Sociology 1100: Introduction to Sociology

Course Description

Students explore the concepts and theories necessary to a systematic understanding of our social worlds. Topics may include considering sociology as science; the nature of large and small-scale groups; social institutions; ideologies, conformity and social deviance; social stratification and historical eras; social change; and race, ethnic and gender relations. (3 lecture hours)

General Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course the student should be able to do the following:

1. Identify the specificity of the sociological perspective
2. Demonstrate an ability to classify and analyze given sociological data
3. Compare and contrast the major sociological concepts and theories
4. Identify the different components of society and their interrelations
5. Analyze the social construction of deviance in society
6. Review the different theories of deviant behavior
7. Recognize the different forms of social stratification, by class, race/ethnicity, and gender within the United States and on a global scale
8. Differentiate between the different institutions of society and their theoretical analyses
9. Evaluate the changing structures and functions of the major traditional institutions: marriage and family, education, polity, economy, health, and religion
10. Assess the impact on society of the emergence of new institutional forms, e.g., the mass media
11. Review the societal impact of current trends in population and environment issues
12. Compare and contrast the different forms of collective behavior and social movements
13. Analyze the different models of social change

Topical Outline

1. Sociological perspective, methodology, and tools of the discipline.
2. Emergence of the discipline (historical approach).
3. Socialization: its processes and structure.
4. Culture: the normative system and social deviation.
5. Social organization, primary groups, secondary groups, formal organization, and bureaucracy.
6. Community: folk and urban.
7. Status, role, and stratification
8. Minorities.
9. Social institutions (theoretical framework)
   1. Family
   2. Education
   3. Religion: belief system
   4. Economics
   5. Polity
10. Collective behavior.
11. Urban perspective.
12. Social change: planned and unplanned.

The Online format

This class is not a self-paced class. There are strict deadlines that you will be required to observe. The course is divided into 5 units of work and you will have approximately three weeks to complete each unit and submit your homework to the instructors.

There are different types of assignments:

• Tests to be taken online in Blackboard
• Active learning assignments requiring some online research
• A science-fiction project
• A final paper