Sociology (SOCIOL)
SOCIOL 1000: Introduction to Sociology
Nature of organization and activities of human groupings-family, community, crowd, social class, etc.; structure, function of institutions; social influences shaping personality, behavior, social change. No credit for both SOCIOL 1000 and RU_SOC 1000.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 1000H: Introduction to Sociology Honors
Nature of organization and activities of human groupings-family, community, crowd, social class, etc.; structure, function of institutions; social influences shaping personality, behavior, social change. No credit for both SOCIOL 1000 and RU_SOC 1000.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Honors eligibility required
SOCIOL 1010: Social Problems
Introduces a sociological perspective on what constitutes social problems and their impact on individuals and societies. Emphasizes critical thinking skills. Topics covered may include poverty, inequalities of gender, race, class, religion, education, and political power, the environment and global conflicts among others.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 1120: Population, Environment and Sustainability
(same as PEA_ST 1120, NAT_R 1120, ABM 1120). Changes in the structures and characteristics of population groups and their relationships to central environmental, development and sustainability issues. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 1360: The Female Experience: Body, Identity, Culture
(same as WGST 1360). Study of the experience of being female in American culture. Course will focus on development of women's identities through such topics as: sexuality, reproduction, self-image, rape and health care.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 1500: Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies
(same as NAIS 1500).This course is required for students interested in completing the Native American and Indigenous Studies minor. This introductory course centers Native American and global Indigenous cultures, worldviews, histories, arts, values, lifeways, and sociopolitical institutions, while focusing on historical and contemporary examples of indigeneity that exist in law, food systems, education, media, land, environment, sport, economies, and health/medicine, among other domains. This course offers multidisciplinary perspectives and provides a foundation for students interested in Native American and Indigenous Studies as it relates to their own diverse lives, career fields, and areas of interest. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 1650: Social Deviance
Survey of approaches to the study of behaviors commonly regarded as deviant such as crime, sexual abuse, substance abuse, mental illness, etc.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2103: Topics in Sociology-Behavioral Science
Organized study of selected topics. Particular topics may vary from semester to semester. Departmental consent for repetition.
Credit Hour: 1-3
SOCIOL 2103W: Topics in Sociology-Behavioral Science-Writing Intensive
Organized study of selected topics. Particular topics may vary from semester to semester. Departmental consent for repetition.
Credit Hour: 1-3
SOCIOL 2150: Amish Communities
(same as PEA_ST 2150). This course focuses on the guiding values of the Amish such as family and community and how these values are lived out through rules, rituals, and symbols. We explore how and why they resist certain aspects and embrace other aspects of modern American life and how these decisions vary between Amish communities. Students will develop critical thinking about human culture and their own values and assessments of life and well-being.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: RU_SOC 1000, SOCIOL 1000 or ANTHRO 1000
SOCIOL 2150HW: Amish Communities - Honors/Writing Intensive
(same as PEA_ST 2150). This course focuses on the guiding values of the Amish such as family and community and how these values are lived out through rules, rituals, and symbols. We explore how and why they resist certain aspects and embrace other aspects of modern American life and how these decisions vary between Amish communities. Students will develop critical thinking about human culture and their own values and assessments of life and well-being.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Honors Eligibility required
Recommended: RU_SOC 1000, SOCIOL 1000 or ANTHRO 1000
SOCIOL 2150W: Amish Communities - Writing Intensive
(same as PEA_ST 2150). This course focuses on the guiding values of the Amish such as family and community and how these values are lived out through rules, rituals, and symbols. We explore how and why they resist certain aspects and embrace other aspects of modern American life and how these decisions vary between Amish communities. Students will develop critical thinking about human culture and their own values and assessments of life and well-being.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: RU_SOC 1000, SOCIOL 1000 or ANTHRO 1000
SOCIOL 2182: Critical Dialogues: Nonviolence in Peace/Democracy Movements
(same as PEA_ST 2182). History and theory of movements for peace, justice, and democracy. Development of violent and nonviolent tactics and factions in movements; relationship to state authority. Cases such as Gandhi's Independence, American Civil Rights, Arab Spring, and Occupy movements.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: PEA_ST 1050
SOCIOL 2182W: Critical Dialogues: Nonviolence in Peace/Democracy Movements - Writing Intensive
(same as PEA_ST 2182W). History and theory of movements for peace, justice, and democracy. Development of violent and nonviolent tactics and factions in movements; relationship to state authority. Cases such as Gandhi's Independence, American Civil Rights, Arab Spring, and Occupy movements.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: PEA_ST 1050
SOCIOL 2200: Social Inequalities
(same as BL_STU 2200). Survey of inequalities based upon criteria such as race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion and social class in contemporary societies. Focus on dynamics by which privilege and inequalities are structured.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2200H: Social Inequalities - Honors
(same as BL_STU 2200). Survey of inequalities based upon criteria such as race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion and social class in contemporary societies. Focus on dynamics by which privilege and inequalities are structured.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Honors eligibility required
SOCIOL 2210: The Black Americans
(same as BL_STU 2210). Analysis of history of blacks in the United States. Assessment of contemporary black community in terms of its institutions, styles of life, patterns of work and intergroup relations.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2255: Youth, Islam, and Global Cultures
(same as PEA_ST 2255). Youth subcultures and the social issues and problems faced by youth, focusing on the Islamic world and Muslim immigrants, in the United States and elsewhere. Social and behavioral theories and concepts such as paths to modernization, Orientalism, post-colonialism, population movements, social construction, identity, and recognition will be illustrated.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2281: Nuclear Weapons: Environmental, Health and Social Effects
(same as HLTH_SCI 2200 and PEA_ST 2200). Environmental consequences of the nuclear arms race, "regional" nuclear war, and weapons testing for human health, agriculture, and society. Examining "a world without nuclear weapons"; political dialogue on proliferation; Iran, North Korea, and nuclear weapons conventions. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2281W: Nuclear Weapons: Environmental, Health and Social Effects - Writing Intensive
(same as HLTH_SCI 2200 and PEA_ST 2200). Environmental consequences of the nuclear arms race, "regional" nuclear war, and weapons testing for human health, agriculture, and society. Examining "a world without nuclear weapons"; political dialogue on proliferation; Iran, North Korea, and nuclear weapons conventions. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2285: Large Corporations, Economic Crisis, Social Responsibility
(same as PEA_ST 2285). Institutional power of the corporate CEO; ethical regulatory restraint. Historical contexts of economic crisis. Theories of justice, alternative concepts of justice in popular culture. Politics of policy issues in prosecution and criminalization of corporate behavior. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2286: Technological Futures, National Security, and Civil Liberties
(same as PEA_ST 2286). Contemporary practices and future trends in data collection and mining by the NSA and by businesses. The interplay of government and corporate power, and possibilities of regulation and maintenance of privacy and civil liberties. The development of digital intellectual copyright and its consequences on patterns of dissemination of knowledge.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2286W: Technological Futures, National Security, and Civil Liberties - Writing Intensive
(same as PEA_ST 2286). Contemporary practices and future trends in data collection and mining by the NSA and by businesses. The interplay of government and corporate power, and possibilities of regulation and maintenance of privacy and civil liberties. The development of digital intellectual copyright and its consequences on patterns of dissemination of knowledge.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2300: Self and Society
Analysis of the self in modern society. Topics covered include social interaction, social perception, language and learning, the sociology of emotions and the social construction of identity.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 2310: Culture and Mass Media
Sociological study of modern folk, local, popular and mass cultural production and consumption; mass media, diffusion, change, differentiation.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3000: Urban Sociology
Urbanism as a world phenomenon; ecological, demographic characteristics of cities; organization of urban society including status systems, occupational structure, formal and informal associations, racial and cultural relations, forms of communication, housing, city planning.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3000W: Urban Sociology - Writing Intensive
Urbanism as a world phenomenon; ecological, demographic characteristics of cities; organization of urban society including status systems, occupational structure, formal and informal associations, racial and cultural relations, forms of communication, housing, city planning.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3100: Recent Theories in Sociology
(same as RU_SOC 3100). Introduction to major theoretical positions and issues in contemporary American sociology. Logical and intellectual structure of major theoretical schools: functionalism, conflict, exchange, symbolic interaction, phenomenological-ethnomethodological theories.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Sociology majors only. Non-sociology majors may petition the instructor to add the course
SOCIOL 3200: Class, Status, and Power
Study of the structure of wealth, poverty, prestige, and power. Concepts of social justice in political, economic and legal issues and policies. Provides student engagement in research.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3210: Sociology of Globalization
Globalization's origin and dynamics; the social and political effects of globalization: countervailing forces to economic globalization, in particular reassertions of "traditional" identities, labor movements, new social movements, and the global democracy movement.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3230: Education and Social Inequalities
Examination of the ways in which inequalities are constructed, reproduced, maintained or transformed by and within educational institutions. Particular attention will be given to inequalities based on gender, race, and social class.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3255: Youth in Today's World
Study of what factors influence the development of youth in today's society. Examined are types of behavior such as mating, deviance and the role of schools, parents, TV and friendship groups.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3300: Queer Theories/Identities
(same as WGST 3300). Analysis of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and queer identities in culture and society with an emphasis on the contributions of queer theory and other GLBT standpoint theories to sociology and the study of society.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: SOCIOL 2200
SOCIOL 3300H: Queer Theories/Identities - Honors
(same as WGST 3300). Analysis of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and queer identities in culture and society with an emphasis on the contributions of queer theory and other GLBT standpoint theories to sociology and the study of society.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Honors eligibility required
Recommended: SOCIOL 2200
SOCIOL 3300W: Queer Theories/Identities - Writing Intensive
(same as WGST 3300). Analysis of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and queer identities in culture and society with an emphasis on the contributions of queer theory and other GLBT standpoint theories to sociology and the study of society.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: SOCIOL 2200
SOCIOL 3310: Social Psychology
Survey of theories and research concerned with the ways in which individuals construct social situations and are affected by them. Topics covered include self-identities, social influence, personal relationships, prejudice and discrimination.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3310W: Social Psychology - Writing Intensive
Survey of theories and research concerned with the ways in which individuals construct social situations and are affected by them. Topics covered include self-identities, social influence, personal relationships, prejudice and discrimination.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3320: Sociology of Gender
(same as WGST 3320). Study of the ways in which femininities and masculinities are constructed in American society with particular attention to gender ideologies and the gendered nature of the social structure.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3320W: Sociology of Gender - Writing Intensive
(same as WGST 3320W). Study of the ways in which femininities and masculinities are constructed in American society with particular attention to gender ideologies and the gendered nature of the social structure.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3330: Environmental Justice
(same as PEA_ST 3330). Environmental justice refers to the ways in which the "cost and benefits" of modern industrial society are distributed among social groups. This course is concerned with justice, not as an abstract concept, and inequality not in terms of numbers in a bank account. Social justice or inequality are lived, embodied experiences. An individual's likelihood of experiencing environmental harm is related to intersecting gender, race and class formations, among other things. Justice or inequality is not only embodied, it also happens in places--national and regional differences matter. In this course we will look at some of the extensive literature documenting the ways in which communities of color and poor communities are subject to disproportionate environmental risks. In addition, we will focus on gender as an important category in understanding environmental inequality.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3400: Fake News and Media Politics
(same as PEA_ST 3400). In this course we study the political impact of the growing concentration of media ownership in the U.S. We develop critical thinking skills to identify "fake news," and types of media bias to compare U.S. media coverage of current issues with media in other parts of the world.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3400W: Fake News and Media Politics - Writing Intensive
(same as PEA_ST 3400). In this course we study the political impact of the growing concentration of media ownership in the U.S. We develop critical thinking skills to identify "fake news," and types of media bias to compare U.S. media coverage of current issues with media in other parts of the world.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3420: The Family
Families, kin and households as interacting groups; roles, socialization, problems, structural change; family in relation to other social institutions; historical, cultural and class variations.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3420W: The Family - Writing Intensive
Families, kin and households as interacting groups; roles, socialization, problems, structural change; family in relation to other social institutions; historical, cultural and class variations.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3430: The Sociology of Sport
The role of sport in modern society. Includes violence in sport; politics and economics of sport; male, female, and racial inequalities; and international comparisons of sport structures.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3440: Sociology of Health
A survey of sociological thinking and research on health, health problems, health occupations and health services. How these are shaped by the society. Problems faced by individuals and the system. Potential solutions to problems.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3450: The Sociology of Religion
Sociology of religious experience, action, organization, movements and social change; contemporary trends, including mainline and new religions, civil religion, secularization.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3460: Technology and Society
In the last few decades science and technology have permeated our lives as never before. This has led to wide ranging intellectual debates and social movements in and around the issue of relationship between science, technology, and society. This course, which is organized on a lecture-seminar format, will critically investigate different aspects of the relationship between science, technology, and society. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3460HW: Technology and Society - Honors/Writing Intensive
In the last few decades science and technology have permeated our lives as never before. This has led to wide ranging intellectual debates and social movements in and around the issue of relationship between science, technology, and society. This course, which is organized on a lecture-seminar format, will critically investigate different aspects of the relationship between science, technology, and society. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Honors eligibility required
SOCIOL 3460W: Technology and Society - Writing Intensive
In the last few decades science and technology have permeated our lives as never before. This has led to wide ranging intellectual debates and social movements in and around the issue of relationship between science, technology, and society. This course, which is organized on a lecture-seminar format, will critically investigate different aspects of the relationship between science, technology, and society. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3520: Collective Behavior
(same as PEA_ST 3520). Analysis of crowd behavior and related phenomena: rumors, disasters, fashions. Social responses to unclear, dangerous or unjust conditions. The dynamics of conflict, consensus and change.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3520W: Collective Behavior - Writing Intensive
(same as PEA_ST 3520). Analysis of crowd behavior and related phenomena: rumors, disasters, fashions. Social responses to unclear, dangerous or unjust conditions. The dynamics of conflict, consensus and change.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3522: New Media, Conflict and Control
(same as PEA_ST 3522). This course will explore the increasing role of new media tools in conflict and surveillance. Examples from recent conflicts will illustrate how citizens and regimes use new media to communicate, report, mobilize, monitor, and/or control. Students will utilize new media as they research instances of democracy and control.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3600: Criminology
(same as PEA_ST 3600). Sociology of law; constitutional, psychological, sociological theories of criminal behavior; process of criminal justice; treatment of corrections; control of crime.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3700: Institutions and Society
Institutions of societies with focus on institutional arrangements (economy, polity, media, education, religion); organizational structures; interorganizational networks; interrelations of institutional sectors.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3710: The Sociology of Work
Analysis of occupational, professional aspects of American society. Division of labor; occupational mobility; work and the self; colleagueship and informal organizations of work.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 1000 or SOCIOL 1650
SOCIOL 3710W: Work in the 21st Century - Writing Intensive
Analysis of occupational, professional aspects of American society. Division of labor; occupational mobility; work and the self; colleagueship and informal organizations of work.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 3720: Settler Colonialism and Native American/Indigenous Communities
This course focuses on the concepts of "colonization" and specifically "settler colonialism" as the increasingly prominent foci of discussions of social inequality and diversity. The course offers a generative examination of contemporary Native American/Indigenous communities through the lens of settler colonialism, and the relationship between these structures and communities and students' own lives, interests, and careers.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: SOCIOL 1000
SOCIOL 3942: Service Learning in Sociology
The service learning course combines an independent study with a faculty member with practical experience in a related non-profit or other worksite.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: instructor's consent
SOCIOL 3950: Social Research
Introduction to principles of methodology; theory and research; survey of basic research designs and perspectives; preparation for understanding and conducting social research.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Required for Sociology majors
SOCIOL 3950W: Social Research I - Writing Intensive
Introduction to principles of methodology; theory and research; survey of basic research designs and perspectives; preparation for understanding and conducting social research.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Required for Sociology majors
SOCIOL 4104: Topics in Sociology-Social Science
Organized study of selected topics. Particular topics may vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit with departmental consent.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 4210: Aging and the Life Course
Course will take a life course perspective on the sociological aspects of aging in contemporary American society. Begins with birth, then childhood, adolescence, emergent adulthood, middle life, old age, and death. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Junior standing or above
Recommended: At least three credits in Sociology prior to enrollment is preferred
SOCIOL 4220: Race and Ethnic Relations
The experience of racial and ethnic minorities; inequality, assimilation, ethnic and racial conflict, accommodation.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: junior standing or instructor's consent
SOCIOL 4230: Women, Development, and Globalization
(same as BL_STU 4230 and WGST 4230 and PEA_ST 4230; cross-leveled with BL_STU 4230. WGST 4230 and SOCIOL 7230). Examines the history and structure of "development" discourse and practices. Stresses the interconnections and impact on women globally. Reviews women's strategies in defining and instituting programs to improve quality of life in communities.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 4240: Gender and Violence
This course draws from sociological theories to examine the ways that gender, sex, and violence intersect. Students will gain a better understanding of the rates, contexts, and causes of violence against women and examine how violence varies across community and place. This may include violence against LGBTQ communities; ways in which gender, race, age, and social class combine to explain gendered violence; perspectives on sex work and human trafficking; gendered violence on college campuses; and new research on digital media, masculinities, and violence against women. Finally, we will discuss methods of violence prevention and intervention, including sexual consent education, (in)formal institutional- and state-level policies, policing, and restorative justice. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 4315: Social Demography
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7315). General demographic theories; age, sex, and ethnic composition of population; fertility, mortality and migration as components of population change; social, economic and political implications of demographic trends.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 1000 or RU_SOC 1000 and junior standing
SOCIOL 4320: Culture, Identity and Interaction
Examines the interplay between culture, identity, and interaction as these intersect with issues of social inequality, social control, social change, and the everyday production of subjectivities.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3310 graduate standing or instructor's consent
SOCIOL 4335: Social Change and Development
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7335). Nature of social change and development. Emphasizes sociological theories of social change and development contrasting them with approaches from the disciplines.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: RU_SOC 1000 or SOCIOL 1000 and junior standing
SOCIOL 4370: Society, Environment and Natural Resources
(same as NAT_R 4370, ABM 4370; cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7370, NAT_R 7370, AAE 7370). An interdisciplinary examination of environmental and natural resource issues focusing on social, cultural, and policy dimensions. Diverse perspectives on human-nature interactions in domestic and international settings are included.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: ABM 1120, NAT_R 1120 or SOCIOL 1120
SOCIOL 4410: Sociology of Education
(same as ED_LPA 4458; cross-leveled with ED_LPA 7458 and SOCIOL 7410). Contexts, structures and processes of schooling; effects on class, race, ethnicity and gender; social change, educational policy, and organizational dynamics; higher education and the economy.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 1000 or equivalent
SOCIOL 4425: Sociology of Food
This course focuses on how society affects food production and consumption patterns and views of nutrition. Examples of topics covered: food and the environment, food choices and culture, class and personal identity, the effects of social stigmas, advertising trends, food and agricultural policy, body image, and new social movements for sustainable food systems.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: ENGLSH 1000 and junior or senior standing or instructor's permission
SOCIOL 4425HW: Sociology of Food - Honors/Writing Intensive
This course focuses on how society affects food production and consumption patterns and views of nutrition. Examples of topics covered: food and the environment, food choices and culture, class and personal identity, the effects of social stigmas, advertising trends, food and agricultural policy, body image, and new social movements for sustainable food systems.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Honors eligibility required
Recommended: ENGLSH 1000 and junior or senior standing or instructor's permission
SOCIOL 4425W: Sociology of Food - Writing Intensive
This course focuses on how society affects food production and consumption patterns and views of nutrition. Examples of topics covered: food and the environment, food choices and culture, class and personal identity, the effects of social stigmas, advertising trends, food and agricultural policy, body image, and new social movements for sustainable food systems.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: ENGLSH 1000 and junior or senior standing or instructor's permission
SOCIOL 4450: Research Practicum in Health, Place, and Community
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7450). This course is a research practicum with a substantive focus on health, place, and community. The course combines lecture and field work outside the classroom. Students take part in real-world research projects with local organizations, government agencies, and/or businesses. Projects are based on the needs of participating organizations and will be conducted using a variety of research methodologies. Students will engage in data analysis, write research reports for community partners, and present findings as applicable. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 2950, SOCIOL 3950, or equivalent. Junior or senior standing
SOCIOL 4500: Sociology of Social Policy
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7500). Sociological theories and methodologies focused on social policy; policy as process; contextual and critical policy analyses; assessing policy effects and consequences.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: senior standing
SOCIOL 4510: Social Movements and Conflicts
Survey of approaches and research on social movements and social change. Historical and contemporary social movements in the U.S.; collective protest and violence; political revolutions. MA core course.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3520, SOCIOL 3700, or SOCIOL 3320 or graduate standing
SOCIOL 4520: Political Sociology
(same as PEA_ST 4520). Social bases of power and politics, economic and political elites, the political economy of the advanced societies, sources of political conflict and change.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3200, SOCIOL 3510, SOCIOL 3520, or SOCIOL 3700
SOCIOL 4545: Sociology of Immigration
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7545). This course will cover both classic and contemporary research on immigration within US sociology. Major topics of concern will be how immigration intersects with issues of law, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, social mobility, education, employment, politics, urban studies, marriage and family, health, and social networks. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 4550: Gender and Human Rights in Cross Cultural Perspective
(same as WGST 4550 and PEA_ST 4550; cross-leveled with WGST 7550, SOCIOL 7550, PEA_ST 7550). This course focuses on the global discourse on human rights and gender, emphasizing cross-cultural theories. Course includes the meaning of rights, Western and non-western perspectives, feminist contributions, important substantive debates, violations, policymaking and activism.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: WGST 1120 or SOCIOL 2200; senior standing required
SOCIOL 4610: Society and Social Control
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 7610). The concept of social control is analyzed from both micro and macro theoretical perspectives. Focus is on patterns of social domination.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3700 or SOCIOL 3710
SOCIOL 4620: Drugs and Society
Course will examine the social, political, and economic aspects of legal and illegal drug use in American society. Issues include: theories of drug use, the social correlates of drug use, the war on drugs and policy alternatives, and the rise of the pharmaceuticals industry. Graded on A/F basis only
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 4630: Sociology of Mental Health
Course examines the social aspects of mental health and illness. Topics include: stress and mental health, medicalization of behavior, stigma and labeling, mental health care systems, social correlates of mental health (such as gender, childhood, work status, and social support).
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: 1000 level sociology course or 1000 level Psychology course
SOCIOL 4940: Internship in Sociology
Professional experience under faculty supervision. Project must be arranged by student and faculty member prior to registration.
Credit Hour: 1-9
Prerequisites: junior standing and instructor's consent
SOCIOL 4950: Research in Sociology
Students gain research experience by assisting a faculty member with a research project in sociology. Enrollment is limited to Sociology majors with Junior standing. Repeatable upon consent of the department.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: Instructor consent
SOCIOL 4960: Special Readings in Sociology
Extensive reading in selected area or special field.
Credit Hour: 1-99
Prerequisites: 12 hours Sociology and departmental consent
SOCIOL 4970: Senior Seminar
Integrates perspectives, methods, substantive foci of undergraduate courses. Analysis of sociology as a discipline and profession. Discussion of opportunities for graduate study, employment.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3950 and SOCIOL 3100 and senior sociology major
SOCIOL 4970W: Senior Seminar - Writing Intensive
Integrates perspectives, methods, substantive foci of undergraduate courses. Analysis of sociology as a discipline and profession. Discussion of opportunities for graduate study, employment.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3950 and SOCIOL 3100 and senior sociology major
SOCIOL 4995: Honors in Sociology
Intensive work in a selected field within sociology, including readings and research. Repeatable up to 6 hours with departmental consent.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: for honors candidates; SOCIOL 3950 and SOCIOL 3100
SOCIOL 7004: Topics in Sociology-Social Science
Organized study of selected topics. Subjects and earnable credit may vary from semester to semester. May be repeated with departmental consent.
Credit Hour: 1-99
Prerequisites: junior standing and instructor's consent
SOCIOL 7085: Problems in Sociology
Directed research not leading to thesis or dissertation.
Credit Hour: 1-99
Prerequisites: 12 hours Sociology and departmental consent
SOCIOL 7110: Feminist Research and Criticism
(same as WGST 7110). Examination of both feminist critiques of traditional social research and recent, feminist-oriented research that attempts to answer these criticisms.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7120: Social Statistics
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4120). Descriptive statistics and bivariate quantitative analysis techniques commonly used by social scientists. Includes coverage of parametric and non-parametric methods. Introduction to computer analysis.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3950
SOCIOL 7200: Social Inequalities
Examination of theories and research concerned with inequalities based on social class, gender, and race-ethnicity. M.A. core course for sociology students.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7230: Women, Development and Globalization
(same as WGST 7230 and BL_STU 7230; cross-leveled with BL_STU 4230, PEA_ST 4230, SOCIOL 4230, WGST 4230). Examines the history and structure of "development" discourse and practices. Stresses the interconnections and impact on women globally. Reviews women's strategies in defining and instituting programs to improve quality of life in communities.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7315: Social Demography
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4315). General demographic theories; age, sex, and ethnic composition of population; fertility, mortality and migration as components of population change; social, economic and political implications of demographic trends.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 1000 or RU_SOC 1000
SOCIOL 7320: Culture, Identity and Interaction
Examines the interplay between culture, identity, and interaction as these intersect with issues of social inequality, social control, social change, and the everyday production of subjectives.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3310
SOCIOL 7335: Social Change and Development
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4355). Nature of social change and development. Emphasizes sociological theories of social change and development contrasting them with approaches from the disciplines.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: RU_SOC 1000 or SOCIOL 1000
SOCIOL 7340: Self, Language, and Social Life
Examines the interplay between self, language, and social life. Particular attention is paid to how the everyday construction of inner lives relates to diverse social worlds. The effects of situational and institutional conditions as they shape identity and social interactions are important considerations.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7370: Society, Environment and Natural Resources
(same as NAT_R 7370, AAE 7370; cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4370, NAT_R 4370, ABM 4370). An interdisciplinary examination of environmental and natural resource issues focusing on social, cultural, and policy dimensions. Diverse perspectives on human-nature interactions in domestic and international settings are included.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7410: Sociology of Education
(same as ED_LPA 7458; cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4410, ED_LPA 4458). Contexts, structures and processes of schooling; effects on class, race, ethnicity and gender; social change, educational policy, and organizational dynamics; higher education and the economy.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7450: Research Practicum in Health, Place, and Community
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4450). This course is a research practicum with a substantive focus on health, place, and community. The course combines lecture and field work outside the classroom. Students take part in real-world research projects with local organizations, government agencies, and/or businesses. Projects are based on the needs of participating organizations and will be conducted using a variety of research methodologies. Students will engage in data analysis, write research reports for community partners, and present findings as applicable. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 2950, SOCIOL 3950, or equivalent
SOCIOL 7500: Sociology of Social Policy
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4500). Sociological theories and methodologies focused on social policy; policy as process; contextual and critical policy analyses; assessing policy effects and consequences.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7510: Social Movements and Conflicts
Survey of approaches and research on social movements and social change. Historical and contemporary social movements in the U.S.; collective protest and violence; political revolutions.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7520: Political Sociology: Power and Inequalities
Focus on Power Relations, Inequalities, and Institutions. The intersections of power with the inequalities of race, ethnicity, gender, place, and economic class in global context. Application to issues of public policy and democratic decision-making and culture. Graduate students from other departments are welcome to enroll through MyZou.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7545: Sociology of Immigration
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4545). This course will cover both classic and contemporary research on immigration within US sociology. Major topics of concern will be how immigration intersects with issues of law, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, social mobility, education, employment, politics, urban studies, marriage and family, health, and social networks. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7550: Gender and Human Rights in Cross Cultural Perspective
(same as PEA_ST 7550 and WGST 7550; cross-leveled with WGST 4550, SOCIOL 4550, PEA_ST 4550).. Focuses on the global discourse on human rights and gender, emphasizing cross-cultural theories. Course includes the meaning of human rights, western and non-western perspectives, feminist contributions, important substantive debates, violations, policymaking and activism.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 7610: Society and Social Control
(cross-leveled with SOCIOL 4610). The concept of social control is analyzed from both micro and macro theoretical perspectives. Focus is on patterns of social domination.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3700 or SOCIOL 3710
SOCIOL 7960: Special Readings in Sociology for the Graduate Level
Extensive reading in selected area or special field. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hour: 1-99
Prerequisites: instructor's consent
SOCIOL 8086: Teaching Sociology
This graduate seminar will cover current issues in higher education, building a teaching portfolio, the daily work of teaching, and work/life balance in academia. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 8087: Critical Race Theory
Critical examination of key sociological theories of race, racialization, and racism in contemporary society.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 8100: Theoretical Thinking in Sociology
Close analysis of the texts of classical and contemporary social theory. Key concepts will be elaborated in the context of intellectual history, and will be applied to deepening the theoretical significance of an empirical research question on the student's emerging agenda. Required for all entering graduate students in Sociology.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 8110: Research in Sociology
Research not expected to terminate in thesis or dissertation.
Credit Hour: 1-6
Prerequisites: instructor's consent
SOCIOL 8120: The Logic of Social Research
Meta-theoretical and conceptual issues at the core of design decision making, questionnaire construction, qualitative field techniques, interviewing, scaling, panel analysis, computer applications to qualitative data; experimental, survey and case study designs, ethics. Required for Ph.D. students.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 8130: Advanced Social Statistics
Introduction to multivariate analysis for social scientists. Emphasis on non-experimental applications of analysis of variance and correlation-regression. Computer applications emphasized.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 7120 or equivalent
SOCIOL 8140: Seminar in Population Health
Graduate Seminar on the social distribution of morbidity and mortality. Covers major theoretical perspectives and the state of empirical evidence regarding several individuals and contextual explanations of health disparities. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: instructor permission
SOCIOL 8187: Seminar on Interview Theory and Technique
The seminar has three goals: First is the consideration of literature dealing with recent theoretical formulations of the interview. This will provide a basis, second, for critically examining a number of popular interview guidebooks. The third goal is to offer the opportunity to put theory and technique into practice by analyzing selected interview material.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: doctoral standing
SOCIOL 8250: Media and Power in Comparative Perspective Seminar
This course traces the historical development of U.S. and selected international media systems. We analyze and debate the relationship of differing media systems to political power, popular culture, and the facilitation or inhibition of democratic practices. Students do comparative analyses of international media institutions and related analyzes of media content.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: undergraduate seniors may enroll with instructor's consent
SOCIOL 8277: Race, Ethnicity, and Transnational Inequalities
(same as BL_STU 8277). This graduate seminar examines the global contest of our radicalized modern world system. How do people develop and give meaning to race/ethnicity in different regions? Focus on the construction of bodies Creole identities, gender, sexualities, citizenships and immigration. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 8287: Seminar on Sustainable Development
(same as NAT_R 8287, AAE 8287). An interdisciplinary examination of sustainable development focusing on social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of development. Theoretical and methodological approaches to sustainable development (systematic review and meta-analysis) as well as international and domestic issues are included. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
Recommended: AAE 7370/SOCIOL 7370
SOCIOL 8387: Seminar on Narrative and Identity
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: graduate standing required; instructor's consent required
SOCIOL 8435: Graduate Seminar in Medicine, Technology, and Globalization
In the last two hundred years medicine and technology have transformed our day-to-day living as never before. They have permeated our social and personal imagination, our epistemological bearing, disciplinary practices, and not to forget national and global agendas. A key aspect of such transformations, which we are going to investigate in this course, has been the intertwining of medicine and technology in a variety of ways, resulting in wide ranging impact - from the emergence of medical gaze, transformation of healthcare practices, to present day transnationalization and globalization of medical practices. This course would utilize recent theoretical developments to interrogate different interrelated facets of medicine, technology, and globalization. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 8687: Seminar in Criminology and Deviant Behavior
Survey of empirical research and sociological theory in criminology and deviant behavior. May be repeated once with instructor's consent.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 3600
SOCIOL 9090: Research
Advanced work leading to thesis or dissertation. Graded on a S/U basis only.
Credit Hour: 1-99
Prerequisites: consent of major advisor
SOCIOL 9187: Seminar in Sociological Theory I
Traces development of sociological theory from the "generation of 1890" through the 1940s, including the work of Durkheim, Weber, Parsons and others.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 8100 or equivalent
SOCIOL 9287: Seminar in Qualitative Methods in Sociology
Examination of various qualitative methods of research, including problem-formulation, access and interpretation of data, theory-generation, and preparation of research reports.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 8120 and instructor's consent
SOCIOL 9288: Ethnographic Fieldwork
History of sociological ethnography, the analysis of key ethnographic texts, forms of ethnographic fieldwork, and recent debates related to representational practices. Applications to participant observation, field interviewing, and strategies of discourse analysis in various social settings.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 9287, instructor's consent
SOCIOL 9350: Graduate Seminar in Environmental Discourses
This seminar explores human cultural interactions with nature: how we understand ourselves in relation to space, how we interact with and learn about nature, and how we use nature. Readings will include exemplary texts from sociology, geography and anthropology, science studies and cultural studies. Graduate Standing required.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 9487: Seminar in Sociological Theory II
Theoretical developments in sociology in Europe and United States since 1950. Recent formulations, controversies.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 8100 or equivalent
SOCIOL 9525: Culture, Difference, and Inequality
This course is an examination of exemplary, interdisciplinary texts employing a variety of cultural approaches to understanding difference and inequality. In this seminar, we will think about what is gained from various cultural approaches to difference and inequality, now such approaches can be achieved methodologically, and how students can apply such approaches to their own research. The main focus of the course is on cultural studies and poststructural feminist studies, but readings will also be included from intersectionality studies, affect studies, critical race studies and cultural sociology.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: restricted to Sociology graduate students or instructor permission
SOCIOL 9687: Topical Seminar in Historical Sociology
Methodological approaches to sociological explanation of historical phenomena; related sociological theories of historical development, including Weberian, Marxist and other perspectives applied to a topical historical problem.
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: SOCIOL 8100 or equivalent
SOCIOL 9777: Graduate Seminar in Body and Society
The course is organized around three major themes - body as a site of personal and political experience; the social body, emphasizing the relationship between society, culture, and individuals; and the body as a site and instrument of politics. Readings assigned for the course are aimed at critical engagement with the "body: within and across these themes. Graded on A-F basis only.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 9887: Seminar in Sociology of Gender
Analysis of recent research in which gender is a major focus. This research is chosen to exemplify a variety of theoretical perspectives, research strategies, and substantive topics.
Credit Hours: 3
SOCIOL 9920: Independent Readings in Preparation f/Comprehensive Examinations
Independent readings for PhD comprehensives. Open only to PhD candidates who have passed qualifying examinations.
Credit Hour: 1-6
Prerequisites: consent of major advisor