Syllabus

Course Description

Sociology is the science – and the art – of understanding social relationships, human behavior, and the society that we live in. As a comprehensive introduction to the discipline, the goals of this course are to stimulate your fascination with sociology and to encourage you to recognize sociology’s practical value, as well as its unique perspective.

Course Objectives

• Understand and apply sociological concepts, theories, and tools.
• Appreciate the practical uses of sociology for all fields.
• Recognize the work that sociologists do, how they do it, and why they do it.

Prerequisites

None

Required Readers

Newman, David M. and Jodi O’Brien. 2008. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life - Readings. 7^th Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.

Ruane, Janet M. and Karen A. Cerulo. 2008. Second Thoughts: Seeing Conventional Wisdom through the Sociological Eye. 4^th Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.

Other Reading

While this class requires no textbooks, for people who are interested in these topics, these following textbooks would complement the material here.

- You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (Dalton Conley)

- Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life (David Newman)

- The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology (Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein)

Grading