Sociology (SOC)

An analysis of the basic structure and dynamics of society; social interaction, social organization, social change, social processes; a summary of ideas of seminal sociologists. This course is a prerequisite for all Sociology courses and for CJ-2010.

The course analyzes the history and current realities of racial, ethnic, and religious groups in the U.S., including the extent to which racial, ethnic, and religious identity determine and impact life changes. Issues related to sexual and gender minorities are also addressed.

An inquiry into the nature of social problems, both causes and consequences, within a complex industrial society, from a sociological perspective. Special emphasis is given to problems of contemporary American society and current events.

The course will explore the study of crime causation, primarily from a sociological perspective. The student will be introduced to theories that explain the nature, extent, patterns and control of criminal and delinquent behavior in contemporary society.

In recent decades, many developed high-income countries have been affected by an increased influx of immigrants who are racially, ethnically and religiously distinct from the native groups. The resulting heterogeneity of the population induces ethnically based political movements, rekindles ethnic loyalties, outbreaks of anti-immigrant political movements, and intergroup tensions and hostilities. This course examines the range of questions pertaining to migration issues from historical and cross-cultural perspectives. It focuses on the differences between the late 19th century and mid-20thcentury international migration and examines contemporary global migration trends with their emphasis on visas, walls, and deportation. The comparative perspective of this course provides students with a sharper insight into the migration problems in the USA. Prerequisite: SOC 1000

Designed to introduce students to the field of Social Work, this course deals with the history and philsophy of Social Work; analyzes the three major areas of Social Work-- case work, group work, and community organization; describes the major programs for special client groups: families, children, the elderly, the mentally ill, the handicapped, etc. Students are also introduced to the field of counseling and different therapeutic strategies.

This course focuses on the crimmigration (defined as the intersection of criminal law with immigration law) and its articulation in the current political environment. What led to the intertwining of the U.S. criminal law and immigration (systems that used to be almost entirely separate in the past)? Why do we have more immigration law enforcement agents than ever in the U.S. history? Why are there more than 600 immigration detention centers across the country? These are some of the questions students address in this course, while exploring the history of immigrants' demonization, enactment of harsh anti-immigrant laws, and how present-day political rhetoric fits into the crimmigration framework.

This course focuses on the crimmigration (defined as the intersection of criminal law with immigration law) and its articulation in the current political environment. What led to the intertwining of the U.S. criminal law and immigration (systems that used to be almost entirely separate in the past)? Why do we have more immigration law enforcement agents than ever in U.S. history? Why are there more than 600 immigration detention centers across the country? These are some of the questions students address in this course while exploring the history of immigrants' demonization, enactment of harsh anti-immigrant laws, and how present-day political rhetoric fits into the crimmigration framework

Cross-listed with: ICS-3370. An inquiry into the concept of culture as applied to both simple and complex societies; the ethnology of pre-literate peoples with emphasis on social, economic, and political organization.

New York, also called The Big Apple and The City That Never Sleeps, is a large ethnically and culturally diverse immigrant metropolis, well known for its pro-immigrant political culture and its status as a sanctuary city. Its long-lasting immigrant tradition has been boosted by the arrival of brand-new immigrants who arrive in the city in remarkable numbers, replenishing the old immigrant groups. This course examines the history of immigration to NYC with an emphasis on the economic and political factors stimulating current immigration. Students are introduced to micro and macro levels of analysis of New York City's population growth. They explore how the city has been affected by the cultural diversity of newly arrived immigrants and how relocation to the city affects their life chances. At the end of the course, students do ethnographic research in a neighboring ethnic enclave to gain a better insight into the cultural mosaic of New York.

Primary and secondary communication systems; language in socialization, social organiztion, and social control; theories of communication; modern mass communication media; structure, content, and effects.

Traces the development of rights of the child in relation to parental rights; explores the methods of care of dependent and neglected children in their own homes, foster homes, and institutions; reviews the adoption process and the social trends toward integration in family and child care.

The course analyzes the history and current realities of racial, ethnic, and religious groups in the U.S., including the extent to which racial, ethnic, and religious identity determine and impact life changes. Issues related to sexual and gender minorities are also addressed.

This seminar course applies theories of conflict resolution to case studies of interpersonal and intergroup conflicts; surveys major traditions of non-violence, and studies approaches to conflict resolution, with an emphasis on methods of mediation.

In order to combat human trafficking, students must become articulate in the discourse, problem, the origins, the means, policy and the economics of trafficking. This course will explore how gender, human rights, and altruism influence human trafficking debates and how policy outcomes impact global human trafficking around the world.

The structure and functions of the family; comparison of families in primitive and industrial societies in order to demonstrate the nature of problems associated with institutional change and civilization processes.

A systematic survey of the growth of sociological theory; a study of influential individuals and representative schools from Auguste Comte to the present day.

This course examines theoretical perspectives on religion and its reciprocal relationship to society. We will discuss religion from a macro-sociological perspective as a social institution and as a cultural system. We will also discuss definitions, functions, variation and linkages across history and across groups in collective religious experience. Thus students will be able to identify patterns of religious forms as these relate to types of societies and the phenomenon of modernization, as well as key issues of gender, ethnicity, class and politics.

The course covers all types of organizations: business, government, social welfare, education, medicine, voluntary, etc.; examines how structure contributes to processes such as power and conflict, leadership and decision-making, communication and change, etc.; shows how organizations interact with each other and with society in general.

Cross-listed with: ICS-3050. The societies of the English-, French-, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean are the outcome of mass movements of population through slavery, indenture, and migration. This course examines important aspects of the complex cultural variants that have resulted against the background of the economic, social, and political forces that produced them: Cultural communities from Africa and Europe, patterns of race and ethnic relations, forms of cultural expression, the family, and class structures. Another focus is on issues which form contemporary Caribbean society, such as the impact of tourism, poverty, emigration, links with America and Europe, problems of ethnic and racial identity, and pressures on women and the family. Students develop an appreciation of Caribbean Culture, of the challenges facing Caribbean societies, and the cultural resources available to meet them.

This course emphasizes the social, political, cultural and historical aspects of the law, rather than studying the law through legal doctrines, statutes or opinions. This course also enables students to understand how the law is informed by social change and inequality. How the law seeks to achieve objectives such as compliance, deterrence and social control is evaluated and analyzed too.

Cross-listed with: ENG-3130. This course is designed as an introduction to representations of crime and justice in contemporary American fiction. The course will focus on constructions of crime and justice in literature, comic books, and film. The course is interdisciplinary, providing students with multiple perspectives on crime and criminality and explores ways of critically analyzing and interpreting media images.

Cross-listed with: HIS-3196. This course is designed as an intensive study of the politics, culture, and social movements of the 1960s. In addition to learning about the historical events of the decade, students will be also exposed to the transformative cultural, artistic, and social movements of the period. The course will begin with an exploration of the 1950s as prelude including the early civil rights movements. It will then move onto the Kennedy administration, Freedom Summer, the legislative and policy initiatives of the Great Society, an analysis of the social movements and culture of the second half of the decade, with particular focus on the anti-war, feminist, and Black power movements, and concluding with an assessment of the cultural changes initiated by the counter-cultural youth movements.

This course reviews changing gender roles, gender differences, sexuality, kinship systems, gender- typed status hierachies, cultural perception of the nature of men and women, biological differences, and socilization and parenting practices across cultures. Special emphasis will be placed on multidisplinary approaches, in-depth investigation of gender roles in specific societies, and the value of a global perspective on gender roles.

The course will explore specific, identified topics in the discipline of sociology. The subject matter will be selected by the instructor prior to registration, with approval of the department chairperson. Students may be granted credit for multiple sections of SOC-4000, providing the topic differs.

The Special Topics course explores specific topics in the discipline of sociology selected by the instructor with approval of the department chairperson. The topic of study in this semester is pre-Lenten and other seasonal festivals in Europe and the Americas. The format of the course is a combination of traditional lecture and performance series.

Special topics course

Special topics course

Social welfare policy drives the social programs created to address social problems. Prevailing values determine which social policies are created. This course will provide an overview of social welfare policy and look at its role in social work practice. Exploring the historical context from which social welfare policy emerged will allow us to identify events that have influenced contemporary social welfare policy and review the economic and political influences as well. With an understanding of the historical, economic and political factors, students will study the tools used to analyze social policy, the process of determining need, and the steps in developing policy.

This course will explore the key social movements in U.S. history. The course will focus on the labor movement in the early 20th century and will end with attention on the rise of the Christian right during the last decade. This course will study why individuals come together and organize in ways that effectively challenge powerful social systems. We will study such movements as the civil rights movement, gay rights movement, environmental movement, and the Christian right movement.

The purpose of this course is to explore the interdisciplinary field of women's studies/feminist scholarship. We will address the origins and persistence of gender-based inequalities, and examine historical and current feminist critiques of American society and culture. The micro-level, day-to-day experiences of women will be a primary focus of this course. We will primarily focus on the experiences of American women; however, we will also consider international perspectives on women's experiences. Students should have an interest in understanding feminism and feminist critiques and also examining social data about the extent of gender disparities.

This course offers an opportunity to study the intersection of sociology, medicine and the law, relating to cross-cultural and comparative experiences arising out of advances in the medical field and medical technology. The course broadly examines the socio-medical aspects of emerging issues and the development of the culture of the medical community. Cases, laws, regulations and responses to culture and to the law are constructed and sometimes deconstructed to illustrate the medical profession and the doctor/patient relationship. The course is US based, but will cover some of the socio-medical issues presented by medical practice and medical ethics in a comparative context. The role expectation from a doctor, nurse or physical therapist is explored as are the political aspects of language in medicine. This course is suitable as an elective for sociology students, as also for pre-med, pre-dental, nursing, PT and OT students.

Special Topics courses explore specific topics in the discipline of sociology selected by the instructor with approval of the department chairperson. The topic of study in this term is Superstorm Sandy and its immediate impact on the social environment. A comparative assessment of recent disasters affecting the United States will be undertaken. The format of the course is a combination of workshop, research and discussion. Prerequisite: SOC 1000. 3 credits. Offered as needed.

This course focuses on post-war movements for social change in the United States. Co-taught by faculty in the history and sociology departments, this course analyzes the shift from traditional New Left movements for social change (civil rights, anti-war, and free speech) to movements focusing on identity (women's rights, Black Power, and gay liberation). This course will also explore recent non-traditional social movements, including battles for marriage equality, against police brutality, violence against women, and mass incarceration, and broadening definitions of sexual, racial, and ethnic identities.

This course introduces students to the methods and techniques of sociological research. We will explore the kinds of methods social research adopt, the contexts in which certain methods are used, and the benefits, drawbacks and ethical implications involved in different research methods. We will also engage in a critical perspective on quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques.

In this course, students will be instructed in the use of specific statistical measures; the rationales for their use; the limitations of statistical inference and the computation of data. Sociological data will be used throughout. Recommended pre-requisite: SOC-4210.

Students will intern at approved sites or organizations in the fields of law, social service, or criminal justice. They will have to complete 135 hours of work at the approved organization, and they will have to complete written assignments about the work completed as well as midterm and final paper about their experience. Approval of the department Chairperson is required.

Students will intern at approved sites or organizations in the field of social work. They will have to complete 135 hours of work at the approved organization, and they will have to complete written assignments about the work completed as well as midterm and final paper about their experience.

Students are expected to continue to work as interns in a social work-related site. Students will continue to participate in the classroom environment where they integrate their field work experience with their theoretical study.

Individual research or field work under the direction of a faculty member with the approval of the department chairman only.

A capstone seminar designed solely for senior Sociology majors to apply their acquired sociological knowledge to a senior thesis paper or comprehensive exam. This course requires weekly meetings and a formal presentation to the other students in the courses.

Cross-listed with: PSY-5010. This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of contemporary migration. The major focus is on the United States, with an international context. Migration is related to many central issues for contemporary society, such as international relations, the development of cities, urban politics, social policy, citizenship, and racial and ethnic identity.

The overall objective of this course is to explore how - and the extent to which - race and ethnicity link to social, cultural and economic realities on both the micro and macro level. Specifically, we will question the extent to which race and ethnicity continue to determine life chances in the United States.

Cross-listed with: ECO-5401. Islam has the second largest religious following and is the fastest growing religion in the world. The dawn of the 21st century finds an increasing polarization between modernization and Islam. This course will have a basis in historiography, with politics as a backdrop, within the context of social/cultural and economic understanding, it seeks to describe the phenomenon of contemporary Islam.

Cross-listed with: BIO-5310. The Human Genome was sequenced completely in 2002. This is a database that includes all of our genetic code. Not only did this research revolutionize science, it also inevitably impacted numerous spheres of our social life and continues to do so. In this course, we will learn about the human genome and the possibilities this knowledge generates for social consideration and social change. We will answer the following questions. Why do we want to study our genes? Who should have access to my genome? Who owns the genome? Should we be changing our genes? The areas of concern are: fairness in the use of genetic information; privacy and confidentiality; social consequences and stigmatization; reproductive issues; clinical issues uncertainties; ethical and legal concerns; conceptual and philosophical implications; health and environmental issues and the commercialization of gene products.

As an advanced level application of analytical tools in the discipline of sociology, this course investigates pre-Lenten and other seasonal festivals in Europe and the Americas. Using a sociological and interdisciplinary perspective, this course explores issues of gender, race, class, sexuality, culture and finance through text, film, guest lectures and a class excursion.

This course examines how cults and conspiracy theories have both emerged from and influenced life in the United States. Drawing on historical and sociological perspectives, this course offers insight into why individuals are drawn to fringe ideas and how specific historical, social, economic, and cultural contexts fuel particular sorts of cults and conspiracy theories. In exploring this topic, we will also build strong information literacy by examining how leaders and promoters of cults and conspiracy theories use disinformation, mistrust, and fear to build followings. Students will read articles, listen to podcasts, and view documentaries that offer insight into this wide and fascinating field of inquiry.