|
|
|
|
NOTE: Not all courses offered every semester. Contact Department Office for more information.
SOCL
100 Introduction to Sociology
An overview of the structure and functioning of contemporary
society, with emphasis on major conceptual areas of
sociology as a discipline; social organization, culture,
socialization, social stratification, social instructions,
social control, and population.
SOCL 110 Social Problems
An analysis of persistent and developing problem areas
in American society; family problems, educational problems
political apathy, economic dislocation, race problems, and
social deviance, as these are aggravated and stimulated by
the alienating character of mass society. The analysis will
introduce students to major sociological concepts and
perspectives.
SOCL 175 Introduction to Criminal Justice
Presents an overview of the criminal justice system, its
principles and their operation, definition of criminal
behavior, rights of the accused, the trial, role of
attorneys, plea barganing, sentencing, ect. In the
investigations of these aspects of legal reality, emphasis
is placed on their societal relevance. Students will also
learn the methods and theory associated with
criminological research.
SOCL 201 Comparative Social Institutions
A comparative analysis, from a sociological perspective, of
the way in which human groups through their culture and
institutions have solved major problems of adjustment to
their physical and social environment.
SOCL 210 Social Work Theory and Practice
The course will provide an overview of the profession of
social work and the methods of social work practice, i.e.,
casework, groupwork, community organization, research and
administration. Focus will be on developing awareness and
sensitivity as to the impact of contemporary social problems
on individuals, families, and communities. Social welfare
institutions, social work values and modes of intervention
will be discussed with particular attention to attitudes
toward people in dependent situations and the social
worker's role as enabler.
SOCL 216 Popular Culture
An investigation into forms of pop culture such as music,
magazines, films, television, literature, sports, games:
the relationships between particular contents and styles
of pop culture and the audiences and publics they appeal
to; the symbols, images, resonances and moods generated
and their relationships to the attitudes, values and
behavior of specific social classes, subcultures,
generations and changes in American society as a
whole.
SOCL 220 Sociology of Modern Life
The purpose of this course is to help
develop a "sociological
literacy" in understanding the modern world. What is
meant by this term is a way of looking at the world -- a
sociological perspective -- such that events are not seen in
isolation, but are understood as
manifestations of those
trends, movements, ideas, interconnections, that are
sometimes rather loosely referred to as "social and
historical forces." The term, "sociological perspective"
implies a coherent view of the causes and directions of
events based upon an understanding of the structures of the
political,
economic, and social institutions and ideas that
generate events and their historical transformations. A
theoretical orientation of this type will be used to
develop the analyses presented in class, but this will not
be formally presented.
SOCL 221 Symbolic Interaction
Covers the major figures in the development of the current
status of this
American school of sociological thought.
Not only touches upon the work of earlier men like Mead,
Cooley and
Thomas, but looks into contemporary men like
Goffman, Schutz, Blumer, Gerth and Mills. The ideas
developed are related to the improved understanding of
such areas or social life as role playing, self and
identity, communication in society, group dynamics,
reference groups, theory of motivation, language,
thought, and definitions of social reality.
SOCL 229 Sociology of Islam
This course will cover the social life of Islam and how its
fundamental beliefs are translated into practices and insti-
tutions. There will be a focus on the regional as well as
theological variations within the Islamic world. Attention
will be paid to the connections between Islamic faith
and comtemporary socio-political movements. This is not
specifically a course about Islamic theology, but will
discuss the terminology of Muslim belief systems in order
to better understand the experiential aspects of religious
and social practices.
SOCL 231 Comparative Aging: A Global Perspective
A cross-disciplinary approach to understanding of the aging
experiences across cultures and nations. Topics such as
kinship, perception of physical and psychological well-being
work, and social support will be explored in the frame of
social change, migration, demography, ethnicity, and social
health policies. Countries used to illustrate social and
cultural responses to the aging experiences include Japan,
Sweden, Ireland, China, Thailand, Kenya, Mexico, USA, and
Canada.
SOCL 233 Aging, Generations, & Society
Introduces sociological theories and research on aging and
the aged, exploring influences on the meaning of the
experience of aging and the ways in which age and aging are
socially constructed. Considers the sociology of aging
within the matrix of three kinds of time: the life cycle,
the aging of a generation and historical time.
SOCL 234 Families & Aging
Families and Aging is an examination of family relationships
in later life. Topics include historical perspectives on
aging and families, demographic changes affecting families
in later life, gay and lesbian relationships, single older
adults, parents and their adult children, grandparenting and
great grandparenting, sibling and other extended family
relationships, impact of divorce on families in later life,
widowhood, and social policies affecting families in later
life.
SOCL 235 Theories in Family Studies
This course covers the major theoretical frameworks used
in family sociology and interdisciplinary family studies.
These frameworks and research in family sociology are used
to understand processes of family formation, adjustment,
functioning, and conflict. The frameworks and research
are also used to understand famly forms as institutions
in relation to other institutions and historically.
SOCL 237 Sociology of Women
An examination of the roles of women in society. This will
include: a description of past and present roles of women
in the family, the economy, and the other social insti-
tutions; an analysis of the causes and consequences of
change in women's roles; an analysis of the social sources
of feminism; and a discussion of the prospects and
possibilities for change. Offered once a year.
SOCL 239 Women & Work
A cross-cultural and historical examination of women's labor
force participation. An examination of the process of sex
typing of occupations, the nature of 'feminine' occupations,
the relationship of women to labor unions, women in
'masculine' occupations, and problems of working women
(family conflict, discrimination, etc.).
SOCL 240 Urban Sociology
This course
is designed to introduce students to urban
studies the nature of urban life. Composition, patterns
of growth and decline, urban ecological patterns, metropolitan
planning, urban regions, social structure of cities and
problems of urban living.
SOCL 241 The Community
Analysis of classic and contemporary community studies;
emphasis upon small communities -- both natural and inten-
tional.
SOCL 243 Age of Globalization
This course is an attempt to understand globalization which
is a new world system that integrates every aspect of our
everyday life into a global village. The social, cultural,
political, and economical aspects of globalization will be
critically examined. Different theoretical approaches to
globalization will be discussed.
SOCL 245 Political Sociology
Analysis of the sociological perspectives on the rela-
tions between state and society and on the functioning
of political institutions. Topics covered will include:
the social bases of politics, the political significance
of bureaucratization, culture and political action, the
nature of power, legitimacy, authority and law, system
perspectives, the dynamics of revolutions, conflict theory,
and ideology. Survey of relevant material in the writings
of Weber, Marx, Pareto, Michels, Mosco, & Mills.
SOCL 246 Sociology of Law
Analysis of the social forces that shape the content of law
and the actual significance of law in the regulation of
conflict between individuals and groups. Treatment is given
also to the phases of development from sacred to rational
legal systems, the roles of prophets, kadi, honoratiores,
an courts, and the structure of the legal institutions in
primitive societies. Special attention will be focused on
the role of law in the regulation of group conflict in
American Society.
SOCL 247 Ideas and Ideologies
An examination of the emergence, embodiment and impact of
ideational systems in society. This will include considerations
of the origins of idea, their role in the
legitimation of social institutions, and the embodiment
of ideas in ideologies, personalities, and cultures. The
significance of ideas in social movements and in the idea-
systems of Socialism, Fascism, Communism, Democracy, Anti-
Communism in America, Racial and Anti-racial
ideologies
and the ideologies of hippies and Black Militants.
SOCL 250 Social Change
An examination of the interplay of forces that shape and
transform our society and its institutions: war,
technological innovation, the changing political order,
and the changing economy. Special attention is given to
the disruption of the social structure and its readjustment.
SOCL 252 Sociology of Revolution
This is an examination from the sociological perspective of
one of the most significant phenomena in the affairs of man.
The analysis deals with type of revolutions; nature of
revolutionary movements; revolution in varying kinds of
societies; consciousness, ideology and values in resolutions
rational and irrational forces, revolution as modernization,
industrialization, nationalism and social change.
SOCL 255 Sociology of Education
Anaylsis of educational systems from an institutional
and organizational perspective and as agencies of social-
ization. Educational systems in relation to the religious,
cultural, economic and political forces shaping them,
including technological, community, and sub-cultural
components.
SOCL 256 Aging and Health
This course examines social aspects of aging, health and the
health care
system in contemporary American society.
Topics explored include demography of aging and health,
health in later life (including interactions with health
professionals, elder care services and settings, and end-of-
life care issues), and societal aspects of our current
health care system as related to older adults and late
adulthood (including economic, political and ethical
issues).
SOCL 257 Sociology of Health & Illness
The course introduces the field of medical sociology, an
area of sociology concerned with social causes and
consequences of health and illness. This involves analysis
of the social context and organization of health and health
care, including professional and patient roles, health care
systems and settings (such as hospitals), health and illness
behaviors, and the social construction of health and
illness. The intent is to identify and discuss current
issues and findings in medical sociology.
SOCL 258 Drugs & Society
This course examines the extent of drug use and abuse in
the United States, the impact of such use on individuals,
families, and society-at-large, and the relationship between
illicit drug use and other forms of criminal behavior.
SOCL 260 Social Class
Theories of social stratification and social class; an
examination of the concept of class, caste, status, and
position in several social structures; an analyis of
significant studies of class in America; and methods
of measuring class position, status position, distribution
of power, income inequality, mobility, and other stratifi-
cation concepts. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours in SOCL.
SOCL 261 Sociology of Ethnic Relations
An approach to the study of interracial and/or inter-
ethnic relations, with emphasis on the changing nature
of contacts and the problems generated between groups within
the social institutions of multi-racial and multi-ethnic
societies. Use is made of comparative material from other
parts of the world.
SOCL 262 Organizations
The study of bureaucratic structure as a pervasive form
of social organization in modern society. The basic
character of bureacracy, its functional significance
for society as well as its pathological aspects, its
internal structure, and the effects of informal
relations within formal systems.
SOCL 263 Sociology of Work
An analysis of work systems in business, industry, and the
professions; the central importance of work as a human
activity, the concept of career, and the changing meaning
of work for the individual and society.
SOCL 265 Utopias
The early concerns of sociology were utopian in nature.
this course reviews that tradition against the back-
ground of utopias in the Green and Judeo-Christian
experience. Twentieth Century utopian thinking and reaction
to it will be discussed. Utopian theories, movements,
experiments and ideologies, real and speculative, from
literary, philosophical and historical sources will be
studied.
SOCL 269 Moral Dilemmas in Public Service
This course examines value dilemmas encountered by criminal
justices practitioners: discretion, deception, deadly force,
punishment, and social. It is designed to increase
awareness, understanding, and exploration of ethical and
policy issues in criminal justice as well as ethical
dilemmas encountered by professionals in the field. The
focus will be on the relevance of ethical theory to policy
analysis. There will be a comprehensive examination of
unethical practices as well as the mechanisms that sustain
them.
SOCL 270 Criminology
The purpose of this course is to examine the field of
Criminology. This will entail introducing students to the
difficulties of defining and measuring crime, sources of
crime statistics and data, looking at the extent of
criminology in our society through examination of trends and
patterns in different types of crime, as well as review of
past and present theories of causes of crime.
SOCL 272 Societal Deviance
This course describes and analyzes individual or group
reactions which (l)deviate from socio-cultural forms, and
(2) are stigmatized or punished to some degree with society.
Among such reactions are (1) drug addiction; (2) alcoholism;
(3) prostitution and homosexuality; (4) suicide; and (5)
forms of mental illness.
SOCL 273 Juvenile Delinquency
This course examines the concept of Juvenile Delinquency
as it has developed through history, the special status of
juveniles in legal proceedings, and the operation of the
juvenile justice system. Also examines the recent debate
regarding the status of juveniles in the Criminal Justice
system overall.
SOCL 274 Corrections
This course studies the evolution and philosophy or
correctional practices from early to contemporary times. It
will analyze the history and nature of American correctional
system, life in prison and issues related to the management
correctional programs. Important and controversial issues
related to our contemporary correctional system, such as the
death penalty, the disproportionate incarceration rate of
minorities and the increases in imprisonment over the last
two decades will be discussed.
SOCL 276 Interrogation in Multicultural Perspective
This course examines the dynamics of social psychological
persuasion existing in the process of criminal interrogation
Attention is given to the differences between interrogation
of suspected offenders and the interview of victims and
whitnesses. Interrogation is a field that to a large
extent is dependent on both verbal and non-verbal
communication. Both verbal and non-verbal communications
are culturally mediated behaviors. In order to sensitize
students to cultural differences in the area of
communication, we will study interrogation from a
multicultural angle.
SOCL 277 Police & Society
Police and Society is a survey course that focuses on the
role law-enforcement plays in the United States. The
structure and history of police, the nature of police work,
including community policing, the debates over police
discretion, community relations and police misconduct
are covered in this course. The course also examines the
functions, roles, personnel systems, operations, management
and issues of municipal, county, state and federal law
enforcement. The historical and emerging roles of police as
agents of formal social control are examined and discussed
in detail. Special attention is paid to applied learning
objectives with respect to each student's personal
experience with discretion and the human dimensions of
policing. This course also deals with analysis of
contemporary programs and trends in policing, including,
less-than-lethal technology and computerized information
systems.
SOCL 278 Prisons & Prisoners
The course involves selected readings and two trips to a
"maximum security" prison (Green Haven in Stormville, NY,
outside of Poughkeepsie). Both weekend trips will begin
on Friday afternoon and conclude late Saturday afternoon.
Students will be briefed, housed and participate in
seminars at the South Forty Corporation operations center.
The staff of the South Forty Corporation will conduct the
discussions and the trip(s) from South Forty to Green Haven.
Students will have ample opportunity to talk to prisoners
and observe conditions in Green Haven and to discuss their
impressions with authorities conversant about penal insti-
tutions and the criminal justice system in the State of New
York. Prerequisites: At least two 100-level courses in
political science, sociology, or psychology. Cross listed
with POLS and PSYCH 278.
SOCL 279 Race & Crime
This course is a critical examination of the interplay
between race and ethnicity and crime in the American justice
system. Issues such as law enforcement, the court system,
the corrections process, and impact of social policy in the
system related to racial and ethnic relations and inequality
will be discussed. Other important related issues such as
gender, class, religion in the system are incorporated
throughout the course.
SOCL 280 Society and the Individual
The study of man's behavior within a context of his symbolic
environment. The social basis of thought, personality
development, motivation, learning, and attitudes; and
the problems of social and personal identity.
SOCL 281 Collective Behavior
The study of unstructured social situations and their products;
panics, crowds, riots, fads, and mass movements; the
nature of public opinion and its functional relationship to
the organization of democratic and totalitarian societies.
SOCL 282 Social Movements
This course will examine systematically the structure and
the dynamics of social movements. Connecting their
historical appearance with the objectives projected for
realization, the course will make a theoretical anatomy
of the movements' social existence and operation.
SOCL 284 Sociology of Religion
Designed as an introductory course, coverage of basic
sociological concepts is provided using religious conduct
for illustration and analysis. Religious groups;
socialization into religious roles and communities;
religiosity and social classes; cults, sects and churches
as religious forms of social organizations; ideology,
science and religion and its connection to economic and
political institutions and conduct; religion as an element
of social change and social stability functions of religion
in society are some topics. Cross cultural and historical
religious illustrations included.
SOCL 294 Special Topics in Sociology
Designed to concentrate on special or current issues,
problems, and research topics. Selection of problems may
be made by the instructor organizing the seminar or
through student-instructor discussions to develop an
inquiry of a problem of mutual interest. Oral
participation and papers are the standard require-
ment for grade. Check with department or instructors for
specific semester offerings, additional requirements,
special bibliographies and outlines before enrolling.
SOCL 299 Independent Study in Sociology
Available to meet the needs of special reading or research
needs in Sociology.
SOCL 305 Comparative Criminal Justice
The purpose of this course is to go beyond the culturally
provincial view of the Criminal Justice system. Most of
the criminal justice issues are not just unique to one
country or a culture. We share problems with other
countries and cultures but the way different cultures
respond to the same problem may be different. Here,
we can benefit from the insights of other cultures.
This type of approach is known as the comparative
approach.
SOCL 309 Methods of Social Research
A survey of the various methods of gathering, analyzing and
interpreting data with special attention to what particular
styles of research imply in terms of alternative, sociolog-
ical theories. Specific topics include: research design,
sampling, methods of observation and interviewing,
questionnaire construction and quantitative as well as
qualitative analysis.
SOCL 313 Perspectives & Theories in Sociology
A review of traditional and current theories and perspec-
tives used in sociological work. Covers ideas and work of
Weber, Marx, Durkheim, Simmel, Mead, Parson, Goffman,
Berger, and Mannheim. Students will be required to
write papers on theorists or theoretical issues.
SOCL 353 Sociology of Knowledge
The cross-cultural and historical study of the dialectical
relationship between cultural ideas and their societal con-
text, stressing topics such as the nature of the sacred and
profane; the relationship between cultural leadership, and
societal rise and decline; the varying attitudes regarding
democracy vs. authoritarianism, and conservatism vs.
utopianism in different ages; and the nature of cultural
leadership (involving the roles of artistic, philosophical,
scientific, political, and religious elites).
SOCL 390 Senior Seminar in Sociology
The course serves as a capstone course for liberal arts
sociology majors. The course focuses on contemporary
issues in sociology. Students are required to complete
a substantial paper on a topic related to the course.
Prerequisites:18 s.h. in Sociology; sociology liberal
arts majors only; SOCL 309 required; and SOCL 313 recommended.
SOCL 392 Social Policy and the Life Course
This course will provide an interdisciplinary consider-
ation of social and public policy issues as they are
related to the study of individuals and families in
society. Students will be expected to use the various
social science perspectives learned in previous course
work to explore how public policy was formed and to
examine contemporary social policy conerns. Time will
be given to selected issues that are relevant to child-
hood and adolescence, families, and adulthood and aging.
PREREQUISITES: Junior standing and Field Experience in
SOC. SC. or permission of instructor. Offered once a
year.
SOCL 394 Special Topics in Sociology
Designed to concentrate on special or current issues,
problems, and research topics. Selection of problems
may be made by the instructor organizing the seminar or
through student-instructor discussions to develop an
inquiry of a problem of mutual interest. Oral partici-
pation and papers are the standard requirement for grade.
Check with department or instructors for specific semester
offerings, additional requirements, special bibliographies
and outlines before enrolling. PREREQUISITE: 3 sh 200
level and Junior Standing.
SOCL 397 Field Experience in Sociology (Internship)
Study of social organization in particular settings. Focuses
very from semester to semester. Limited number of meetings
with emphasis upon field experience. Possible settings for
observation, participation, work or research include
factories, farms, hospitals, restaurants, communes,
monasteries, beaches, prisons, labor unions, retail stores,
and voluntary associations. Course lengths vary; work may
be concentrated in a few weeks or extended throughout a
semester or vacation interim.
SOCL 399 Independent Study in Sociology
Available to meet the needs of special reading or research
needs in Sociology.
