SOCI - Sociology

Required of all first-year students to be taken in their first semester on campus. This seminar provides an overview of academic requirements for graduation and helps establish meaningful career goals and objectives. Discussion of policies, standards, procedures, expectations, and resources that will contribute to student success not only during the first semester but throughout the student's academic career at GCSU.

A study of structures, processes, and functions of human society. Topics covered include: marriage and family relationships, class and race relations, deviant social behaviors, world population issues, and other modern social problems.

This course was previously listed as SOCI 1121 Sociological Perspectives.  Students may not earn credit for both SOCI 1101 and SOCI 1121.

A study of structures, processes, and functions of human society. Topics covered include: marriage and family relationships, class and race relations, deviant social behaviors, world population issues, and other modern social problems.

Effective Fall 2024, this course will be replaced by SOCI 1101 Introduction to Sociology. SOCI 1101 will automatically fulfill any requirement that previously required SOCI 1121. Students may not earn credit for both SOCI 1101 and SOCI 1121.

Students will be introduced to the basics of sociological practice and to the intersection of theory and methods. Students will leave the course with an understanding of the skills and knowledge that they will acquire through their sociological training as undergraduate majors. Prerequisite: SOCI 1121.

An applied study of marriage and family in contemporary American society. Topics include mate selection, sexuality, parenthood, marital communication, family roles, divorce.

This course focuses on adolescent identity and how it is developed within larger macro-level trends such as stereotyping, poverty, unemployment, and immigration. All topics are studied within a theoretical framework that highlights the intersection of gender, race, and social class. Course themes may vary.

Prerequisite: Permission of department. Consideration of topics in which courses are not otherwise offered, but for which there is a current need at the freshman/sophomore level. This course is repeatable for credit.

A survey and analysis of the nature and extent of juvenile delinquency. This course examines the juvenile justice system, delinquency theories, and prevention, control, and treatment programs. (Cross-listed as CRJU 3325.)

Social Change explores contemporary and historical changes in US society with a focus on social movements. Economic as well as technological dynamics of modern society are examined including theories of social change such as those generated by historical and contemporary social thinkers, both within and outside the discipline of sociology.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. Studies the size of the population, its growth, composition, and distribution. Emphasizes the three main population variables of fertility, mortality, and migration, and their relationships to the social structure.

The course focuses on the nature and extent of crime. Emphasis is placed on past and current theories of crime, typologies of crime, programs for prevention, treatment, and control. (Cross-listed as CRJU 3424.)

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. A cross-cultural study of the origin, structure and function of the family. Anthropological, sociological and social psychological approaches are used to explain the universal quality of the family.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of instructor. What role does religion play in society? What are the similarities and differences in the major religious traditional in our society? How can we explain variation in belief and participation? Are we becoming more or less religious? This course will try to answer these questions and more. While we will not be looking at specific doctrines or histories, we will be looking at the general practices and beliefs of Mainline Protestants, Evangelical and Black Protestants, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam, especially their significance to contemporary social issues.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of instructor. Music is universal. All cultural groups make it, and all people listen to it. It is the "soundtrack of our lives". Beyond what we can know about its performance and theory, what can we learn about the social nature of music? After having taken this course, you will be able to critically engage with musical content and have a clear understanding of music in its social context.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of instructor. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the microsociological perspective broadly and to the field of sociological social psychology more narrowly. Both explore how various social contexts influence human behavior, seeking to answer questions such as, "What causes conflict between groups?", "Why do some people conform to norms and laws while others violate them?", "What causes harmful or aggressive behavior?", Why do stereotypes persist even when our experiences contradict them?" In attempting to answer questions such as these, we will make use of concepts such as self, role, and identity, as well as perspectives such as role theory, cognitive theory, and symbolic interaction theory. In this class students will learn to apply these concepts and theories to their own social world.

Prerequisite: Sociology 1121 or permission of instructor. An analysis of how gender is socially produced, and the implications of gender for individuals, social processes, and social structure. Focus on the complex intersections between gender inequality and inequalities of race/ethnicity, class, and sexualities. (Cross-listed as WMST 3432).

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121. This course takes a food systems approach to exploring the production and distribution of food in the United States. It focuses on capitalism and government policy as strong influences on the types of food available for consumption and some of the consequences of eating industrial food. The course explores paradoxes such as the problem of hunger in a land of plenty and the difficulty of small-scale conventional farmers to make ends meet when their yields are as high as ever. We also consider food movements that have responded to some of the social problems associated with industrial farming. We take a structural approach in this course as opposed to an individual-level, decision making approach about food choices. Students will also have an opportunity to experience life off campus by way of working in the Lucille Harris community garden in Harrisburg.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. A senior-level course in quantitative methods with emphasis on the analysis of survey data. The course requires the execution of each stage of the research process. Completion of MATH 1401 or equivalent is recommended.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. An examination of racial and ethnic population composition with emphasis on the origin and maintenance of conflict-based race relations. (Equivalent to BLST 3444.)

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121. Sociology is the scientific study of human behavior in groups. The sociology of education is then the scientific study of schools and education in society. This course includes a review of major theories of the role and function of education and schools in society.

Prerequisite: Passing grade ( C for majors; D for non-majors) in SOCI 1121. This course explores the various systems of stratification (hierarchical ordering) in the contemporary U.S. and the world at large (e.g., northern versus southern hemisphere). The stratification systems of class, race/ethnicity, and gender will be covered in their distinctiveness as well as their intersection.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. Studies the major theoretical orientations in sociology. Emphasizes those theories, American and European, which currently are used in the various studies in sociology.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. An analysis of bureaucratic structure, function, and process using both classical and contemporary models. The work of Weber, Parsons, and Etzioni will be examined.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. A study of the spatial distribution and relationships of people as related to rural, urban, and metropolitan location.

Prerequisite: SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. A survey of theory and research in the field of social deviance. Emphasis on the system of social control and the causes of deviance.

Prerequisite: SOCI 3442 with a grade of C or higher. This course is designed to give students a much deeper and narrow understanding of a particular method. Each section of this course will vary in terms of what that particular method is. Possible course topics include ethnography, in-depth interviews, survey methods, content analysis, and others.

Prerequisite: C or better in SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. A capstone course for seniors. Topics will vary, but will include discussion and demonstration of substantive and methodological competency.

Prerequisite: C or better in SOCI 1121 or permission of the instructor. Open to seniors majoring in sociology; prior approval of a sociology professor is required. Reading and research under guidance of department faculty. This course is repeatable for credit.

Consideration of topics in which courses are not otherwise offered, but for which there is current need. Subject matter varies

Prerequisite: C or better in SOCI 1121 or permission from the instructor. Individually designed and planned learning experience involving off-campus field experience and study in the public and private sector. Must be approved by the department chairperson or department internship coordinator. This course is repeatable for credit.

Prerequisite: C or better in SOCI 1121 or permission from the instructor. A capstone course involving a detailed research project developed with close faculty supervision. The final product should be a paper demonstrating substantial methodological expertise and significant findings. This course is repeatable for credit.