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Description
Introduces the concepts, principles, and applications of the social science method in general and of sociology in particular, including a review of some of the crucial sociological problems of today, involving the relationship of the individual to society and groups of individuals to one another. Some topics included are culture, race, gender, class, social mobility, health, and social change. Historical and economic forces in the U.S. will also be examined in relation to sociological concepts.
- Explain the value of the sociological perspective and the new and different ways of looking at familiar worlds, including through symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
- Demonstrate an understanding of culture and its formation as well as an appreciation of what one culture can learn from the other, including its material and nonmaterial component and the importance of cultural relativism how it helps to avoid an ethnocentric approach to understanding other cultures.
- Explain the importance of the socialization process and the role interaction plays in the social construction of the individual and society.
- Analyze the social structure (society’s framework) and social interaction (face-to-face/personal space) in defining the nature of the human experience, differentiating between macro-sociological and micro-sociological approaches to understanding social life.
- Demonstrate knowledge of social stratification and social inequalities and the ways in which they impact relationships between nations and an individual’s life chances.
- Provide examples of the significance of the sweeping changes in society brought about by the social evolutionary process of technology, capitalism, globalization, and other catalysts.
