Introduction to Sociology - 1st year
Systematic study of social behavior and human groups. It focuses on the influence of social relationships upon people’s attitudes and behavior and on how societies are established and changed. This course provides students with both methodologies and knowledge of the study of critical social issues ranging in scope from family to global.
Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Correctly identify causes of critical social issues through a systematic study of social behavior and social change;
2. Demonstrate comprehension of roles and functions of various social institutions and relationships among them;
3. Demonstrate understanding of several sociological theories and apply them to explain social phenomena or situations;
4. Demonstrate interest in taking part in social activities;
5. Use sociological imagination to explain their life experience in a broader social context.
Topics:
Course topics will include the following:
1. The nature of sociology
2. Methods of sociological research
3. Culture
4. Socialization
5. Social interaction and social structure
6. Groups and organizations
7. Deviance and social control
8. Stratification and social mobility
9. Social inequality
10. Race and ethnicity
11. Stratification by gender
12. Stratification by age
13. The family
14. Religion
15. Government and the economy
16. Education
17. Health and medicine
18. Communities
19. Population
20. Collective behavior and social change
Method of Instruction:
1. Lectures
2. Video tapes
3. Discussions
4. Essay presentation
5. Data analysis
Types of Assignments:
1. Students will read the appropriate chapters of a textbook
2. Short essays about social problems
Sample Text:
1. Sociology (Richard T. Schaefer and Robert P. Lamm, MacGraw-Hill, N.., 2002)
2. Social Problems (LeRoy W. Barnes, The Dushkin Publishing Group, Guilford, CT, 2000)
