SOC 211W - Principles of Sociology

Credits: 3
Instructional Contact Hours: 3

Introduces the scientific study of society and social behavior including the basic concepts, theories, and methods of sociology. Credit may be earned in SOC 211W or SOC 211HW but not both.

Prerequisite(s): High School GPA of 2.3 or higher OR completion of or concurrent enrollment in any ENG course OR a Guided Self-Placement recommendation of ENG 111A or ENG 111C or higher
Corequisite(s): None
Lecture Hours: 45 Lab Hours: 0
Meets MTA Requirement: Social Science
Pass/NoCredit: Yes

Outcomes and Objectives

Employ the scientific approach to an examination of social behavior.
1. Apply the scientific method to the study of social behavior.
2. Correctly interpret simple statistical tables, correlations, and data.
3. Practice using theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism) to explain and predict social behavior.
4. Practice applying sociological knowledge to the understanding of how social location influences indicators of well-being.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between individual lives and wider social structures within historical context.
Employ the tools of sociology toward effectively navigating our public and private environments.
1. Identify aspects of institutions, such as cultural capital and hidden curriculum, that act as barriers to upward mobility.
2. Demonstrate how an understanding of group dynamics, social networking, insights of Goffman and Cooley, and resource mobilization is useful in navigating diverse environments.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between structure and agency.
Identify the components of societal organization.
1. Distinguish components of culture and explain how socialization both maintains and transmits dominant cultural patterns.
2. Analyze the economic and social implications of deviance, utilizing theoretical explanations of deviance.
3. Use theoretical perspectives to analyze social institutions such as family, economy, education, politics, and religion with a focus on functions and dysfunctions, power dynamics, and/or interactions within the institution.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the interrelatedness of race, class, gender, and other dimensions of inequality.
5. Analyze collective behavior and social movements such as the civil rights movement, women's movement, gay liberation movement, labor movement, and major social trends such as urbanization, modernization, and the religious-to-secular continuum.
Use writing tasks to promote learning.
1. Practice critical writing skills with the subject matter.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter.