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This Introductory course presents concepts, theories, and research in sociology. Intersections of identity and privilege are considered alongside relationships and the social construction of race, class, gender, and other forms of identity. Group organization and collective action are also presented in the course to explain human behavior and social change.

Social theory presents opportunities to rethink and reform cultural, social, and political societal assumptions with the goal of promoting liberation for all people and exposing oppression in its many forms. Key critically minded contributors to social theory include economists, philosophers, psychologists, historians, activists, dramatists, essayists, poets, and novelists. Social theory, from a critical perspective, is accessible to everyone and seeks ways to understand social life and is crucial for helping people make sense of their daily lives and is essential to understanding new research, social practices, and institutions. With the long-term aim of helping us better understand our lives and world, students will study what theorists have to say about the social world. The course covers key areas such as Queer Theory, Crip Theory, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and other areas of inquiry that seek to engage a multidisciplinary perspective with the goal of advancing emancipatory knowledge.

The course considers issues of identity, social inequality, and discrimination in society. The focus is on identities such as race and ethnicity, sex and gender, social class, culture, age, and ability, as well as the intersection between them. The focus is on these social categories as both elements of personal identity and sources of social inequality.

This course examines the major theoretical and conceptual explanations for social problems in modern society. Students will be introduced to a variety of current social problems in the United States and around the world, and will consider and suggest potential social action through the use of foundational sociological tools such as research, social theory and understanding of inequality and identity groups. The focus of the course is twofold: the critical analysis of the causes and consequences of these social problems from a sociological framework; and the considered social action through community action, using sociological tools.

The course focuses on social stereotypes and prejudice against the aged, discrimination, friends and family, care giving, living environments, demography, senior political power, legislation, elder abuse, and death and dying.

This course is an introduction to gender and sexuality studies from a sociological perspective. Its primary focus is critical perspectives on the social construction of gender and sexuality, inequalities on the basis of gender and sexuality, activism around issues of gender and sexuality, and how gender and sexuality shape and are shaped by other systems of inequality such as race, ethnicity, class, culture, and age. Also covered are key sociological discourses in the areas of feminism, masculinities, and queer theory.

This course examines key sociological perspectives, concepts, and current research related to race and ethnicity. Its primary focus includes the social construction of race and ethnicity, patterns of inequalities and discrimination on the basis race and ethnicity, and the ways in which key social institutions impact and are impacted by race and ethnicity. Also covered are current issues related to immigration, inter-group relations, and how race and ethnicity are shaped by other systems of inequality such as gender, class, nationality, and culture.

This course provides students with foundational information related to biological, psychological, and social (biopsychosocial) determinants of health. The course explores micro-, meso-, and macro-level domains that are grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model of Human Development. In addition, underlying causes of health disparities are explored.

This course examines quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods and associated data interpretation within the context of research, policy and practice within the social sciences. This course also examines the relationship between research, policy and/or theory. Students will examine types of data, measurement scales, hypotheses, sampling, probability, and varied research designs for research in the social sciences and related disciplines.

This course engages applied and public sociological frameworks to train students to work toward social change in their communities and society. The course helps students identify how social forces in everyday life impact the lives of individuals, groups, communities, and societies and what part they may play in those forces through social institutions to which they belong. By engaging in sociology, students will recognize issues of stratification and discrimination related to gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, and other social identities and discover ways these identities intersect. The course will also review a sampling of career opportunities in applied sociology, such as journalism and media, nonprofit work, health and human services, marketing, government, demography, social research, and others. Prerequisites: SOC101, SOC333, and SOC301 or ANT340, ANT351, ANT353 and ANT 340. This course is not available for non-degree seeking students.