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Sociology
Undergraduate Program Chairman: Gerald Suttles, SS 325, 702-8685
Departmental Secretary: Diane Haywood, SS 307, 702-8677
Program of Study
The discipline of sociology encompasses a diversity of substantive interests,
theoretical orientations, and methodological approaches. The phenomena studied
by sociologists range from face-to-face interaction in small groups to the
structure of the modern world system. They include stratification and mobility,
demographic change, urban/rural/suburban communities, race and ethnic relations,
mass media, and the social dimensions of such areas as education, family
life, law, the military, political behavior, science, and religion. The
methodologies of the field range from experimentation, survey research,
and field observation to historical comparison and mathematical model building.
The knowledge sociology provides for the understanding of human relations
and social organization has made it attractive for students considering
careers in such professions as business, education, law, marketing, medicine,
journalism, social work, politics, public administration, and urban planning.
As a basis for more specialized graduate work, it affords entry to careers
in social research in federal, state, and local agencies, as well as into
business enterprises, private foundations, and research institutes. Sociology
also provides an excellent foundation for students who are planning academic
careers in any of the social sciences. The concentration program in the
College is accordingly designed to meet the needs of a very diverse group
of students.
Program Requirements
Students may enter the sociology program at any time during their second
year or at the beginning of their third year by informing the faculty program
chairman of their decision. For students with adequate course background,
it may be possible to enter as late as the end of the third year. The only
prerequisite is completion of any one of the Common Core social sciences
sequences.
Course Requirements. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in
sociology are expected to complete the following requirements. However,
students with adequate background in sociology from Common Core courses
or other sociology courses may petition the program chairman to substitute
other 200-level courses for one or more of the introductory sequence courses.
1. A three-quarter introductory sequence consisting of:
a. Social Structure and Change (Sociology 200). This course is an introduction
to the basic theories and concepts of macrosociology. The first half explores
the theories of Marx, Weber, and Bourdieu, and their general explanations
of social change and social stratification. The second half deals with sociological
approaches to ethnicity, race, class, gender, and nationalism.
b. Interaction, Community, and Culture (Sociology 201). This class deals
with the social construction of the individual, the study of face-to-face
interaction, community and urban studies, and the study of cultural institutions,
symbols, and beliefs.
c. Sociological Methods (Sociology 202). This course is applications oriented
and stresses both professional and academic use of current research methods
in the collection and analysis of data. An opportunity to apply many of
these methods and analyze the resulting data is an integral part of the
course. A review of contemporary philosophies of social research, theory
construction, statistical techniques, and computerized data processing supplements
the major emphasis.
2. Statistical Methods of Research I (Sociology 203/304) or Statistics 200.
These courses provide a comprehensive introduction to widely used quantitative
methods in sociology and related social sciences. Topics covered include
analysis of variance and multiple regression, considered as they are used
by practicing social scientists.
3. Six additional courses in sociology or related fields, at least three
of which must be in sociology. These courses may be drawn from any of the
200-level courses in sociology and, after completing Sociology 200-201,
from any 300-level courses in sociology that have not been cross-listed
with undergraduate numbers. Courses may usefully be thought of as falling
into six topical clusters: macrosociology and intergroup relations; sociology
of institutions; urban sociology; comparative, historical, and cultural
sociology; microsociology; and theory and methodology. Of special note is
the new three-quarter American society sequence that consists of the following
courses:
a. American Social Criticism (Sociology 289), which examines the tradition
of general American social criticism based on the reading of classic texts.
b. Contemporary American Society (Sociology 287), which is an overview of
key features of modern American society (family, gender, race, work and
labor force, and poverty) from a sociological perspective.
c. A third course, which will vary each year. In 1995-96 it is Current Issues
in Race and Ethnic Relations (Sociology 254). Other courses related to American
society may also be substituted.
4. The senior seminar (Sociology 298).
Summary of Requirements
Concentration 3 Sociol 200-201-202 or approved substitute
1 Sociol 203/304 or Stat 200
(statistics course)
3 sociology courses
3 courses in sociology or related fields
1 Sociol 298 (senior seminar)
- B.A. paper
11
Senior Project. During the senior year, all students concentrating in
sociology are expected to work on an original project of sociological inquiry
on a topic of their choice culminating in a final paper from twenty to forty
pages in length. The project may take the form of either (1) a critical
review of a body of literature on a problem developed in conjunction with
the work of one or more courses, or (2) an independent research project
in which questions are formulated and data are collected and analyzed by
the student. In the spring quarter of the junior year, students meet with
the program chairman to discuss possible projects. A faculty sponsor is
selected for the project during autumn quarter of the senior year. A form
briefly describing the project and signed by the faculty sponsor is submitted
to the concentration program chairman before the middle of the winter quarter.
The chosen topic is developed during the autumn and winter quarters and
the paper is completed in the spring quarter. Students must register for
one reading or research (Sociology 291 or 295) course with their faculty
sponsor and may register for additional research and reading courses with
either their faculty sponsor or other members of the sociology faculty.
However, only two sociology reading or research courses can be counted toward
the completion of the courses in sociology or related fields required for
a concentration.
Senior Seminar. All projects are reported on and discussed in an undergraduate
seminar (Sociology 298). The senior seminar is a yearlong course. Students
participate all three quarters, although they register only once. Registration
takes place in the spring quarter of the senior year unless the student
plans to graduate out of sequence in some quarter other than spring. A first
draft of the paper is to be submitted in the first week of the student's
final quarter. All projects are due in final written form no later than
the end of the ninth week of that quarter. Those being submitted for evaluation
for honors are due by the first day of the eighth week.
Honors. Concentrators with a grade point average of 3.0 overall and
3.25 in the concentration who have written substantial bachelor's papers
may be considered for graduation with honors in sociology.
Grading. All courses required for completion of the sociology program
must be taken for quality grades.
Handbook. Students interested in pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree
in sociology are encouraged to read the brochure Undergraduate Program
in Sociology, which is available in the Office of the Department of
Sociology (SS 307).
Faculty
ANDREW ABBOTT, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College; Master,
Social Sciences Collegiate Division
GARY S. BECKER, University Professor, Departments of Economics and Sociology;
Research Associate, Economics Research Center at the National Opinion Research
Center
CHARLES E. BIDWELL, William Claude Reavis Professor, Departments of Sociology
and Education, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies,
and the College
MARY C. BRINTON, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
RONALD BURT, Professor, Department of Sociology & Strategy in the Graduate
School of Business
TERRY NICHOLS CLARK, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
JOHN L. COMAROFF, Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor, Departments
of Anthropology and Sociology and the College, Committee on African &
African-American Studies
ROGER V. GOULD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
WENDY GRISWOLD, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Committee
on the History of Culture, and the College
EDWARD O. LAUMANN, George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor,
Department of Sociology and the College; Director, Ogburn/Stouffer Center
for Population and Social Organization at the National Opinion Research
Center
DONALD N. LEVINE, Peter B. Ritzma Professor, Department of Sociology and
the College
WILLIAM L. PARISH, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
MARTIN RIESEBRODT, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the
Divinity School
ROBERT J. SAMPSON, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
GEORGE STEINMETZ, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
ROSS M. STOLZENBERG, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
GERALD D. SUTTLES, Professor, Department of Sociology, Committee on Geographical
Studies, and the College
MARTA TIENDA, Ralph Lewis Professor, Department of Sociology, and the College;
Chairman, Department of Sociology
RICHARD TAUB, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
LINDA J. WAITE, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
KAZUO YAMAGUCHI, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
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