Social Theory and Methods
SOC:5000 Scholarly Professionalism and Integrity, 2 s.h.
General introduction to department and discipline for entering graduate students; departmental and graduate college requirements, program and career planning, interaction with faculty members, consideration of student interests and concerns. Two semesters beginning in fall.
SOC:5110 History of Sociological Theory, 3 s.h.
Ideas of major 19th- and 20th-century social thinkers (e.g., Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, Mead).
SOC:6110 Theory Construction and Analysis, 3 s.h.
Contemporary theoretical issues and nature of theory, theory's place in research, strategies of theory construction.
SOC:6140 Seminar: Selected Topics in Sociological Theory, 3 s.h.
- Contemporary Theory
- Gender Research Workshop
- Gender Theory
SOC:6175 Qualitative Methods, 3 s.h.
Logic of qualitative research; basic skills necessary for a qualitative research project. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.
SOC:6170 Introduction to Sociological Data Analysis, 3 s.h.
Statistical measures for descriptive methods and association; logic of statistical inference, hypothesis testing; background essential to understanding linear models, models for categorical data analysis. Prerequisite: introductory statistics or consent of instructor.
SOC:5160 Research Design and Methods, 3 s.h.
Research designs; sampling designs and techniques; questionnaire construction, interviewing techniques; participant and non participant observation; coding and preparation of data for analysis; measurement techniques, reliability, and validity. Prerequisite: SOC:6170 or consent of instructor.
SOC:6180 Linear Models in Sociological Research, 3 s.h.
Statistical techniques associated with general linear model; emphasis on multiple regression, its generalizations; corresponding computer programs. Prerequisite: SOC:6170 or consent of instructor.
SOC:7170 Advanced Statistical Modeling of Data, 3 s.h.
Models for analysis of categorical data, including loglinear, logit, related discrete data models. Prerequisites: advanced graduate standing and consent of instructor.
SOC:7180 Structural Equation Modeling, 3 s.h.
Overview of structural equation models (SEMs), also known as LISREL models, covariance structure models; specific types of SEMs, such as simultaneous equations and confirmatory factor analysis; intermediate topics.
Social Psychology
SOC:6210 Contemporary Approaches to Social Psychology, 3 s.h.
Review and critical analysis of current theoretical approaches to and systems of social psychological analysis.
SOC:6220 Seminar: Selected Topics in Social Psychology, 3 s.h.
Selected theoretical and methodological issues. Examples include:
- Life Course Seminar
- Sociology of Emotion
- Sociology of Morality
- Self and Identity
- Power, Status, Trust
Crime, Law, and Social Control
SOC:6410 Seminar: Criminological Theories, 3 s.h.
Theories of crime causation and their relationships to the cultures in which they have functioned.
SOC:7410 Communities and Crime, 3 s.h.
Distribution of crime as rooted in community-level conditions such as concentrated affluence or poverty, racial residential segregation, unemployment, family disruption, and immigration. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor.
SOC:6420 Seminar: Selected Topics in Deviance and Control, 3 s.h.
Critical analysis of current research; emphasis on theoretical contributions and methodological foundations. Repeatable. Topics include:
- Interpersonal Violence and Coercive Actions
- Political and Legal Change in Historical Comparative Perspective
SOC:7460 Sociology of Law Seminar, 3 s.h.
Relationship between law and society explored through writings and research of classical and contemporary sociologists and legal scholars. Prerequisite: sociology graduate standing or consent of instructor
Gender and Family
SOC:5310 Gender Theory, 3 s.h.
Introduction to sociological analysis of gender; multiple ways that gender patterns the social world in which we live; predominant theoretical stances related to study of gender; how gender structures everyday social interaction; how social institutions (e.g., work, family) give rise to and recreate gendered meanings, expectations, structures; possibilities for interventions and change to gender system.
SOC:6310 Gender Stratification Seminar, 3 s.h.
Occupational gender segregation; gender gap in pay; role of family caregiving in women's lower pay; devaluation of caregiving work; comparable worth.
Social and Political Organizations
SOC:6810 Social Stratification, 3 s.h.
Classical and contemporary theories; current research on the causes and magnitude of inequality in economics, power, and prestige; social mobility; critical issues in stratification.
SOC:7820 Seminar: Selected Topics in Social Stratification, 3 s.h.
Prerequisite: social science graduate standing or consent of instructor. Examples include:
- Status, Value, and Inequality
- Social Capital
- Race and Ethnicity
- Inequality Seminar
- Social Construction of Value
SOC:6850 Seminar: Sociology of Labor Markets, 3 s.h.
Sociological and economic theories and research concerning area/regional/local labor markets, industrial sectors and the dual labor market, occupational/internal labor markets; other structural explanations of inequality.
SOC:7860 Seminar: Economy and Society, 3 s.h.
Relationships between social classes and nation-states in capitalist societies; historical experience of the United States; comparative perspective, especially regarding Western Europe.
SOC:7620 Social Network Analysis, 3 s.h.
Relational, data-oriented approach to representing linkages or relationships among social units, and to examine the relevance of these social structures in social processes. Prerequisite: basic multiple regression or consent of instructor.
SOC:6610 Complex Organizations, 3 s.h.
SOC:5810 Education and Social Change, 3 s.h.
Role of educational institutions, in connection with political and economic structures, in social change; illumination of theories of social change through case studies of educational systems in less developed nations.
SOC:5130 Sociology of Education, 3 s.h.
Effects of school and school organization on educational outcomes; course-taking patterns and tracking, desegregation, differences in school sector; focus on entire span of student's academic career; examination of school and organizational effects at the primary, secondary, and postsecondary levels of education.
SOC:5165 Race, Class and Gender Inequalities in Education, 3 s.h.
Role of ascribed characteristics (e.g., race, class, gender) on educational opportunities and outcomes; achievement gaps, school desegregation, social and cultural capital, peer influence, family attributes, neighborhood influence, influence of significant others, course-taking patterns, and educational destinations.
SOC:5680 Sociology of Higher Education, 3 s.h.
Sociological approach to study of higher education; issues of inequality and stratification in higher education; focus on relationship between higher education and larger economic and demographic processes; college access, college destinations, attainment, and returns to a college degree.
SOC:6264 Post-Industrial Cities, 3 s.h.
Aspects of urban inequality in post-industrial cities; racial inequality, urban poverty, neighborhood inequality, and municipal bankruptcy.
Teaching
SOC:7010 Teaching Sociology, 3 s.h.
Supervised preparation for teaching sociology courses; literature on teaching; course objectives, alternative teaching techniques; preparation of course syllabus, lectures, discussions, exams. Prerequisites: advanced graduate standing and consent of instructor.
Independent Reading and Research
SOC:6080 or CRIM:6080 Master's Thesis, arranged
SOC:7030 or CRIM:7030 Readings and Research Tutorial, arranged
SOC:7090 or CRIM:7090 PhD Dissertation, arranged
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