Sociology (SOCG)

An introduction to the nature and scope of sociology, emphasizing the development and uses of basic concepts, theories, and methods of inquiry. Emphasis varies by instructor.

Sociological perspectives for analyzing social problems such as economic inequality, race relations, and crim. Emphasis varies by instructor.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Analysis of inequality in society. The nature and consequences of social stratification (class, race, and gender) and of power in contemporary U.S. society.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Sociological study of gender relations and constructions in society, with an emphasis on major social institutions and social change.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Analysis of the relationship between ethnic and racial groups and their relationship to the dominant ethnic majority in America and other societies. Sociological examination of concepts such as racism, racial identity, prejudice, discrimination, inter-group conflict, power, assimilation, and pluralism.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Traditional sociological conceptions of popular culture as well as recent theoretical interventions and studies of everyday life, gender, social class, and race and ethnicity from feminist studies, American studies, minority discourses, and cultural studies. Popular culture as a meaningful site of political and social resistance for the disenfranchised.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Problems of city growth and living; the influence of social, cultural, and ecological factors upon social organization, power relations, and everyday social relationships in urban areas.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. The role of law in American society, particularly the relationship between legal and other institutions. Sociological approaches to American legal cultures, the legal profession and legal education, law and social change.

Prerequisites: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of instructor. Sociologists study food in order to puzzle through the complicated questions of fairness, equity, justice, and all human beings’ inherent right to nourishment and sustenance. What would a ‘just’ food system look like? What social groups are advancing this cause in contemporary society? How successful have their efforts been? What can/will we do to contribute to this process? How will we adequately, healthily, and sustainably feed others and ourselves?

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Historical changes in American patterns of marriage, divorce, and child rearing; social class, racial, ethnic variation; and alternative family forms.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. The history, philosophy, and institutionalization of social welfare; social work as a profession, methods, and policies.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. The relationship of disease and health to social structure and culture. Organizational and role analysis of the medical care industry, various allied health professions, and alternative approaches to coping with health and illness.

Analyzes problems of health, illness, inequality, and care at the global level. Examines health care systems and health promotion in comparative perspective. Explores how social forces shape individual and group health behaviors and illness experiences in various structural and cultural contexts. Emphasis on health rights as human rights.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155. This course explores how power is distributed at the local level (city, region, neighborhood), and how this impacts our experiences of community. Power can be examined through locally experienced issues, for example: housing, schools, policing, neighboring behaviors, health care, etc.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Formal and informal educational processes in various societies with an emphasis on stratification in education in the US. Theoretical and methodological approaches to studying education as a social institution.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105. Sociology of East Asia is an introductory course on three East Asian countries, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan, and Korea. The course aims to help students understand similarities and differences among East Asian countries and with/from Western societies from sociological perspectives.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Causal theories and descriptive research on adult crime; survey of the American criminal justice system.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of instructor. Examines how contemporary social organization drives environmental degradation and renders some people more vulnerable to its effects, and whether a shift in environmental consciousness and individual behaviors is sufficient to create a more harmonious relationship between society and the natural world.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or permission of instructor. An overview of the sociological approach to the study of death and dying. Examines causes of death, treatment of death both before and after the event.The meaning of death from various cultural perspectives, and the death industry.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor, and STAT 180. Quantitative sampling and study design, questionnaire construction and administration, analysis of survey data with emphasis on cross-classification, correlation, or regression techniques.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Introduction to qualitative sociological research methods, including participant observation, interviewing, and narrative analysis. Students will engage in independent research to gather and analyze qualitative data.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or 155 or permission of instructor. Major concepts or points of view in contemporary sociology with an emphasis on discussion. Topic varies.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 and completion of at least 6 credit hours of 300-400 level sociology courses, or permission of the instructor. Presentation and analysis of major forms and themes of social and early sociological theory from the 16th century to the early 20th century.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 and completion of at least 3 credit hours of an additional sociology courses at the 200-level or above, or permission of the instructor. Consideration of major sociological theorists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155, and completion of at least 3 credit hours of sociology courses at the 200-level or above, or permission of the instructor. This course provides an overview of feminist theory and intersectionality theory, with a focus on the historical development of various threads of feminist movement over time. We read theory by scholars coming from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, taking their ideas on their own terms, while also evaluating their continued relevance in contemporary society.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. How are bodies socially constructed? This seminar examines social, particularly feminist theories of embodiment. Central questions consider how bodies are sexed/gendered, racialized, ethnicized, aged, sexualized, classed, sickened/cured, and otherwise modified through social processes. Also explores the subjective experience of embodiment.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. Examines social, economic, and political development at the global level and in comparative perspectives. Students consider competing perspectives on global inequality, with attention to the role of power relations and historical contingencies in shaping issues of development and underdevelopment.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155 or permission of the instructor. This seminar examines the opportunities, imperatives, and experiences of women and men at work. Work is structured by institutional arrangements that come before us and that change over time and is shaped in relation to institutions in society other than the economy, especially the family. Work, occupational opportunities and cultural expectations are also shaped by the intersectionality of class, race, & gender in our lives and experiences. Readings and projects are selected to emphasize related questions and themes.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155. This Virginia-focused class will study environmental inequalities in our own state. Students will do readings to learn about the general dynamics of environmental injustice, and then apply this knowledge to help answer questions such as: Which industrial plants are the biggest sources of toxic air pollution in Virginia? Who lives in the neighborhoods adjacent to these plants, and what are some of the consequences of exposure to this pollution? Students will also explore the historical processes that create environmental injustice in the first place. Finally, students will learn about linkages between climate change in Virginia and environmental inequality.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or SOCG 155. Students will be trained in participatory action research methods. Action research is community-based and operates on a collaborative model of social research that simultaneously engages academic practices and democratic social change. Data used may include interviews focus groups, participant observation, documents, records, reports, and surveys.

Prerequisite: Junior or Senior Status or Permission of Instructor. This course is designed to help students plan their careers after graduation and develop skills to succeed in the job market. It will also help students think about their role as citizens and potential change-makers after graduation, while discussing the importance of finding work/life balance.

Prerequisite: SOCG 105 or 155 or permission of instructor. Seminar exploring major concepts or points of view in contemporary sociology with an emphasis on discussion. Topic varies.

Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor. Available to qualified students; reading and research, project or paper with guidance of a faculty member.

Available to qualified students; reading and research, project or paper with guidance of a faculty member.

Supervised off-campus experience, developed in consultation with departmental faculty. Cannot be counted in the major program.