Sociology
SOCIOLOGY
College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies
Program Description
Sociology is the group-level analysis of social lives of people, groups,
and societies. A sociological perspective helps students understand the
relationship between individuals and society, appreciate the meaning
about the social world, and become aware of ways to achieve desired
collective ends.
Sociology faculty have expertise in the following areas: family and
marriage, gender study, social psychology, migration and immigration,
ethnic and race relations, inequalities, human sexuality, environment,
sports, popular culture, political sociology, medical sociology, sociology of
education, and crime and deviance.
Sociology graduates are hired by community-based organizations,
government agencies, hospital and healthcare organizations, social
services departments, the criminal justice system, school systems,
private businesses, and research firms.
Degree Programs
Minor in Sociology (http://catalog.csus.edu/colleges/social-sciencesinterdisciplinary-studies/sociology/minor-in-sociology/)
BA in Sociology (http://catalog.csus.edu/colleges/social-sciencesinterdisciplinary-studies/sociology/ba-in-sociology/)
MA in Sociology (http://catalog.csus.edu/colleges/social-sciencesinterdisciplinary-studies/sociology/ma-in-sociology/)
Special Features
• Sociology students are encouraged to become involved in the
internship program. Though it is not mandatory, internships provide
an excellent way to explore the real world of sociology outside of the
classroom.
• The Sociology Club’s mission is to promote the professional,
intellectual, and personal growth of our student members. Alpha
Kappa Delta (AKD) is an international honor society for Sociology
majors.
Contact Information
Todd Migliaccio, Department Chair
Amador Hall 450A
(916) 278-6522
FAX (916) 278-6281
www.csus.edu/soc (http://www.csus.edu/soc/)
Faculty
BARAJAS, MANUEL
BERG, ELLEN
BROOKS, JACQUELINE D.
BURKE, PAUL
CARNERO, MARK
CARRIGAN, JACKIE A.
DUCKETT, NATASHA
DURDEN, MICHELLE
FITZGERALD, TINA
GOSDIN, MELISSA
IDA, AYA KIMURA
LIU, QIAOMING AMY
LUNA-GORDINIER, ANNE
MacINTOSH, RANDALL C.
MIGLIACCIO, TODD
MORRIS, PATRICIA
NINH, THIEN-HUONG
PAPPAS, CHRISTOPHER
RODRIGUEZ, TOMAS
• Majors learn statistical analysis of social data, computer processing
of data and the SPSS computer program. Students are encouraged
to learn several computer languages and the use of census data
for social and regional planning. Student research projects may be
selected for presentation in programs throughout the state.
RUIZ, MIGUEL
• Thematic areas of studies include ethnic and race relation,
immigration, crime and deviance, social inequality, socialization and
interaction, globalization, and social change.
TELLO, BERNADETTE
Career Possibilities
Public Health Statistician · Demographer · Recreational Specialist ·
Social Worker · Urban Planner · Correctional Counselor · Youth Counselor
· Criminologist · Social Ecologist · Public Relations Consultant ·
Interviewer/Researcher · Statistician · Population Analyst · Public Opinion
Analyst · Migration Specialist · Parole/Probation Officer · Employment
Counselor · Teacher · Writer/Journalist · Management Analyst · Budget
Analyst · Government Research Analyst
SARABIA, HEIDY
SHIGIHARA, AMANDA
VARANO, CHARLES S.
VARESIO, ROSEMARY
WEHR, KEVIN
WELKLEY, DEBRA
1
2
Sociology
SOC 1.
Principles of Sociology.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduction to the field of sociology; its basic concepts and principles;
the analysis and explanation of culture, personality, social institutions,
social change, population, social processes and collective behavior.
SOC 3.
Social Problems.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduction to major social problems in the U.S., with an emphasis on
systemic problems, such as economic, racism and sexism. Problems
in major social institutions such as the family, social services, criminal
justice and the environment are also addressed.
SOC 5. Exploring Issues Facing Contemporary Families.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
An exploration of social issues that contemporary families face every day
with an integration of the life course perspective and sociopsychological
viewpoint. Issues covered may include varying family constellations,
mate selection, intimacy, communication, adjustment, cohesion,
attachment, aging, foster care and adoption, gender, race/ethnic/cultural
influences, social stratification, family/partner violence, health, and social
policy.
SOC 8. Sense and Nonsense in Social Issues and Research.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Critical Thinking (A3)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Introduces basic steps in the research process and/or basic steps in
critically evaluating discussions on social issues. Students are taught to
recognize common errors through the analysis of non-technical applied
research and/or through newspapers and sociological articles about
social issues and problems. Emphasizes the logical steps involved in
thinking critically about social research and/or social problems such
as quality of operational definitions, weaknesses in research design,
sampling errors, value assumptions, logical consistency between
premises and conclusions, and the structure of arguments.
SOC 10. Issues in Crime and Social Control.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduces the concepts utilized by sociologists in the analysis of
controversial issues in crime and social control, e.g., norms, roles,
subcultures, labeling, social conflict, social stratification, racism, sexism,
etc. Particular attention is paid to sources of data and trends over time.
Issues covered include, but are not limited to: capital punishment, drugs
and drug policy, domestic violence, abortion, driving under the influence,
police use of deadly force, private prisons and juvenile justice reform.
SOC 101. Introduction to Statistics for Sociologists.
Prerequisite(s): Sociology majors only
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
4 Units
Provides students with an overall view of the role and techniques of
statistics in the presentation and interpretation of social science data.
Lectures emphasize descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency
and variability, and association and correlation. Introduction is given
to statistical inference: sampling distributions, hypothesis-testing, and
estimation. Lab sessions provide demonstrations and training in the
practical application of concepts and techniques dealt with in lectures.
Students learn to use the computer as an aid in data processing and
analysis.
SOC 101X. Collaborative Practice for SOC 101.
Corequisite(s): SOC 101.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 Unit
SOC 101X Collaborative Practice for SOC 101. Discussion, 1 hour.
Students concurrently enrolled in SOC 101 work collaboratively on, and
discuss, problem sets designed by the SOC 101 instructor. Pedagogical
strategies that encourage active, engaged learning are employed to
facilitate student understanding and success in SOC 101.
Credit/No Credit
SOC 102. Research Methods in Sociology.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 101; Sociology majors only
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
4 Units
Students will be introduced to the basic steps in research; problem
definition, research design, sampling, data collection methods,
and analysis. Laboratory excercises reinforce methodological
processes, including finding and evaluating existing research studies,
operationalizing concepts, developing questionnaires, and analyzing
primary data. Students will learn how to process and analyze both
qualitative and quantitative data, including analytic induction,
manipulation of computerized data files, bivaraite and multivariate
analysis, table construction, and preparation of written research reports.
Lab exercises reinforce computer and statistical skills.
SOC 103. Advanced Sociological Analysis.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 101 and SOC 102
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
An advanced course in research design and analysis. Introduces students
to advanced data analysis techniques and how to use them to investigate
social problems and issues. Students will build on the knowledge
they have accumulated in previous courses in sociological research
methods and theory to design and complete a research project. Specific
methodological strategies taught will vary, and could include regression
analysis, ethnography, comparative-historical methods, qualitative
interviewing, evaluation research and longitudinal survey analysis.
Note: May be repeated for credit
SOC 106. Births, Deaths and Borders.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Studies population including growth and decline, fertility and mortality
trends, migration, human ecology, and the interrelationship of population
and socioeconomic change.
Sociology
SOC 110. Urban Life and Problems.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Takes a political economic approach to urban development, with special
emphasis on the roles played by various social groups and institutions.
Particular attention is given to the effects of urban growth, oppositional
movements to growth and the global developments that affect urban
conditions.
SOC 118. Chicano Community.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Race & Ethnicity
Graduation Requirement (RE), GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Analyzes the institutions, norms, values, and traditions of the Chicano
community. Included is an examination of the Chicano community's
progress in mainstream American life with attention to the effect of
ethnocentrism, racism and class.
SOC 120. Ethnic and Race Relations.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Race & Ethnicity
Graduation Requirement (RE), GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Analyzes relations among various racial, religious, nationality, and gender
groups as they interact with racism, ethnocentrism and class in the U.S.
and the world.
SOC 122.
Immigration Studies.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines the social phenomena of labor migration, immigration, and
transnationalism, and places their origins and development in the context
of political-economic national inequalities. Advances an understanding of
why societies experience migration, immigration, and transnationalism,
and evaluates competing and complementary theoretical frameworks
explaining these migratory processes, particularly as they relate to the
U.S. Special attention will be given to race, gender, and class relations as
impacted by labor migration processes.
SOC 123. Black Studies in Sociology.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduces students to the sociological analysis of Black American life
in the U.S. -- the complex phenomena of Black issues, emerging theories
of race, and the cumulative scholarship on black identity, experience,
socio-economic status, and social organization.. Focus is on the original
contributions of social scientists to Black Studies in Sociology.
SOC 124. Social Justice in Interdisciplinary Perspective.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines the nature and forms of social justice and injustice. Key
philosophical and theoretical models and debates over the meaning of
social justice, using historical and contemporary examples to highlight
important concepts and controversies are addressed. Faculty from
different departments within SSIS, and occasionally from other colleges,
will address how their discipline understands and analyzes issues
of social justice. Students will be encouraged to critically assess the
assumptions of various perspectives on social justice, and to address the
relationship of academe and social activism in achieving social justice.
Cross listed as ANTH 130, ID 124, ENVS 124, ETHN 124 and FACS 124.
Only one may be counted for credit.
SOC 125.
Social Inequalities.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or equivalent.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3
3 Units
Examination of the ways race, class and gender, as well as the
intersection of all three, affect the distribution of valued resources in
a society. Other social inequalities such as age, sexual orientation, or
nationality, etc. may also be examined. Attention is given to struggles to
change or preserve economic and political inequalities.
SOC 126.
Sociology of Gender.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines how gender designation of "male" and "female" impacts an
individual's life; explores the social construction of masculinity and
femininity in the family, school, workplace, everyday interactions, and
within racialized and colonized societies; studies the consequences of
gender difference and inequality that result in violence and abuse, sexual
harassment, hate crimes, wage differentials and unequal opportunities.
SOC 127. Men, Masculinity and Society.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Understanding
Personal Development (E)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Introduces students to the field of men and masculinity. Examines
the construction of masculinity in sports, family, work and other
social relationships, showing how it affects and is affected by people,
institutions and society. Explores the diverse experiences based on race,
class, occupation, physical ability and sexuality, and the implications for
people from such diverse groups.
SOC 128. Sociology Of Sexuality.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Studies sexuality including historical and cultural differences in sexual
attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Also examines the mutual influence of
sexuality and social institutions, such as the family, the economy, politics
and religion.
SOC 129. Social Change and Migration in Latin America.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
3 Units
This course examines the social, political, and economic changes many
societies underwent in Latin America throughout the 20th and 21st
century, the role the U.S. played in shaping these changes, how this
past has shaped today's U.S.-Latin American relations, and how this
interconnectedness has shaped migration to the U.S. Focus will be on
specific case studies and using a sociological perspective to study and
understand these social changes globally and locally.
SOC 130.
Political Sociology.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or equivalent.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Analyzes political order and change from the viewpoint of cultural values
and the institutional structure of societies. Examines group behavior
patterns related to ideology, elites, masses, classes, movements, parties,
and other power groups. Surveys differing theories and methodologies for
the study of political processes across cultures and societies.
4
Sociology
SOC 133. Sport in a Global Perspective.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): GWAR certification before Fall 09; or WPJ score of 80+;
or 3-unit placement in ENGL 109M or ENGL 109W; or 4-unit placement
in ENGL 109M or ENGL 109W and co-enrollment in ENGL 109X; or WPJ
score 70 or 71 and co-enrollment in ENGL 109X.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Writing Intensive
Graduation Requirement (WI)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Examines sport in a global context, focusing on the dynamic nature
of sports in response to changes in society. Addresses the effect
sport has on both the society and the individual, from socialization
to nationalism. Focuses on both participants (youth, amateurs,
professionals) and spectators (parents, fans, etc.) at all levels of
involvement, from community to international competition. Highlights
cross-cultural differences in the relationships between sport and other
social institutions such as government, corporations, and the media.
SOC 134.
Sociology of Film.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduces the "Sociological Imagination" by linking the personal histories
found in films to larger social structures. The evolution of important
contemporary global and domestic social issues is discussed by
analyzing the sociological content of major motion pictures. The sociohistorical development of the American film industry is also examined to
explore its ideological role in challenging and perpetuating various forms
of class, race, and gender discrimination.
SOC 135. Sociology of Popular Culture.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Humanities (Area C2)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Analyzes social processes that produce popular culture by contrasting
interrelationships between institutional power structures and collective
behavior. Examines theories of popular culture, mass movements, and
individualism; social change, cultural hegemony, sub-cultures, and
organizational studies.
SOC 136.
Social Movements.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Analyzes old and new social movements -- pre-political and political,
cultural and identity types -- class, labor, feminist, ethnic, environmental,
left and right. Challenges by movements to institutional order. Surveys
differing theories and methodologies for the study of movements and
degree of change (reform, revolutionary) across cultures and societies.
SOC 137. Sociology of Science.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines paradigm changes of science in society and how views
of science and technology are socially constructed. Analyzes the
representations of scientists, scientific inquiry, and technological
innovation. Explores the ways in which science has driven social change,
and vice-versa.
SOC 138. Environmental Sociology.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Studies human society, the natural environment, and their mutual
interactions. Examines environmental sociology at several levels,
from the micro level of individual communities to the meso level of
government policies to macro theoretical considerations. Analysis of
environmental issues in a global context also included.
SOC 139.
Animals in Society.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines social relationships between humans and animals as
pets, companions, workers, entertainers, and food. Analyzes the
representations of animals. Studies our relationships with animals both
on the level of social groups and as individuals. Applies sociological
approaches to the study of human-animal relationships, including the
social movements around animal rights.
SOC 140. Sociology of Education.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or equivalent.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines the organization and functions of educational institutions;
the rise of mass education and changes in educational systems to
the present; the role of teachers, parents, and schools in education;
the impact of gender, race, and class on educational outcomes and
processes.
SOC 144. Sociology of Health and Illness.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines the social contexts of health, illness, and medical care.
Emphasizes the debates and contrasting perspectives that characterize
the sociological study of health and illness. Topics include the social,
global, environmental, and occupational factors influencing health
and illness; the politics surrounding physical and mental illness; the
patient's perspective on illness; ethical issues in medicine as they relate
to medical technology; and health care reform. The influence of health
status on identity and interaction will also be addressed.
SOC 146.
Sociology of Aging.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Analyzes the process of aging in the context of social structure and
processes. Specifically, it deals with such issues as the age structure
of society, social values and norms that define the aged, social
stratification and aging, social institutions and the aged, theoretical and
methodological issues in social gerontology.
SOC 150.
Social Psychology.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines major principles governing face to face interaction and their
application in understanding the student's own experience: creating
and preserving meaning, "realities" and selves through dramaturgy,
negotiation and power; the relationship between status and intimacy;
the impact of status resources (such as race and gender) on the status
assignment process; the self concept; the role of emotions in social life.
SOC 155.
Criminology.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines social dimensions -- causes and characteristics -- of
adult crime and deviant behavior in American society. Makes some
international comparisons. Police, courts and prisons are examined.
Special attention is given to current issues in crime and deviance.
Sociology
SOC 156.
Delinquency.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines social determinants of juvenile delinquency, including family,
urban conditions, social-psychological and sociological factors. Analyzes
the juvenile justice system, including law enforcement, the courts and
community treatment programs.
SOC 157. Issues in Courts and Prisons.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Sociologically analyzes American courts and prisons from prosecutorial
intake through sentencing and incarceration. Emphasis is on the role of
social factors (in particular race, class and gender) in decision-making
practices at each stage of processing. Topics will include, but are not
limited to: preventive detention, prosecutorial intake, plea-bargaining,
jury selection, pre-sentence investigation reports, sentencing, and legal
reconstruction of the American prison in the modern era.
SOC 158. Sociology of Deviance.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Understanding
Personal Development (E)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduces students to the history of attempts to define and explain
deviant behavior; explains social conditions and processes associated
with careers of deviants; examines relationship of deviance to problems
of social control.
SOC 160.
Asian Societies.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Humanities (Area C2)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Cross-cultural study focuses on Japanese and Chinese societies and
cultures and their influences on other Asian developments. Emphasizes
their distinctive institutions, norms, values, and traditions in relation to
contemporary social, economic, and political processes.
SOC 162. Middle Eastern Societies and Culture.
3 Units
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Humanities (Area C2)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Discusses the fundamental aspects of Middle East Societies covering
such topics as population, family, women, patterns of living, social
stratification, education, economic development, politics and armies in
the Middle East.
SOC 163. Conflict, Oil and Development in the Middle East.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
3 Units
Examines globalization and its effect on local societies, including the
impact of globalization on local labor and work practices, the social
organization of local firms and business enterprises, local social
structures such as gender, class, race/ethnicity, and local social patterns
such as consumption and leisure activities.
3 Units
Introduces students to the sociology of the family including an
examination of the family in various cultures with the emphasis on the
American family in all its many forms.
SOC 168.
Self and Society.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): GWAR certification before Fall 09; or WPJ score of 80+;
or 3-unit placement in ENGL 109M or ENGL 109W; or 4-unit placement
in ENGL 109M or ENGL 109W and co-enrollment in ENGL 109X; or WPJ
score 70 or 71 and co-enrollment in ENGL 109X.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: Understanding
Personal Development (E), Writing Intensive Graduation Requirement (WI)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Examines the relationship between the individual and society: social
interaction, human development, behavior in groups and collectivities,
personality and social structure. Theories and empirical studies.
SOC 169. Changing American Family.
Term Typically Offered: Spring only
3 Units
Analyzes the American family, past, present, and future, focusing on
explanation and consequences of changes in child-bearing, courtship,
marriage, and the interrelationships between the individual and the
family and society. Focuses on connecting course material to real world
organizations and programs in the community that are associated
with or linked to families. Per week: lecture two hours; fieldwork in the
community two to three hours.
SOC 170. Sociology of Children and Adolescents.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Introduces students to the sociology of childhood and adolescence,
focusing on theoretical foundations, methodological challenges, and
empirical examination of youth from preschool through high school.
Focuses on peer relations within wider contexts shaped by gender, race,
and social class.
SOC 171. Sociology of Religion.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Acquaints students with the sociological foundations of religion in
society. Emphasis is on the history, development and overall structure
of the institution of religion, its relation to social, ethnic and classbased groups and its effect on society in general, and how its social
development in America differs from other cultures.
SOC 175. Work and Occupations.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Examines in detail the major sources of conflict in the Middle East with
special reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the arms buildup in the
Arabian-Persian Gulf, energy crisis and the multi-national aspect of
Middle East oil. Attempts to discuss the impact of these conflicts on the
processes of social and economic development.
SOC 164. Sociology of Globalization.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
SOC 166.
The Family.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
5
3 Units
Examines the social organization of work and economic organization;
the rise of industrial society and changes in workplace relations to the
present; the role of technology and ideology in the workplace; industrial
reforms and alternative forms of economic organization.
6
Sociology
SOC 176. Labor and the American Social Structure.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): GWAR certification before Fall 09; or WPJ score of 80+;
or 3-unit placement in ENGL 109M or ENGL 109W; or 4-unit placement
in ENGL 109M or ENGL 109W and co-enrollment in ENGL 109X; or WPJ
score 70 or 71 and co-enrollment in ENGL 109X.
General Education Area/Graduation Requirement: GE AREA D, Writing
Intensive Graduation Requirement (WI)
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Introduction to the study of labor in the U.S., including the nature of work,
characteristics of the work force, and an overview of contemporary labor
and industrial relations systems within the framework of current U.S.
economic and political developments.
Cross Listed: LBRS 100; only one may be counted for credit.
SOC 185. Bullying as a Social Experience.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
This course educates students on bullying as a social experience,
introducing how social forces, environment and context impact the
culture of bullying. Students will develop an understanding about how
programs and policies impact bullying rates based on social theoretical
perspective. Students will gain a better understanding of how research
is related to intervention and prevention practices. Then, from a whole
school approach, using the resources available to the school, students
will implement different components of an anti-bullying program at a
school site.
SOC 190. Sociology of Small Groups.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or equivalent.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines social structure and social determinants of behavior in small
groups; socialization, social control, social change, leadership, social
ranking, social conflict and morale.
SOC 192.
Sociological Theory.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Surveys the history of sociological theory from Comte to the present.
SOC 193A. Mentoring in Sociology.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 Unit
Provides opportunity for freshman, sophomores, and juniors majoring in
sociology to be mentored for improved student success and retention.
Students receive peer mentoring to facilitate closer integration into
campus community through participation in events, organizations, and
conferences sponsored by the sociology department. Students learn
how to build productive relationships with professors and receive timely
advising for better retention and success rates. Course does not count
toward sociology major but toward degree requirements.
Note: May be repeated twice for credit; Three times with exception as
determined by the instructor.
Credit/No Credit
SOC 193B. Peer Mentoring in Sociology.
2 Units
Prerequisite(s): One year of residency at Sac State; 2.8 GPA required;
Open only to Sociology majors.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Provides opportunities for junior and senior sociology majors to mentor
and gain practical out-of-class experience. Students learn the principles
of mentoring and contribute to student retention and success and close
the retention gap. Course provides practical orientation and guidance
for the best practices in mentoring that contribute to a positive campus
culture.
Note: May be repeated twice for credit; Three times with exception to be
determined by the instructor.
Credit/No Credit
SOC 194. Special Topics in Sociology.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1 or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines contemporary issues and social developments within the
research specialization of department faculty. Provides a forum to
discuss and evaluate controversies and advancements in the discipline of
sociology, including theory and methodology.
SOC 195. Internship and Fieldwork.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 - 3 Units
Supervised internship and fieldwork experience in a variety of settings: (1)
public or private agencies in the Sacramento community, and (2) ethnic
and/or minority communities. Supervision is provided by authorized
persons in the field and collaborative supervision is provided by sociology
faculty at Sacramento State. Limitations: sociology majors electing a
concentration may count a maximum of 3 units in 195 and/or 199 toward
the major. Those taking the general sociology pattern may count up to 6
units of 195 and/or 199 toward the major. Sociology minors may take up
to 3 units. (See SOC 199 below.)
Credit/No Credit
SOC 198. Linking Statistics Education and Practice.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 101 and instructor permission
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 - 2 Units
Advanced exploration of the scholarship of learning as applied
to sociological methods and/or data analysis. Students will work
independently on an applied semester project, but will also attend agreed
upon number of computer lab hours each week and engage in course
activities with a focus on how to best structure learning opportunities
and apply content.
Note: Admission requires approval of professor and Department Chair. No
more than 3 units from SOC 195, SOC 198, or SOC 199 combined may be
applied to the Sociology upper division major requirement.
SOC 199. Individual Study Projects.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 - 3 Units
Individual projects or directed reading; open only to students who appear
competent to carry on individual work. Admission requires approval of the
sponsor of the project and the Department Chair. Limitations: sociology
majors electing a concentration may count a maximum of 3 units in 195
and/or 199 toward the major. Those taking the general sociology pattern
may count up to 6 units of 195 and/or 199 toward the major. Sociology
minors may take up to 3 units. (See SOC 195 above.)
Credit/No Credit
Sociology
SOC 200. Orientation and Writing for Sociological Graduate Studies.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Admission to MA in Sociology program.
Term Typically Offered: Fall only
This course introduces students to our graduate program and provides
students with insights into how the profession works. Students will learn
about campus and departmental resources that will aid them in their
studies. This class fulfills the requirements for the required Graduate
Writing Intensive Course and will train students in the skills needed for
successfully writing sociological papers at a graduate level. Students will
also be introduced to department faculty who will share their research
interests and writing strategies.
SOC 200A. Orientation to Graduate Studies in Sociology.
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 Unit
Describes our graduate program, clearly explains our requirements and
standards for successful completion of the M.A., shows students how the
profession works and how to work in the profession (public submissions,
conference presentations, job searches), and explains how to get through
the program in a timely manner with a strong thesis. We will discuss
Ph.D. programs and the application process, job opportunities and the
role of professional sociologists outside academe.
SOC 200B. Thesis Prospectus/Project Preparation Seminar.
2 Units
Prerequisite(s): Completion of a minimum of 6 hours of graduate study.
Completion of (or concurrent enrollment in) SOC 214 is recommended.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Provides students with faculty and peer support for the process of
developing a draft of a thesis prospectus or project proposal. This
includes the clarification of expectations, familiarization with research
resources, and support provided through feedback in a structured
environment.
Credit/No Credit
SOC 210.
Urban Sociology.
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
SOC 215.
Data Analysis.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 101 or equivalent, or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
7
3 Units
Introduces techniques used to analyze sociological data. Emphasis will
be placed on the basic concepts of quantitative models used to explore
causality, along with an introduction to software to carry out multivariate
analysis. Qualitative analytical techniques and software will also be
introduced.
SOC 220. Seminar: Social Change.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status in sociology; all others by
instructor permission only.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Course deals with main theoretical orientations in sociology representing
radical, liberal and conservative viewpoints on social change. Examines
the historical context of events that affected Western countries such
as the Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, and the emergence of
nationalism and human rights. Course approach is theoretical, historical
and global.
SOC 225.
Social Stratification.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status in sociology; all others by
instructor permission only.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Analyzes contemporary issues in stratification literature including class,
status, power, sex/gender, identity, ethnicity, mobility, equality/inequality.
Discusses differing theories, methodologies, and controversies according
to student interests.
SOC 226.
Sociology of Gender.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Intended to introduce graduate students to diverse theories that
explain gender relations in contemporary society. Provides a critical
perspective on how we construct men's and women's identities and how
the consequences of such a construction affect institutions, culture
and society. Broken up in four sections: origins of gender inequality and
issues surrounding research, theoretical perspectives, marginalized
groups, and gendered issues in society.
Critically examines major theories, research, and debates in the field
of urban sociology, including social ecology, Marxist, subcultural, and
postmodernist perspectives. Course materials will be framed within two
main themes; the dynamics of cooperation and conflict under urban
conditions, and the tension between private interests and public life
in urban settings. Methodological emphasis will be on case studies,
ethnographic, and social historical analysis.
SOC 230. Seminar: Social Organization.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
SOC 214. Research Methods.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
SOC 235.
Social Psychology.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Open to classified graduate students in sociology, all
others by instructor permission only.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Deals specifically with such issues as the role of research within the
discipline, the ethics of conducting research, the rationale behind field
and survey methods, the validity and reliability of data collected through
these methods and alternative approaches to data collection.
Note: Open to classified graduate students in sociology, all others by
instructor permission only; Graduate Writing Intensive
Analyzes and critiques institutional structure. Studies shared
understanding in groups, corporations, communities, institutions or
societies and their hierarchical order.
Examines advanced social psychology. Focuses on symbolic
interactionism, ethnomethodology and other recent developments
in sociological social psychology, phenomenology, humanistic social
psychology and critical reflexive sociology.
8
Sociology
SOC 238. Environmental Sociology.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines the complex relationship between human society and its
surrounding environment. Theoretical perspectives are complemented by
empirical research on environmental issues. Special attention is given to
issues relating to the local and regional California environment. Analyzes
environmental issues in a global context.
SOC 240. Seminar: Sociological Theory.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status in sociology; all others by
instructor permission only.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Analyzes and critiques terms and issues in social and sociological theory
including levels of social reality and differing perspectives - positivism,
idealism, realism, post-modernism, feminism, etc.
SOC 255. Social Research in Crime and Deviance.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Comprehensively reviews and evaluates major sociological theories
of crime and deviance, methods of studying crime and deviance,
current empirical research in crime and deviance, empirical testing of
sociological explanations of crime and deviance, and empirical evaluation
of crime and deviance control policy.
SOC 260.
Contemporary Issues of the Middle East and North Africa.
3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Discusses in-depth several contemporary issues such as the political
dimension of Islam, population growth and food security, oil and
development, regional conflict, national integration and forces of
modernization, etc. The selection of the topics will depend on current
events.
SOC 265. Race and Ethnic Relations.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
3 Units
Examines the social constructs of race and ethnicity as "central
organizing principles" in the making and development of our modern
world, particularly in the U.S., and how they have interacted with
class and gender to create and maintain cultural and material social
inequalities. Evaluates competing and complementary theoretical
frameworks explaining how race and ethnicity affect individual and group
social-structural location (e.g., class position, educational attainment,
and political power).
SOC 266. Sociology of The Family.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate status or instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Sociologically examines the family, with an emphasis on the
contemporary American family. The numerous stages and variations of
the family life cycle will be considered, with an emphasis on changes and
the causes and consequences of the changes.
SOC 294. Special Topics in Sociology.
3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Open to classified graduate students in sociology; all
other sociology graduate students by instructor permission
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Examines contemporary issues and social developments within the
research specialization of department faculty. Provides a forum to
discuss and evaluate controversies and advancements in the discipline of
sociology including theory and methodologies.
Note: May be repeated twice for credit
SOC 295. Internship and Fieldwork.
Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 - 3 Units
Supervised internship and fieldwork experience in a variety of settings:
(1) public or private agencies in the Sacramento community, (2) ethnic
and/or minority communities, and (3) educational institutions including
area community colleges and universities. Supervision is provided by
authorized persons in the field and collaborative supervision is provided
by sociology faculty at Sacramento State.
Credit/No Credit
SOC 299. Special Problems.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
1 - 3 Units
Individual projects or directed reading.
Note: Open only to students who appear competent to carry on individual
work. Admission requires approval of the sponsor of the project and the
Department Chair.
Credit/No Credit
SOC 500. Culminating Experience.
3 - 6 Units
Prerequisite(s): Advancement to candidacy, successful thesis prospectus
hearing, and a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Completion of a thesis or a project. Thesis: the 6 unit master's thesis
requirement must be completed under the direction of the student's
thesis committee. Project: the 6 unit project requirement must be
completed under the direction of the student's project committee.