Course Descriptions

Definition of Prefixes

DEM — Demography
SYG — Sociology: General
SYA — Sociological Analysis
SYO — Social Organization
SYD — Demography and Area Studies

Undergraduate Courses

SYG 1000. Introductory Sociology (3). An introduction to the fundamentals of sociology, with a focus on the basic findings of empirical research studies in a wide range of areas traditionally examined by sociologists.

SYA 4010. Sociological Theory (3). This course introduces the student to the kind of theory which has developed in the field of sociology since its foundation, to the present. Major theoretical fields, major theorists, and dominant theoretical issues that continue to be relevant to the sociological approach to explanation are covered.

SYA 4300. Methods of Social Research (3). Broad coverage of research design, data collection, and data analysis. This is a required course for sociology majors.

SYA 4400. Social Statistics (3). This course involves the application of statistical techniques to sociological data as conducted in the research and writing of social scientists. As a course for majors, it represents an important part of the student’s methodological training with respect to the statistical analysis of data typically used by sociologists. The student is expected to carry out a number of exercises involving the statistical analysis of sociological data and to interpret the results.

SYA 4930. Sociology of Sport (3). Sport involves more than physical fitness and recreation; it is shaped by and affects other sectors of society, such as politics, education, the economy, and the media. Sports are impacted by and perpetuate social categories and processes such as race/ethnicity, gender, and class stratification, and social problems such as violence, drug use, and gambling. This class takes a sociological approach to sports by examining it as a social institution related to other social institutions, and that reflects and influences our thoughts about society.

SYO 3100. Family Problems and Social Change (3). This course has two emphases: social change (major historical transformations in society) and corresponding family changes. We seek to understand four broad historical "stages" in family life, culminating in the contemporary family, characterized by delayed marriage, low fertility, high divorce and remarriage rates, step-families, and increasing years spent single.

SYP 3000. Social Psychology of Groups (3). This course represents the study of social psychology from a sociological perspective. Specifically, it is an analysis of the influence of the groups and the individual on each other, including the study of norms, group pressure, leadership, motivation, and social personality.

SYP 3300. Collective Action and Social Movements (3). The course explores the origins and organization of social movements, the dilemmas and challenges facing social movements, the relationship between social movements and political institutions and the role of social movements in effecting social change.

SYD 3020. Population and Society (3). This course examines the causes and consequences of population change in the United States and the world with an assessment of the impact of demographic change on various social institutions.

SYP 3730. Aging and the Life Course (3). Americans will have to make important decisions regarding the consequences of population aging. This course explores how changing life course patterns have influenced retirement, health care, politics, and family structure. It also considers the policy choices that will have to be made in twenty-first century as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age.

SYD 3800. Sociology of Sex and Gender (3). This course provides a look at the sociological facets of gender and its effect in society.

SYD 4700. Race and Minority Group Relations (3). An introduction to sociological theories about dominant-subordinate relationships between groups. The social significance of minority status is emphasized. Concepts and theories are applied to the experiences of several nonwhite ethnic groups in the US, with special attention devoted to contemporary black-white relationships. The reemergence of white ethnicity is discussed in relation to the above.

SYG 2010. Social Problems (3). This course examines various contemporary social problems in an urbanized society, including such topics as education, the family, politics, the economy, race relations, drug use and alcoholism, overpopulation, and other issues.

SYO 4180. Gender and Work (3). This course is an introduction to the cultural and structural mechanisms that reproduce gendered outcomes in the workplace. It addresses occupational segregation, the wage gap, sex differences in promotions, unpaid family work, explanations of inequality, strategies for change and resistance to change, and the intersections of gender, race, and class.

SYO 4550. Comparative Sociology (3). This course deals with variations and patterns of development in individuals and social institutions across societies.

SYP 3400. Social Change (3). This course is concerned with the context, essential sources, dynamics, and consequences of social development, modernization, and societal change.

SYP 3730. Aging and Society (3). This course examines the social structure of age and age-related phenomena, with particular emphases on later stages of the life course and on recent changes of the situation of the elderly in industrial societies. Topics include work and retirement, minority-group and gender differences in old age, conditions affecting the social construction of age categories, and social policies concerning the elderly.

SYP 4570. Deviance and Social Control (3). This course focuses on major theories and research traditions, including structural and social psychological causes of deviant behavior, processes of labeling deviants, and social conflict over definition and treatment of deviance.

SYD 3600. The Community in Urban Society (3). An introduction to the community as a changing form of social organization with emphasis on community field studies (ethnographies), theories of communal organization, and the study of community-specific processes such as power distribution and decision making, conflict, stratification, and the dynamics of land-use change. Special attention is given to the study of the metropolitan community in US society and its inner city and suburbs.

SYO 3530. Social Classes and Inequality (3). Basic theory of social stratification is presented and used in description of the stratification system in the United States and other nations. Opportunity for social mobility in the social structure is assessed and compared with mobility rates in other countries.

SYO 4250. Sociology of Education (3). This course presents a sociological approach to the study of education as a social institution, its structure, functions, and role in contemporary life.

SYO 4300. Sociology of Politics (3). This course deals with American political institutions, political organizations, pressure groups, and the public’s participation in political processes. Discussion focuses on current political issues from a sociological perspective.

SYO 4350. Sociology of Business, Labor, and Government (3). The primary focus of this course is on the interrelationships among business and production organizations, labor interests and struggles, and the state and state policies, using various theoretical and historical perspectives. In addition to critical evaluation of conventional political-economic perspectives, the course will examine recent sociological work on the state, the labor movement, and industry.

SYO 4400. Sociology of Health Care (3). An introduction to the organizational, economic and political structures and problems of American health care. Also introduces several of the sociological approaches that examine these issues.

SYP 3540. Sociology of Law (3). This course examines the interrelationship between the legal order and the social order. Limitations of civil and criminal law for conflict management and for implementation of social policy are considered.

SYO 3200. Sociology of Religion (3). A basic sociological perspective on the social organization and forms of religious life in modern society. Religious groups are studied as organizations that contribute to social stability, social conflict, and social change.

SYA 4905r. Directed Individual Study (3). Consent of instructor and departmental chair required. May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours.

SYA 4930r. Selected Topics in Sociology (3). May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours.

SYA 4931r. Honors Work (3). May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours.

SYA 4932r. Tutorial in Sociology (1). Prerequisite: upper division sociology majors or minors only. Reading and analysis of primary literature on selected topics in contemporary sociology. May be repeated to a maximum of three (3) semester hours.

				Sociology Department Undergraduate Program



	Home News Undergrad - Requirements - Course Descriptions - Course Schedules - Advisement Sheet - Advisement Information - Tips for Seniors - Careers Grad Prospective Students People Department Contact			Course Descriptions Definition of Prefixes DEM — Demography SYG — Sociology: General SYA — Sociological Analysis SYO — Social Organization SYD — Demography and Area Studies Undergraduate Courses SYG 1000. Introductory Sociology (3). An introduction to the fundamentals of sociology, with a focus on the basic findings of empirical research studies in a wide range of areas traditionally examined by sociologists. SYA 4010. Sociological Theory (3). This course introduces the student to the kind of theory which has developed in the field of sociology since its foundation, to the present. Major theoretical fields, major theorists, and dominant theoretical issues that continue to be relevant to the sociological approach to explanation are covered. SYA 4300. Methods of Social Research (3). Broad coverage of research design, data collection, and data analysis. This is a required course for sociology majors. SYA 4400. Social Statistics (3). This course involves the application of statistical techniques to sociological data as conducted in the research and writing of social scientists. As a course for majors, it represents an important part of the student’s methodological training with respect to the statistical analysis of data typically used by sociologists. The student is expected to carry out a number of exercises involving the statistical analysis of sociological data and to interpret the results. SYA 4930. Sociology of Sport (3). Sport involves more than physical fitness and recreation; it is shaped by and affects other sectors of society, such as politics, education, the economy, and the media. Sports are impacted by and perpetuate social categories and processes such as race/ethnicity, gender, and class stratification, and social problems such as violence, drug use, and gambling. This class takes a sociological approach to sports by examining it as a social institution related to other social institutions, and that reflects and influences our thoughts about society. SYO 3100. Family Problems and Social Change (3). This course has two emphases: social change (major historical transformations in society) and corresponding family changes. We seek to understand four broad historical "stages" in family life, culminating in the contemporary family, characterized by delayed marriage, low fertility, high divorce and remarriage rates, step-families, and increasing years spent single. SYP 3000. Social Psychology of Groups (3). This course represents the study of social psychology from a sociological perspective. Specifically, it is an analysis of the influence of the groups and the individual on each other, including the study of norms, group pressure, leadership, motivation, and social personality. SYP 3300. Collective Action and Social Movements (3). The course explores the origins and organization of social movements, the dilemmas and challenges facing social movements, the relationship between social movements and political institutions and the role of social movements in effecting social change. SYD 3020. Population and Society (3). This course examines the causes and consequences of population change in the United States and the world with an assessment of the impact of demographic change on various social institutions. SYP 3730. Aging and the Life Course (3). Americans will have to make important decisions regarding the consequences of population aging. This course explores how changing life course patterns have influenced retirement, health care, politics, and family structure. It also considers the policy choices that will have to be made in twenty-first century as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age. SYD 3800. Sociology of Sex and Gender (3). This course provides a look at the sociological facets of gender and its effect in society. SYD 4700. Race and Minority Group Relations (3). An introduction to sociological theories about dominant-subordinate relationships between groups. The social significance of minority status is emphasized. Concepts and theories are applied to the experiences of several nonwhite ethnic groups in the US, with special attention devoted to contemporary black-white relationships. The reemergence of white ethnicity is discussed in relation to the above. SYG 2010. Social Problems (3). This course examines various contemporary social problems in an urbanized society, including such topics as education, the family, politics, the economy, race relations, drug use and alcoholism, overpopulation, and other issues. SYO 4180. Gender and Work (3). This course is an introduction to the cultural and structural mechanisms that reproduce gendered outcomes in the workplace. It addresses occupational segregation, the wage gap, sex differences in promotions, unpaid family work, explanations of inequality, strategies for change and resistance to change, and the intersections of gender, race, and class. SYO 4550. Comparative Sociology (3). This course deals with variations and patterns of development in individuals and social institutions across societies. SYP 3400. Social Change (3). This course is concerned with the context, essential sources, dynamics, and consequences of social development, modernization, and societal change. SYP 3730. Aging and Society (3). This course examines the social structure of age and age-related phenomena, with particular emphases on later stages of the life course and on recent changes of the situation of the elderly in industrial societies. Topics include work and retirement, minority-group and gender differences in old age, conditions affecting the social construction of age categories, and social policies concerning the elderly. SYP 4570. Deviance and Social Control (3). This course focuses on major theories and research traditions, including structural and social psychological causes of deviant behavior, processes of labeling deviants, and social conflict over definition and treatment of deviance. SYD 3600. The Community in Urban Society (3). An introduction to the community as a changing form of social organization with emphasis on community field studies (ethnographies), theories of communal organization, and the study of community-specific processes such as power distribution and decision making, conflict, stratification, and the dynamics of land-use change. Special attention is given to the study of the metropolitan community in US society and its inner city and suburbs. SYO 3530. Social Classes and Inequality (3). Basic theory of social stratification is presented and used in description of the stratification system in the United States and other nations. Opportunity for social mobility in the social structure is assessed and compared with mobility rates in other countries. SYO 4250. Sociology of Education (3). This course presents a sociological approach to the study of education as a social institution, its structure, functions, and role in contemporary life. SYO 4300. Sociology of Politics (3). This course deals with American political institutions, political organizations, pressure groups, and the public’s participation in political processes. Discussion focuses on current political issues from a sociological perspective. SYO 4350. Sociology of Business, Labor, and Government (3). The primary focus of this course is on the interrelationships among business and production organizations, labor interests and struggles, and the state and state policies, using various theoretical and historical perspectives. In addition to critical evaluation of conventional political-economic perspectives, the course will examine recent sociological work on the state, the labor movement, and industry. SYO 4400. Sociology of Health Care (3). An introduction to the organizational, economic and political structures and problems of American health care. Also introduces several of the sociological approaches that examine these issues. SYP 3540. Sociology of Law (3). This course examines the interrelationship between the legal order and the social order. Limitations of civil and criminal law for conflict management and for implementation of social policy are considered. SYO 3200. Sociology of Religion (3). A basic sociological perspective on the social organization and forms of religious life in modern society. Religious groups are studied as organizations that contribute to social stability, social conflict, and social change. SYA 4905r. Directed Individual Study (3). Consent of instructor and departmental chair required. May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours. SYA 4930r. Selected Topics in Sociology (3). May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours. SYA 4931r. Honors Work (3). May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours. SYA 4932r. Tutorial in Sociology (1). Prerequisite: upper division sociology majors or minors only. Reading and analysis of primary literature on selected topics in contemporary sociology. May be repeated to a maximum of three (3) semester hours.