Department of Sociology (GRAD)

The Department of Sociology offers the master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees in sociology. Students receive training that equips them for careers in both teaching and research. All sociology students take basic coursework in sociological theory, research methods and statistics, and substantive areas. The program emphasizes balanced training and the integration of theory, method, and substantive knowledge. Detailed information on graduate degree procedures is available online at the department's website. For further information, including information about financial aid for students, contact the graduate student services manager.

The department's main concentrations of faculty research interest and graduate training are in demography and population, stratification and social inequality, political sociology, research methods and social statistics, and labor force and complex organizations.

Graduate students making adequate progress receive financial assistance during the first five years of the program. Sources of aid include teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and nonservice fellowships.

Department faculty work closely with the Carolina Population Center, the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, and other research centers and institutes on campus. The department also sponsors and edits Social Forces, one of the leading sociology journals in the world.

Following the faculty member's name is a section number that students should use when registering for independent studies, reading, research, and thesis and dissertation courses with that particular professor.

Professors

Howard E. Aldrich (38), Formal Organizations, Race and Ethnic Relations, Inequality, Evolutionary Theory, Social Networks
Kenneth T. Andrews (64), Social Movements, Political Sociology, Organizations, Race and Ethnic Relations, Environment
Kenneth A. Bollen (43), Comparative Political Structures, Statistics, International Development
Barbara Entwisle (46), Social Demography, Methods, Community, Environment
Elizabeth Frankenberg (65), Demography, Health, Illness, Medical Sociology
Guang Guo (48), Biosocial Interactions, Social Statistics, Demography
Karen Guzzo, Fertility, Family Demography; Measurement
Kathleen M. Harris (6), Social Demography, Family and Child Well-Being, Poverty, Public Policy
Robert Hummer (5), Demography, Population Health, Aging and the Life Course
Arne L. Kalleberg (47), Work, Organizations, Occupations, Social Stratification, Economic Sociology
Charles Kurzman (49), Political Sociology, Social Movements, International Development, Comparative and Historical, Social Theory, Islamic Studies
Ted Mouw (51), Social Stratification, Demography, Economic Sociology
Lisa D. Pearce (62), Family, Demography, Religion
Yang Yang (73), Population, Sociology of Health and Medicine, Methods and Models, Stratification

Associate Professors

Yong Cai (72), Social Demography, Fertility, Sociology of Health, Chinese Society, Comparative Historical Sociology, Research Methodology
Neal Caren (68), Social Movements/Collective Action
Kate Weisshaar (58), Gender, Family, Inequality, Quantitative Methods

Assistant Professors

Scott Duxbury, Crime, Law and Deviance, Computational Social Science, Social Networks, Racism
Shannon Malone Gonzalez, Crime, Law and Deviance, Race and Ethnicity, Gender, Family
Taylor Hargrove, Sociology of Health, Racial/Ethnic, Gender, and Skin Tone Stratification, Aging and the Life Course
Tania Jenkins (60), Medical Sociology, Health and Illness; Work, Occupations, Labor Markets; Stratification, Gender, Ethnography
Alexandrea Ravenelle (42), Work, Organizations and Occupations, Social Stratification, Economy and Society, Qualitative Research, Entrepreneurship
Jessica Su (20), Family, Children and Youth, Fertility, Stratification, Public Policy

Teaching Professors

Kathleen Fitzgerald, Race, Gender, Sexuality, Social Movements, Food Justice, and Pedagogy
Matthew Lammers

Research Professor

Glen H. Elder Jr., Life Course, Social Change, Family, Human Development

Joint Appointments/Adjunct Faculty

Tressie McMillan Cottom, School of Information and Library Sciences 
Thurston Domina, School of Education
Carmen Gutierrez, Public Policy
Gail Henderson, Social Medicine
James H. Johnson Jr., Kenan–Flagler Business School
John D. Kasarda, Kenan–Flagler Business School
Douglas Lauen, Public Policy
John D. Stephens, Political Science
Francesca Tripodi, School of Information and Library Sciences
Zeynep Tufekci, 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

SOCI

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 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.  
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 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.  
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.  

Graduate-level Courses

SOCI 700.  History of Social Thought.  3 Credits.  

Graduate standing in sociology or permission of the instructor. Historic social ideas of Western culture are considered against a background of general cultural analysis in terms of systematic theory. Required of all graduate degree candidates in sociology.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 707.  Measurement and Data Collection.  4 Credits.  

Provides an introduction to measurement theory and a review of various methods of data-gathering. Gaining experience with a variety of techniques of measurement and preparing a pretested research proposal are required for all students.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 708.  Statistics for Sociologists.  4 Credits.  

Provides an introduction to probability theory, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and the algebra of expectations. Emphasis is on elements useful to research sociologists, including bivariate regression and correlation.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 709.  Linear Regression Models.  4 Credits.  

The course presents regression analysis and related techniques. The major topics are the assumptions of the regression model, dummy variables and interaction terms, outlier diagnostics, multicollinearity, specification error, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation. The final section introduces path analysis, recursive models, and nonrecursive systems.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 711.  Analysis of Categorical Data.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Introduction to techniques and programs for analyzing categorical variables and nonlinear models. Special attention is given to decomposition of complex contingency tables, discriminant function analysis, Markov chains, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 715.  Seminar on Social Networks.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Theoretical and substantive issues in social network analysis. Focus is on models of social structure.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 717.  Structural Equations with Latent Variables.  3 Credits.  

This course examines models sometimes referred to as LISREL models. Topics include path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, measurement error, model identification, nonrecursive models, and multiple indicators.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, SOCI 708; Permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 718.  Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis.  3 Credits.  

This course provides an introduction to event history analysis or survival analysis, random effects and fixed effects models for longitudinal data, multilevel models for linear and discrete multilevel data, and growth curve models.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, SOCI 709 or 711.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 720.  Participant Observation and In-Depth Interviewing.  3 Credits.  

Students will learn the methods of participant observation and in-depth interviewing. Each student will collect data (provide detailed fieldnotes and transcriptions of interviews) in one group or setting for the duration of the course. Such topics as gaining access, ethics of research, and analysis of data will be covered.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 753.  Experimental Design in Sociology.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Statistical aspects of experimental designs, with emphasis on applied problems involved in executing a statistically sound design.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 754.  Survey Sampling.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. The different sampling techniques are discussed. Major emphasis on planning of large-scale sample surveys rather than on statistical theory.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 760.  Data Collection Methods.  3 Credits.  

Reviews alternative data collection techniques used in surveys, concentrating on the impact these techniques have on the quality of survey data. Topics covered include errors associated with nonresponse, interviewing, and data processing.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PLAN 730, POLI 860.  
SOCI 761.  Questionnaire Design.  3 Credits.  

Examines the stages of questionnaire design including developmental interviewing, question writing, question evaluation, pretesting, questionnaire ordering, and formatting. Reviews the literature on questionnaire construction. Provides hands-on experience in developing questionnaires.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PLAN 731, POLI 861.  
SOCI 762.  Case Studies in Surveys.  3 Credits.  

A number of external speakers from government and industry will describe various problems they encounter in surveys. Students will be challenged to develop proposals for addressing the problems, citing the literature as appropriate.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 763.  Survey Computing.  1 Credits.  

Introduces basic statistical concepts and practices emphasizing the analysis of real data. Provides training in the use of the SAS statistical analysis system and the practical problems of stratification, clustering, and weighting in survey analysis.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 800.  Current Issues in Social Theory.  3 Credits.  

An examination of selected recent work of general significance in sociology. Themes vary.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 801.  Evolutionary Theory.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to the new evolutionary theory and associated research.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 802.  Social Psychological Theory.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to basic theoretical approaches in social psychology, including social learning, social exchange, symbolic interaction, cognitive consistency, and affect control.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 803.  Human Ecology.  3 Credits.  

Examination of how human populations adapt to their environments. Emphasis on linkages among population, organization, environment, and technology. Research applications of this approach to urban communities and organizations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 804.  Marx and Marxism.  2 Credits.  

Brief exposition and evaluation of Marx's theory of human nature, societal change and evolution, class, the state, family, and other institutions. Summary of dependency theory and critical theory.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 806.  Principles of Theorizing.  3 Credits.  

This course in metatheory analyzes methods of theorizing. It examines the criteria for constructing and evaluating scientific theories developed by philosophers of science and applies them to social theorizing. The hypothetico-deductive model of theorizing is contrasted with other theoretical approaches.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 807.  Major Sociological Theories.  0.5-21 Credits.  

Examination of selected writing, concepts, and issues of a major sociological theory or theoretical approach.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 808.  Macrosociological Theory.  3 Credits.  

The objective of the course is to illustrate three aspects of macrosociological theory: 1) the conception of macrosociology, 2) the structural approach in sociology and 3) hypothetico-deductive theorizing. A hypothetico-deductive macrostructural theory developed by the instructor is analyzed, and extensive empirical tests of the theory are presented.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 810.  Social Movements.  3 Credits.  

The structure and dynamics of social movements and their societal environment, with special reference to sociopolitical movements of minority and low status groups in industrialized and third world societies.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 811.  Seminar in Political Sociology.  3 Credits.  

The relationships between social structure and political decisions. Regimes and social structure; bureaucracies, political associations, and professions; science and politics; closed and open politics; political movements and change.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 811.  
SOCI 812.  Civil Society.  1-3 Credits.  

Under the conditions of globalization, civil society takes on new and different meanings. Course examines what the term means and how it is applied.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 813.  Comparative Welfare States.  3 Credits.  

This course examines the development, achievements, present crisis, and future of welfare states in advanced industrial democracies.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 813.  
SOCI 814.  Comparative and Historical Analysis Exploration.  3 Credits.  

Exploration and use of techniques for the comparative study of social processes and historical events. Special attention is devoted to methodologies that facilitate the collection, analysis, and interpretation of historical and/or comparative phenomena.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 816.  Influential Works in Democracy.  3 Credits.  

The course covers the major traditions of democratic theory from ancient Greece to the present, ethnographies on political organization, and 19th- and 20th-century observations on democracy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 816.  
SOCI 818.  Race and Ethnicity.  3 Credits.  

This course reviews the historical and contemporary sociological literature on race and ethnicity. Students will gain an advanced state-of-the-art understanding of how racial and ethnic groups emerge and evolve, how these constructs shape societies, how they influence intergroup relations, and their role in identity formation.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 3 total credits. 1 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 820.  Seminar in Marriage and the Family.  3 Credits.  

Introduces students to a wide range of studies in the sociology of family, to develop familiarity with the empirical, theoretical, and methodological foundations of family research in sociology. Examines demographic trends; marriage and family relationships; race/ethnicity; poverty and social class; work/family issues; childbearing and rearing; and mate selection.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 821.  The Life Course.  3 Credits.  

Provides an intense introduction to the life course as a theoretical orientation and methodology (logic of inquiry).

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 822.  Sociological Theories of Aging and the Adult Life Course.  3 Credits.  

Overview and critical assessment of sociological theory applied to aging, including explicit theories of aging. The course examines the historical development of the field and considers the nature of theory development.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 823.  Integrating Social and Biological Perspectives on Human Health.  3 Credits.  

Student will learn key theories and methodological approaches for how social processes, socio-spatial organization, and social inequality are associated with health patterns, changes, and disparities; theories/approaches for studying human health from a biological perspective; and strategies using integrated social and biological research perspectives and address advantages and challenges.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: EPID 823.  
SOCI 825.  The Life Course and Aging: Theory and Methods in Social and Epidemiologic Research.  3 Credits.  

This seminar surveys the major theoretical paradigms, methodological tools and empirical studies of aging and cohort analysis that are of enduring importance to the understanding of social change, epidemiologic trends, and related population and life course processes and dynamics. It aims to provide a sweeping review of the theoretical models in recent life course and aging research and introduce useful guidelines on how to conduct empirical analysis.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 826.  Health and Developmental Trajectories From Adolescence into Adulthood.  3 Credits.  

Graduate seminar that integrates theory and research on health and developmental trajectories across the early life course using the design and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Within the social and epidemiology life course frameworks, this course facilitates student research using Add Health.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 3 total credits. 1 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 830.  Demography: Theory, Substance, Techniques, Part I.  3 Credits.  

A basic introduction to the discipline of demography. Materials covered include population history, data sources, mortality and fertility trends, and differentials and techniques of analysis.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 831.  Demography: Theory, Substance, Techniques, Part II.  3 Credits.  

A continuation of SOCI 830. Materials covered include population growth and stable population theory, migration and distribution, population policy, and population estimates and projections.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 832.  Migration and Population Distribution.  3 Credits.  

Treats migration trends, patterns, and differentials and their effects on population distribution in continental and regional areas. Attention is given to theoretical and methodological problems in the study of population movement.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 833.  Socioeconomic Factors in Fertility.  3 Credits.  

Study of fertility differentials by social and economic factors, changes over time, the manner in which these factors affect fertility, and the implications thereof for fertility-control programs.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 835.  Mortality: Social Demographic Perspectives.  3 Credits.  

This advanced seminar covers mortality date and measurement, the inequality of death, trends in morbidity and mortality, and explanations of mortality decline. Social demographic perspectives receive primary emphasis.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, SOCI 830; Permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 836.  Social Gerontology.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. The study of the aged in our society.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 840.  Social Attitudes.  3 Credits.  

Basic theories and methods in attitude research, with special attention to attitude dynamics and social relations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 841.  Social Structure and Personality.  3 Credits.  

The generic processes by which individuals become members of a society, with emphasis on the influence of social structure on socialization and the patterning of personality.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 842.  Seminar in Socialization and Group Process.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Analysis of theoretical issues and empirical research relevant to socialization. Special emphasis upon group process effects on the evolution of the social self, the "fit" between personality and role, and other issues.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 843.  Seminar in Social Control and Deviance.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. The relation of social norms to conforming and deviant behavior. Types of social and personal controls. Theoretical and research problems are reviewed.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 850.  Social Stratification.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of major theories of and approaches to the study of social inequality, with attention to how the various theories and approaches are operationalized. Focus on recent research in labor markets and worldwide inequality.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 851.  Sociology of Gender.  3 Credits.  

Reviews theory on variation in men's and women's gender roles, with emphasis on industrialized societies and women's roles.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: WGST 851.  
SOCI 852.  Ethnicity, Race, and Education.  1-21 Credits.  

Emerging new theory and research paradigms in the sociology of education are reviewed. The course covers the following: racial and ethnic variation, parenting, contextual variation, peer influence, and school variation.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 853.  Justice and Inequality: Selected Topics.  1-21 Credits.  

Requires permission of the instructor. Examination of selected issues regarding societal, economic, and political inequality and questions of justice in the United States and Western Europe.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 854.  Seminar in Urban Sociology.  3 Credits.  

Theory and research in the study of the location and growth of urban areas, the effect urban areas have upon behavior, and the study of social behavior in different urban subareas. Each member of the seminar completes a project interrelating theory and research.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 855.  Poverty in America.  3 Credits.  

This graduate seminar will study trends, causes, and consequences of poverty in America, covering the topics of single-mother families, child poverty, low-wage work, immigrant families, and welfare reform and social policy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 860.  Sociology of Organizations.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Structural features of organizations. Behavior in organizations. Organizational career patterns. Comparative analysis of structure, behavior, and careers in different types of organizations. Interorganization and organization-environment relations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 861.  Occupations and Work.  3 Credits.  

The changing occupational system. Structural types of labor markets. Occupational organization, role sets, power relations, careers, and satisfaction in different types of labor markets and occupations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 862.  Health Organizations and Occupations.  3 Credits.  

Considers various treatment settings, socialization and job performance of health workers, patienthood, the relation between organizational structure and effectiveness, and professional self-regulation.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 863.  Sociology of Health, Illness, and Healing.  3 Credits.  

This seminar provides a broad introduction to the sociology of health and illness. Classic and contemporary perspectives, as well as empirical evidence, are covered. Questions such as, "how (and why) are health and illness socially constructed and socially distributed?" and "what can be done to address these phenomena?" are examined.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 870.  Sociology of Culture.  3 Credits.  

Focuses on substantive and theoretical issues in this field and their intellectual origins. Topics include organizations, art, religion, science, class, and politics. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are examined.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 871.  Sociology of Religion.  3 Credits.  

An introductory, graduate-level survey of the sociology of religion as a field of study, reviewing literature on important theoretical approaches and key problems and issues in the field.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 872.  The Sociology of Science: Science as a Social and Cultural Activity.  3 Credits.  

This course examines the production of scientific knowledge. The focus is on the processes by which scientific knowledge and technological artifacts are constructed through cultural practices and the organizational of scientific work.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 901.  Field Research.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 905.  Survey Practicum.  1 Credits.  

Applied workshop in sample survey design and implementation. The student works in a data collection center under the guidance of the instructor. Course focuses on real world problems in data collection and their practical, cost-effective solutions.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 950.  Seminar in Selected Topics.  1-6 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. The course description for a particular semester is available in the departmental office.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 960.  Training Program Seminars.  1 Credits.  

Continuing seminars in selected topics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 961.  Reading and Research.  1-6 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 962.  Advanced Reading.  3 Credits.  

Library research or field research on a selected topic under guidance of the instructor.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 970.  Reading and Research in Methodology.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Special work on selected problems of research methodology.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 971.  Reading and Research in Methodology.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Special work on selected problems of research methodology.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 979.  Publishing in Sociology.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. This seminar exposes students to a variety of issues related to journal publication in sociology, such as types of journals and collaboration, the experience of writing an article for submission to a journal, reviewing articles for journals, and responding to editorial decisions.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 980.  Seminar on the Teaching of Sociology.  3 Credits.  

Doctoral candidacy in sociology or permission of the instructor. Examines the teacher's role and the teaching process, planning a course and constructing syllabi, testing for teaching or grading, evaluating teacher performance and the needs of different student populations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
SOCI 993.  Master's Research and Thesis.  3 Credits.  

Individual research in a selected field under the direction of a member of the department.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   
SOCI 994.  Doctoral Research and Dissertation.  3 Credits.  

Individual research in a selected field under the direction of a member of the department.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   

Department of Sociology

Visit Program Website

Chair

Lisa Pearce

ldpearce@email.unc.edu

Director of Graduate Studies

Yong Cai

caiyong@unc.edu

Student Services Manager

Kelsie Taylor

kelsiet@email.unc.edu