Course Descriptions

SOC 101 - Introduction to Sociology [SUN# SOC 1101]

1. Define in plain language what the scientific method is and explain how it is used, and how scientific ways of knowing differ from other ways of knowing.
2. Identify how distant, impersonal social forces shape the lives of groups and individuals in society (sociological imagination).                      
3. Identify the main claims of social-conflict theory, structural-functional theory, and symbolic-interaction theory.
4. Identify the causes and implications of social classes in the United States today.

1. Identify the main claims of Marx (in the form of social-conflict theory), Durkheim (in the form of structural-functional theory) and Weber (in the form of symbolic-interaction theory) and relate these claims to at least five societal phenomena on an identified list.
2. Define in plain language what the scientific method is and explain how it is used, and how
   scientific ways of knowing differ from other ways of knowing.
3. Distinguish between academic sociology and applied sociology.
4. Distinguish between empirical and theoretical questions.
5. Recommend the type of research method that would be the most appropriate for answering a given empirical or theoretical research question and explain how they know.
6. Distinguish between macro- and micro-level realms of social reality.
7. List examples of how distant, impersonal social forces shape the lives of groups and individuals in society.
8. List and define a minimum of five examples of socio-demographic traits (e.g. age-sex structure, sex ratio, distribution of wealth, mode of production, literacy rate, mortality rate, life expectancy, unemployment rate, ethnic composition).
9. Define and explain the relevance of concepts from the official Sociology Program Key Concepts list, including, but not limited to, the following: social structure, norms, status, culture, socialization, industrialization, modernity, rationalization, social group, social control, social stratification, class, power, gender, race, ethnicity, minority, post-colonialism, corporation, authority, special interest group, kinship, religion, fundamentalism, urbanization, ecologically sustainable culture, collective behavior, and globalization.

1. Foundation: Sociological Thinking and Building Blocks of Society
   1. Society: the determinative system of social relations in which humans are embedded
   2. Macro-micro connections
      1. Seeing public issues reflected in our private troubles (a.k.a. the sociological imagination)
      2. Macro-level, societal traits versus micro-level, individual traits 
   3. Major sociological perspectives
      1. Structural-functional theory (and Durkheim’s key concept, anomie)
      2. Social-conflict theory (and Marx’s key concept, alienation)
      3. Symbolic-interaction theory (and Weber’s key concept, weltanschauung)
   4. Sociology as a social science
      1. The scientific method: its nature, its power and its limitations
      2. How the scientific method differs from other ways of knowing
      3. It’s all about the data—theory building, hypothesis testing and falsification
      4. Empirical versus theoretical questions
      5. Asking and answering questions with surveys, experiments, field methods, case studies and secondary sources: which methods for which questions
   5. Cultures, nations and societies
      1. Nature versus nurture: “human nature” as an intellectually bankrupt idea
      2. Cultural values
      3. Cultural variation, cultural relativism and ethnocentrism
   6. Social organization
      1. Micro-sociology: face-to-face interactions in dyads and small groups
      2. Meso-sociology: groups, networks and organizations
      3. Macro-sociology: societal and global systems
2. Social Interaction and the Social Construction of Reality
   1. Socialization and the self as social: ideas of Mead and Cooley
   2. Norms: conformity and deviance
   3. Collective behavior and social movements
   4. Urbanization, population patterns, and society-environment connections
   5. Globalization and modern societies 
3. Structures of Power
   1. Stratification and social mobility
   2. Inequalities of social class
   3. Inequalities of race and ethnicity
   4. Inequalities of gender and sexuality
   5. Inequalities of youth and age
   6. Global problems, the influence of large corporations and ecological crises
4. Social Institutions
   1. Marriage and the family
   2. Religion
   3. Education, popular culture, and the mass media
   4. Economy and work
   5. Government, politics and the military
   6. Science, technology and medicine
   7. Law and social control

SOC 110 - Introduction to Cities and Global Society

1. Identify worldwide urban beginnings, classifications, and evolutions.
2. Trace patterns of urban culture and social relations.
3. Interpret urban residential patterns and spatial narratives.
4. Analyze and propose urban solutions that address specific local and global problems.

1. Exploring the City
   1. Explaining the city: sociological, anthropological, and other disciplinary perspectives
   2. Urban histories
   3. Understanding community
   4. International and local examples used
2. City Form and City Culture
   1. Economic and residential patterns
   2. Environmental social psychology
   3. Image and style
   4. Cultural narratives of place
   5. International and local examples used
3. Urban Diversity
   1. Racial/ethnic/gender/sexuality, and other categories of difference
   2. Stratification in the city
   3. Order, control, and deviance
   4. Politics and power relations
   5. International and local examples used
4. Urban and Global Dilemmas and Possible Solution
   1. The political economy of globalization and urbanization
   2. Fiscal and international problems
   3. Social problems: housing, transportation, pollution, water, etc.
   4. Global cities of the future
   5. International and local examples used

SOC 120 - Current Social Problems [SUN# SOC 2250]

1. Apply the sociological imagination and its relevance to the study of social problems.
2. Describe the interconnectedness of societal social problems and the way we view social problems and peoples’ relation to society.
3. Discuss in a historical context the relevance of local, national, and global social problems and their interconnectedness, with problems including, among others human rights, neo-liberalism, racism, patriarchy, hate crimes, and gender issues.
4. Assess social problems both at the national and international levels, and discuss social problems affecting culturally diverse groups within a global context.
5. Develop solutions to address local, national, and global social problems.
6. Demonstrate outcomes listed above through the completion of critical thinking and writing assignments that will satisfy the requirements of the Intensive Writing and Critical Inquiry designation.

1. Intensive Writing and Critical Inquiry
   1. Producing written discourse in more than one assignment through papers, reports, quizzes, tests, etc., which includes a minimum word standard of 3000 words.
   2. Written assignments emphasize critical inquiry which includes the gathering, interpreting, and evaluating evidence.
   3. Includes a formal out of class paper of at least 1,500 words which requires critical inquiry and where the writer develops and supports a main idea. 
   4. Explicit writing instruction with timely feedback to help students improve their writing            and critical inquiry skills is part of the course’s content.
   5. The evaluation of written assignments must include the overall quality of written work and critical inquiry, as measured by a rubric.                 
   6. At least 50% of the student’s grade must be based on the written work and critical Inquiry assignments.
2. Causes and Effects of Social Problems
   1. Social problems and the relevance of the sociological imagination, and world interconnectedness
   2. Sociological approaches to social problems
   3. Sociological research methods and approaches
      1. Cross cultural problems
      2. Global approaches
   4. Critical global approach to national and global social problems
3. Social Power and Local, National, and Global Structures
   1. Environmental and ecological social problems: local, national, and international impacts on people
   2. Economic inequality and poverty, health, and education
   3. Economic inequality and class, race, ethnicity, gender, age and sexuality
   4. Women, children, and families: empowering the blocs of society
   5. Public policy and private action
4. Quality of Life and Local, National and Global Structures
   1. Problems of behavioral variance
   2. Problems of inequality
   3. Problems of social institutions
   4. Global social problems
5. Complexity of Solutions
   1. Population and underdevelopment
   2. Globalization, victimization, and empowerment
   3. Concentration of political and economic power
   4. Militarism and war
   5. Terrorism, crime, repression, warfare, and violence in a global society
   6. Changing institutions

SOC 127 - Marriage and the Family

1. Identify the dynamic nature of marriages, families, and intimate relationships around the world and how they are increasingly affected by global events.
2. Discuss how to recognize, confront, and dispel prominent myths about marriages, families, and intimate relationships.
3. Describe the interactive relationships of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
4. Demonstrate an informed openness regarding marriage, family, and intimate relationships.
5. Evaluate a number of essential issues facing marriages and families

1. Identify and explain the dynamic nature of marriages, families, and intimate relationships.
2. Discuss how to recognize, confront, and dispel prominent myths about marriages, families, and intimate relationships.
3. Describe and explain how marriages, families, and intimate relationships around the world are increasingly affected by global events.
4. Describe and explain the interactive relationships of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
5. Demonstrate an informed openness regarding marriage, family, and intimate relationships.
6. Evaluate and discuss a number of essential issues facing marriages and families.

1. Marriages and Families
   1. U.S. and world trends
   2. Historical perspectives
   3. Sociology of marriage and families
2. Relationships
   1. Gender roles
   2. Many faces of love
   3. Dating, coupling, and mate selection
   4. Sexuality and intimate relationships
   5. Non-marital relationships
3. Marriage
   1. The marriage experience
   2. Reproduction and parenting
   3. Marriage and families in later life
4. Transformation of Marriage
   1. Work: family role
   2. Violence and abuse
   3. Divorce
   4. Remarriage and remarriage families

SOC 201 - Race, Ethnicity, Minority Groups and Social Justice [SUN# SOC 2215]

1. Describe the social construction of difference.
2. Describe social justice and the causes of social, cultural, economic, political, and international inequality.
3. Identify and describe diverse ethnic and minority groups and locate their historical trajectories in the US.
4. Describe the patterns of dominance, exploitation, and ethnic and minority relations.
5. Apply different sociological perspectives to explain the exploitation of minority, racial, and ethnic groups, nationally and globally.
6. Discuss resistance and social change in national and global movements.  

1. Social Construction of Difference
   1. Race, ethnicity, and class
      1. Minority/majority group dynamics
      2. Social class
   2. Types of subordinate groups
      1. Nationality and immigration status
      2. Gender
      3. Sexuality
      4. Age
      5. Physical and learning challenges
2. Social Justice and Democracy
   1. Social justice and inequality in the United States and elsewhere
      1. Theories of class stratification, class differentiation, and discrimination
      2. Gender inequality: sexism, subordination, and exploitation
      3. Sexual inequality: heterosexism, subordination, and exploitation
   2. Comparative approach to social justice:  culture and globalization
      1. Social justice and world inequities
      2. Capitalism and globalization
      3. Diasporas, displacements, and immigration
   3. Social differentiation and social stratification  
      1. Class, caste, and estate
      2. Ethnic-stratification:  power and inequality
      3. Post-colonialism and international development
      4. National and international social movements
3. Whiteness as an Ideology of Power:  Ethnic and Minority Group Relations in the United States
   1. Establishment of whiteness as cultural, social, economic, and political domination
      1. Annexation
      2. Occupation and expansion
      3. Colonization and imperialism
   2. Groups and their histories 
      1. Race, ethnicity, and nationality
      2. Sexuality and gender
      3. Culture, age, physical and learning challenges
   3. Major racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States
      1. Native Americans
      2. African Americans
      3. Latinos
         1. Mexican Americans
         2. Cuban Americans
         3. Puerto Ricans
      4. Asian Americans
      5. Jewish Americans
   4. Women in U.S. society
      1. Social contributions and gender inequalities
      2. Political contributions and gender inequalities
      3. Economic contributions and gender inequalities
      4. Feminist movements and international women’s movements
   5. Sexuality, age, and physical and learning challenges
      1. Sexuality
      2. Sexual identities
      3. Political empowerment of the LGBT communities
      4. Building international solidarity
      5. Age
      6. Localization of children in society
      7. Localization of older people in society
      8. Comparative global approach
   6. Physical and learning challenges
      1. Physical challenges
      2. Learning challenges
      3. Social and economic empowerment
4. Techniques of Dominance, Exploitation, and Ethnic and Minority Relations
   1. Prejudice
      1. Stereotypes
      2. Social distance
      3. Sexism
      4. Homophobia and heterosexism
   2. Racism and discrimination
      1. Race matters
      2. Discrimination
      3. Cultural diversity
      4. Multi-ethnic relations and international inequality
5. Ethnic, national, gender, and sexual relations in comparative perspective
   1. Ethnic inequality in comparative perspective
      1. National issues of conflict and change
      2. Global issues of ethnic conflict and change
   2. Cultural and religious inequality in comparative perspective
   3. Minority groups and inequality in comparative perspective
      1. Gender
      2. Sexuality
      3. Age
      4. Physical and learning challenges
6. Social Justice and the Future of Inequality Systems
   1. Resistance and social movements
   2. National social movements
   3. Global social movement

SOC 204 - Gender Identities, Interactions and Relations

1. Analyze masculinity, femininity, and gender construction.
2. Describe current and historical political events including social movements, suffrage, and significant legislation affecting sex and gender relations.
3. Examine family issues including roles and family structures, and analyze men’s and women’s different experiences of love and marriage.
4. Explain the current-day phenomenon of masculinity and its significance for understanding sex/gender systems.
5. Identify issues concerning gender in the workplace, in the media, in medical and information technology, and within organized religion.
6. Place gender and gendered experience in global perspective

1. Analyze masculinity, femininity, and gender construction.
2. Develop skills to theoretically evaluate everyday experiences as a gendered being.
3. Describe current and historical political events including social movements, suffrage, and significant legislation affecting sex and gender relations.
4. Examine family issues including roles and family structures.
5. Analyze men’s and women’s different experiences of love and marriage.
6. Describe the current-day phenomenon of masculinity and explain its significance for understanding sex/gender systems.
7. Describe important professional and workplace issues facing women and men.
8. Identify issues concerning gender and the media.
9. Locate women’s and men’s spiritual issues in relation to organized religion.
10. Examine men’s and women’s relationships with medical and information technology.
11. Place gender and gendered experience in global perspective.

1. Sex Versus Gender
   1. The Social Construction of Gender
   2. Masculinities
   3. Femininities
2. Theoretical Perspectives
   1. Societal-Level Approaches to Understanding Sex and Gender
      1. Conflict Theory
      2. Structural Functionalism
      3. Feminist Perspectives
      4. Other Perspectives (e.g. Liberalism)
   2. Individual-Level Approaches to Understanding Sex and Gender
      1. Biological Approaches
      2. Psychoanalytic Theory
      3. Cognitive-Development Theories
      4. Learning Theories
3. Law and Politics: Hot Issues
   1. Significant Historical Events in Sex/Gender Relations
      1. Legislation
      2. Social Movements
   2. Significant Current Events Concerning Sex/Gender Relations
      1. Legislation
      2. Social Movements
4. Gender and the Family
   1. Mother Role and Father Role
   2. Family Structures
   3. Alternative Families
   4. Work and the Family
5. His and Her Experience of Love and Marriage
   1. Love and Marriage in Historical Perspective
   2. Modern Love and Marriage
   3. Gay and Lesbian Issues
   4. Research on Sexuality
6. Masculinity
   1. Social Construction of Gender
   2. Power
   3. Violence
   4. Men’s Movements
7. Gender in the Workplace
   1. Significant Legislation Concerning the Workplace
   2. Changing Roles
8. Gender Representations in the Media
   1. Objectification
   2. Media Influences on Men and Women: Behavioral Outcomes
   3. Sexism in Language and Communication
9. Gender and Religion
   1. Christianity
   2. Judaism
   3. Islam
   4. Non-Western Religions
10. Gender and Medicine
    1. Men’s Health, Women’s Health
    2. The Politics of Pregnancy
    3. Reproductive Technologies and Power Struggles
11. Global Perspectives
    1. Development, Post-Colonial and Post-Modern Theories
    2. Role of the United Nations’ “Decade for Women”
    3. Patriarchy in Global Perspective

SOC 215 - Human Sexuality

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Examination of human sexual experience throughout the life cycle, viewed from sociological and psychological perspectives. Includes psychological, sociological, and cultural legacy of sexuality, biological foundations of sexuality, varieties of sexual behaviors, sexuality and the life cycle, sexual problems, and social issues.

Recommendation: Completion of one of the following before enrolling in this course: PSY 101  or SOC 101 . REA 091  with a C or better (or assessment into REA 112 ). If any recommended course is taken, see a financial aid or Veteran’s Affairs advisor to determine funding eligibility as appropriate.
Information: Same as PSY 215 .
Gen-Ed: Meets AGEC - SBS and C, G; Meets CTE - SBS and C, G.

1. Describe physiological, psychological and social dynamics affecting sexuality.
2. Compare sexuality, sex roles, and gender orientation across diverse societies and cultures.
3. Describe the variety and varying ways of sexuality.
4. Describe how sexually transmitted diseases, sexual disorders, and various social issues relate to sexuality.
5. Explain how race/ethnicity, religion, the family, and personal values affect intimacy and sexuality.
6. Describe how people learn about sexuality.
7. Compare the personal and public domains of sexuality.
8. Describe the interrelationships among the concepts of intimacy, sex, love, and self.

1. Psychological, Sociological, and Cultural Legacy of Sexuality

1. Sexual diversity among others and across cultures and society
2. Gender identify
3. Personal identity
4. Political and legal aspects of sexuality
5. Religious of sexuality

1. Biological Foundations of Sexuality
   1. Male sexual anatomy
   2. Female sexual anatomy
   3. Sexual arousal and response patterns
2. Varieties of Sexual Behaviors
   1. Love and the development of sexual relationships
   2. Communication in sexual behaviors
   3. Sexual behaviors
   4. Sexual orientations
3. Sexuality and the Life Cycle
   1. Birth control and contraceptives
   2. Conceiving children and pregnancy
   3. Sexuality during childhood and adolescence
   4. Sexuality in the adult years
4. Sexual Problems
   1. Nature and origin of sexual difficulties
   2. Sex therapy and enhancement
   3. Sexually transmitted diseases
5. Social Issues
   1. Atypical sexual behavior
   2. Sexual victimization
   3. Objectification and commodification of sex