- Major
- Minor
- Spring 2010 Courses
- Course Descriptions
- Learning Goals
University of San Diego
Sociology
Serra Hall 207
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 260-4698
monicaw@SanDiego.edu
Department Chair
Eren Branch, Ph.D.
ebranch@SanDiego.edu
Media Contact
Denise Ward
wardd@sandiego.edu
(619) 260-4600 x6994
Find us on
Course Descriptions
CUC = Community, Urbanization, and Culture
PIGP = Power and Inequality in Global Perspective
CJLS = Crime, Justice, Law and Society
90 Developing Scholarly Undergraduates (1)
Using the “sociological imagination,” this course will help students to: (1) develop strong college performance skills and practices for academic success, (2) develop community involvement in USD and local communities, and (3) develop awareness of university services and programs. This course counts for “work-load credit” only. That is, its units are counted as part of the student’s load during the semester/session in which it is taken, and the grade earned in the course is included in the computation of the student’s grade point average, but it does not satisfy any Core Curriculum requirement, or for the major or minor in Sociology, and it does not count toward the 124 units required for graduation. (Summer)
100 Introduction to Ethnic Studies (3)
An interdisciplinary introduction addressing key issues regarding identity and definition among diverse cultures. The emphasis is on African Americans, Chicanos/Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, but includes discussion of other groups in the United States as well. A comparative, historical framework is used to examine such topics as language, family interactions, spirituality, economic and social locations, political aspirations, self definition, and values.
101 Introduction to Sociology (3)
This course introduces students to basic concepts of sociology: groups, race and ethnicity, class, gender, nation, citizenship, status, role, society, behavior patterns, and social institutions. The approach is broadly comparative, historical, and global in orientation and focus, with an emphasis on the U.S. Particular attention is paid to issues of power, inequality, war, peace, social change, and social justice. (Every semester)
110 Contemporary Social Issues (3)
This course is an analysis of contemporary social issues and social controversy from a sociological perspective. The course examines what constitutes a social issue, how social issues arise, the various claims-making activities that frame the debates surrounding a particular social issue, and possible ways to alleviate that issue. (Every semester)
160 Statistical Methods (3)
An introduction to the use of quantitative methods with emphasis on measures of central tendency and variability, statistical inference, including the normal curve, elementary probability, sampling, and correlation. (Fall semester, every year)
215 Perspectives on the City (3)
This course introduces students to the core approaches utilized to investigate the urban experience in the social space of the modern city. Students will explore the ecological and political economy perspectives, among others, as they examine some of the foundational debates of urban scholars.
294 Special Topics in Contemporary Sociology (3)
An overview and analysis of selected contemporary topics in sociology, with specific content to be determined by particular interest of instructor and students. May be repeated for credit with different course content. (Offered on demand)
Counts towards: CUC
An examination of the material and other cultural artifacts of everyday life in our society. Included for analysis are popular literature, films, television, and other mass media forms; popular icons such as children’s toys and adults’ automobiles as reflections of underlying cultural values and beliefs; and the promotion of “the good life” through popular advertising.
Counts towards: CUC, PIGP
An introduction to U.S. society within historical and social perspectives. Transitions and transformations in U.S. culture and values are considered in a social context. Topics explored include industrialization, capitalism, social stratification, and the interplay of freedom, democracy, individualism, and volunteerism with the U.S.’s social structure, political institutions, and cultural framework.
322 Classical Sociological Theories (3)
Development of sociological theories from Auguste Comte to George Herbert Mead. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing. (Fall semester, alternate years)
323 Contemporary Sociological Theories (3)
Development of sociological theories of contemporary European and U.S. sociologists. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing. (Fall semester, alternate years)
324 Methods of Social Research (3)
An introduction to a broad range of concepts and methods for the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of sociological data. Conceptual models, research design, empirical methods, and the special problems of measurement, analysis, and interpretation are stressed. Prerequisite: SOCI 160. (Spring semester, every year)
331 Race and Ethnic Relations (3)
Counts towards: CUC
An introduction to theory and research relative to minority group relations in the United States, with particular emphasis upon patterns, problems, and consequences of social interaction and cultural diversity among different racial, national, religious, and socioeconomic groups.
Counts towards: CJLS
An examination of crime and society, with special emphasis on theories of criminality, types and trends in crime, and current controversies in criminology.
348 Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Gangs (3)
Counts towards: CUC, CJLS
This course provides an empirical description and sociohistorical analysis of the complex social problem of juvenile delinquency and urban gangs. Toward this goal, the course examines the historical circumstances and legal heritage out of which the social construction of juvenile delinquency has emerged. It also explores the behavior of juveniles and urban gang members on the streets, in the schools, in the family, and in the community, and examines the response of the criminal justice system. The emphasis of the course is upon the process through which juvenile behavior becomes juvenile delinquency, and through which juveniles become juvenile delinquents.
Counts towards: CJLS
An examination and analysis of the various strategies and techniques utilized to combat deviant and criminal behavior. Attention will be focused on the organization and operation of the U.S. criminal justice system.
Counts towards: CUC, PIGP
A comparative analysis of the basic structuring of human societies, utilizing the perspective of social systems theory. Topics for discussion will include such fundamental institutionalized processes as social allocation and social power, as well as the development of total societies from simple to complex forms of organization.
351 China in the 21st Century (3)
Counts towards: PIGP
This course analyzes the historical and social development of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to the present. Topics explored include: the problems of post-revolutionary institutionalization, the role of ideology, the tension between city and countryside, Maoism, major social movements, socialist education, the urban work force, and the status of women.
353 Marriage and the Family (3)
Counts towards: CUC, PIGP
Analysis of the family as a social institution and as a social group, with emphasis on the impact of industrialization on traditional family functions, courtship, role expectations, child rearing, and family stability. The course will examine changes in work patterns, marriage, divorce, and cohabitation over time. Race, ethnicity, and gender differences will also be addressed.
354 Drugs and U.S. Society (3)
Counts towards: CJLS
This course provides a sociohistorical analysis of the cultural, economic, and political forces that have driven anti-drug movements throughout U.S. history. Toward this goal, the course examines the historical circumstances and legal heritage that have contributed to the rise and fall of drug panics and the current disease model of addiction. The implications of the medicalization of deviance are explored, as are the influences of past drug policies and the casualties of the current “war on drugs.”
Counts towards: CJLS
This course is a critical evaluation of America's historic and contemporary use of the correctional system as the primary response to crime and many social problems. This seminar is more about ideology than structure; of paramount interest are the social, political and economic contexts of prisons and the 'tough on crime' movement that have produced the largest prison system in the world.
356 Crime as Entertainment (3)
Counts towards: CJLS
This course explores the depiction of crime and the criminal justice system in media with a specific but not exclusive emphasis on "old" news and entertainment media (film and television). Particular focus will be placed on the entertainment media's role in shaping the general public's ideas of crime and justice. This course also examines the increasingly blurred lines between news and entertainment; the roles film and television play in educating the public about crime and justice; and entertainment media's role in creating a distorted image of crime and justice. Issues of race, class, and gender will also be explored in the context of entertainment media and crime.
357 Inequality and Stratification (3)
Counts towards: PIGP
An analysis of the structures and dynamics of social inequality, focusing upon competing theoretical explanations and empirical investigations of different arrangements by which wealth, power, and prestige are distributed in human societies.
Counts towards: PIGP, CJLS
An introduction to the sociological analysis of the theory and practice of power in contemporary societies. Emphasis will be placed upon such topics as the nature of political power, social and cultural foundations of political institutions, sources and patterns of political involvement, and the social consequences of various types of power structures.
359 Gender Through the Prism of Difference (3)
Counts towards: PIGP
This course explores how gender organizes our society. It focuses on how specific institutions affect individual agency; for example, how do the media, corporate industries, and professional organizations differently influence the social construction of femininity and masculinity? What processes of social activism and resistance do individuals engage to challenge such pressures? Analyses also focus on how conceptions of biological determinism affect behavior. Finally, the intersections of race, class, and sexual diversity among men and women are investigated as they relate to social phenomenon such as production, reproduction, identity, and social change.
362 Social Change: Global Perspectives (3)
Counts towards: PIGP
Using sociological perspectives on the roles of cultural beliefs and social practices in shaping people’s lives, this course offers an overview of the organizing principles of society that resulted in the transition of pre-industrial societies to modern industrial states. The goals of the course are to make students aware of the power that social and cultural structures hold over them, of the fact that different societies will necessarily hold disparate views on how societies should be organized, and how to assess social/cultural differences in a nonjudgmental way. Topics covered include the technological bases of social organization, sex and gender stratification, demography, nationalism, religion, and civil society.
363 The Modern Urban Community (3)
Counts towards: CUC
The goal of this course is to expose students to the array of topics that occupy the attention of contemporary urban scholars: political, economic, and cultural issues related to urban transformation, urban inequalities, urban design, urban consumption, urban sustainability, and urban security. It is strongly recommended (but not required) that students complete Perspectives on the City before enrolling in this course.
Counts towards: CUC, PIGP
Examination of work, the labor force, and labor markets are integral to sociological theory and research. This course examines how labor and work impact and structure daily life, social structures, and the political economy. In addition, this course examines the relationship between politics and policy and the labor force in the United States.
Counts towards: CJLS
An analysis of conceptions of deviant behavior, the nature and prevalence of such behavior, and the theories developed to explain deviance. Emphasis is upon the relationship of such behavior to social structure and social processes.
Counts towards: PIGP
An analysis of the phenomenon of human sexuality from a sociological perspective. An understanding of the diversity of sexuality, development of sex roles, sexual orientation, historical and cross-cultural views of sexuality, and trends in sexual behavior and attitudes. Topics will include such issues as sexual identity, socialization, social change, and social movements.
370 Sociology of Education (3)
Counts towards: CUC
An introduction to education as a social process and a social institution. Topics include: the social functions of education, the school as a formal organization and social system, social factors affecting the educational process, and an examination of change and innovation in education.
Counts towards: PIGP
The examination of selected racial/ethnic groups, social classes, sexual orientations, religions, and nationalities from a sociological perspective. This course focuses on acquiring an understanding of diversity and multiculturalism in modern U.S. society. Topics include such issues as identity, political economy, social organization, social change, and social movements.
Counts towards: PIGP
An examination of the short-lived, and often extraordinary, noninstitutionalized behavioral phenomena of crowds, mobs, riots, panics, and crazes that seem to periodically disturb the orderly flow of human societal life. Also examined will be the processes by which these “social aberrations” may become institutionalized, as social movements, as part of a new and emerging sociocultural order.
Counts towards: PIGP
A study of the sociological, psychological, and cultural approaches and problems related to the aging process, with an emphasis on what it means to grow old in U.S. society.
388 Sport in Social Context (3)
Counts towards: CUC
This course examines of the role of sport in U.S. society. Topics include sport and social values, socialization into sport, the political and economic aspects of sport, sport and violence, sport and education, the African American athlete, and women in sport.
Counts towards: CUC
The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the theories and practices of urban planning. It approaches planning as a visionary field, a technical profession, and a political and governmental function. This comprehensive approach will place emphasis on planning and development issues in the U.S., but it will also look at other societies for the purpose of comparison.
Counts towards: CUC, PIGP
In this course students read works of black fiction to critically examine U.S. society from the late slavery period to the present. The objectives of this course are: for students to gain a more comprehensive understanding of U.S. society; for students to consider the different histories that have been lived in the U.S. based on racial identity; and for students to appreciate the centrality of race and class in the development of American social, political, cultural, and economic institutions.
Counts towards: CUC, PIGP
With a particular emphasis on Jamaica, this course provides an overview of Caribbean society and culture from the beginning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. Specific attention will be given to the themes of colonization, slavery, culture, and resistance. Students are asked to consider the role European colonization played in shaping Carribean societies and culture for the bad and the good, and the role of the world's most powerful nations in detracting from the self-determination and global competency of less-developed former colonies. This course seeks to engender cultural competence in students and have them use Caribbean cultures as a lens through which they critically evaluate their racial, ethnic, gendered, national, and socioeconomic selves.
450 Culture and the Metropolis (3)
Counts towards: CUC
The city has been both the subject and the site of most forms of contemporary popular culture, as well as the guardian of high culture and the arts. This course explores this connection between city and culture. On the one hand, it looks at how urban communities, city spaces, and formal decision making within the modern metropolis facilitate the production and dissemination of a variety of cultural forms. On the other hand, it looks at a number of popular culture forms with an eye on how the city is represented in them. While this course emphasizes sociological analysis and social processes, its approach is interdisciplinary. It incorporates observations and knowledge coming out of the visual and fine arts, history, communication studies, psychology, and anthropology, and recognizes the contributions that these disciplines have made to our understanding of urban cultures.
455 Cities in a Global Context (3)
Counts towards: CUC
This course will ground students in an understanding of cities as critical nodes within a world that is growing ever more socially, politically, and economically connected. It will investigate the causes and effects of this interconnectedness as well as the methods utilized to measure it. It will explore how the global context shapes urban issues, examining the urban networks across which capital, labor, and ideas flow.
Counts towards: PIGP
This course provides an overview of sociological research in the field of international migration. This course focuses on topics including: migration flows into gateway cities such as San Diego, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami; transnationalism; immigration law and policy; immigrant families; activism, citizenship; and work.
464 Community, Consensus, and Commitment (3)
Counts towards: CUC
This interdisciplinary course will be useful for students who seek to understand contemporary social issues in a purposeful and strategic manner. The course utilizes theory and practice in order for students to learn the various dimensions of what constitutes community, and how to apply the tools of community organizing, consensus-building, and sustaining commitment in addressing social issues. This course also serves as the capstone experience for the Ethnic Studies major.
Counts towards: CJLS
This course examines the relationship between formal law and other social institutions. It begins with an examination of legal theory and theories of law creation. It then explores the role of law in both fostering and remedying social inequality, law as a vehicle for social change, and the many other roles of law in modern U.S. society. The underlying premise is simple – law is a social construct. No matter how it is defined, law is not simply an objective system of dos and don’ts; rather, it is something that is shaped by history, social conditions, and particular groups in society.
473 Rights, Justice, Law & Inequality (3)
Counts towards: PIGP, CJLS
The study of rights, justice, and law as social institutions. After being introduced to the sociolegal foundations of U.S. society and the scope of contemporary law, students will be expected to closely and critically examine the role law plays in the establishment and taking away of individual rights and liberties. Students will also be expected to develop an understanding of justice, how the meaning of justice has changed over the course of U.S. history, and the social forces that have played a role in molding new interpretations of justice. This course places special emphasis on law’s role in both producing and remedying social inequality. Particular attention is given to the subjects of race, gender, class, civil rights, and privacy rights.
493 Field Experience in Sociology (1-3)
Practical experience in a field setting under professional and faculty supervision. Each student will complete 40 hours of training and service in an assigned field setting. Students may be required to attend an orientation program prior to their placement. Regularly scheduled meetings with the faculty supervisor and a learning journal of experiences are required from each student. May be taken for one to three units per semester. Field Experience courses may not be applied toward fulfillment of requirements for the Sociology major. Prerequisite: Consent of faculty supervisor is required prior to registration. Pass/fail option only.
494 Special Topics in Contemporary Sociology (3)
An in-depth analysis of selected contemporary topics in sociology, with specific content to be determined by particular interest of instructor and students. May be repeated for credit with different course content. (Offered on demand)
498 Internship in Sociology (3)
A practicum course involving a minimum of 120 hours per semester with various community, social service, and criminal justice agencies throughout San Diego County. Students may be required to attend an orientation program prior to their placement. Fieldwork is under the supervision of agency personnel and the faculty supervisor. Regularly scheduled meetings with the faculty supervisor, a learning journal of experiences, and a research paper are required from each student. A maximum of 6 units of credit from Internship courses may be applied toward fulfillment of requirements for the Sociology major. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and consent of the faculty supervisor are required prior to registration.
499 Independent Study (1-3)
Individual study and written research working in close collaboration with a faculty advisor. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and of the department chair.
Disclaimer: If there are any inconsistencies between what is posted on our web page and the language and text in the official 2008-2010 undergraduate bulletin, the bulletin will always prevail.
