Undergraduate Courses

Professor: Dr. Name

Description.

MWF 2:00-2:50

Introduction to the principal concepts, theories, and methods of sociology. Required (normally) for sociology majors.

What has been, and is today, the "work" of sociology? This question will be addressed by a self-reflective exploration of the discipline--its historical and social origins and development, its shifting philosophical foundations, its methodological refinements, its ethical and political implications--and discussion of sociological studies, both classic and controversial. Required for Sociology majors.

Discussion course on major recent trends in sociological theory, especially in the writings of Goffman, Habermas, Bourdieu, Foucault, and Smith. Includes symbolic interactionism, critical theory, cultural studies, text/discourse/semiotic analyses, feminist theory, and postmodern sociology.

Study of feminist theory as critique and reconstruction. Includes Wollstonecraft and de Beauvoir, as well as contemporary debates about equity, difference, knowledge, sexuality, and power. Also offered as WGST 460.

An introduction to the methods sociologists use to study human societies and their members, taught collectively by the Sociology faculty. Hypothesis formulation and research design; qualitative studies through observations and interviews; historical and comparative approaches; sample surveys and the statistical analysis of quantitative data; political and ethical issues in social research.

This course provides students with the skills they need to analyze quantitative data in order to answer sociological research questions and to test hypotheses. Students learn sample description, sampling and probability, sampling theory, and how to make inferences from samples to populations. They learn to apply common univariate statistics for description, and bivariate and multi-variate statistics for testing relationships. Because most statistical analysis is done with the aid of computers, they also learn how to use a common statistical package.

A survey of US inequalities of wealth, status, and power. The situation of various minority groups, women, the poor. What kinds of inequality are unjustifiable? Can they be abolished? If so, how? The trade-off between equality and such valued goods as freedom and efficiency. Enrollment is limited to 30.

Exploration of the relationship between gender and social role. Includes development of the contemporary sexual division of labor and the process of socialization with reference to family, education, media, and occupations. Limited enrollment to 55. Also offered as WGST 324.

An approach to urban sociology and an exploration of contemporary social change, using the Houston metropolitan area as a case study. The rise of the "golden buckle of the sunbelt"; economic and demographic transformations since the end of the oil boom; the new immigration and its impact on interethnic relations; the changing politics of education, inequality, environmental concerns, inner-city development and regional issues; perspectives on the urban future in the new knowledge-based global economy. Guest lectures, field trips. Enrollment limited to 30.

Historical and contemporary issues and theories of race and ethnic relations in the United States. The key groups covered will be European Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Mexican Americans. Group patterns of assimilation and conflict inform a basic tenet that race and ethnicity are organizing features of society. Enrollment limited to 30.

Study of urban development, from, heterogeneity, and the conditions of life associated with living in cities. Examines the rise of cities, their growth, and purposes in the U.S. and internationally. Examines behavioral adaptations required by city life, and considers urban subcultures.

Sociological perspectives on "the economy" emphasizes that (1) economies are not reducible to markets and that (2) markets are social structures. Accordingly, this course examines how economic processes, such as production, distribution and exchange, are embedded in interpersonal relationships and social institutions such as bureaucratic states, local communities and families.

Introduction to the study of the dynamics of population change. Includes demographic data sources, components of population change, mortality patterns, family planning, the measurement of migrations, and population-economic models. Enrollment limited to 30.

The influence that occupation has on lifestyle, values, social and economic status, and views of the world. Field work by the student will be encouraged.

Study of criminal behavior. Includes social construction of crime, elementary forms of crime, empirical patterns of crime, and theories of crime. Field work required. Limit enrollment to 40. Prereq- Soci 203 or departmental exam.

xamination of the linked projects of analyzing social problems, generating critical appraisals of the existing social order, and envisioning a movement toward "the good society". Includes concrete social issues (the family, inequality, and the environment) and more general topics. Prerequisite: SOCI 203 or permission of instructor. Limited enrollment.

Introduction to sociological theories of law. The class examines the central question in the field: Do the social characteristics of legal actions influence legal outcomes? This course also focuses on the role of race, sex and social status. Field work required. Enrollment is limited to 30.

This course examines the phenomenon of race mixing (i.e. interracial interaction, multiracial identity) from a sociological perspective. We will take a broad view of this phenomenon and discuss the origins of American notions of what racial interaction means and how that impacts how race is organized and experienced. We begin with an introduction to racial identity (and explore how racial mixture complicates what we think we know about our race and the race of others. We then explore the scientific, statistical, and legal origins of racial distinctions and tackle the issue of how contemporary notions of racial mixture speak to the goals of racial equality by focusing on the debate around the changes in racial classification that occurred in the 2000 U.S. Census.

Strategies by which citizens effect social change through non institutionalized political activity. The emergence, maturation, and decay of protest movements. Political impact of social movements on both institutions and individuals. Primary focus is on 20th-century United States.

This course will focus on the three major components of the criminal justice system: the police, the courts, and corrections. It will give attention to the development of the police role, the contemporary nature of policing (including community policing), and the system of legal limitations within which the police must operate, and police culture. It will examine the roles of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, plea bargaining, juries, appeals, pre-sentence investigation, and sentencing. Finally, it will pay special attention to issues of responsibility and punishment (including the death penalty), and to various correctional options such as prisons, probation, parole, and alternatives. Each segment of the course will include attention to issues of viable public policy. Enrollment limited to 30.

Study of religious beliefs, symbols, actions, organizations, roles, and various interrelationships between religion and society. Includes new religious movements, secularization, and fundamentalism. Field work required. Enrollment is limited to 40.

This course is intended to educate students about the important structures, issues, and dimensions of American family life. As a sociologist and demographer, my goal is to teach you to use sociological perspective when studying families. We will consider many family behaviors, such as love and sex, marriage and cohabitation, divorce, parenting, family structure, gay and lesbian families, domestic violence, family tasks, and family decision making. In addition, to thinking about individuals in families, we will examine the role of society in shaping family norms, the relationships between family and economy, and government family policy. Enrollment is limited to 30. Also offered as WGST 325.

Can democracy survive its enemies: tyranny of ruling elites and classes, tyranny of the majority, ethnic and religious conflict, individualism, government secrecy, citizen apathy? Also offered as POLI 425. Enrollment limited to 8 in SOCI 425 and 8 in POLI 425.

This course will explore the relationship between social factors and health, illness, and mortality. Topics include the stratification of health by race/ethnicity, gender, and social class; the role of stress and social support; environmental context and illness; lifestyle and behavioral risks (smoking, drinking, drugs, and sexual behavior); STD's and HIV/AIDS; and cross-national comparisons of health and patterns of disease. Enrollment is limited to 40.

Explorations of the dimensions and causes of poverty in America. Includes comparisons with other Western democracies, individual shortcomings vs. structural barriers to opportunity, the "culture of poverty", the welfare system, racial and ethnic discrimination today vs. 30 years ago, and possible solutions.

This course will focus on the use of drugs in the United States, and will discuss issues relating to tobacco (e.g, regulation and marketing), alcohol (e.g., binge drinking), legal drugs (e.g., regulation, pricing, and marketing), and illicit drug use (e.g., The War on Drugs, legalization vs. prohibition debates, medical marijuana).

This course surveys the different sociological approaches to studying culture. Part I focuses on the relationships between culture and social structure, including various theoretical approaches. Part II examines different perspectives on modern culture.

Applications of research and theory in the social sciences to an understanding of the attitudes and behaviors that contribute both to environmental problems and to their remediation; examination of the interactions between population pleasures and appetites, technological developments and ecological constraints as they combine to shape the human prospect. Enrollment is limited to 30.

Analyses of schools as social institutions. Contemporary sociological perspectives on the role of schools in society. Status-attainment and allocation models will provide frameworks for understanding relations between social-class origin, school achievement, and socioeconomic attainment.

Contemporary life of Blacks (African Americans) in society. The meaning and significance of race, prejudice and discrimination; social institutions such as economy, education and family; and potential strategies such as affirmative action. Enrollment is limited to 30.

Directed reading and written papers on subjects not regularly offered; advanced study of subjects on which courses are offered. Prereq- permission of the department. One to three credit hours.

Directed reading and written papers on subjects not regularly offered; advanced study of subjects on which courses are offered. Prereq- permission of the department. One to three credit hours.

Beginning with the theoretical frameworks for ethnographic and other qualitative research methods, the course will cover ethics, negotiating entry, observation, taking field notes, interviewing, data analysis, and writing reports. The course will offer a hands-on approach to ethnographic research through lectures, readings, and fieldwork. Field projects, which are determined by each student with the instructor's approval, can be conducted in group, classroom, campus or community settings. Enrollment is limited to 10.

A seminar devoted to considering the history and sociology of the internet. We will discuss the technical and social infrastructure of the internet, problems of education and access, the nature of e-business and other online organizations, and social issues such as censorship. Much of the course will concentrate on people's uses of the internet, from social movements and political advocacy on the web, to various kinds of virtual communities. Enrollment is limited to 15. Pre-req- Permission of instructor required.

An analysis of the accelerating trends that have transformed human societies during the past 30 years, with particular reference to ongoing transformations in the economic foundations and ethnic composition of the United States and in threats to the global environment and the capitalist world system; individual and collective responses to the challenges of our time.

An examination of one of the major forms of human inequality: social status hierarchies. Among the questions asked: Are all such hierarchies unjust or "bad?" What are the social functions of unequal honor, respect, prestige, and esteem? Is status inequality in a democracy different from, say, such inequality in a feudal or caste system? Are the ranking systems of other primates, e.g., chimps, analogous to human ranking systems? Does low social status cause health problems? What are the primary bases of status inequality in the U.S.? Are status hierarchies highly correlated with hierarchies of wealth and power? Is there a "class" system in the U.S. today? What would a society without inequality of basic respect look like? Enrollment limited to 15.

Continuation of the series of annual surveys on how Houston residents are reacting to the ongoing economic and demographic changes. Includes sampling procedures, questionnaire construction, interviewing, data analysis, and the logic and skills of survey research. Culminates in a research report that develops empirical hypotheses and tests their validity with the survey findings.

This is an intensive upper-level seminar focused on aspects of inequality concerning american families. We will discuss how well-known models of inequality, such as race/ethnicity, gender and social class, affect individual families, as well as how families serve as agents of inequality along these lines. Prerequisite Soci 334. Enrollment limited to 15.

This course surveys the different sociological approaches to studying culture. Part I focuses on the relationships between culture and social structure, including various theoretical approaches. Part II examines different perspectives on modern culture.

The purpose of this course is to understand the relationship between international migration and public health. We will examine how immigration has been linked to disease in the past, and how it affects the public health of current populations. Throughout the course, we will identify the substantive and methodological complexities embedded in the health-migration relationship and discuss their role in shaping public policy debates worldwide. Enrollment is limited to 30. *This course is taught at the UT School of Public Health and offered as PH 3998.

Examination of fundamentalist religious institutions, behavior, and thought. Includes fundamentalist attitudes toward, participation in, and impact on politics, economics, education, mass communication, and family life, using Christian, Islamic, and Jewish examples. Fieldwork required. Enrollment is limited to 20.

This course will explore the relationship between gender and health. We will discuss the classic paradox of "women get sick but men die", examine factors contributing to gender disparities in accessing the health care system and receiving appropriate treatments for illness, and we'll discuss gender bias in the history of medical/drug research. In the second half of the semester we'll discuss why it is, in many nations of the world, women retrain none of their biological length-of-life advantage, and actually live shorter, more disease propone lives than men.

Study of urban development, its systems, and life experiences of urbanites. Uses readings and weekly time spent in assigned neighborhoods. Students will conduct urban ethnographies and analysis through a series of guided assignments.

Sociological research under faculty supervision. Includes first-semester review of relevant literature and preparation of outline for planned research, followed by second-semester research and the writing of an honors thesis. Open only to students in sociology honors program.

Sociological research under faculty supervision. Includes first-semester review of relevant literature and preparation of outline for planned research, followed by second-semester research and the writing of an honors thesis. Open only to students in sociology honors program.