SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Frequency of Course Offerings Information 

Sociology

SOCY 101: 3 s.h.
Introduction to Sociology (G3)
Presentation of subjects as a method of inquiry and as a systematic body of demonstrable propositions about society, its structure and functioning.

SOCY 210: 3 s.h.
Sociology of the Family (G3, W)
The "fit" between relational needs of the individual and institutional-societal demands is explored. Theoretical and functional perspectives. Topics include the family in mass society, experimental family systems, human sexuality, typologies of love, mate selection, husband-wife interaction, parent-child interaction, family disorganization and American ethnic families. Specific topics may vary.

SOCY 211: 3 s.h.
Social Problems (G3, W)
A sociological examination of problem areas or human concerns such as poverty, work and alienation, substance abuse, domestic violence, crime and justice, health, the environment and discrimination. Topics may vary.

SOCY 212: 3 s.h.
Sociology of Education (G3, W)
Analysis of education as a social institution and its relationship to other institutions, the roles of educator, administrator, student and parent; implications of subcultures, social stratification and social change. Offered infrequently.

SOCY 214: 3 s.h.
Aging and the Aged: Social Gerontology (G3, W)
Introduces human aging, with emphasis on social and sociopsychological aspects; an orientation to social gerontology as a multi-disciplinary social science; examination of scientific studies and theories of aging; social situations faced by aging people; societal responses to older people; the prospects of aging in the future. Offered periodically.

SOCY 216: 3 s.h.
Human Population (G3, W)
Analysis of population processes such as fertility, mortality, composition, distribution and migration patterns; relationship of population processes to social, economic and political development; effects of status differences; trends in population change. Offered periodically.

SOCY 230: 3 s.h.
Criminology (G3, W)
The nature and etiology of criminal behavior and the types of social response to law violation. Offered in fall, spring. Prereq: SOCY 101.

SOCY 231: 3 s.h.
Introduction to the Criminal Justice System (G3)
An overview of the American system for the administration of justice focusing on the processes of apprehending, prosecuting and adjudicating criminal defendants. Offered in fall. Prereq: SOCY 101, 230. Sociology/criminology majors and criminology minors only.

SOCY 232: 3 s.h.
Modern Corrections (G3)
Contemporary American responses to crime concentrating on the origins, nature, functions and limitations of American correctional modalities. Offered in spring. Prereq: SOCY 101, 230. Sociology/criminology majors and criminology minors only.

SOCY 250: 3 s.h.
Social Statistics (G3)
Introduction to social science statistical procedures, academic computing, data analysis and sociological research report writing. Offered in fall. Prereq: 3 credits in sociology/anthropology. Sophomore standing, MATH 130 or permission of instructor.

SOCY 301: 3 s.h.
Social Research Methods
Introduces methods and techniques employed by sociologists to gather and analyze data. Offered in spring. Prereq: SOCY 250 and SOCY 210 or SOCY 211.

SOCY 310: 3 s.h.
Sociology of Religion (G3, W)
The sociological approach to understanding and interpreting religious phenomena including the development of insight regarding the place of religion in society; the functional and conflict orientation to religion; religion and the individual; institutionalization of religion; religion and social change; and the secularization of religion. Offered annually. Prereq: 3 s.h. in sociology or junior/senior status.

SOCY 313: 3 s.h.
Sociology of Disaster
Focuses on the behavioral and organizational response to environmental hazards and disasters. Case studies of major natural disasters and hazardous materials incidents provide illustrations of individual, group and societal challenges faced in such events. Issues include: building a disaster resistant community, the impact of the media, governmental successes and failures. Offered periodically. Prereq. SOCY 101 or SOCY 211. A required course for the EHEM minor.

SOCY 315: 3 s.h.
Race and Ethnic Relations (G3, W)
Study of racial and cultural contact, comparative analysis of systems of race and ethnic relations, modes of adaptation of minorities and cross-cultural examinations of dominant-minority relations. Offered periodically. Prereq: 3 s.h. of sociology or junior/senior status.

SOCY 316: 3 s.h.
Social Psychology (G3, W)
Communication processes as the basis for personality development, role performance and the functioning of social groups. Offered annually. Prereq: 3 s.h. sociology or junior/senior status.

SOCY 317: 3 s.h.
Sociology of Health (G3, W)
Social and cultural factors in health and illness; the social organization of the medical care system; structural and interactional aspects of health care. Prereq: 3 s.h. sociology or junior/senior status. Offered infrequently.

SOCY 318: 3 s.h.
Sociology of Complex Organizations
Social interaction processes in business and industry; the nature and effects of complex industrial organization; interrelationships among industry and other social subsystems. Offered infrequently. Prereq: 3 s.h. sociology or junior/senior status.

SOCY 319: 3 s.h.
Social Stratification (G3, W)
Examines the development of social inequality by race, class, and gender. Focuses on the social construction of race, and gender, as well as various theories of class distribution. Inequality in education, housing, and the workplace are discussed. Offered annually. Prereq: 3 s.h. of sociology and junior/senior status.

SOCY 334: 3 s.h.
Juvenile Delinquency (G3, W)
The nature and extent of juvenile crime; theories of causation; techniques of control and prevention. Offered annually. Prereq: SOCY 101, 230.

SOCY 338: 3 s.h.
Sociology of Deviance
Questions what it means to be deviant in American society. Discusses how the definition of deviance has changed over time, how people become labeled "deviant," and the utility of numerous theories of deviancy. Offered annually. Prereq: SOCY 101.

SOCY 339: 3 s.h.
Topics in Criminology (W)
The nature, extent, origins and possible "solutions" to selected contemporary criminology topics. Offered periodically. Prereq: SOCY 101 and SOCY 230 or permission of instructor.

SOCY 342: 3 s.h.
Japanese Society (P)
An interdisciplinary approach to Japanese culture and society focusing on the arts, humanities and social sciences. Includes traditional culture, social institutions, socialization and Japanese national character. Offered in spring. Prereq: a sociology course (101 or any number not above 216) OR an anthropology course (any course number between 220 and 323); and at least one course from another social science.

SOCY 401: 3 s.h.
Sociological Theory
Examination and verification of contemporary sociology: classical and modern theoretical traditions; relevance of sociology to everyday life; works of selected theorists such as Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Merton. Offered in fall, spring. Prereq: 12 s.h. of sociology.

SOCY 441: 3 s.h.
Urban Society
Historical development from the pre-industrial city to the metropolitan community; structure and ecology of the city; urban culture, subcultures and personality patterns. Offered infrequently. Prereq: SOCY 101.

SOCY 448: 3 s.h.
Seminar in Sociology
The study of special problems by advanced students. A total of 6 s.h. may be taken. Offered in fall, spring. Prereq: 12 s.h. of sociology or permission of instructor.

SOCY 489, 499: 1-4 s.h.
Departmental Honors in Sociology
Two to four semesters of supervised research through independent projects. Prerequisite 3.0 GPA and recommendation by a faculty mentor. For further information, see the Special Academic Opportunities section.

SOCY 498: 1-6 s.h.
Independent Study in Sociology
For further information, see the Special Academic Opportunities section. Prereq: 3.00 GPA. Prereq: permission a faculty member.

SOCY 586: 3-6 s.h.
Topics in Sociology
Offered periodically.

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Anthropology

ANTH 121: 3 s.h.
Cultural Anthropology (G3)
Introduces basic concepts and topics: culture, fieldwork, communication, sex roles, social organization, politics, economics, belief systems, culture change and applied anthropology. Offered in fall, spring.

ANTH 122: 3 s.h.
Physical Anthropology (G3)
The anthropological study of human evolution: paleoanthropology, primatology and human population genetics; and the study of human variation: the ways humans adapt biologically to their environments. Offered in fall.

ANTH 123: 3 s.h.
Introduction to Archeology (G3)
Introduces methods and theory of contemporary archeology using examples from Old and New World prehistory. The relationship of archeology to anthropology is emphasized. Offered in spring.

ANTH 201: 3 s.h.
People, Primates and Prehistory (G3)
A general introduction to the four subdisciplines within anthropology-physical anthropology, archeology, cultural anthropology and anthropological linguistics-taking an evolutionary and comparative perspective of the human condition. Offered annually.

ANTH 220: 3 s.h.
Ethnographic Methods
Introduces ethnographic research methods through individual or group fieldwork, emphasizing the ethnographic interview and participant observation. Offered in fall. Prereq: permission of instructor.

ANTH 221: 3 s.h.
Peoples and Cultures of Mexico (G3, W)
Examines the cultures of the native and peasant societies of Mexico from an archeological, ethno-historic and ethnographic perspective. The culture-ecological evolutionary approach is emphasized. Offered periodically.

ANTH 222: 3 s.h.
North American Indians (G3, W)
Past and present cultures of the native peoples of North America, using archeological and ethnological data. Historic culture-ecological relationships are stressed, as well as culture change among the American Indians today. Offered annually.

ANTH 223: 3 s.h.
Peoples and Cultures of the Mediterranean (G3)
Comparison and contrast of the history and culture of rural and urban society in the Mediterranean region. Focus is on topics and themes of importance to the circum-Mediterranean culture area. Offered periodically.

ANTH 226: 3 s.h.
Comparative Societies (G3, W)
Comparative investigations of a topic or region of current interest in the field of anthropology. Offered annually.

ANTH 233: 3 s.h.
Topics in Archeology (G3)
Examines human cultural evolution before and after the advent of writing, using archeological and related records. Topics vary from the rise of civilization to the decline of local communities. Offered annually.

ANTH 320: 3 s.h.
Archeological Method and Theory (W)
Focus on current developments in archeological method and theory with specific emphasis on contract archeology, survey methods, artifact analysis and contemporary theoretical approaches. Offered annually. Prereq: ANTH 123 plus 3 additional hours of anthropology or permission of instructor.

ANTH 322: 3 s.h.
Food and Culture (G3, W)
Cross-cultural study of food habits and beliefs in tribal societies and the U.S. Examines the extent and causes of hunger in the U.S. and the Third World and considers religious fasting, anorexia nervosa and famine. Offered in fall.

ANTH 323: 3 s.h.
Culture and Personality (G3, W)
Cross-cultural study of the relationship between culture and personality development. Theory, method and applications of psychological anthropology. Comparative studies of patterns of ethnic behavior, mental disorders, addiction and the crisis cult phenomenon. Offered periodically.

ANTH 324: 3 s.h.
Human Spatial Behavior (P)
Examines humankind’s perception and use of space. Primary focus is on the comparative study of social organization and its relation to spatial characteristics. Spatial behavior is examined from the perspectives of archeology, ethnography, psychology, ethnology and architecture. Offered annually.

ANTH 325: 3 s.h.
Medical Anthropology
Cross-cultural study of health and healing, including comparative medical systems, theories of disease, patients/healers in the context of culture, mental health, bioethics, interaction of culture, biology and environment and the effects of cultural change. Offered periodically.

ANTH 328: 3 s.h.
Male/Female (G3)
Cross-cultural study of sex roles among western and non-western societies, including social concepts of the masculine and feminine and biological aspects of gender. Offered periodically.

ANTH 342: 3 s.h.
World Hunger (P)
Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary study of famine and world hunger. Critical examination of the political, economic and ecological causes of famine and the psychological and social effects of starvation. Offered periodically. Prereq: jr/sr status.

ANTH 344: 3 s.h.
Gender, Race and Class (P)
The intersecting role of gender, race, and class on human social life in the U.S. and other cultures. An interdisciplinary and comparative examination of the ways social categories define, limit and liberate human potential. Offered annually. Prereq: jr/sr status and at least two social science courses.

ANTH 422: 3 s.h.
History of Anthropological Theory
Examines in a developmental fashion the attempts made by anthropologists to explain human similarities and differences and the dynamics of culture change. Offered in fall 2000, spring 2002. Prereq: jr/sr status and a minimum of 9 s.h. in anthropology.

ANTH 425: 1-6 s.h.
Field/Research Experience in Anthropology
Individual or group research in any of the subdisciplines of anthropology which includes the summer archeological field school and ethnographic field projects. Offered periodically. Prereq: Permission of instructor.

ANTH 458: 3-6 s.h.
Senior Seminar in Anthropology
Research and group discussions for advanced students on various topics of interest. A total of 6 s.h. may be taken. Offered annually. Prereq: Permission of instructor.

ANTH 489, 499: 1-4 s.h.
Departmental Honors in Anthropology
Two to four semesters of supervised research by highly motivated students capable of conducting independent research projects. Prerequisite 3.0 GPA and recommendation by faculty mentor. For further information, see the Special Academic Opportunities section.

ANTH 498: 1-6 s.h.
Independent Study in Anthropology
For further information, see the Special Academic Opportunities section.

ANTH 586: 3-6 s.h.
Topics in Anthropology
Offered periodically.

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