SOCI - Sociology

This course provides students with an introduction to sociology, including culture, socialization, deviance, groups, social status, inequality, and social change, the interrelations among individuals, groups, and societies as well as how these impact and are impacted by social institutions including the family, education, the media, politics, and the economy.

IAI: S7 900

This course provides students the opportunity to study topics of interest to sociologists. Subject matter will vary.

This course introduces students to the history of the women's movement in the U.S. and examines the construction and experience of gender across multicultural and global perspectives. It is designed to enhance interdisciplinary dialogue, to locate women's voices and experiences in the stream of intellectual history, and to demonstrate how the present issues of feminist discourse emerged. Both women and men are encouraged to explore their own questions about gender in this course.

This course provides students with the opportunity to study historical and contemporary issues of interest to sociologists. Topics will vary.

In cooperation with University Ministry, this course provides a travel experience to the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border and U.S. immigration policy are highly controversial subjects that involve key sociological and social justice issues.  This course will begin by introducing students to a sociological analysis of these subjects and conclude with a 5 day travel experience at the Border itself. The travel experience will enhance the material presented in the classroom and provide students with the opportunity to see first-hand the social justice concerns in that region.

This course is designed with the goal of introducing students to facts and theories regarding the field of Sociological Theory. Theory seeks to provide grounded and testable hypotheses as to why people engage in various types of social behavior. Social theorists also want to understand how society deals with issues such as social problems, educations, love, social justice, etc. We will examine several specific sociological theorists and assess their thoughts ideas, and research on society.

Students in this course will explore the connections between the public and the private in looking at the social aspects of partnering and families. Marital and family as social institutions are examined through historical, structural, intersectional, and cultural lenses.

IAI: S7 902

Students in this course examine a variety of contemporary social problems, exploring the processes of what and how social issues come to be defined as problems. Students in this course analyze causes and consequences of social problems and propose solutions to these.

Workshops appropriate to the intensive study of particular sociological concepts, structures, and phenomena are offered periodically. Topics will vary.

Students in this course examine theoretical perspectives and empirical research about groups living, working, and communicating across geographical boundaries, such as in neighborhoods, cities, suburbs, and rural areas, as well as electronic communities and other spaces.

This class offers an introduction to the ways that groups emerge to promote and resist social change. Students in this class will examine theories of social change, collective behavior, leadership and organizational models and practices as they study historical, 20th century, and emerging efforts to resist current power arrangements and social conditions and create alternatives designed to increase rights and justice.

This course provides students with a framework to both analyze historical and contemporary patterns of exclusion, perceptions, and experiences and understand, create, and use various strategies, actions, and paths to increase social justice. Students also examine the role and relationships of and between institutions, such as familial, religious, legal, political, economic, and educational systems in creating, maintaining, and transforming said patterns, perceptions, and experiences.

This course incorporates practical applications of the methodological and research techniques needed to conduct quantitative and qualitative research. Skill development in research design, sampling techniques, measurement tools, interviewing skills, and analysis techniques will be practiced. Research ethics and critical analysis of existing research will be examined.

The social structure of Latina/o populations in the United States is studied, with special emphasis on immigration, economic structure, roles of community, family, gender, religion and politics, as they relate to US Latina/o identity.

This course is an introduction to social psychological theory and research, covering the interaction of individuals and the relationships of individuals to groups. This course focuses on the contributions of sociology to the field of social psychology and the intersections of the field of psychology and sociology. Includes such topics as social influence, attitudes, socialization, social construction of reality, dramaturgy, and ethnomethodology.

Occupation is a primary source of an individual's social position, relationships, identity, and sense of well-being. The way work is organized, governed, rewarded, and evaluated are directly related to social status and inequalities are a main focus of the class. Topics of workplace discrimination and harassment and the roles of technology, labor unions, globalization, and social movements related to work are also examined.

This course examines historical and current classifications of and responses to delinquency. Theories of delinquent behavior and the societal reaction to these acts will be explored. Critical analyses of theories and societal reactions to acts of delinquency and of the social (family systems, educations, and inequalities of race, gender, and social class) and political forces that influence policing, courts, and corrections practices and policies are utilized. Current efforts of prevention, diversion, and rehabilitation will be explored and critiqued.

Explores the social construction of crime, past and present classifications, and societal reactions to criminal behavior. Theories attempting to explain criminal behavior and critical analysis of the influences of race, gender, social class, and political forces influencing policing, courts, and corrections in the U.S. will be examined. The effects of mass incarceration on communities, racial profiling, use of force, and current efforts of prevention, diversion, rehabilitation, and reentry of the formerly incarcerated will be analyzed.

This course introduces you to the ways that communities can produce truly livable urban spaces that reduce the "ecological footprint" while at the same time offering practical solutions to social problems such as socio-economic inequality, social isolation, and lack of access to healthy foods. key concepts include: urbanization, urbanism, sustainability, food deserts, environmental racism, and uneven development.

This course explores the sociology of conflict, violence, and peace in a global context. Topics covered include the contexts that breed human rights violations, war and militarism, sexual violence, domestic and international terrorism, hate groups, and political violence. A variety of remedies from conventional deterrence and arms control strategies to alternative perspectives, such as nonviolent civil resistance, peace-building, restorative justice, and reconciliation strategies will also be examined.

This course uses historical, theoretical, and statistical data to explain various concepts of deviant behavior. Students will learn key terms, statistical data, and theories regarding deviance. They will be asked to develop critical skills to analyze how normative definitions of deviance fluctuate. Students will also learn comparative theories, methods, and laws that other countries use to define and address deviance.

This course provides a sociological analysis of the social, cultural, political, and economic implications of gender. Students learn how gender intersects with a variety of social statuses and institutions like race, class, sexuality, education, the media, the economy, and politics.

This course is designed for students to critically analyze facts and theories regarding past and current trends in culture and media and how they might impact society. Topics include using a sociological imagination to critique cultural and media forms like film, radio, music, the Internet, and video games. The class will learn key theoretical concepts and terms, assess behavioral and social scientific research on culture, and develop sociological skills to critique culture and media.

This seminar emphasizes interdisciplinary methodology and students' independent research. Designed to be an integrating experience, the seminar will focus on blending theory and application through reading, discussion, writing, and an original research or service project.

The course is designed for the student completing the African American Studies minor. The course integrates the student's prior coursework in African American Studies, and provides additional perspectives. Students are expected to conduct some independent scholarship and/or participate in a service learning contribution to the African American community.

This course is designed for the student completing the Latin American and Latina/Latino Studies minor. This course integrates the student's prior coursework in the minor and provides additional perspectives. Students are expected to conduct some independent scholarship and participate in a service learning contribution to a Latina/o community as well as share those experiences with the Lewis University community, especially the Latina/o community at Lewis University.

The student and instructor work in a one-to-one relationship. The course content might include reading on a specific subject in Sociology.

Students in this course will engage in advanced study of social perspectives on crime and deviance. A particular focus will be placed upon critical analyses of sociological theories, cultural understandings, and social policies around crime and deviance related to mass murder, terrorism, and serial killings.

This course is an in-depth examination of the importance of urban communities, with a focus on how urban spaces and places are created and create distinct cultural, institutional, and other social practices. Topics include the changing nature of community, social inequalities, social movements, policy and political power, and relationships between built environments and human behavior.

This course examines ways social inequalities matter in U.S. society and globally and the consequences of this for people's lives as well as the social and historical processes that have shaped our understandings of inequality.

This course takes a sociological approach to examining education, primarily within the United States.  Education is a key social institution that shapes our everyday experiences and opportunities.  This class will explore theories and concepts to understand the ways that political, organizational, and cultural contexts shape education.  We will examine the ways that race, class, gender, and ability impact student outcomes, as well as consider three different aspects of education: public education, private education, and higher education.  Theoretical and historical perspectives on schooling will provide context for today's experiences.  Inequalities, resources, practices, and policies and processes of change are particularly emphasized.

This course offers students an in-depth examination of the contributions of sociology in the field of cultural studies as it considers cultural products, ideas, and symbolic meanings and their relation to social behavior. Students will use a sociological lens to analyze culture as the product of complex social arrangements and processes.

Students undertake an intensive analysis of a specific topic in Sociology. Topics vary with the semester.

In this capstone course, students engage in original sociological research as they design and conduct research, interpret data, propose and evaluate social policy and practices. Students in this course also make connections between sociology and their desired careers. The course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

This internship places students in a community organization so as to further their understanding of the social environment and facilitate their transition into a career.