SOC 211W - Principles of Sociology

1. Identify the scientific method as applied to the study of social behavior and practice critical thinking using a scientific approach.
   1. Apply scientific method to the study of social behavior.
   2. Correctly interpret simple statistical tables, correlations and data.
   3. Differentiate sociology, including its historical development, from other disciplines such as psychology, anthropology and philosophy.
   4. Distinguish among sociology's basic theoretical approaches (such as functional, conflict and symbolic interaction) to the analysis of social behavior and list the main contributions of influential sociologists.
   5. Appreciate the applications of sociological knowledge to the understanding of social life including major social problems.
2. Employ basic sociological concepts in the analysis of social behavior and society.
   1. Define and apply the concept of culture to the analysis of human behavior including both its cognitive components (such as knowledge, skills, beliefs, myths and language) and its normative components (such as values and norms, including folkways, mores, and taboos).
   2. Analyze basic social interaction and social structure using such concepts as status, role, institution and society.
   3. Locate the principal types of societies and their cultures in the course of human social development.
   4. Identify the structure and dynamics of human groups, including primary and secondary, and the changes which have taken place in human groups as societies have evolved over time.
3. Identify the basic social institutions and their functions.
   1. Distinguish the functions and processes of socialization and education in human social life.
   2. Explain the functions and techniques of social control, including formal and informal, and analyze the causes and consequences of deviant behavior as well as society’s attempts to cope with it.
   3. Categorize the basic family forms (such as polygamy, monogamy, extended and nuclear) and analyze their functions in different societies both past and present.
   4. Compare the sociological approaches to inequalities of class, race, ethnicity and gender and appreciate the functions of diversity in modern society.
   5. Assess the place of religion in society, using both functional and conflict approaches.
   6. Grasp the significance of major social trends leading to urbanization, modernization, secularization, collective behavior and social movements.
4. Use writing tasks to promote learning.
   1. Practice critical writing skills within the subject.
   2. Demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter