Major Concepts in Sociology / Cumulative Curriculum / Selecting Your Advisor / Summer and Academic Internships
Major Concepts in Sociology
All students must take an introductory course in sociology as a prerequisite to upper-level courses in the discipline. The sociology faculty have agreed upon a basic set of concepts, ideas, theories and terms to which all students should be introduced in this first course. These will be covered irrespective of who is teaching the course or which introductory course (Social Patterns and Processes or Social Problems) is being taken. Upper-level courses in the department will assume a familiarity with this list.
This list is by no means exhaustive of the things a student will learn in introductory sociology. Instead it outlines a common core of material with which all majors should be familiar. In addition to providing information about the core of the introductory courses, it can serve as a useful study tool for both the GRE in sociology and for the senior oral examination.
A Common Core of Sociological Concepts, Ideas,
Theories, and Terms from Introductory Sociology
After taking an introductory course in sociology at Southwestern University, students should be familiar with the following concepts, ideas, theories, and terms:
History and theory:
- the purpose of sociology (to establish, explain and predict patterned human behavior and interaction) ("patterned human regularities")
- the sociological imagination
- an understanding of the basic paradigms in sociology--functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionist, exchange, ethnomethodology
- different functions (manifest, latent, dis)
- the Chicago School
- Thomas theorem
- micro- versus macro- approaches
- correlation
- different methodologies--content analysis, interview, questionnaire, participant observation, secondary analysis, historical/comparative, field research, experiments (lab and field)
- Hawthorne effect
- hypothesis
- independent and dependent variables
- inductive versus deductive research
- intersubjectivity/objectivity
- mean/median/mode
- population
- qualitative/quantitative research
- reliability and validity
- sample
- spurious relationships
- know how social scientific research is published. . . how each study is only part of a broader literature. . .
- components of culture (symbols, language, values, norms, material culture)
- countercultures
- cultureshock
- ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
- Eurocentrism
- folkways/mores
- ideal versus real culture
- Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- social production of culture
- subcultures
- Emile Durkheim--anomie, division of labor, mechanical and organic solidarity
- Ferdinand Toennies--Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft
- Karl Marx--alienation, bourgeoisie, class consciousness, false consciousness, proletariat, the dialectic--thesis/antithesis/synthesis
- Lenski and Lenski's ecological/evolutionary theory, levels of technological development (hunting/gathering, horticultural, agrarian, industrial)
- Max Weber--authority vs. power, types of authority (traditional, rational, charismatic), the characteristics of bureaucracy, class/status/power, critique of bureaucracy
- anticipatory socialization
- instrumental and expressive leadership
- labelling theory in deviance
- misdemeanor and felony
- white collar crime
- relationship between deviance and social control
- resocialization
- different groups (primary, secondary, in-, out-, reference)
- Charles Horton Cooley--looking-glass self
- Erving Goffman--dramaturgical sociology
- George Herbert Mead--the self, I, me, three components of the developmental process (Preparatory, play, game), generalized other
- role (role conflict, role strain, role performance, role expectation)
- status (ascribed, achieved, master)
- stigma
- structural/strain theory of deviance (Merton's anomie)
- victimless crimes
- class/caste systems
- classism
- Davis-Moore thesis
- developed and developing nations/periphery and core ideology
- income and wealth
- inter- and intra- generational mobility
- privilege and oppression
- social mobility
- structural social mobility
- the world system
- dual labor market
- essentialism and constructionism
- feminism
- feminization of poverty
- heterosexism
- homophobia
- patriarchy
- second shift/double day
- sex/gender
- sexism
- sexual harassment
- sociobiology
- wage gap
- discrimination
- homogeneity and heterogeneity
- minority/majority groups
- prejudice
- race/ethnicity
- race theories: Anglo-conformity/melting pot/cultural pluralism/ internal colonialism/assimilation model
- racism
- activity theory vs. disengagement theory in the study of aging
- ageism
- the graying of modern society
- endogamy/exogamy
- types of families--nuclear/extended
- types of marriages--monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, polygamy
- capitalism, communism, socialism
- models of political process--power elite model and pluralistic model
- education as a reproduction of the status system
- the hidden curriculum
- schooling and social class
- tracking
- the sick role
- morbidity and mortality
- professions (characteristics of)
- civil religion
- different types of religious organizations (denomination, ecclesia, cult, church, sect)
- liberation theology
- Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
- secularization
- Weber vs. Marx on religion
- world religions vs. more localized religious systems
- cohort
- deindustrialization
- demographic transition theory
- fertility/mortality/migration
- gentrification
- urban ecology (POET)
- collective behavior
- emergent norm theory of mass behavior
- relative deprivation
- riot
- social movements
- structural-strain vs. resource mobilization theories of social movements
- dependency theory/modernization theory (convergence theory)
- mass society/mass culture
The Cumulative Nature of the Sociology Curriculum
The curriculum in sociology is designed to develop a series of skills in students. These skills are cumulative, and begin with those developed in the introductory courses. The skills are developed and expanded in second- and third-level courses and culminate in the capstone experience of a seminar course and the senior oral examination.
Introductory courses in sociology
By the end of an introductory course, students should be able to:
- have a working familiarity with the list of major concepts in Sociology (above)
- identify and find sociology journals in the library and/or in electronic databases such as JSTOR and Academic Search Premier.
- conduct an electronic search of the journals on a topic of interest.
- evaluate and critique a published article;decipher what is important in a research article such as purpose, methods, and findings; begin to distinguish between anecdotal information and sociological research as ways of knowing.
- identify the major paradigms in sociology.
- be familiar with different sociological research methods for investigating sociological questions.
- develop critical thinking skills in which they formulate their own understanding of American society, how it works and how it is shaped by issues of power and privilege.
- develop an appreciation for the impact of race, class, and gender upon social life.
- demonstrate skills in finding sociological data on the web.
- illustrate their understanding and appreciation of the sociological imagination and demonstrate skills in asking sociological questions.
Second-level courses, as listed in the college catalog, include two types of courses. The first set are those which are required of all majors--Research Methods and Sociological Theory. The second set (Conformity, Deviance, and Identity, Gender and Sexuality, Families in Society, Sociology of Sport, Race and Ethnicity, and Childhood and Adolescence) are courses which tend to serve a broad audience of both majors and non-majors. Sutdents in second-level courses will:
- produce and evaluate a literature on a particular subject.
- develop oral presentations on sociological research where at least some of the students in the class have not read the research. (i.e.--developing skills in communicating basic research material).
- formulate an hypothesis or research question and propose a method for testing it.
- hone skills in asking sociological questions.
- apply the concepts and the major paradigms of sociology to a specific area of a specific field.
- learn more specific concepts relevant to subfields (methods, theory, deviance, gender, sexuality, family, sport, race, and childhood).
- move toward synthesis of terms/concepts/theories.
- construct and write a feasible research proposal.
- begin developing the ability to collect data on sociological topics and analyze data using SPSS and/or qualitative methods.
- explore the impact of race, class and gender upon specific areas of social life; develop awareness of the intersection of race, class and gender
Third-level courses
Third-level courses in the sociology curriculum are primarily for majors or minors or other students who have particular interest in the discipline. As noted in the college catalog, in general, students should have had at least two other courses in sociology and anthropology before taking these courses. Some of them may require the skills acquired in Research Methods. In these third-level courses, students will:
- continue to develop the ability to collect and analyze data on sociological topics. For courses focusing on quantitative research projects, students are expected to be able to use SPSS on the GSS to do simple analyses in different topic areas.
- develop a more sophisticated ability to do a literature review and connect it to research.
- develop oral presentations which include their own research.
- continue to apply theory and develop a more sophisticated understanding of the role of the fundamental sociological variables of gender, race and class in developing an expanded vision of how societal structures operate and shape lives.
Capstone
The final level of skill development in the sociology curriculum comes with the capstone course. In this course students each work on their own individual projects and develop skills which allow them to:
- discuss and evaluate empirical research articles as a group, highlighting the purpose, methods, findings, and strengths and limitations of each scholarly piece
- devise and carry out a semester-long individual research project.
- develop a research question
- develop a mastery of a specific body of literature
- collect and analyze data
- synthesize literature with findings
- write a formal sociology paper with the following sections: introduction, literature review, methods, findings, discussion.
- report the results of that research in relation to the existing body of knowledge.
- listen to the reports of others and provide constructive criticism in a community of scholars.
The descriptions above outline the types of learning outcomes that we hope students will achieve at each level in the curriculum. After completing the sociology major we hope that students will be able to illustrate and apply their understanding and appreciation of the sociological imagination as well as demonstrate skills in framing sociological questions. A central part of C. Wright Mills’ description of the sociological imagination is the ability to distinguish between personal troubles and “public issues of social structure.” As part of developing this sociological imagination, we hope to cultivate in students an ability to reflect upon their experience and synthesize the material from all of their sociology courses, including the central importance of race, class and gender. In the senior oral final, for example, students may be asked to reflect upon contemporary newspaper articles using the sociological imagination. Further, they might be asked to outline how a sociological study could examine a specific research question related to a social issue in contemporary society.
**(This set of cumulative skills was first formulated at a curriculum meeting with Dr. Dan Hilliard, Dr. Edward L. Kain, and Dr. Maria Lowe, 19 July, 1995. It has been revised several times, with a recent revision completed in October 2005 by Dr. Edward L. Kain and Dr. Sandi K. Nenga, and additional revisions by Dr Maria Lowe and members of the department, May 2006 and January 2007).
Selecting Your Advisor
As incoming first-year students or transfer students an advisor is usually assigned to you. Some students might feel comfortable and satisfied with their first and only advisor, but do not be afraid to change your advisor if he or she does not meet your needs. If you change your major to sociology it might be a good idea to get an advisor in the sociology and anthropology department.
"Selecting an advisor is not as difficult as one might imagine. We strongly recommend that you choose a professor whom you would especially like to be your advisor. It is not imperative that you have taken a class with this professor, but taking a course is generally the best way to get to know a particular professor." ("Sociology at Pomona: A Handbook for Majors", p8)
At Southwestern, students may change academic advisors by completing a simple form available in the Office of the Registrar. After the form is completed, your old advisor will forward your advising file to your new advisor.
Academic and Summer Internships
A number of academic and summer internships are available in sociology and anthropology. Archaeology field school information is posted on the department bulletin board on the third floor, west side of Mood Hall.
Students have worked in a variety of setting for internships, including adult and juvenile probation, drug rehabilitation centers, the Attorney General's Office, local centers for battered women, the county Health Department, Planned Parenthood, and AIDS Services of Austin. Students interested in academic internships should contact Maria Kruger, Director of Internships in the Office of Career Services at least one semester prior to the planned internship and should submit a resume and complete all paperwork with the Office of Career Services.
As with Honors Theses and Independent Study, students must complete an Internship form for the Registrar's Office. This form will identify the faculty member who will serve as the internship supervisor and will specify the academic requirements of the internship. As a general rule, students are expected to spend 120 hours at the internship site for 3 hours of academic internship credit, with academic requirements being in addition to the 120 site hours.