Sociology Course Descriptions

SOC1101 Introduction to Sociology: Analysis of Society in the Global Perspective (SA)

This course will provide the fundamentals of sociology by exploring what society is, what institutions are and how they vary from place to place and over time, how groups of people are divided within society, and how these different groups behave and interact. We will read works by the major theorists who have sought to explain the world around us, as well as the works of researchers who systematically analyze data to learn about society. We will apply these theories to contemporary events and social problems.
Fall and spring semesters. 4 credits

SOC1105 U.S. Institutions (SA)

This course will introduce students to the major institutions that underlie and organize U.S. society. We will explore the government, the economy, the military, the system of education, and the prison system, as well as other institutions within the United States. This course will provide both sociologists and non-sociologists with a framework for thinking about the major structures in U.S. society. We will explore how the institutions are structured, how they came to look the way they do, and their differential implications for groups and individuals within the United States.
Fall semester. 4 credits

SOC1107 Introduction to Anthropology (SA)

This course explores the world-wide varieties of human habitats, family arrangement, work and leisure activities, leadership patterns, religion and art. It examines how tribal peoples have been marginalized through colonialism and modernization. The course explores ways that will aid in the preservation of indigenous groups and artifacts. Questions are asked that enable the student to question cultural assumptions and their viability for endangered cultures and environmental preservation.
Spring semester. 4 credits

SOC2101 Deviant Behavior

This course seeks to develop a distinctly sociological perspective for understanding the process by which some behavior comes to be identified as problematic or deviant. It compares, analyzes and critiques the moral, psychological and biomedical models that have been developed to explain deviance and to treat such behavior in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, social welfare bureaucracies, and the therapeutic and counseling professions.
Spring semester. 4 credits

SOC2103 Work and Leisure

This course compares work and occupational systems in different historic periods and in a variety of cultures. Topics include composition of the labor force, unemployment, egalitarian and bureaucratic work organizations, the work ethic, the effects of technology and popular culture on leisure time, the role of work in women's lives, and the effects of information technology and the global economy on work and life across societies. Spring semester, alternate years.
Expected spring 2009. 4 credits

SOC2105 Race, Ethnicity, and Group Relations (SA)

How do prejudice, power, and privilege shape the ways we define race and ethnicity and the meanings we give to them? How are we to understand patterns of inequality in the United States using these concepts? What other variables, such as religion or gender, manifest themselves in the racial and ethnic mix? In addition to studying the U.S., the course will explore contemporary racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts around the world. Particular attention will be given to Iraq, Sudan, and the Balkans.
Fall semester. 4 credits

SOC2107 The Urban World

This course studies the emergence and role of the modern city as the center of cultural, economic, political and social life worldwide. Close attention will be given to the analysis of several cities, nationally and internationally. There will be ample visual illustrations as well as readings about a variety of perceptions and experiences of city dwellers and analysts. Students will explore urban issues of their choice through research and presentations.
Fall semester, alternate years. Expected fall 2008. 4 credits

SOC2113 Methods of Social Research

Students are introduced in this course to qualitative and quantitative methodologies for social research. Surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observations, and content analysis are described and conducted, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of each methodology. Individual and group research projects using various methods are conducted.
Fall and Spring semester. 4 credits
Prerequisite: SOC1101

SOC2115 Family and Gender Roles

This course examines historical and cultural influences on the family and on the origin and development of male and female gender roles as they develop within the family and are expressed in all areas of social life. Particular attention is paid to changes across time and those occurring in contemporary societies. The contributions of the women's movement to ways of thinking about gender and inequality are also included.
Fall semester. 4 credits

SOC2119 Age and Generations

This course seeks to understand the life course in its social context. The relationships between the generations of a society and the changing roles occupied by older members are examined from an historical and cross-cultural perspective. The demographic, political and economic conditions that tend to marginalize the aging population in Western industrial society are analyzed. Positive, community-oriented approaches to housing, family life and health care problems are considered.
Spring semester, alternate years, expected spring 2010. 4 credits

SOC2123 Sociology of Health Care

This course examines the health care system in the United States from a sociological perspective. Attention is given to the roles of hospitals, nurses, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other health care providers. The social meaning of health and illness are discussed. Complementary and alternative medicine, and spirituality and the hospice movement, are analyzed. Contrasts are made to health care systems in Canada, Europe and developing nations. The course takes advantage of Emmanuel's proximity to world-class medical institutions in the Longwood area by visits to various sites.
Fall semester, alternate years, Expected fall 2007. 4 credits

SOC2127 Social Class and Inequity (SA)

What are the origins, forms and consequences of the unequal distribution of wealth and power in American society and in selected societies around the world? This course will explore the theories, both classical and contemporary, that have sought to explain how resources come to be so unequally distributed. We will also explore what the practical implications of such economic stratification are for certain groups in American society. Particular attention will be paid to the real world implications of economic inequality and the public policies that have (and have not) been put into place to deal with the issue.
Fall semester, alternate years. 4 credits.

SOC2129 Cultural Geography (SA)

Cultural Geography deals with the many different uses and perceptions of space locally and globally. It examines how language, religion, economics and political practices vary over time. A central concern is to analyze the reciprocal relationship between cultural transmission and environment. The course celebrates and critically analyzes geographic human diversity in rural and urban settings in industrial and less developed areas worldwide. The course examines causes and solutions for the ecological survival of the planet.
Fall and spring semester. 4 credits

SOC2131 Catholic Social Teaching

This course will provide an introduction to over 100 years of Catholic social teaching, using papal encyclicals and pastoral letters from the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops primarily. Analysis of the documents and critiques of the teachings will also be used. Each of the documents will be grounded in its sociological, political, economic and religious context. A service-learning component will be included in the course introducing students to service to people in poverty in the Boston area. The mission of national and international Catholic social justice organizations will also be highlighted.
Spring semester. 4 credits
(Cross-registered with RELIG2130)

SOC2201 The Practice of Social Policy

Students will learn about the creation and implementation of welfare reform and ther poverty policies as a means of understanding the policy-making process. Students will consider the political and economic context for policy-making in Massachusetts today as they research one social policy and consider advocacy strategies. Activites include a visit to the State House and a mock legislative hearing.
Spring semester, alternate years. 4 credits.
Prerequisite: SOC 1101 or permission of instructor

SOC3101 Theories of Society

The major thought systems contributing to 19th and 20th century analysis of complex societies are presented. The course proceeds to the study of the writings of Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, Weber and Freud, as well as to schools of sociological theory such as functionalism, conflict and interaction theory. Feminist theory will be examined for its relationship and reactions to classical social thought.
Fall and Spring semester. 4 credits
Prerequisite: SOC1101 and at least one other sociology course

SOC3103 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods

This course is designed to give students the opportunity to build upon and expand the capabilities they developed in the Introduction to Research Methods course. Advanced research methods will highlight both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in preparing students for graduate school and work demands, which require data collection, synthesis and analysis. Questionnaire construction, interviewing, observation and data analysis are emphasized.
Spring semester, alternate years, expected spring 2008. 4 credits
Prerequisite: SOC1101 and either SOC2113 or permission of instructor. Fulfills upper level requirement

SOC3105 Social Change and Development

This course addresses the issue of social, economic and political inequality between nations and regions with special focus on the developing world. Beginning with an analysis of the development of Western capitalist societies from agrarian to modern industrial ones, the course moves to a critical examination of the applicability of that model to newly industrializing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Spring semester, alternate years, expected spring 2009. 4 credits
Prerequisite: Junior or senior status or permission of the instructor

SOC3106 Comparative Cultural Institutions

This course seeks to deepen students' understanding of different societies by examining and comparing how its major institutions-such as work and social class, family and socialization/education, religion, ethnicity, science, technology and environmental policy-are transformed in periods of strife and crisis. China and Brazil are studied and compared for the effects of major economic transformations on their other cultural institutions. Germany and Iraq are focused on to examine the effects of political turmoil (such as dictatorship, war and defeat) on the structure of their respective societies. What can we learn through comparative analysis of how each society mobilizes its physical and cultural resources to achieve its national goals and to function in a global context? Student projects may allow for analysis of societies other than the four models given.
Spring semester, alternate years, expected spring 2009. 4 credits
Prerequisite: Junior or senior status or permission of the instructor

SOC3121 Religion, Spirituality and Global Society

In this course students analyze global religion in sociological perspective. Religion and spirituality as they are manifest in various forms across the world will be examined using sociological concepts of culture, structure, function, gender, race, social class and generation. The church-denomination-cult-sect continuum will be explored. Issues of social cohesion, social conflict and social change will be examined, in particular, through the lens of politics and religion nationally and internationally. Fundamentalism and evangelicalism will be highlighted. Visits to religious sites in the Boston area will be included.
Fall semester. 4 credits

SOC3123 Health Care: Systems, Structures and Cultures

This course examines one of the most contentious issues and complex institutions in the U.S. and world today: access to and delivery of health care. It provides an overview of the social meaning of health and illness. The course analyzes the roles of hospitals, physicians, nurses, insurance and drug companies, alternative and complementary medicine, and the hospice movement. It contrasts the U.S. health care system to Canadian and European systems and discusses healthcare needs in developing countries. The course takes advantage of Emmanuel's proximity to world-class medical institutions in the Longwood area.
Fall Semseter. 4 credits
Prerequisite: 2 SOC courses

SOC3160 Seminar in Sociology

Topics in theory and research in the major areas of sociology will be presented and discussed by students and faculty. A major paper and presentation are required of all students. This course fulfills the upper-level requirement.
Spring semester, alternate years, expected 2009. 4 credits
Prerequisite: Restricted to upper-level majors

SOC3201 The Immigration Experience: Causes and Consequences of Movement

This course introduces students to the major theories of international migration and immigrant incorporation. Why do people undertake costly, emotionally painful, and often, life threatening journeys? What happens to them once they arrive in their place of destination? And how do factors such as race and gender impact the settlement process? Although the course will primarily focus on immigration to and settlement in the United States, we will also explore the process of migration to other parts of the world. Contemporary issues, such as the current guest worker debate in the United States and the incorporation of Muslim immigrants in the U.S. and Western Europe, will also be covered. Course requiremnets include a significant research paper and presentation.
Spring semester, alternate years. 4 credits.
Prerequisite: SOC 1101 or permission of instructor

SOC4178 Directed Study

Students, with a faculty member, select, read and discuss classical and contemporary sociological works. This course is open to senior sociology majors with department approval. Fall and spring semester. 4 credits Prerequisites: SOC1101, SOC2113, SOC3101 SOC4182 Directed Research This course involves individual research directed by members of the department. It is open to senior sociology majors with department approval.
Fall and spring semester. 4 credits
Prerequisites: SOC1101, SOC2113, SOC3101.

SOC4194 Internship in Sociology: Field Research in Professional Settings

Students participate in a supervised experience in a variety of sites: the courts and justice system, in social service and health care agencies, or in local or international social justice organizations. The students will gain practical experience in professional settings while receiving supervision and preparing an analytical paper based on their experience in the field.
Fall and spring semester. 4 credits
Prerequisites: INT1001, SOC1101, SOC2113, and SOC3101.