Current Course Listing
Search the Registrar's Office listing of Sociology to access the courses being offered this semester. Complete course information can be found on the Tulane University Catalog.
Tulane Sociology Course Descriptions
1000-Level Courses 2000-Level Courses 3000-Level Courses 4000 to 5000-Level Courses 6000-Level Courses
1000-Level Courses
SOCI 1030 Sociology of the Family (3 credits)
Consideration of the family as a social institution and a special form of small group. Examination of theoretical and empirical research focusing upon mate selection, marital interaction, and child socialization. Topics include contemporary demographic trends and cultural practices.
SOCI 1040 Gender and Society (3 credits)
Examines the social construction of gender and the consequences of gender equality. Topics include socialization, intimate relations, paid and unpaid work, violence, and social change.
SOCI 1050 Introduction to Education and Society (3 credits)
An introduction to sociological research, concepts, and theories about education. Topics include the functions of education for the individual and society, the links between education and inequality, and the role of schools as powerful determinants of the opportunities that individuals experience in modern society.
SOCI 1060 Urban Sociology (3 credits)
The social patterns, processes, and institutional structure of urban life.
SOCI 1080 Deviant Behavior (3 credits)
Examines forms of human behavior that have been defined as "deviant" by the larger society. An emphasis is placed on understanding the social construction of such definitions, especially their cross-cultural variations, as well as motivations and social implications for those whose behavior is judged as deviant.
SOCI 1090 Social Problems (3 credits)
Examination of critical contemporary social problems and social policy options. Emphasis is placed on understanding the multidimensional sources of crisis, unrest, and instability as well as policy options and trade-offs associated with ameliorative effort s. Topics vary by semester and instructor.
SOCI 1150 Introduction to Social Work (3 credits)
Introduces students to the profession and practice of social work. Examines principles, functions, knowledge base, and history of social work. Topics include the change process, levels of practice, and social problems affecting clients and practitioners.
SOCI 1190 First Year Writing Seminar (4 credits)
SOCI 1210 Sociology of Religion (3 credits)
Introduces students to sociological study of religious phenomena, including religious beliefs, practices, and behaviors as conditioned by sociological factors. A key emphasis is the relationship between religious systems and other social institutions, e.g., politics, family, economy, and social stratification.
SOCI 1300 Criminology (3 credits)
Emphasizes the public's perception of "the crime problem" and various sociological measures of amounts and trends of criminal behavior in society. Causal and non-causal theories of criminality, and the sociological implications of various selected offense s are explored.
SOCI 1400 Sociology of Sport (3 credits)
An analysis of the structure and functions of sports in contemporary American society. Topics include the relationship between sports, socialization, ideology, sports and totemism, the organization of sports, and the economics of sports.
SOCI 1460 Asian American Communities (3 credits)
This course will provide a sociological introduction to America's rapidly growing Asian American populations and to the major issues facing these populations.
SOCI 1470 Global Social Change (3 credits)
Examines global change and its implications for individuals and groups via exploration of issues of globalization of the economy, international development, urbanization, immigration, social movements, changing gender relations, etc. Emphasis will be placed on how such changes have come about and course focus will be international in scope with emphasis on Latin America, Asia, and/or Africa.
SOCI 1510 Work in American Society (3 credits)
Examines the concepts of occupations, professions, and work organizations. It considers issues about employee selection, job involvement, alienation, satisfaction, performance, and compensation; industrial mental health, occupation safety, health and medicine; social conditions of work in bureaucratic organizations, work groups and union membership; supervision and human resource management; and the changing conditions of work resulting from technological change, social change, shifts in the occupational structure and the interface of work with other institutions such as the family.
SOCI 1600 Environmental Sociology (3 credits)
This course examines political and economic aspects of global and local environmental problems. Topics include how societies and the environment interact, why some environmental risks have gained most attention, how support for environmental concerns can be measured, responses by environmental social movements, and visions of sustainable societies in the First and Third Worlds.
2000-Level Courses
SOCI 2010 Foundations of Sociology (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three credits of sociology at the 1000-level or approval of instructor.
To provide substantive exposure to basic sociological concepts, theories, methods, and tools.
SOCI 2050 Population and Society (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the dynamic relationship between population and society. The course focuses on the contemporary demography of developed and developing countries, with an emphasis on societal problems linked to population.
SOCI 2100 Special Topics in Sociology (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
Special topic announced each semester.
SOCI 2180 Wealth, Power and Inequality (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
Survey of theoretical and empirical literature on the distribution of wealth, power, and prestige within and across societies and historical periods. Emphasis is placed on the impact of social change on stratification systems.
SOCI 2450 Society through Cinema (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
Examination of social organization, interaction, issues, and problems via the depiction of these issues and themes in selected commercial and documentary cinematic statements as illustrative material. Weekly class meetings are divided into lecture, screening, and discussion. Specific topical foci differ by semester.
SOCI 2210 Sociology of Reproduction (3 credits)
This course is an introduction to the Sociology of Human Reproduction. We frequently think about reproduction as a natural/biological event, but like other aspects of human life, it is socially constructed: shaped by and experienced in and through various social practices. We will cover topics ranging from childbirth to breastfeeding, contraception to childlessness, and even little-known issues such as man" -opause (i.e.,male menopause). Much of the social science work on human reproduction comes from either demographic or feminist traditions so course readings reflect this dual genealogy.
SOCI 2220 Sociology of Medicine (3 credits)
Introduction to the sociological significance of medicine and medical procedures and professions.
SOCI 2490 Latin American Social Structure (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
An historical examination of the human condition in Latin America emphasizing three primary spheres of social relations: political, economic, and ideological. Within each sphere the following themes are ad dressed: national-international relations, urbanization, rural social structure, demographic trends, cultural change, and stability.
SOCI 2500 Organizational Behavior (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
An introduction to the sociological study of organizations in the private and public sectors. Topics include models for studying organizations, organization processes (communication, decision-making, negotiation, leadership), the impact of structural culture, and environmental factors on organizational behavior.
SOCI 2600 Environmental Sociology (3 credits)
This course examines political and economic aspects of global and local environmental problems. Topics include how societies and the environment interact, why some environmental risks have gained most attention, how support for environmental concerns can be measured, responses by environmental social movements, and visions of sustainable societies in the First and Third Worlds.
SOCI 2650 Latin Amer & the Environment (3 credits)
An introduction to the political economy of the environment in Latin America.
SOCI 2700 The Social Psychology of Everyday Life (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
An examination of issues involved in everyday social interactions, this course focuses on dimensions of interpersonal behavior against the background of sociological roles and role-playing. Emphasis is pl aced on the nature and process of interpersonal relationships, encounters, and public behavior against a backdrop of societal assumptions, norms, practices and beliefs. Related issues of affect/emotion, attitudes, cognition and perception will be discussed.
SOCI 2730 City of Paris (3 credits)
Paris, one of the most distinctive and historically rich cities in the world, is used as a living laboratory for an examination of social patterns, processes, and organization of contemporary urban life. Course materials and field investigations serve to contextualize modern Paris in the conditions that spawned its dramatic transformation over the past two millennia and its continuing evolution into the present. Much of this summer class is experiential: learn by doing-planning, exploring, observing, mapping, and interpreting. In-class and field projects focus on how cities and urban systems are organized, the structuring of public space and its uses, modes of interpersonal interaction, how people perceive and attach meaning to the built environment, how we "read" cities, and represent urban spaces and places in our minds via "cognitive maps".
SOCI 2800 Introduction to Women's Imprisonment (3,4 credits)
This class will explore the history, sociology, law, and politics of women’s incarceration in the United States and Louisiana in particular exploring how different disciplines approach the subject. The class will investigate and map the work of local, national, and international organizations working on issues related to women in prison. We will use women in prison as a location to explore gender issues such as violence against women, discrimination against women in employment, racism and intersectionality, devaluation of women, and enforcement of gender norms such as compulsory heterosexuality. We will examine how law oppresses women but also how individuals and groups have changed policies to improve women’s prison conditions and reduce the collateral consequences of convictions.
SOCI 2880 Writing Practicum (1 credit)
Prerequisite: successful completion of the First-Year Writing Requirement.
Co-requisite: three credit departmental course.
Fulfills the college intensive writing requirement.
3000-Level Courses
SOCI 3030 Introduction to Research Design (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
Logic and techniques of social research, the relationships between theory and method, and alternative strategies in data collection.
SOCI 3040 Introduction to Research Analysis (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 3030 or approval of instructor.
Basic training in descriptive and inferential statistics with social science applications. Topics include measurement, tabular and graphic displays of data, central tendency, dispersion, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, and linear regression.
SOCI 3100 Special Topics (3 credits)
Special Topics in Sociology. Corequisite(s): SOCI 3101.
SOCI 3220 Social Theory (3 credits)
Prerequisite: SOCI 2010 or approval of instructor.
An introduction to classical and contemporary sociological theory.
SOCI 3880 Writing Practicum (1 credit)
Prerequisite: successful completion of the First-Year Writing Requirement.
Co-requisite: three-credit departmental course.
Fulfills the college intensive writing requirement.
SOCI 3890 Service Learning (1 credit)
Prerequisite: Departmental approval.
Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course.
4000-5000 Level Courses
SOCI 4210 Urban Ethnography and Social Justice (3 credits)
In this course students will develop a practical working knowledge of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in analyzing urban issues of social justice through a combination of classroom instruction, applied ethnographic field instruction, practitioner engagement, and professional development activities.
SOCI 4310 Crime Punishment & Comm NOLA (3 credits)
This course examines the relationship among community changes/characteristics, crime, and punishment focusing on New Orleans. It includes an intense community engagement component that involves residential outreach to assess viewpoints on common crime prevention, policing and punishment practices. Corequisite(s): SOCI 4210 and SOCI 4890.
SOCI 4560, 4570 Internship Studies (1-3 credits per course)
Prerequisite: SOCI 3040, approval of instructor and department.
Open to especially qualified upper level students.
SOCI 4610 Ecology and Society (3 credits)
From local disasters to global crises, this course explores the grave consequences to human development springing from ecological catastrophes and the ways in which wellbeing, social equality, and economic advance are intimately linked to the environment. Corequisite(s): EVST 4510.
SOCI 4910, 4920 Independent Studies (1-3 credits per course)
Prerequisite: SOCI 3040, approval of instructor and department.
Open to especially qualified upper level students with approval of instructor.
SOCI H5990-H5000 Honors Thesis (3, 4 credits per course)
Prerequisite: SOCI 3040, approval of instructor and department.
For senior honors candidates and other qualified senior majors. Intensive reading and research in a selected field of sociology.
6000-Level Courses
SOCI 6010 Advanced Topics in Sociology (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Special topic announced each semester.
SOCI 6020 Political Sociology (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Analysis of both the distribution and institutional bases of power in society and the values that legitimate them. Class, bureaucracy, occupations, and political participation as these correlate with power.
SOCI 6050 Issues in Social Demography (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the social causes and consequences of population change. Analysis of current issues of demographic concern focusing on the social variables that differentially affect and are affected by the demographic processes of fertility, migrations, and mortality.
SOCI 6060 Issues in the Sociology of Gender (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course examines research in several areas of the sociology of gender. Topics include the acquisition of gender identity, face-to-face interactions, the changing roles of women and men, the intersection of work and family, and social movements. Students will conduct original research in one of these areas.
SOCI 6070 The Sociology of Sexuality (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An advanced sociology course on sexuality. The core theme of the course is to explore how the way we think about and experience the erotic, sex, and sexuality are constructed through and shaped by social processes. Considerable time will be spent on sexuality as a system of stratification that is separate from but intersects with inequalities on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, and class.
SOCI 6080 Symbolic Interactionism (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Explores the perspective within social psychology known as symbolic interactionism. Includes discussion of the work of pioneering scholars in the field, as well as recent theoretical and empirical studies. Topics to be covered include the self, socialization, identity, social interaction, the dramaturgical metaphor, human nature, social structure, and the definition of the situation.
SOCI 6090 Sociology of Medicine (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of social and psychological factors affecting the prevalence and incidence of disease in human populations. Topics also considered include the organization of the health professions, comparative medical systems, social change and health care, and social factors affecting the utilization of health services.
SOCI 6100 Sociology of Health & Illness (3-4 credits)
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 3030 and 3040.
Advanced seminar in the social causes and effects of health, illness, and healthcare.
SOCI 6112 Sociology of Food and Agriculture (3,4)
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 3040, 3030 and 3220.
Study of food and agriculture systems, particularly in the Gulf South and Latin America, from a sociological perspective.
SOCI 6110 Sociology of Work and Leisure (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An historical analysis of both the forms and the functions of work from ancient times to the present, with emphasis on Western cultures. Projections of the nature and purposes of work in the post-industrial era.
SOCI 6120 Race and Ethnic Relations in America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Sociological examination of the dynamics of race and ethnic relations in the United States. This course provides an opportunity for students to read about, think, and discuss issues of racial and ethnic relations in society. Topics include the social construction of racial classification systems, the historical record of the interaction between the races in America, public policy, and possible mechanisms for dealing with some of the issues that many consider most problematic in our society.
SOCI 6130 Sociology of Science (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Examination of science as a social institution and the processes of research as sociological phenomena. Special attention to factors accounting for scientific productivity and a case analysis of sociology as an emerging scientific specialty.
SOCI 6140 Problems in the Sociology of Deviance (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Consideration in depth of one or more current problems of theory and research in the sociology of deviance: societal reaction theory, organizations for management of deviance, and the design of prevention. Independent student research projects encouraged.
SOCI 6150 Gangs, Gangsters and Organized Crime (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Using case studies from Japan (Samurai-to-Tonin-to-Yakuza), the gangster-era United States (1920s and 1930s), modern Colombia (narcotraffice) and Brazil (Favela gangs), and contemporary urban U.S. ethnic gangs, this course explores through text and film, the social construction and social control of groups deemed 'public enemies.' Course analysis uses several theoretical contexts: Social constructionist sociology, theories of political and social power, conceptualizations ethnic stranger/'Others,' and the role of classification in ordering social worlds. These processes are explained in terms of longer-term historical developments involving constructing and reshaping urban identities, distinguishing urban from rural ones, and the internationalizing of these processes and struggles.
SOCI 6160 Crime and Human Development (3-4 credits)
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 3030, 3040 and 3220.
This course will examine key conceptual and research issues such as the development of criminal behavior and criminal careers; stability and change in criminal behavior across developmental stages of the life course; trajectories, transition, and turning points through life; qualitative and quantitative approaches to studying crime and the life course, and social change and its link to individual lives.
SOCI 6170 Problems in the Sociology of Inequality (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Consideration in depth of one or more current problems of theory and research in sociology in inequality: Poverty, Homelessness and the Cities; The American Underclass; Labor Markets.
SOCI 6180 Wealth, Power and Inequality (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Theories of stratification, status systems in various societies, measurement and research of social classes in the United States.
SOCI 6190 Urban Organization (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
A study of the causes and social effects of urban growth and decay in rich and poor countries. An examination of contemporary urban social classes and political coalitions, and how these are changing with shifting regional economies.
SOCI 6200 Issues in Sociology of the Family (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course will consider the sociological, political, and cultural criticisms of the traditional definitions of family. The course focuses on family demography, gay/lesbian family issues, African-American families, and the "family values" wars as organizing topics.
SOCI 6210 Sociology of Culture (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor (3 credits)
The sociology of culture provides a useful lens to examine culture in everyday life, in mass media and in the fine arts. Through selected readings, films, lectures, and field trips students are exposed to a range of theoretical approaches to the topic while learning how to discuss, critique, and synthesize key themes. Among these themes are: local, urban, and recorded cultures; the production of culture; evaluation of authenticity and aesthetic merit; dominant culture versus subcultures; cultural tourism; and nonprofit organizations. Exemplars provide research models for empirical research on culture, its processes and impacts. Methods include surveys, participant observation, interviews, and/or analysis of documents and artifacts in historical archives. As a capstone course, activities are designed for advanced undergraduate or for graduate students interested in pursuing an independent research project within the sociology of culture.
SOCI 6250 Sociology of Childhood (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course examines theories, methods, and empirical research in several areas of the sociology of childhood. Major themes are (1 credit) how social structure constrains children's lives, (2) how children negotiate, share, and create culture, and (3 credits) how children's experiences vary within and across societies. Topics include historical trends in thinking about children, cultural reproduction in early childhood, children's social worlds, contemporary attitudes toward children, and social policies for children. Students will design and carry out original research projects.
SOCI 6280 Comparative Latin American Demography (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of historical trends and current conditions in population structure and population processes in Central and South America.
SOCI 6290 Urban Organization Laboratory (1 credit)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Co-requisite: SOCI 6190.
A community service and/or research internship with a community agency or program in the New Orleans, metropolitan area. Placement in the internship is coordinated though the course instructor and a representative of the community service agency or program.
SOCI 6300 Urban Policy and Planning (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Investigates how urban planning efforts and government polices and programs have affected U.S. cities and metropolitan areas over the last hundred years. Students are introduced to traditional, mainstream, and radical planning theories and policy critique. Examines urban policy formulation and implementation, conflicts and struggles, and the relationship between theory, research, and planning/policy.
SOCI 6310 The Urban Experience (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Uses a broad array of social scientific and humanistic analytical and representational elements to explore how individual persons and cultures experience, process, interpret, and express the modern urban milieu.
SOCI 6325 Global & Local Environ Justice (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 3040.
This service-learning course enriches student understanding of environmental justice at the global and local level. Students will sharpen their knowledge of various environmental movements. activism. and advocacy in the classroom. which will be supplemented with experience in the field. Specifically. students will collaborate with environmentally-focused organizations and nonprofits in the greater New Orleans area to implement environmental justice activities in the local community.
SOCI 6330 Sociology of Education (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course will examine the social functions of educational institutions, the role of education in the American social and economic structure, and major controversies and debates concerning educational policy as social policy.
SOCI 6340 Race & Ethnicity in Latin Amer (3 credits)
This course explores the development of racial categories throughout Latin America and the implications of these social constructs for group identities, community building, and social activism. We will begin with a theoretical overview of the scholarship on race and ethnicity in Latin America and on the process of racialization. We will explore the limitations of using a Western lens to understand race and racism in Latin America and the Caribbean. Students will learn to expand how they conceptualize these terms in order to better understand Latin America's distinct racial landscape. Students will engage the empirical scholarship of indigenous populations as well as on Latin Americans of African descent. Students will learn about the complexities of mestizaje he erasure of blackness and rising inter-ethnic conflict.
SOCI 6350 Marginality and 'Other' (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course examines the role of ideologies justifying persecution and of persecution itself in the construction and change of national states. Four interrelated and interactive processes are analyzed: Cultural constructions of pollution, danger, and taboo; marginalization of stigmatized 'Others'; the roles of these processes in construction and change in national states; the responses of 'Others' to the previously described processes.
SOCI 6400 Sociology of Criminal Justice (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Various aspects of the criminal justice system are examined with special attention devoted to organizational and decision-making features. The discretionary powers of criminal justice agencies are explored in light of their effect on the composition and size of this society's criminal population. Discussed are the legislature, police, courts, and corrections agencies.
SOCI 6410 Political Policing (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Is policing politically neutral in its goals and consequences? Is it inherently political in its processes, goals, and outcomes? What is political policing? How does it operate? Is politicized policing solely a problem of developing country settings? Does it decrease with societal development? What is the relationship of police to national states and their political agendas? What is the difference between 'low' and 'high' political policing? Under what conditions do the politics of policing become more or less visible? What is the relative political value of police over military action? What have been the consequences of political policing?
SOCI 6440 Language Behavior and Communication (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the intersection of psychosocial processes and the machinery of grammar and lexicon. Examination of the areas of aphasia, mental disorders, language acquisition, and cognition with an emphasis on cross-cultural methods and experimental design.
SOCI 6560 Social Movements and Collective Behavior (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An advanced theoretical and empirical analysis of the determinants of organized non-institutionalized forms of collective action. Topics include the interplay of structural conditions and voluntaristic actions, the logic of collective action, culture, and ideology as they shape social movement outcomes. The specific types or dimensions of collective action examined may vary from semester to semester.
SOCI 6600 Social Policy and Evaluation Research (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Course focuses on the applied methods required to determine whether an intervention (or policy) achieve intended ends. Relevant topics include: problem identification, needs assessment, value s clarification, policy description, evaluative tools, ethical considerations, problems and pitfalls of applied evaluative research, and efficiency and cost-benefit analysis.
SOCI 6640 Sociology of Organizations (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Exploration and development of organizational structures, processes and consequences. Interdisciplinary focus drawing conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools from sociology, management, economics, and applied fields such as law and public administration. The seminar will examine classic and current issues in the sociology of organizations and the influence of complex organizations on different contexts and institutions (e.g., economy, family, healthcare, politics).
SOCI 6660 Forensic Sociology (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3220; SOCI 3030; and SOCI 3040
This course will introduce students to the ways in which scholars and researchers apply social science knowledge, methods, and theories to legal problems such as criminal trials, civil disputes, and arbitration proceedings. The course will address socio-legal questions and problems related to the following areas of civil litigation: premises liability and inadequate/negligent security, product liability and human-factors related litigation, climate change, toxic torts and crime torts, racial segregation and fair housing, and employment discrimination lawsuits.
SOCI 6670 Organization Ethnography (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Ethnographic and qualitative study of organizations, methods thereof, and research literatures thereon. Topics include qualitative data collection methods, application of these methods to organizations, and the contributions of recent ethnographic work to the study and practice of organizations. Course will take the form of comparative assessment of ethnographic and qualitative research on organizations.
SOCI 6700 Sociology of Law (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the implications of law in the persistence and change of social systems, the relation of sociological theory and research to legal institutions, and law as an organization and profession.
SOCI 6800 Society and Economy (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
The overall relationships of the economy to other components of society and specific institutions: economy and government, economy and family, economy and gender. The social organization of the firm, the market, organizations and economic culture and how each affects the other.
SOCI 6880 Writing Practicum (1 credit)
Prerequisite: successful completion of the First-Year Writing Requirement.
Co-requisite: three-credit departmental course.
Fulfills the college intensive writing requirement.
SOCI 6890 Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course provides and introduction to key themes and practices in qualitative research methods, including major theoretical and methodological debates, project design, gaining access, gathering and analyzing data. Methods discussed may include ethnographic analyses, in-dept interviews, comparative historical analyses, content analyses, and oral histories.
SOCI 6900 Sociology of Development in Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the transitions from pre-modern to modern and from modern to post-modern economies and societies in Latin America. An inquiry into the causes and social effects of rapid "modernizing" social changes such as increases in urban residence, schooling, factory work, and mass media exposure.
SOCI 6910 Gender in Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490, or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
A sociological examination of how changing political, economic and developmental issues in Latin America shape and are shaped by gender relations. Topics may include gender in the family, the work place, the community, the media, political institutions, and social movements. Comparisons will be made between individuals in Latin America and Latinos/Latinas living outside the region.
SOCI 6920 Social Stratification and Mobility in Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the extent and social bases of wealth and power inequalities in Central and South America along lines of class, gender, race, ethnicity, and regional origin.
SOCI 6930 Social Movements in Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
An examination of the factors shaping the emergence, development, and decline of social movements in Latin America. Issues addressed include why people join movements, what constraints there are on building of social movement organizations, and in what ways are leaders and ideologies crucial to movement development.
SOCI 6940 Political Sociology of Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course examines theories of the bases and distribution of power in Latin America. Topics include the role of elites and domestic class coalitions in state formation and regime transitions, the role of civil society -labor, popular associations, political parties-in democratization, and the role of culture, including religion, in political life.
SOCI 6950 Migration In The Americas (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
From the colonization of the continent up to the present, countries in North and South America have been receiving communities for migrants from all over the world. Course focus on 20th century international migration flows to and within the Americas with three main themes: (1 credit) theories of international migration, (2) immigrant adaptation, assimilation and incorporation, and (3 credits) international migration policies.
SOCI 6960 Urban Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course is a study of the causes and social effects of urban growth and decay in rich and poor countries in the Americas. Examines contemporary urban social classes and political coalitions, and how these are changing with shifting regional economies. The course discusses theories of urban societies and regional growth, and examines case studies and theories from Latin America.
SOCI 6980 Brazilian Society (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
This course examines Brazilian society through texts, films and speakers. The topics include Brazil's history, politics, work and workers' movements, squatters, the Amaz on conflict, religion, gender, and the mass media.
SOCI 6990 Special Topics in the Sociology of Latin America (3 credits)
Prerequisites: SOCI 2490 or LAST 1010, SOCI 3040 and SOCI 3220 or approval of instructor.
Course topics vary. Courses will include: Latin American Immigration, Race and Ethnicity in the Americas, Caribbean Societies, and Drugs and Alcohol in the Americas.