Culture of pre-literate and contemporary societies. Concept of culture; elements of culture, including technology, economic and political organization, family and kinship, associations, ideology, arts, and language; dynamics of culture stability and change. SS

This course will provide an overview of research in the social sciences. In this course you will learn how to read and evaluate research methods and design your own research study. The course follows the basic steps in social science research: problem identification, research design, subject selection, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. In learning these steps, you will also be introduced to the dominant methods used in social science research: surveys, experiments, qualitative interviews, ethnography, program evaluation, and mixed methods. Prerequisite: 125.

Marriage-family complex as a social institution: variations, interrelationship of family to other social institutions, dating, marriage, childraising, divorce, death, and remarriage, contemporary issues in marriage and family life, and future of marriage and family. This course will empower the student to make more informed decisions about marriage and family life choices. SS

This course prepares students to understand, interpret, and conduct analyses of data for psychological studies and experiments. The course emphasizes the following concepts: 1) descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations), 2) standardized scores, 3) sampling error and uncertainty, 4) confidence intervals, 5) statistical significance, and 6) effect size. Analysis techniques are discussed for one-sample and paired-samples designs, mean comparisons between groups, meta-analysis, factorial designs, and correlation and multiple regression.

This course is an introduction to the field of gerontology. It is multidisciplinary, examining biological, psychological, and sociological issues related to the aging process. Major theories, research methods and concepts in the field of gerontology will be addressed. Cultural and historical changes related to the treatment of the elderly, common stereotypes and attitudes toward aging, and cross-cultural differences will also be addressed in this course. Future issues and trends in Gerontology will be discussed. This course will be one of the courses required in the Gerontology minor.

This course will examine the social aspects of sports and how sports are a social construction that influences how people think, feel, and behave. This course will address various aspects of sports such as social and cultural values, children and sports, stratification in sport, minorities and gender issues in sports, as well as contemporary trends in the field. Finally, this course will examine the relationship between various institutions and sport (family, religion, politics, economy, mass media) as well as social problems in sport.

This volunteer experience requires a minimum of 30 hours in the community. The human service agency setting is selected by the instructor and the students in the course. Graded CR/NC.

Courses on topics of interest to sociology students offered on the basis of need, interest, or timeliness. Prerequisite: 125. Restricted to students with freshman or sophomore standing. May be repeated for credit. For specific section description, click to the Section Details in VitNet.

Non-classroom experiences in the field of sociology. Placements are off-campus, and may be full- or part-time, and with or without pay. Credit for experiences must be sought prior to occurance, and learning contracts must be submitted before the end of the first week of the semester. See the Experiential Learning: Internship section of this catalog for more details. Senior standing required. Graded CR/NC.

Independent reading and/or research under the supervision of a faculty member. Refer to the academic policy section for independent study policy. Independent study contract is required. Prerequisite: 125. May be repeated for credit.