Sociology

This course offers an overview of the discipline of Sociology from a global perspective, focusing particularly on cross-cultural examples of social, economic and political relationships. It explores how social forces impact the structure of society and its social institutions as well as cultural patterns, crime, groups, personality, and human interactions.

This course will primarily study the diversity of love, marriage and families across cultures and over time from a Sociological perspective. Using a multinational and multicultural approach, the course will examine intimate relationships in Western and non-Western cultures on global, national and regional levels in order to appreciate diverse cultures and learn that an understanding of human relationships requires sensitivity to the role of culture and socio-economic context. As such, special emphasis will be placed on topics related to: love, forming relationships, mate selection, dating, marriage, non-marital lifestyles, divorce, remarriage and families over time. The course will also examine love and marriage in contemporary American society and the intersection of marriages and families with other social institutions such as politics, religion, race, class, and gender in shaping personal and family experiences.

This course is an introduction to how sociologists generate knowledge. Students will be introduced to the most common methods of sociological research including survey, experimental, field, and content analytical methods. Philosophical, theoretical, and ethical issues that support sociological practice, as well as the more technical aspects of the research craft including measurement and sampling will be considered. Students will be provided with ample opportunities to engage in hands-on activities designed to acquaint them with the challenges of carrying out social science research. This course also serves to prepare students for both the Senior Seminar and the Department’s quantitative data analysis course.

A comparative approach to race and ethnic relations in the United States. The course compares and contrasts the experiences of multiple racial and ethnic groups. Special attention is paid to issues of privilege and power and the underlying historical and contemporary symbolic and structural factors affecting both intra and inter-group interactions.