Sociology Minor

How sociology helps us to understand the social realities of everyday life. The nature and impact of culture and social structure. How society shapes individual identity. Sociology’s perspectives on family, social class, gender, politics, intergroup conflict, crime, and other aspects of society. 21st Century continuities and changes.

The ways in which social scientific problems are framed, samples are chosen, and data are gathered and then analyzed. How knowing the methods that were used helps us to understand and assess the findings in any piece of research.

How the “founders” launched sociology and how later thinkers developed its conceptual framework. The major theoretical approaches in sociology. Prerequisite: SASN 103 or departmental permission.

course description needed

Social influences on values, attitudes, and behavior. Determinants of social perceptions and cognitions. Bases for friendship, love, prejudice, and anti-social behavior. Group dynamics involved in conformity, conflict and cooperation. Prerequisite or corequisite: PSYN 101.

The theory and practice of social work. Federal, state, and municipal programs and their latent functions. Family systems theory. Principles of individual counseling in the context of social reality.

The special character, dynamics, and relationships of advanced age. Consequences of the increased life span for personal life and social institutions.

Family structure and the family’s relationship to other aspects of society. Family cycle and mate selection. Factors contributing to family instability and disorganization. Emphasis on American society, but with some comparison to other cultures.

Theories about the bases of social stratification. Sources and consequences of inequality. Patterns of social mobility.

Social roots and consequences of changes in health. The structure and functions of health care institutions. The roles and relationships of patients and health care practitioners. Normative issues in health care.

The nature, types, and extent of crime. Causes of crime. The social functions of criminal law, the police, the courts, the rehabilitation, prison and community, crime punishment, prevention programs.

Issues in the etiology of and policies for responding to alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, criminality, and other social problems. Prerequisite: departmental permission.

Patterns of Jewish identity in the United States. Dynamics of commitment and assimilation. The demographic traits, religious patterns, political character, and relationship to Israel of America’s Jews. The organizations of the American Jewish community and their effects.