200

This course challenges students to re-examine their values about the diversity of marriages and families in America. The class consists of an overview of the processes of family formation, maintenance and dissolution.

This course examines the social contexts of health, illness and health care.  Specifically, the class consists of an overview of the subjective experience of health and illness; the political, economic, and environmental circumstances that impact health; and the societal forces that shape medical systems and people’s responses to illness.

The course relies on a variety of sociological perspectives to examine the role of popular culture in contemporary society, with a particular emphasis on mass media and its role as an agent of socialization. Students learn how to be critical consumers of media images.

This course enables students to develop practical skills in designing and completing qualitative research projects.  Different qualitative approaches are examined, focusing upon the use of interviews, “cultural artifacts,” and participant observation.  Major course topics include research design, fieldwork and data collection, data coding and analysis, the presentation of findings, and the common challenges and ethical issues of qualitative research.

This course examines the social construction of sports as well as the impact of sports upon society. Specifically, the class consists of an overview of the social experience and patterning of sports; the political, economic, and environmental circumstances that impact sports; and the societal forces that shape sporting systems and events as well as people's responses to and interpretations of sports.

An exploration of sex and the interactions among and between people and institutions that form the boundaries through which sexualities are understood in the United States.

This class examines how people and the social forces that impinge on them affect one another's thoughts, feelings and behavior. The class consists of an overview of major theories and research streams in micro-level sociological analysis, and explorations of various sub-fields in this area of sociology.

Demonstrates to students why social scientific research is a legitimate and profound way of knowing; helps students to understand how researchers move from concept to variable to measurement, and how data are collected, entered into the computer and analyzed.

Special courses may be offered each year.