Sociology

SOCIOLOGY 101—INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (SS)

Fall, Spring. Credit, three hours. Introduction to the scientific study of human group behavior. Emphasis on definition of analytical concepts and tools for the exploration of significant data in social organizations, culture, institutions, and social change.

SOCIOLOGY 214—CLASS/STATUS/POWER (SS)

TBA. Credit, four hours. Prerequisite: Sociology 101; students should first have a basic understanding of sociology before taking this course. With an emphasis on industrialized democracies, this course explores sociological explanations of how and why patterns of social inequality occur and some of the consequences they produce.

SOCIOLOGY 215—SOCIAL PROBLEMS (SS)

On-demand by a minimum of twelve students. Interim. Off-campus course. Credit, four hours. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 or permission of instructor. This seminar includes outside readings and discussions once a week for eight weeks during the fall semester. During January, ten intensive sessions are held in Atlanta, with observations in prisons, courts, hospitals, and social service agencies.

SOCIOLOGY 230—SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS (SS)

Spring. Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 or permission of instructor. Explore the sociological factors affecting health and the organization of health care. Examine medical care services and professionals as social institutions; social history of health, environmental sources of disease, mental health, and effects of technology on health care.

SOCIOLOGY 231—SOCIAL CHANGE IN DEVELOPING SOCIETIES

TBA. Credit, three hours. The sociological factors affecting social change in developing societies. Includes a focus on globalization, modernization, and aspects of non-Western health care.

SOCIOLOGY 235—DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

TBA. Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: Sociology 101; student should first have a basic understanding of sociology before taking this higher-level course. This course examines various areas of norm violations and rule-breaking behaviors. Students will learn how norms vary across time, culture, and society by looking at how norms are socially constructed.

SOCIOLOGY 240—SOCIOLOGY OF FOOD (SS)

TBA. Credit, four hours. This course takes a sociological look at food with a focus on sustainability. Students will study political economy, food security, and culture as it relates to food production and consumption.

SOCIOLOGY 245—INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY (SS)

TBA. Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 or Psychology 100. The relation of the individual to society; measurement, change, and development of social attitudes; interpersonal relationships; group dynamics; and social problems.

SOCIOLOGY 247—RACIAL AND ETHNIC RELATIONS (SS)

TBA. Credit, three hours. Relations between and within groups, and conflict and cooperation in light of a number of models of social interaction. Application of principles to racial, religious, and ethnic minorities.

SOCIOLOGY 248—SOCIOLOGY OF SUSTAINABILITY

TBA. Credit, four hours. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. Early in the conceptualization of sustainability, there were environmental, economic, and social elements—including elements of spirituality. This class looks at the various dimensions of sustainability through a sociological lens.

SOCIOLOGY 253 - SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND WELL-BEING

TBA. Credit, three to four hours. This class looks at the relationship between various social structures—the state, the economy, educational institutions, and public health—to examine the relationship between social structures and well-being. It hinges, in part, on comparative work between different industrialized democracies, focusing on the United States and its peer countries in Europe. 

SOCIOLOGY 254—PEOPLE AND NATURE

TBA. Credit, three hours. Select readings and seminar discussions on the social construction of “nature” and its intersections with human social relationships. This course will emphasize interdisciplinary understandings of people and nature and their overlaps.

SOCIOLOGY 255—GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND SUSTAINABILITY (SS)

Spring. Credit, four hours. Prerequisite: By consent of instructor only. Basic concepts in sociological political economy and sustainability with an emphasis on historical context in Western industrialized countries.

SOCIOLOGY 260—SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS (SS)

TBA. Credit, three hours. This course includes the analysis of sport as a social and cultural institution and the interrelations between sport and social institutions. Students explore the sociocultural aspects of sport and exercise, and analyze contemporary social problems associated with sport, including race, gender, and class inequality, aggression and violence, as well as political and economic concerns.

SOCIOLOGY 307—SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

TBA. Credit, four hours. The modern school system as part of the functioning of modern communities in the United States. Attention to problems of interrelating school and community in the light of population change, social class differences, and shifting values.

SOCIOLOGY 389R—SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY

TBA. Credit, three hours. Seminar in selected topics of sociology. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.