Sociology

Soc 100S Social Issues (4-0) 4
This introductory course seeks to examine the extent to which the crisis of institutions creates personal problems in our everyday lives. Conversely, it will explore the degree to which our personal troubles foster institutional contradictions. Topics for study may include the workplace, the environment, inequality, sexism, racism, health care, criminal justice, education, alienation, and social services. Fall and winter terms, freshman year.

Soc 101 American Society (1-0) 1
This course introduces international students to contemporary American society through a sociological analysis of the changing patterns of family, community, work, gender, and education in the U.S. and Japan. This sociological perspective on U.S. society will deepen students’ understanding of the society in which they will be living and attending college. This course is taught in English. This course is repeatable for up to 2 credits.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Soc 200 Social Change and Human Services (4-0) 4
This course is designed to facilitate critical understanding of, and commitment to, processes of social change in modern society. Using historical and theoretical analysis of social change efforts, students are encouraged to embrace and develop models of change that take seriously the personal and social dimensions of human struggle. The role and responsibility of human service agencies in social change/community development is also considered. Field work is required.

Soc 210W Social Inquiry and Research Methods (4-0) 4
An introduction to quantitative methods used in social science, this course serves as the Writing Course for the Department of Sociology/Human Services. The appropriateness and application of various methods will be emphasized. Data collection, reduction, analysis and interpretation will be covered. Emphasis will also focus on interviewing, participant observation, and ethnographic approaches to data collection, and the development of descriptions and interpretations of social settings.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and concurrent registration in Soc 320 and Soc 421.

Soc 250R Social Issues in Contemporary
Native Societies (4-0) 4
An examination of the social, political, and economic circumstances of both urban and rural native societies worldwide. Emphasis will be on the United States. Topics may include indigenous peoples in cities, tribal councils, environmental racism, criminal justice, social services, youth, international indigenous issues and networks.

Soc 275S Families, Marriages, and
Other Sex-Role Systems (4-0) 4
Analysis of changing patterns of family life and sex roles in contemporary society, of the social sources of these changes, and of their societal and individual consequences. Taught every other year.

Soc 279R Ethnicity, Gender, and Class
in the Southwest (4-0) 4
A descriptive analytic inquiry into the historical, social, and economic position of the Hispanics, Native Americans, and women of the Southwest.
Prerequisites: Comp 150 and Lib 150.

Soc 280S Popular Culture And
Mass Communication (4-0) 4
An inquiry into both the production and the consumption of popular culture. Attention will be paid to cultural power as a force for domination as well as a condition for collective affirmation and struggle. Topics include popular music, radio and television programs, news media, comic strips, and pulp fiction. Alternate fall terms.

Soc 300W Theories of Social and Personal Life (4-0) 4
This course will critically examine the classical and contemporary theories of self and society. The major paradigms of functionalism, Marxism, symbolic interactionism, structuralism, ethnomethodology, and critical and feminist theory will be evaluated. This course serves as the Writing Course for Humanities majors seeking a primary concentration in Sociology/Human Services.

Soc 301 Comparative Societies (4-0) 4
A comparative study of the social structures of selected countries and regions within the first, second, and third worlds. Comparisons will be made of societies within selected regions as well as their relationships to US. society. Selected countries and regions will include: Cuba and the Caribbean, the Andean countries, China, Japan, etc.

Soc 310 Ecology and Society (4-0) 4
This course will examine environmental issues and the natural world from a cultural and socioeconomic perspective. It will attempt to study the ideas, conceptions, practices, and beliefs that relate people to the land and their collective environment. Finally, it will look at environmental concerns from the perspective of workers, minorities, and rural and urban communities both in America and worldwide.

Soc 311 Ecology and Society Field School 8
This course offers a field experience in the relationship between people and the land. Students will work on farms and in the U.S. National Forest. They will meet with Anglos, Hispanics, and Native Americans in rural communities. One week will be spent in the National Forest learning to identify wildlife and its habitat.

Soc 320 Community Service Practicum 4-8
This course provides the student with experience in applied sociology. Students will be involved in human services, applied social research or other activities approved by the advisor and practicum coordinator. The emphasis is upon gaining experiential knowledge through active participation in sociological practice and sharing this in a classroom experience. Practicum may be taken for 4 or 8 credits per term and for a maximum of 16 credits. A maximum of 8 credits can be applied toward the major in sociology.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.

Soc 330 Mind, Self And Society (4-0) 4
An examination into the ways in which society influences the self and the individual produces society. The relationship between consciousness and social structure will be discussed. Theoretical focus may include symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology and/or a Marxist perspective. Taught every other year.

Soc 340 Religion and Social Life (4-0) 4
An examination of, principally, contemporary religious phenomena from the viewpoint of social science. The course will also examine the significance of religious studies in the development of reasoning about society. Taught every other year.

Soc 345 Art and Society (4-0) 4
An inquiry into the relationship between any historically specific art and the social setting in which it was created. The idea that art is a way of seeing a world view, or a theoretic, will be explored. The focus of the course may be literature, the visual arts, music, theater, or film. Taught every other year.

Soc 350 Search for Intimacy (4-0) 4
This course will examine the cultural and institutional obstacles to intimacy. Class, gender, and race as historical categories will play their part in discussion and analysis. The idea that intimacy is something that only applies to romantic relations but not to larger social and community concerns will be examined.

Soc 353 Medical Sociology (4-0) 4
A study of the social practices and beliefs which define and constitute the phenomena of health and illness. The current health care delivery system, including professional roles, patient participation, administration, medical education and planning, will be critically reviewed, and alternatives will be explored. This course is recommended for pre-health majors as well as social science majors.

Soc 361 Deviance (4-0) 4
An examination of the traditional versions of deviance followed by modern critiques which emphasize “labeling” and the more phenomenological approaches to understanding human conduct.

Soc 362 Criminology and Criminal Justice (4-0) 4
An examination of the major “positivist” theories of crime and criminality (individual, familial, subcultural) followed by the modern critique of positivist criminology emphasizing the part played by the administration of criminal justice as an integral part of the characterizing and structuring of crime.

Soc 363 Juvenile Delinquency (4-0) 4
A review of contemporary thinking about the development of juvenile delinquency and the linkages between juvenile delinquency and the administration of juvenile justice. Taught every other year.

Soc 375 Sociology of Education (4-0) 4
Study of the organization and practices of educational institutions and of the transformation these institutions are now undergoing. Special attention to the nature of these changes and their impact on the learning process as well as their consequences for the larger society will be explored. Taught every other year.

Soc 376 Language and Social Behavior (4-0) 4
A concentrated look at the social function of language use in society. The extent to which languages create social reality will receive scrutiny. Particular topics may include language and social class, language and sex, linguistic politics, language and culture, or language cognition and development. Taught every other year.

Soc 380 Work and Authority in Society (4-0) 4
This course will explore the extent to which meaningful work is possible in any society. It will seek to account for the forms of authority in work and describe the impact that hierarchical structures have on the individual. Taught every other year.

Soc 383 Women in Society (4-0) 4
This course focuses on where American women in various class and ethnic categories stand in society now, compared not only to men but also to their mothers and grandmothers. It takes into account economic status, educational and job opportunities, family responsibilities, physical well-being and reproductive rights. It includes a significant portion of feminist theory, which serves as the vehicle for an ongoing analysis of the ways in which political, economic, and other social structures, as well as psychological factors such as gender attitudes, have effected the status of women, historically.

Soc 421 Contemporary Social Analysis
in the Southwest (4-0) 4
A seminar in the application of theories of social change, social knowledge, and research into regional issues in the Southwest. Topics may vary but will critically address issues of water, energy, agriculture, urbanization, inequality, public morality, politics, education, and community. Taught annually, senior year.
Prerequisites: Concurrent registration in Soc 210W and Soc 320 and consent of instructor.

Soc 496 Senior Seminar (4-0) 4
Advanced study and research in selected topics. The student will prepare and submit a senior seminar research paper to qualify for graduation.

Soc 499 Independent Study 1-4
Tutorial or individual research conducted in consultation with a member of the sociology/human services faculty. Topic must be clearly defined in a written contract between student and faculty member.

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