Sociology

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• compare various sociological perspectives and their relevance to the understanding of social life.
• synthesize various sociological theories to enhance one's understanding of everyday life events and social experiences.
• identify and discuss major issues facing the world today from a sociological standpoint.
• relate sociological theories to the workings of various institutions and analyze social issues and events from a sociological standpoint.
• define the role of human agency in shaping institutions and structures in society.
• research and evaluate various economic, political, and social institutions in society.
• apply the micro-sociological and interpersonal level analysis to social behavior.
• apply macro-sociological and institutional and systemic analysis to social behavior.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• demonstrate understanding of major social problems in the US using sociological perspectives and concepts.
• place local, regional, and national social problems in a global context.
• examine and explain causes and consequences of social problems within a national and global context.
• discuss how causes of social problems are structurally connected to their solutions.
• define the role of various institutions, the structure of power, the role of ideology, and global forces as they pertain to the social construction of social problems, their causes and solutions.
• analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative information and evidence about social problems and how they are impacted by domestic and global socio-economic, political, and cultural processes.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• examine the basic principles of the scientific method, including its application to social research and ethical issues involved.
• differentiate among various research methodologies and evaluate their usefulness and limitations in relation to specific sociological project.
• evaluate literature and research database to find common themes in research design and reporting.
• develop a hypothesis, define the parameters of the research, define social variables, and design a research project.
• compose an effective survey instrument (or other method of measurement), construct reliable questions, administer the survey, and score and code the data.
• analyze results as to whether they support a hypothesis, how they relate to previous research, and state conclusions.
• write a coherent and comprehensive report that includes project description, methodology, analysis, and conclusions.
• identify and describe the relationship between social theory and research.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• compare and contrast various sociological and other perspectives and their relevance to the understanding of self
• explain the relationship between broad structural changes and strategies of self-management in everyday life
• differentiate between various agents of socialization and their impact on the formation of self-identity
• interpret the relationships between physical self, social/emotional self, and self-perception
• analyze how social roles (obligations and expectations) are constructed and maintained through social interaction in everyday life
• explain how gender, race/ethnicity, and social class intersect to shape the perception and presentation of self
• evaluate impression management and emotion management as they apply to various institutional settings

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• compare and contrast various sociological perspectives and their relevance to the understanding of crime, deviance, and social control.
• define basic terms and concepts regarding crime, deviance, and social control.
• explain the nature and meaning of deviance as a function of cultural norms, politics, social status, and law.
• apply various sociological theories to explain the process by which actions and behaviors come to be defined as deviant and/or criminal.
• evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of sociological theories as they relate to deviance, crime, and social control.
• differentiate between roles of various institutions of social control.
• explain the complex structural nature of punishment, prisons, and rehabilitation.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain, apply, and critique basic sociological approaches to race and ethnicity.
• evaluate and critique how social power shapes the identities and experiences of racial and ethnic groups, interpersonally and systemically, in the United States.
• compare and contrast the socio-historical, socio-political and socio-economic experiences of major ethnic and racial groups in the U.S. from multiple perspectives. This includes four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Latina/o/x Americans and/or Asian Americans. European Americans and Whiteness will also be included.
• examine the importance of social systems in shaping and maintaining the dynamic relationship between racial and ethnic groups.
• formulate from various group perspectives macro level and micro level analyses of racial and ethnic issues.
• evaluate the social dynamics that lead to struggle, resistance, solidarity, and liberation for racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
• analyze current complex racial and ethnic issues and formulate and evaluate solutions.
• assess the intersectional attributes of racial and ethnic groups within the broader U.S. society, such as class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability and/or age.
• reflect critically on one's own cultural lens.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain historical and cultural origins of Mexican-Americans in the United States
• compare and contrast sociological paradigms’ approaches to Chicano culture
• list and describe various elements of Chicano culture
• evaluate differences between individual experiences of Chicano culture and systemic functions of Chicano culture
• analyze connections between culture and the Chicano Movement
• interpret how culture can be used to empower and oppress
• differentiate between culture expression and stereotyping
• generate and evaluate potential solutions to at least three of the modern cultural dilemmas Chicanos face in the United States today
• describe and evaluate the demographic shift in the Chicano population in the United States
• differentiate between ethnocentric and culturally relative analyses of Chicano culture and the Chicano movement

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• chart the demographic shift in America as it relates to older adults and evaluate the concept of generational equity
• explain at least five of the major implications and challenges of increased longevity as they relate to end-of-life issues, advocacy, adult abuse, filial responsibility, generational equity, and entitlements
• compare major biological theories with social theories of aging
• explain the major social issues as related to aging in America and their possible solutions
• analyze the overall economic position of older Americans, including retirement plans, health care, job outlook, and entitlements
• calculate the cost of the average funeral and construct cost-saving measures

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• evaluate various sociological perspectives relevant to gender socialization, gender identity formation, and gender inequalities.
• construct a sociological and theoretical understanding of gender socialization in terms of how men's and women's experiences diverge in regarding family life, workplace, media, politics, education, and science.
• compare men's and women's lives as historically and culturally created realities and experiences.
• explain historical and theoretical causes and consequences of gender inequality in American society.
• discuss the role of various social, economic, political, religious, and cultural institutions in creating, reinforcing, and perpetuating gender inequality.
• utilize theory, history, and quantitative information to remedy gender inequality in American society.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• compare and contrast the impact of differing popular culture products on different audiences through reception and consumption approaches.
• evaluate American popular culture products by utilizing the sociological perspective.
• define key terms relating the study of popular culture.
• critique the works and perspectives of sociological and cultural studies theorists like Marx, Adorno, bell hooks, Weber, Veblen, Sternheimer, Goffman, Gramsci, Radway, and Durkheim.
• examine the effects of subcultural and countercultural practice and objects on American society.
• apply core concepts within the study of popular culture to historically relevant events and examples.
• compare and contrast the main differences among core sociological theories such as conflict theory, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and feminist theory and their application to popular culture.
• analyze the historical, cultural, economic, and political influences on the portrayals of various races, classes, genders, sexual orientations, and nationalities in media.
• evaluate various arguments related to the debate on taste with special emphasis on high culture, low culture, and folk culture.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• relate central sociological principles and concepts to the study of the social construction of reality, agency, structure, politics, the economy, deviance, and social change.
• apply main theoretical perspectives to various sociological topics including symbolic interactionism, structural functionalism, conflict theory, feminist theory, queer theory, and postmodernism.
• evaluate cross-cultural variations in the non-material and material cultures of societies while considering the influence of globalization on local cultures.
• explore and identify the interplay and intersectionality between race, class, gender, sexuality, and other social groups.
• analyze sociological research to understand the interrelatedness of various social intuitions and assess how social forces shape, guide, and influence individual and group behavior.
• explain how mass media, media ownership, and technology influence and change social institutions and social behaviors.
• define the micro, meso, and macro-sociological levels of analyses and how they both compliment and differ in their scope and focus.
• identify and apply main sociological frameworks and principles to analyze social problems, stratification, and inequality based on race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexuality, and other social groups.