Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

• SOC-R 515 Sociology of Health and Illness (3 cr.) Surveys important areas of medical sociology, focusing on social factors influenc­ing the distribution of disease, help-seeking, and health care. Topics covered include social epidemiology, the health-care professions, socialization of providers, and issues of cost and cost containment. 

• SOC-R 551 Quantitative Methods in Sociology (3 cr.) Surveys the major quantitative techniques for investigating current so­ciological problems. It emphasizes the relationship between theory and practice in understanding and conducting research.

• SOC-R 556 Advanced Sociological Theory I (3 cr.) In-depth study of classical sociological theorists, particularly Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. Examines their roles in defining the discipline

• SOC-R 557 Advanced Sociological Theory II (3 cr.) In-depth study of cotemporary sociological theories (e.g., social conflict, struc­tural functionalist, symbolic interactionist) as a continuation of the issues raised by the classical sociological theorists as well as a response to the epistemological and social changes of the late twentieth century.

• SOC-R 559 Intermediate Sociological Statistics (3 cr.) P: R359 or equivalent. Basic techniques for summarizing distributions, measuring interrelationships, controlling extraneous influences, and testing hypotheses are reviewed as students become famil­iar with the computer system. Complex analytical techniques commonly applied in professional literature are examined in detail, including analysis of variance, path diagrams, factor analysis, and log-linear models.

• SOC-R 585 Social Aspects of Mental Health and Mental Illness (3 cr.) This is a graduate-level course that focuses on the sociology of mental illness and mental health. Provides a thorough ground­ing in the research issues and traditions that have characterized scholarly inquiry into mental illness in the past. Students will become familiar with public policy as it has had an impact on the treatment of mental illness and on the mentally ill them­selves.  

• SOC-R 594 Graduate Internship in Sociology (3-6 cr.)P: 18 hours of graduate credit in sociology. This course involves master’s degree students working in organizations where they apply or gain practical insight into sociological concepts, theories, knowledge, and methodology. Students analyze their experi­ences through work logs, a lengthy written report, and regular meetings with a faculty committee. (Students on the thesis track may also take this course as an elective.) 

• SOC-R 697 Individual Readings in Sociology (1-6 cr.) Investigation of a topic not covered in the regular curriculum that is of special interest to the student and that the student wishes to pursue in greater detail. Available only to sociology graduate students through arrangement with a faculty member. 

• SOC-S 526 The Sociology of Human Sexuality (3 cr.)P: Graduate standing and consent of the instructor. This is a one-semester graduate-level course in the sociology of human sexuality. This course will provide (a) a detailed examination of the develop­ment of sex research, (b) a sociological perspective on and critique of this corpus, and (c) an opportunity for students to develop research of their own. 

• SOC-S 560 Graduate Topics (3 cr.)Exploration of a topic in sociology not covered by the regular curriculum but of interest to faculty and students in a particular semester. Topics to be announced. Emphasis is placed on the relation between the classic and contemporary literature in the field.  Recent topics include “Textual Analyses” and “Health Policy and Politics”. 

• SOC-S 569 M.A. Thesis (3-6 cr.)P: Permission of the graduate director. All students on the thesis track must register for 3 credit hours (up to 6 credit hours total) of the the­sis credits as part of the requirements for the degree. 

• SOC-S 616 Sociology of Family Systems (3 cr.)P: Graduate stand­ing or consent of the instructor. Focus on the nature, struc­ture, functions, and changes of family systems in modern and emerging societies, in comparative and historical perspective. Attention is given to relationships with other societal subsys­tems, and to interaction between role occupants within and between subsystems. 

• SOC-S 659 Qualitative Methods in Sociology (3 cr.) Methods of obtaining, evaluating, and analyzing qualitative data in social research. Methods covered include field research procedures, participant observation, interviewing, and audiovideo recording of social behavior in natural settings.

Rarely or Currently Not Offered Courses

• SOC-R 517 Sociology of Work (3 cr.) Must be at graduate standing. Course explores how work is being restructured in the “new economy.” Topics include the changing meaning of work, the quest for dignity in the workplace, the plight of the working poor, and prospects for the labor movement (among other items).

• SOC-R 525 Gender and Work (3 cr.)P: Graduate standing and 6 credit hours of sociology, or consent of the instructor. This course critically analyzes contemporary theory and research on gender and work. It examines how women’s and men’s roles in paid and unpaid work are socially constructed, through social­ization, social interaction, and the actions of social institutions. The interaction of gender, race, ethnicity, and social class will be explored.

• SOC-R 530 Families and Social Policy (3 cr.)P: R100, R220, graduate standing. This seminar will explore how the government and labor market affect family structure and the quality of family life. Students will study the implications of family research for social policy and learn to develop theoretical frameworks for evaluating social policies affecting families.

• SOC-R 537 Gender and Society (3 cr.) Examines some of the ap­proaches to gender, emphasizing social interationist and feminist theory/methods. In addition, we will relate these approaches to the study of contemporary gender approaches in selected social spheres, which may vary according to instruc­tor’s specialization.

• SOC-R 593 Applied Fieldwork for Sociologists (3 cr.) This course will provide students with both a theoretical and methodological background in the different types of qualitative analysis used in sociological fieldwork. Students will have the opportunity to study and to evaluate representative examples of qualitative studies and to complete by themselves a project done with qualitative methods.

• SOC-R 610 Sociology of Health and Illness Behavior (3 cr.) This semi­nar explores sociological and social scientific research on health and illness behavior. Special emphasis is placed on examining how social factors and conditions shape people’s responses to disease, illness, and disability.

• SOC-S 500 Pro-Seminar in Sociology (1 cr.)P: Graduate standing and/or consent of the instructor. Introduction to current so­ciological research interests and concerns through the work of departmental members.

• SOC-S 530 Introduction to Social Psychology (3 cr.)P: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor. Examines the broad range of work in social psychology. Emphasis is placed on the relation between the classic and contemporary literature in the field.
  
  
• SOC-S 610 Urban Sociology (3 cr.)P: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor. Historical and contemporary causes, trends, and patterns of urbanization throughout the world. Various approaches to studying the process of urbanization, including ecological, social organizational, and political perspectives. Cur­rent developments and problems in urban planning.

• SOC-S 612 Political Sociology (3 cr.)P: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor. An analysis of the nature and operation of power in a political system. Topics may include classical theories of power, political behavior and campaigns, the role of mass media in sustaining power, the state as a social institu­tion, and political movements.

• SOC-S 613 Complex Organizations (3 cr.) Theory and research in formal organizations: industry, school, church, hospital, govern­ment, military, and university. Problems of bureaucracy and decision-making in large-scale organizations. For students in the social sciences and professional schools interested in the comparative approach to problems of organization and their management.

• SOC-S 632 Socialization (3 cr.) The processes of development of the individual as a social being and societal member, focusing on childhood or socialization into adult roles.