class, status, prestige, and rank. Attention to social roles of elites, professionals, the middle class, and the working class and to comparative topics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 412.  
MNGT 415.  Economy and Society.  3 Credits.  

Examination of the structure and operation of institutions where economy and society intersect and interact, such as education, industrial organizations, on-the-job training, labor markets, and professional associations. Emphasis on the contemporary United States, with selected comparisons with Western Europe and Japan.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 415.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 427.  The Labor Force.  3 Credits.  

Supply and characteristics of labor and of jobs, including industrial and occupation changes, education and mobility of labor, and changing demography of the workforce.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 427.  
MNGT 691H.  Honors Fall Course.  3 Credits.  

Directed independent research under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoMNGT 692H.  Honors Spring Course.  3 Credits.  

Preparation of an honors thesis and an oral examination on the thesis.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Requisites: Prerequisite, MNGT 691H.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  

SOCI–Sociology

Undergraduate-level Courses

IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 53.  First-Year Seminar: The Consequences of Welfare Reform and Prospects for the Future.  3 Credits.  

This first-year seminar is designed to 1) research and document the consequences of welfare reform and 2) participate in the political debate over reauthorization of the welfare law.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 54.  First-Year Seminar: Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs: Work and Workers in 21st-Century America.  3 Credits.  

The course examines the nature and meaning of work in America at the beginning of the 21st century.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 56.  First-Year Seminar: Citizenship.  3 Credits.  

Citizenship takes on new meaning in a global context. This course examines current debates, examples of human rights charters, and students apply what they learn to sociological topics.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 57.  First-Year Seminar: Rationalization and the Changing Nature of Social Life in 21st-Century America.  3 Credits.  

Fast food restaurants have become a model for everyday life. Some scholars even talk about the "McDonaldization" of the world. By that scholars mean a drive toward greater efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control by technologies in modern organizations. Sociologists call this process "rationalization," which will be examined in this course. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 58.  First-Year Seminar: Globalization, Work, and Inequality.  3 Credits.  

This course will present a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective on how globalization affects labor markets and inequality.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 59.  First-Year Seminar: The Advocacy Explosion: Social Movements in the Contemporary United States.  3 Credits.  

This course investigates the origins, dynamics, and influence of social movements in American society. It examines why people join movements, how movements work, and the way that movements are able to affect broader changes in our society.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 60.  First-Year Seminar: Sociology of the Islamic World.  3 Credits.  

This course exposes students to the social, economic, political, and religious currents that have made the Islamic world one of the most important regions for global affairs, as well as one of the regions least understood in the United States.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 64.  First-Year Seminar: Equality of Educational Opportunity Then and Now.  3 Credits.  

Brown v. Board of Education centers on one of the most significant and controversial issues in American public education: equality of educational opportunity. This course examines race in America and its affect on public education before and after Brown. Topics include school segregation, curriculum tracking, and the black-white achievement gap.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 66.  First-Year Seminar: Citizenship and Society in the United States.  3 Credits.  

Americans are taught that democracy and citizenship go hand in hand: being a good citizen may mean voting, writing letters, and taking other actions to "make one's voice heard." This course examines what citizenship has meant during the course of American history.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 68.  First-Year Seminar: Immigration in Contemporary America.  3 Credits.  

This seminar compares and contrasts historical and contemporary immigration to the United States and then explores the development a migrant community in North Carolina. We will study why people migrate, how citizens respond to migration, how the federal government regulates migration, how local communities manage the settlement of its newcomers.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, CI, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 69.  First-Year Seminar: Human Societies and Genomics.  3 Credits.  

Familiarity with basic genetics or a social science field is helpful. This course focuses on how advances in molecular genomics over the past decades benefit sociology and other social sciences.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 70.  First-Year Seminar: Difficult Dialogues.  3 Credits.  

Provides tools for comprehensive, frank, civil conversations on controversial topics.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 71.  First-Year Seminar: The Pursuit of Happiness.  3 Credits.  

Examines the nature, causes, and consequences of happiness from diverse social science perspectives. Addresses such questions as, What is happiness? Can we measure happiness? If so, how? Does money buy happiness? Does happiness vary among social groups, cultures, and nations? What is the role of happiness in formulating public policies? Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 72.  First-Year Seminar: Race and Ethnicity in the United States.  3 Credits.  

In this seminar, students delve into the meaning and measurement of race in society, how it changes over time and space, and what it signals for the future of race/ethnic relations in the United States. Seminar activities include data collection and analysis and critical examination of race/ethnicity in popular culture.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 89.  First-Year Seminar: Special Topics.  3 Credits.  

Special topics course. Content will vary each semester. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 100.  Sociological Perspective Through Documentary Film.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to sociology as a discipline through documentary film that includes study of differences and equality, social structure and institutions, culture, social change, individuals and populations, and social psychology.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-LAUNCH (only designated sections), FC-POWER.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 101.  Sociological Perspectives.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to sociology as a discipline that includes study of differences and equality, social structure and institutions, culture, social change, individuals and populations, and social psychology. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 111.  Human Societies.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to comparative sociology. The course surveys social inequality in human societies. Topics include a discussion of major types of societies that existed, social inequality across social classes, gender and race/ethnicities, as well as population issues, development of technology, and family structure that underlie a society's stratification system.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 112.  Social Interaction.  3 Credits.  

The individual in society. An examination of how people conduct their interactions with others in different kinds of social relationships. Emphasis on the social psychological causes and consequences of such conduct.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 121.  Population Problems.  3 Credits.  

Social and economic causes of population structure and change. Illustrations drawn from developing countries and the less developed regions and sections of the United States.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 122.  Race and Ethnicity.  3 Credits.  

Examines race, racism, and privilege. Introduces major sociological concepts, debates, and evidence concerning the social construction of race, and the many manifestations of racism and privilege. The course highlights the asymmetrical power relations between groups that produce and sustain inequality while also considering the factors that lead to social change.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST or FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 123.  Crime and Delinquency.  3 Credits.  

The nature and extent of crime and delinquency; emphasis upon contemporary theories of their causation; examination of correctional programs.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 124.  Sex and Gender in Society.  3 Credits.  

Examination of the social differentiation between men and women. Attention to the extent, causes, and consequences of sexual inequality and to changes in sex roles and their impact on interpersonal relations.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-KNOWING or FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: WGST 124.  
SOCI 125.  Sociology of Sexualities.  3 Credits.  

This class takes a sociological approach to the study of sexuality and gender, including an exploration of sexuality and gender as social constructions, the emergence of sexual and gender identities, intersectionality (gender/sexuality/race/class), historical and current inequalities and discrimination faced by sexual and gender minorities, heterosexual privilege, activism/mobilization to challenge discrimination against sexual minorities, and the ways sexuality operates in and through various institutions: media, schools, sport, family, religion, and the workplace.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 126.  Sociology of Adolescence.  3 Credits.  

This course examines adolescence from a sociological perspective, or how the social, economic, and cultural contexts in which adolescents live shape their experiences. Students will learn from 1) dynamic engagement with sociological theory and research on adolescence, 2) active participation in an adolescent-serving community organization - Movement of Youth, and 3) thoughtful reflection on how well existing theory and research match with observations made during service work.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, EE- Service Learning.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 129.  Sociology of Religion.  3 Credits.  

This course provides an introduction to the sociology of religion, an important field in the discipline of sociology. Religion is one of the most powerful sources of social cohesion, order, meaning, disruption, protest, and change in human societies, both historically and today in the modern world. Sociology provides a particular disciplinary perspective and analytical tools and theories for describing, understanding, and explaining the nature and influence of religion.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 130.  Family and Society.  3 Credits.  

Comparative analysis of kinship systems and family relations. Courtship, marriage, and parent-child relations viewed within a life-cycle framework. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 130 and SOCI 425.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 131.  Social Relations in the Workplace.  3 Credits.  

Meaning and content of work in modern industrial society. Preparation for work; autonomy and control; inequality; consequences for health, safety, and family life.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: MNGT 131.  
SOCI 133.  Sociology of Politics.  3 Credits.  

Patterns of participation in political institutions, public policy, conflict within and between communities and other interest groups, the nature of citizenship in modern society, politics and social change.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 172.  Introduction to Population Health in the United States.  3 Credits.  

This course aims to provide an introduction to the study of population health in the United States. Key goals include understanding the measurement and theoretical frameworks underlying the study of population health, understanding trends and disparities in U.S. population health, and understanding policy options to improve population health.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 180.  Introduction to Global Population Health.  3 Credits.  

This course provides students with an introduction to population health, with an emphasis on three perspectives: demographic methods for assembling data and evidence, the social determinants of health framework, and the role of global institutions and movements in population health.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-GLOBAL or FC-QUANT.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 250.  Sociological Theory.  3 Credits.  

Required of sociology majors. A study of theoretical perspectives in sociology, their relation to contemporary social issues, and their roots in classical social thought. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 250 and SOCI 253.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-KNOWING.
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 251.  Research Methods.  3 Credits.  

Required of sociology majors. Methods of data collection, with attention to problem selection, sources of information, choice of methods, and research design. Operationalization and measurement; sampling, construction of questionnaires, and interviewing; observation techniques; experimentation.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-QUANT.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 252.  Data Analysis.  3 Credits.  

Required of sociology majors. Methods of data analysis: descriptive statistics, elements of probability, and inferential statistics and multivariate analysis to permit causal inference.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-QUANT.
Making Connections Gen Ed: QI.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 253.  Sociological Theory - Experiential.  3 Credits.  

A study of theoretical perspectives in sociology, their relation to contemporary social issues, and their roots in classical social thought, taught through experiential examples. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 253 and SOCI 250.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-SERVICE.
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Service Learning.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, SOCI 101; permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 260.  Crisis and Change in Russia and Eastern Europe.  3 Credits.  

Draws on historical, political, economic, and sociological perspectives to analyze social, cultural, and institutional change.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-GLOBAL.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 260, PWAD 260.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 273.  Social and Economic Justice, Experiential Education.  3 Credits.  

Covers theory and practice of social and economic justice, including analyses of racial, gender, sexual, class, national, and other forms of justice, the history of influential movements for justice, and strategies of contemporary struggles. This course has a 30-hour service-learning component. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 273 and SOCI 274.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-SERVICE.
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, EE- Service Learning.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 274.  Social and Economic Justice.  3 Credits.  

Covers theory and practice of social and economic justice, including analyses of racial, gender, sexual, class, national, and other forms of justice, the history of influential movements for justice, and strategies of contemporary struggles. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 273 and SOCI 274.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 277.  Societies and Genomics.  3 Credits.  

The course examines how human genomic information can be incorporated into social sciences. Topics include twin studies; an introduction to basic principles of molecular genetics; evolutionary psychology; sex, gender, and genomics; ethical issues in genetic studies; and epigenetics.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 290.  Special Topics in Sociology.  3 Credits.  

Periodic offering of courses on developing topics in the field.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits. 4 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 302.  Fieldwork in Entrepreneurship.  3 Credits.  

Great ideas don't always result in entrepreneurial success -- you also have to know your audience or customer base. In this research methodology course, students will receive hands-on experience in conducting interviews and focus groups and engaging in participant observation in order to determine potential customer/client interest in a product, service, or nonprofit. Special attention will be paid to analyzing research findings in order to create actionable insights. Cross-referenced with Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 318.  Computational Sociology.  3 Credits.  

The surge of digital technology over the past three decades has reconfigured society - increasing political polarization, generating new types of discrimination in job searches, and expanding government surveillance. This course introduces the budding field of computational sociology. We will examine the ways that new kinds of data are being collected and analyzed and the impact these changes are having in society.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, A background course in some form of social scientific methods or data science methods is recommended, but not required; examples include: SOCI 251, SOCI 252, PSYC 115, PSYC 210, PSYC 215, PSYC 270, PSYC 310, POLI 281, POLI 285, POLI 381, PLCY 310, PLCY 460, STOR 115, STOR 120, STOR 151, STOR 155, STOR 320, COMP 210, COMP 283.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 390.  Sociological Analysis: Special Topics.  3 Credits.  

Examines selected topics from a sociological perspective. Course description for a particular semester is available in the department office.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits. 4 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 393.  Independent Experiential Internship.  1-3 Credits.  

Permission of the department. This course is an internship experience directly relevant to the student's academic progress in sociology and/or management and society. Pass/Fail only.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-INTERN.
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Academic Internship.  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 6 total credits. 6 total completions.  
Grading Status: Pass/Fail.  
SOCI 396.  Independent Study and Reading.  1-6 Credits.  

Permission of the director of undergraduate studies. Special reading and research in a selected field under the direction of a member of the department.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 12 total credits. 4 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  

Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate-level Courses

IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 410.  Formal Organizations and Bureaucracy.  3 Credits.  

Varieties of organizational forms, their structures and processes; creation, persistence, transformation, and demise; role of organizations in contemporary society.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: MNGT 410.  
SOCI 411.  Social Movements.  3 Credits.  

Examines the origins, dynamics, and consequences of protest and social movements including historical and contemporary movements from the United States and around the globe. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 413 and 411.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 411.  
SOCI 412.  Social Stratification.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of social structure and stratification in terms of class, status, prestige, and rank. Attention to social roles of elites, professionals, the middle class, and the working class and to comparative topics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: MNGT 412.  
SOCI 413.  Social Movements, Experiential.  3 Credits.  

Examines the origins, dynamics, and consequences of protest and social movements including historical and contemporary movements from the U.S. and around the globe. Substantial field work for experiential education. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 413 and SOCI 411.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, EE- Service Learning.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 414.  The City and Urbanization.  3 Credits.  

The city as a social, spatial, and political-economic phenomenon in the modern world. Analysis of urban demographic trends, spatial characteristics and economic functions. Substantive topics include segregation, social turmoil, unemployment, fiscal problems, suburbanization, and urban public policy. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 414 and SOCI 417.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 415.  Economy and Society.  3 Credits.  

Examination of the structure and operation of institutions where economy and society intersect and interact, such as education, industrial organizations, on-the-job training, labor markets, and professional associations. Emphasis on the contemporary United States, with selected comparisons with Western Europe and Japan.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: MNGT 415.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 417.  The City and Urbanization, Experiential Education.  3 Credits.  

The city as a social, spatial, and political-economic phenomenon in the modern world. Analysis of urban demographic trends, spatial characteristics, and economic functions. Substantive topics include segregation, social turmoil, unemployment, fiscal problems, suburbanization, and urban public policy. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 414 and SOCI 417.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-SERVICE.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, EE- Service Learning.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 418.  Contemporary Chinese Society.  3 Credits.  

Designed to help students read complex pictures of contemporary China and to understand how China's rise affected people's lives, both inside and outside of China, from a sociological perspective. The course does not assume any background in Chinese studies.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 419.  Sociology of the Islamic World.  3 Credits.  

Investigates issues such as tradition and social change, religious authority and contestation, and state building and opposition in Muslim societies in the Middle East and around the world.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-GLOBAL, RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 420.  Political Sociology.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of the reciprocal influences of state and social organizations upon each other; the social bases of political authority and stability, of revolution and counterrevolution.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 421.  Environmental Sociology.  3 Credits.  

This course focuses on the interaction between humans and their natural environments. Students will investigate the causes and consequences of environmental problems and their connections to dominant economic and political structures, cultural values, population dynamics, resource consumption, technologies, and systems of inequality.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 422.  Sociology of Mental Health and Illness.  3 Credits.  

Examines the uniqueness of the sociological perspective in understanding mental health and illness. Draws upon various theoretical perspectives to best understand patterns, trends, and definitions of mental health and illness in social context. Focuses on how social factors influence definitions, perceptions, patterns, and trends of mental health and illness.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 423.  Sociology of Education, Experiential Education.  3 Credits.  

An overview of theory and research on education and schooling, with an emphasis on inequalities in educational opportunities, education as a social institution, and the changing context of schools and schooling. Substantial field work for experiential education. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 423 and SOCI 426.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-SERVICE.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, EE- Service Learning.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 424.  Law and Society.  3 Credits.  

A sociological analysis of comparative legal systems, the role of law in social change and in shaping social behavior. Topics may include the legal profession, property distribution, and the role of law in achieving racial and sexual justice.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 425.  Family and Society, Junior/Senior Section.  3 Credits.  

A special version of SOCI 130 for juniors, seniors, and beginning graduate students. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 425 and SOCI 130.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 426.  Sociology of Education.  3 Credits.  

An overview of theory and research on education and schooling, with an emphasis on inequalities in educational opportunities, education as a social institution, and the changing context of schools and schooling. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 423 and SOCI 426.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 427.  The Labor Force.  3 Credits.  

Supply and characteristics of labor and of jobs, including industrial and occupation changes, education and mobility of labor, and changing demography of the workforce.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: MNGT 427.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 429.  Religion and Society.  3 Credits.  

Sociological analysis of group beliefs and practices, both traditionally religious and secular, through which fundamental life experiences are given coherence and meaning. This course is a special version of SOCI 129 for juniors and seniors that explores the meanings and experiences of religion, as well as religion's role in communities, institutions, and societies through hands-on intensive research experience. Students may not receive credit for both SOCI 129 and SOCI/RELI 429.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: RELI 429.  
SOCI 430.  Sociology of Food and Food Justice.  3 Credits.  

We explore key sociological concepts through the lens of food: labor, power, social status, political economy, social inequalities, social movements, globalization, and social justice. Additionally, we examine the emergence of food related social movements, food policy, and food related social problems (famine, obesity, food deserts, food insecurity, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations), industrial agriculture, environmental degradation, and poor health).

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Service Learning.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 431.  Aging.  3 Credits.  

The process of aging from birth to death, with a concentration on the later years of life, examined from a broad perspective. Topics include individual change over the life-course, the social context of aging, and the aging of American society.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 433.  Immigration in Contemporary America.  3 Credits.  

This course introduces students to reasons why people migrate, how citizens respond to that migration, how the federal government regulates migration, and how local communities manage the settlement of newcomers. By the end of the course students should have a solid understanding of major debates in the study of immigration.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 444.  Race, Class, and Gender.  3 Credits.  

Conceptualizations of gender, race, and class and how, separately and in combination, they are interpreted by the wider society. Emphasis on how black and working-class women make sense of their experiences at work and within the family.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: WGST 444.  
SOCI 445.  Sociology of Emotions.  3 Credits.  

The course examines how emotions are organized within social groupings and institutions. Differences in socialization by gender, ethnicity, social class, and age will be explored.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 450.  Theory and Problems of Developing Societies.  3 Credits.  

Theories concerning the development process (motivational vs. institutional economics vs. political and social development; similarity of sequential states and outcomes) will be related to policy problems facing the developing nations.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 460.  Contemporary Social Theory.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of current problems in general social theory; action and structure, justice and equity, social change and reproduction. Contrast and evaluation of leading approaches to solutions.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, SOCI 250.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 468.  United States Poverty and Public Policy.  3 Credits.  

This course examines issues of poverty and social policy, single-mother families, the welfare debate, and homelessness.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 469.  Health and Society.  3 Credits.  

The primary objective of the course is to explain how and why particular social arrangements affect the types and distribution of diseases, as well as the types of health promotion and disease prevention practices that societies promote.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 481.  Managing International Conflict.  3 Credits.  

This course introduces the principles of international cooperation and conflict resolution; theories of how international agreements develop or break down; and the logic of mediation, arbitration, and negotiation.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 691H.  Senior Honors Research and Seminar.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the department. SOCI 691H is required of senior honors candidates. Individual student research (under supervision of an advisor). Weekly seminar to discuss work on honors thesis, as well as special topics in sociology.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: CI, EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoSOCI 692H.  Senior Honors Research and Seminar.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the department. Individual student research under supervision of an advisor. Weekly seminar to discuss work on honors thesis as well as special topics in sociology.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: CI, EE- Mentored Research.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, SOCI 691H.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 696.  Undergraduate/Graduate Study in Sociology.  3-4 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Graduate study in sociology for undergraduate students. Undergraduate students taking a 700- or 800-level course in sociology register via this course and complete all requirements for the associated graduate course.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits. 4 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  

Department of Sociology

Visit Program Website

155 Hamilton Hall, CB# 3210

(919) 962-1007

Chair

Lisa Pearce

ldpearce@unc.edu