Sociology
Chair: Kersti Alice Yllo
Department home page: http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/Acad/Sociology/
The sociology program focuses on human social behavior, social organization and cultures, and contemporary social problems. Issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion and technology--within both the United States and global context--are addressed in a wide range of courses.
Major
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The major program in sociology requires 10 courses and must include:
Soc 190 Self and Society
Soc 272 Analyzing Social Trends
or Math 141 Introductory Statistics
Soc 301 Sociological Theory
Soc 302 Research Methods in Sociology
Soc 402 Senior Seminar
or Soc 403 Senior Pro-seminar
Students are expected to take Soc 190 in their freshman or sophomore year, Soc 301 and Soc 302 in their junior year and Soc 402 or Soc 403 in their senior year. Students must also take Soc 272 or Math 141.
Minor
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The minor in sociology requires five courses, one of which must be at the 300 level.
Courses
Introductory/core courses
104. Contemporary Social Problems
This course is organized into three sections. First, the social action section deals with how social change can be realized through the implementation of political strategies and tactics in the creation and /or alleviation of problems of moral indignation. The theory section provides major sociological perspectives for examining certain public issues. Finally, the problems section takes an in-depth look at specific social problems such as pollution, poverty and crime.
(Department)
190. Self and Society
This course examines theoretical modes of sociological inquiry and empirical research through an in-depth study of the self and society. Through classical and contemporary readings, five areas are explored: the construction of the self; socialization and sexuality; the power of social structures and circumstances; deviance; and globalization and social change.
This course is intended only for sociology majors or prospective majors. All others can be admitted only by permission of the instructor.
(Karen M. McCormack, Kersti Alice Yllo, Hyun Sook Kim)
198. Experimental Courses
301. Sociological Theory
The primary objective of this course is to provide a broad overview of the major sociological theorists and theories. Accordingly, the student will become familiar with the classical (pre-World War II) as well as with the contemporary (post-World War II) theoretical paradigms in sociology. Students will cultivate their sociological imaginations as they learn to apply the theories.
(Karen M. McCormack, A. Javier Trevino)
302. Research Methods in Sociology
An introduction to the scientific method and its application to sociological research. Topics include formulation of research problems, sampling, measurement, data collection and analysis. Emphasis is on research design.
(Karen M. McCormack, Kersti Alice Yllo)
402. Senior Seminar
A semester of directed research in which students receive individual attention while carrying out an empirical study. The seminar offers guidance and a framework for the many stages of the research process. Students will be expected to produce a thesis and present it publicly in February.
(John Grady, Karen M. McCormack, Kersti Alice Yllo)
403. Senior Pro-seminar
The pro-seminar deals with conceptual analysis and critiques of theories, methodologies and paradigms employed by sociologists and by different sociological schools of thought. Various themes are explored through the application of concepts, theories, paradigms and the sociological imagination. A senior thesis and an oral defense of the thesis are required.
(A. Javier Trevino, Hyun Sook Kim)
500. Individual Research
Open to majors at the invitation of the department.
Deviance and social control
211. Criminology
This course provides a multidisciplinary approach to understanding crime and criminal behavior. The individual actor, the social environment, the law and the criminal justice system will be examined in order to better understand violent crime, juvenile delinquency, gangs, organized crime, white-collar crime, etc. We will also focus on the alternative of restorative justice.
(A. Javier Trevino)
221. Deviance and Social Control
The primary objective of this course is to develop a sociological and critical analysis of various types of deviant behaviors and deviant statuses, including criminality, delinquency, alcoholism, mental illness, physical defects, etc.
(Karen M. McCormack, A. Javier Trevino)
240. Conflict and Genocide
The course offers a comparative study of genocides, which are examined in relation to modernity, colonialism, nation-building, wars and postcolonialism. It also investigates why some cases of mass killings have not been acknowledged as genocides.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
311. Violence against Women
This seminar explores the nature of violence against women, focusing on current research on woman battering, rape, child sexual abuse and pornography. Students will compare theoretical approaches and will critically examine empirical research. The impact of race, ethnicity and class on the abuse experience are considered. A major part of the seminar involves original research by students on an issue of their choice. The semester will culminate in a symposium on violence against women organized by seminar members.
(Kersti Alice Yllo)
Inequality and social change
095. Cultures, Communities and Change
Taught in Vietnam and Cambodia, this three-week course focuses on the socioeconomic, cultural and political change of Southeast Asia. The course is field based and includes the study of local markets, factories, agricultural coops, housing projects, NGO programs, museums and historical sites.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
200. Social Movements
The course examines national liberation movements, social revolutions, and labor and environmental justice movements. The course explores the local and global impact of colonialism and capitalism and struggles to confront deepening forms of oppression, injustice and inequality.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
Connections:
Conx 20041 Colonial Encounters
Conx 23011 Revolution!
210. Inequality
What is social "class" and how do we understand class inequality? How does one's "class" position shape one's social standing and life's chances? The course focuses on class analysis from various perspectives and investigates social stratification, inequality, mobility, poverty, wealth, power, domination and commodification in the globalized world.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
230. Race and Ethnicity
This course focuses on historical and contemporary issues of race and ethnic inequalities in the United States. Our goal is to examine sociological theories of race and ethnic relations and to understand how the social construction of race, and racism have influenced organizations, institutions and identities.
(Karen M. McCormack)
Connections:
Conx 23007 African Diaspora in New World
Conx 23010 Black Aesthetics
Conx 23011 Revolution!
260. Gender Inequality
How do we learn to be women and men? How are our cultural beliefs and social institutions gendered? How do different sociological and feminist theories illuminate gender relations? How can we better understand the perpetuation of inequality by examining images of women in the media, sexism in language and violence against women? How is sexism related to racism, class stratification and heterosexism?
(Kersti Alice Yllo)
Connections:
Conx 20008 Gender Inequality: Sociological and Literary Perspectives
Conx 23004 Gender
270. Immigration
There are currently massive and rapid movements of people across national borders for jobs, residence, political asylum, family integration, trade, business and tourism. This course explores multiple causes and consequences of immigration.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
280. Asians and America
A multidisciplinary study of social and cultural encounters between Americans of Asian descent and America as an empire. The course examines topics such as Orientalism, colonialism, Asian wars, capitalism, slavery, "coolie" labor, racial exclusion, citizenship restrictions, and transnational and panethnic solidarity movements.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
Connections:
Conx 20041 Colonial Encounters
290. Sociology of Sexualities
Sex and sexuality appear to be purely private matters, experienced as internal and personal. We often assume that our experience of sexuality is a 'natural' expression of our nature or biology. Yet sexual expressions and identifications follow certain patterns that vary historically and across cultures. This course is designed to provide you with the analytic tools to explore sexual meanings and practices and to uncover the ways in which social structure and power are implicated in our experience of sexuality.
(Karen M. McCormack)
298. Experimental Courses
Sociological Concepts
This course considers some of the major ideas that have shaped social thinking from the early 1800's until today. These ideas--which include the notions of differentiation, organicism, social critique, alienation, anomie, social disorganization, social system, structuration, agency, habitus, and deconstructionism--will be considered in sociohistorial context. In addition, some of the major metaphors, conceptual methodologies and taxonomies of sociological thought will also be discussed.
310. Beyond Global Feminism
This is a course on feminist epistemology. It examines how various forms of feminist knowledge are constructed and deconstructs notions such as "woman," gender, gender oppression, patriarchy, women's liberation, women's rights and sisterhood. The course examines contentious debates about and among Western, Third World, global, postcolonial, poststructural and transnational feminisms.
(Hyun Sook Kim)
Connections:
Conx 23006 Sexuality
320. Race, Gender and Poverty
This course is designed to enable students to think critically about the causes and consequences of poverty and the complex and dynamic intersections of race, gender and social class. We will cover key sociological theories of stratification, mobility and persistent poverty, with a particular focus on the dynamics of race and gender.
(Karen M. McCormack)
398. Experimental Courses
Institutions and social organization
175. Media and Society
The role and influence of the media in contemporary societies, with specific attention to questions regarding: the influence of the media over people's lives in "mass society," the political ideology inherent in mass media messages, the organization of media industries and the media as means for subcultural expressions.
(Karen M. McCormack)
215. Working: Society and the Meanings of Work
What role does work play in people's lives? Why is work organized the way that it is? Should it or can it be changed? How does work affect the way that people treat each other? Can work be controlled and managed? This course will address these questions while investigating the social, political and cultural forms of work in the U.S. and Japan.
(John Grady)
225. Health and Medicine
This course will examine medicine as an institution and explore the consequences of its organization for public policy. Should doctors control health care? Should medicine be socialized? Has medicine made us healthier? Does our system of health care devalue women? The course will investigate these and other questions.
(John Grady)
235. Families in Transition
Has the obituary for the American family been written prematurely? How can we better understand contemporary families by studying families cross-culturally and in diverse social and racial/ethnic groups? How does a social scientific analysis illuminates the nature of gender, dating, marriage, parenting, violence and divorce? We explore the changing nature of the family as an institution as well as the transitions individual families undergo.
(Kersti Alice Yllo)
255. Living in Cities: Urban Sociology
Cities are the most important form of settlement in the modern world. They are workshops of innovation in technology, culture and manners. Because the city is a settlement and not an institution, the course will encourage students to use methods and concepts derived from several disciplines to understand the city. The course explores the organization, growth and conflicts of a number of the world's major cities.
(John Grady)
285. Latino Community
The course will examine the various Latino populations in the United States: Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, etc. Issues that are unique to these populations will be considered: culture (normative and esthetic), bilingualism, the immigrant experience, family life, the church, education and so on.
(A. Javier Trevino)
Connections:
Conx 20058 Latino Culture
315. Society, Technology and the Environment
Have our cities created a way of life that is impossible to sustain? Is our technology out of control? How should we relate to our environment? We will consider these and other questions in an exploration of the impact that our social relations and technological systems have had on the conditions of human existence in contemporary society.
(John Grady)
Connections:
Conx 23009 The Environment
322. Sociology of Law
This course examines the interrelations between law and various aspects of society. It employs a comparative and historical approach and addresses such questions as: How and why does law develop? Under what social conditions does a differentiated legal system emerge? How do legal systems vary with different forms of social institutions?
(A. Javier Trevino)
362. Fieldwork in Formal Organizations
Students will acquire skills in organizational analysis, fieldwork, and participatory action research which will be developed in the seminar and through an internship approved by the instructor. Interns must spend at least 3 hours per week at their work site. Class time will allow for students to integrate theory and method with their experiential learning.
(Karen M. McCormack)
Specialized methods
262. Mapping Society: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
This course will introduce students to Geographic Information systems (GIS), a powerful software for mapping and spatial analysis. It will focus on mapping and analyzing environmental and socioeconomic data. The topical focus of the course will vary from year to year, and may include: Growth and Development in the greater Boston area and The Human and Environmental Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
(John Grady)
272. Analyzing Social Trends
Have you ever wondered whether the population is growing too fast? How many of us are poor? How ethnically diverse are we? Is the American family falling apart? These questions are debated all the time in the media. But are they telling the whole story? This team-taught course will provide the key to analyzing descriptive statistics--including how they are constructed, displayed and disseminated--to illuminate the stories that lie hidden behind the headlines.
(John Grady)
282. Visual Sociology
What do snapshots, home movies and advertising tell us about modern societies? What role should graphic design play in social research? What do we do when we go to the movies (whether in Calcutta or Boston), and what do we see when we get there? These are a few of the questions that social scientists ask as they produce or interpret the images that the camera has made, which play an ever more important role in how we view and conduct our lives and communicate with others.
(John Grady)
Connections:
Conx 23012 Visualizing Information
392. Feminist Research
This seminar examines critiques of traditional social science and its methods, focusing on the controversies that surround the scientific method, objectivity, politics and the purpose of research. We will explore "feminist methodology" and debate whether such a thing even exists. The seminar also focuses on models of feminist research and looks at the connections between the personal, political and intellectual.
(Kersti Alice Yllo, Karen M. McCormack)