Furman Sociology

Courses

Schedule of Course Offerings -

Sociology 101 and 102 satisfy the General Education requirement in the social sciences.

Majors

Majors are required to take Sociology 101, 301, 302, 303, and 470 and four additional upper division courses, three of which must have the Sociology prefix. To graduate with a major in Sociology, a student must have a grade-point average of 2.0 in all Sociology courses.

It is advisable for majors to take as many of the following as possible: Computer Science 101, Economics 111, Philosophy 101 and Psychology 111. All majors are encouraged to take the advanced sociology section of the Graduate Record Examination.

SOC

101 Introduction to Sociology 102 Social Problems 211 Introduction to Criminology 212 Law and Society 213 Deviance and Social Control 221 Population, Economy and Society 222 Population and Environment 223 Urban Community 231 Media, Culture and Society 232 Sociology of Contemporary Families 233 Sociology of Religion 234 Medical Sociology 241 Social Class in America 242 Sociology of Gender 243 Race and Ethnic Relations 251 Social Movements and Collective Behavior 301 Sociological Theory 302 Methods of Social Research 303 Analysis of Social Data 470Qualitative Sociology Seminar 475 Sociology Seminar 501 Independent Study 503 Individualized Internship

 

 

101 Principles of Sociology (formerly SOC 11) (4)

Introduction to the sociological perspective on human behavior, including an analysis of theory, research methods, culture, society, personality, the socialization process, social institutions and social change.

Dr. Maher's Sociology 11 course Budget Exercise can be found here.

102 Social Problems (formerly SOC 24) (4)

Analysis of current social problems and social policies: the definitions and causes of problems as well as the efficacy and feasibility of proposed solutions.

211 Introduction to Criminology (formerly SOC 22) (4)

Introduction to the field of criminology. Topics include the criminological enterprise, measuring criminal behavior; victims and criminals--profiles; theories of crime causation--biological, psychological, and sociological; crime typologies-violent and property. Police, courts and corrections will also be briefly discussed.

212 Law and Society (formerly SOC 39) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101 or PSC-101
Examining the relationship between law and society from a sociological perspective. How social forces influence the nature and content of law. Fundamental problems encountered in the administration of the American criminal justice system. Analyzing how the system of law and social control works by examining its various components-- lawyers, police, courts, and corrections. Also studied is the interaction between the various components of the criminal justice system and larger legal, political, and social communities.

213 Deviance and Social Control (formerly SOC 48) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Introduction to research on many forms of deviance, including smoking, mental disorders, suicide, substance abuse, cult membership, sexual nonconformity, and violence. Readings emphasize what sociologists currently know about these behaviors and conditions and how people's reactions and forms of control have changed with time.

221 Population, Economy and Society (formerly SOC 35) (4)

Prerequisite: ECN-111, SOC-101 or 102 Same as ECN-235. Explores the trends and determinants of vital events such as fertility, mortality, marriage, divorce and migration from sociological and economic perspectives. Presents a brief history of world population change and explores current trends and theories that are used to understand them. Students may not receive credit for both ECN-235 (35) or SOC-221 (35) and SOC-222 (46).

222 Population and Environment (formerly SOC 46) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Analysis and review of basic population theory and trends, including a detailed study of the effects of demographic components (fertility, mortality and migration) on contemporary human society and the environment. Students may not receive credit for both ECN-235 (35) or SOC-221(35) and SOC-222 (46).

223 Urban Community (formerly SOC 43) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Exploration of the dynamics of urbanization and urbanism, with an emphasis on American cities. The roles of urban places, institutions, and lifestyles are explored in depth.

231 Media, Culture and Society (formerly SOC 30) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Examination of the relationship between media and society. Covers various aspects of media, including television, radio, movies, popular music, the internet, advertising and public relations. Addresses the issue of how social forces shape media content, especially public and political interests. Also examines how needs of media organizations influence images and ideas presented. Considers ways in which media influences society.

232 Sociology of Contemporary Families (formerly SOC 31) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Examining historical and current variation in the institution of the family, the construction of the "ideal" family and the impact of this construction for how the family as an institution both contributes to social order and perpetuates inequality. Marriage, divorce, child-rearing, work and family policy will be considered.

233 Sociology of Religion (formerly SOC 49) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Examination of religion’s role in social cohesion and conflict, in continuity and change. A central focus is contemporary American religious life and its mix of seemingly contradictory trends.

234 Medical Sociology (formerly SOC 44) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Introduction to the sociological study of medicine and the applications of sociology in medicine, emphasizing the sociocultural aspects of health and illness. Requires extensive field work at a Greenville hospital. Entry is by application only. Course must be enrolled with PHL-302 (28). To open the Medical Class Application: click here: Application for Winter Term. The Learning contract can be found here.

241 Social Class in America (formerly SOC 40) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Analysis of social stratification, status and social class in the United States. Relationship of social class to social intimacy,style of life, values, mobility and the socialization process. Structure and function of power systems.

242 Sociology of Gender (formerly SOC 42) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Analysis of the role of gender in society. Exploration of the ways gender differences are culturally reproduced transforming male and female biology into masculinity and femininity. Historical and cross-cultural examples are examined as well as a discussion of the nature or nurture debate. Consideration of the influences of the family, media and language are included. Additional attention is paid to the role of gender in the social institutions (e.g., education,work, health care).

243 Race and Ethnic Relations (formerly SOC 47) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
An exploration of racial, ethnic and religious minorities in United States and around the world. Topic covered include "race" and social identities; stigmatization and prejudice; inter-group cooperation, collusion and competition.

251 Social Movements and Collective Behavior (formerly SOC 45) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Broad examination of social movements, considering movement emergence, movements' influence on social institutions, and movement success. Also considers dynamics within movements, including movement culture, and the motivations of, and impact on, movement participants. Special focus on civil rights, Southern mill strikes, and solidarity movements.

301 Sociological Theory (formerly SOC 50) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Philosophical and historical influences on and contemporary orientations in sociological theory. The sociological approach to knowledge is compared to that of the other sciences and the humanities.

50 Sociological Theory (formerly SOC 51) (4)

Prerequisite: Sociology 11 or permission of instructor. Philosophical and historical influences on and contemporary orientations in sociological theory. The sociological approach to knowledge is compared to that of the other sciences and the humanities.

302 Methods of Social Research (formerly SOC 52) (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101
Introduction to the basic techniques of social research including both quantitative and qualitative methods and to the basic techniques of statistical description and inference. Team based research projects are developed which are then completed in SOC-303.).

303 Analysis of Social Data (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-302 and MTH-110, 141 or 150
Continuing introduction to basic techniques of statistics including descriptive and inferential statistics with an emphasis on the application and critical consumption of statistics.Completion of quantitative research project begun in SOC-302.

470 Qualitative Sociology (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101 and at least one more sociology course numbered 200 or greater. Advanced reading, research and discussion course for majors covering a specific topic in sociology. Topics vary by instructor and term and could include such topics as Subcultures and Alternative Lifestyles, The Built Environment or Ethnography of Everyday Life. Special emphasis on qualitative methodology. This course requires an independent or collaborative research project. May be repeated for credit based on change of topic.

475 Sociology Seminar (4)

Prerequisite: SOC-101 and at least one more course numbered 200 or greater in sociology.
Advanced reading, research and discussion course for covering a specific topic in Sociology. Topics vary by instructor and could include such topics as Organized Deviance: Terrorists, the Mafia and Genocidal States or Environmental Sociology. This course requires an independent or collaborative research project. May be repeated for credit based on change of topic.

501 Independent Study (formerly SOC 80)

Independent Study Guidelines

Prerequisite: instructor permission
Prospectus for study must be presented to instructor and approved in the term preceding registration for the course.Variable credit.

503 Individualized Internship (formerly SOC 83)

Prerequisite: SOC-101 or 102, at least one sociology course numbered 200 or greater and a GPA of 2.80 or greater in the major.

Practical experience in a variety of local social service agencies. Interns complete at least 120 hours of on-site activities relating to their internship objectives, participate in scheduled seminar meetings, workshops, and field research exercises, and meet regularly with the internship director and agency supervisor. Course cannot be enrolled pass-fail.Variable credit.