Section 020. How do class, race, age, gender, and sexual preference shape our and other peoples' lives? Why do people who make $30,000 and people who make $140,000 all feel middle class? Why do women in dual career couples do a month of 24 hour days more housework per year than men? Why do we need affirmative action? Why do women Marines have to wear makeup and take etiquette classes? Why do we spend almost five times as much of the federal budget on the elderly than on children? In this course we will use sociological imagination, theory, analysis, and empirical research to answer these questions. We will examine various theoretical explanations for social inequality in the United States as well as empirical research about inequality. Students will learn to think and write critically about the basic concepts of the discipline and to use research and theory when engaging in a discussion of these issues. WL:1 (Martin)
101. Person and Society: An Introduction to Sociology Through Social
Psychology. Open to freshpersons and sophomores. Juniors are strongly
encouraged and seniors must take Soc. 400, 401, 452, 463, 464, 465, 470,
481, 482, or 486. No credit for seniors. (4). (SS).
Section 001 - Person and Society. The purpose of this course is to introduce
students to the area of Social Psychology within Sociology. The course will
provide a general introduction to the social psychological perspective within
Sociology; the study of social behavior as a product of the interaction
between individuals and groups. Four major themes within Social Psychology
will be examined: (1) the impact that one individual has on another individual,
(2) the impact that a group has on its individual members, (3) the impact
that individual members have on the group, and (4) the impact that one group
has on another group. The themes, concepts, theoretical approaches, and
research methods within social psychology will be presented and discussed.
The course will consist of two lectures and two hours of discussion section
each week. There will be three exams for this course, each covering one
third of the lecture and reading material. The exams will be multiple choice
and short essay items. In addition, THREE five-page class exercises will
also be given as assignments. These assignments will involve the application
of Social Psychological theories and concepts. Attendance at lectures and
discussion sections will be required and very important for what you learn
and how well you do in this course. WL:1 (Orbuch)
102. Contemporary Social Issues: An Introduction to Sociology. Open
to freshpersons and sophomores. Juniors are strongly encouraged and seniors
must take Soc. 302, 303, 400, 401, 423, 444, 447, 450, 460, or 461. No credit
for seniors. (4). (SS). Credit is granted for a combined total of 8 credits
elected through Soc. 102, 202, 203, and 401, provided that the course topics
are different.
Section 001 - Introduction to Sociology Through Race Relations. What
is Sociology? What is "race" and "racism"? How do sociologists
analyze racial matters in society? What methods do they employ for gathering
and assessing the effects of racism? These are some of the questions that
will be examined in this course. My experience as a sociologist tells me
that it is virtually impossible to have an intelligent discussion on contemporary
racial matters without having a substantial understanding of the history
of racial minorities in the U.S. Hence the bulk of this course will be spent
studying how different racial/ethnic minorities entered in the U.S., what
labor slots they filled, and what type of reception they got from the dominant
racial group. The course will begin with a succinct discussion of how sociologists
have defined their enterprise. This will be followed by some lectures in
which central concepts in the area of race and ethnic relations (e.g., race,
ethnicity, prejudice, and racism) will be defined. After this discussion,
we will survey the history of FOUR racial/ethnic groups, namely, African
Americans, Puerto Ricans, American Indians, and Chicanos. At the very end
of the term, I will discuss FOUR topics: (1) Why have some ethnic groups
"succeeded" in the U.S. and other not? (2) Are we experiencing
a period of "reverse racism" in the U.S.? (3) Is Affirmative Action
a form of "Reverse Racism"? and (4) How can we solve the racial
problems afflicting the U.S.? WL:1 (Bonilla-Silva)
Section 009 - Introduction to Sociology through Social Inequality. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to sociology by examining one of the discipline's central subareas: social inequality. Through our investigation of sociological approaches to social inequality you will become familiar with some of sociology's key theoretical perspectives, sociological concepts, and tools of analysis. Specific topics we will study include: income inequality in the United States, poverty, race-ethnic and gender prejudice and discrimination, race-ethnic residential segregation, changing gender roles, the gender gap in wages, and changes in the "family." Central goals of this course also include: (1) helping you to learn to see social conditions and social change as consequences of cultural patterns rather than accidental or random occurrences; and (2) helping you to gain an understanding of the social forces that shape our lives, experiences, and opportunities. (Smock)
Primarily for First- and Second-year Students
105. First Year Seminar in Sociology. Freshmen; sophomores with
permission of instructor. (3). (SS).
Section 001 - Transforming America Then and Now. That America is a nation
of immigrants is one of the most common yet truest statements. In this course
we will survey a vast range of the American Immigrant experience, that of
the Irish, Germans, Jews, Italians, Chinese, Japanese, Blacks, Puerto Ricans,
Cubans, and Mexicans. Immigration to America can be broadly understood as
consisting of four major waves: the first one, that which consisted of Northwest
Europeans who immigrated up to the mid-19th century; the second one, that
which consisted of Southern and East Europeans at the end of the 19th century
and the beginning of the 20th; the third one, the movement from the South
to the North of Black Americans and Mexicans precipitated by two World Wars;
and the fourth one, from 1965 on, is still ongoing in the present, of immigrants
mostly from Latin America and Asia. At all times, our effort will be to
understand the immigrant past of these ethnic groups, both for what it tells
us about the past as well as their present and possible future. This course
is a First-Year Seminar, limited to 25 entering students. As such, it will
be run as a seminar, involving a fair amount of discussion and writing.
WL:1 (Pedraza)
Section 002 - Intergroup Relations, Conflict, and Community Building. This course will explore the possibilities for building community across different racial and ethnic groups while acknowledging and addressing existing conflicts. How do we build community in our schools, neighborhoods and cities comprised of people with perspectives and viewpoints that differ from our own? As communities, how do we constructively address conflicts that naturally arise among and within different groups? To what extent do this country's democratic principles continue to bind our society in the face of growing racial and class divisions? This seminar will explore a wide range of questions on intergroup relations and community building, taking into account issues of power, conflict, and competing social interests. Students will be encouraged to bring personal experience and perspective to enrich the discussion of theoretical readings. Active participation and considerable writing will be required. WL:1 (Schoem)
Section 003 - People and Global Environmental Change. Changes in the environment are occurring on the scale of continents or larger, and over time spans of decades to centuries. These changes include emissions of greenhouse gases, depletion of the ozone layer, acid precipitation and deposition, and loss of biodiversity. Human action to satisfy human needs and wants is the prime cause of almost all of these changes. The changes are incontestably real, and some of them began several centuries ago. What is uncertain is the magnitude of the changes, their future course, and their effects on human beings. This seminar will explore global environmental changes, the human role in causing them, and the possible impacts of these changes on humans and their societies. Students will read several books, prepare a proposal for a college curriculum, and write a term paper. There will be few lectures; class discussion of reading material will be the primary mode of instruction. WL:1 (Rockwell)
For Undergraduates Only
389. Practicum in Sociology. Permission of instructor. Up to
4 credits may be included in a concentration plan in Sociology. A combined
total of 8 credits of Sociology 389 and 395 may be counted toward a concentration
in Sociology. (2-4). (Excl). Offered mandatory credit/no credit. Laboratory
fee ($23) required. (EXPERIENTIAL). May be repeated for a total of 8 credits.
Sociology 389 is known as "Project Community" and "Trained
Volunteer Corps." Students combine 4 to 6 hours of weekly service in
community settings, with weekly student-led seminars. Seminars are interactive,
focus on related sociological issues, and provide a time for mutual support,
planning and problem-solving. Over 50 sections offer settings that include
working in school classrooms with "at-risk" children and youth
in a variety of tutoring, chemical dependency, mentoring situations; in
the adult and juvenile criminal justice system; with adult literacy; with
the homeless; and with elderly, the mentally ill, the disabled; and in hospitals.
For more information, come to the Office of Community Service Learning,
in the Michigan Union, Room 2205. Enrollment is by override only. (Chesler)