Department of Sociology

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.

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

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. Permission of the instructor for nonmajors.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Directed independent research under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

This course examines the relationship between population and society from a global perspective. As an introductory course in the field of population studies and demography, it emphasizes three key aspects of 'doing' demography: developing a demographic perspective that connects social phenomena to population factors; learning a range of quantitative measures and techniques that describe population and its changes; and acquiring a working knowledge of population trends, including their socioeconomic determinants and policy implications.

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.

This course provides an introduction to criminology and criminal justice. Topics include individual, group, and structural explanations of crime; inequality in the criminal justice system; theories of crime prevention; policy evaluation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Periodic offering of courses on developing topics in the field.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.