Sociology

Introduces the basic concepts, theories, perspectives, and approaches of sociology and their application to the study of society and the relationship between the individual and society. Specific topics used to illustrate these sociological perspectives will include some combination of issues concerning socialization, sex and gender, family, community, population and aging, urban life, religion, race and ethnicity, work and occupations, inequality, education, environment, globalization, politics and social movements, technology and social change. 

How do photographs affect the way we think of ourselves (e.g., our body image) and of others (e.g., the "primitives" pictured in National Geographic)? How do photographs create desire (e.g., in advertising and pornography)? Why do people take photographs of friends and family but rarely photograph complete strangers? These questions explore the nature of a "picturing society", one where individuals are surrounded by photographic images and, as a result, the ability to capture realistic representations of the world around us influences image, meaning, and memory. The term "picturing society" also refers to the process of using visual information to understand the characteristics of society – social class and gender divisions, social structure, the process of social change, etc. Photographs from a wide variety of contexts – personal, commercial, scientific, artistic, and others – will be used to explore both aspects of picturing society.

This course provides an introduction to the sociological imagination by allowing you to make the sociological connections between your personal world and the social world. Sociological perspectives and approaches are introduced through examination of such aspects of youth in contemporary Western societies as identity and sub-cultures, sexual behaviour, music, consumerism, religion, in schools, employment, crime and violence, and other issues affecting youth and their transitions to adulthood.

Life is gendered from the moment of birth. Throughout the various developmental stages, girls and boys are exposed to a variety of messages that in some ways are represented by the fairytales read in childhood. Adolescents learn the price of deviating too far from the roles or expectations placed upon young men and women in our culture through formal and informal sanctions upon their behaviour. The choices, opportunities, and obstacles that we face as adults, are in large measure built upon the gender messages of childhood. Strategies for identifying the gendered nature of work, leisure, advertising, parenting, and aging will be amongst the topics discussed. 

Focuses on selected social issues in such areas as Aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations, the environment, and gender; inequality and poverty; the media; racism, ethnic relations, and language; schooling and jobs; cities; urbanization; deviance and crime; as well as globalization. 

Whether it is a prayer said in times of sorrow, grace at a meal, a religious ritual to celebrate adolescence, fasting, advice from a faith leader, or a spiritual blessing for a long-term intimate relationship, contact with religion comes in many different forms. Some Canadians “believe without belonging” while others belong to religious organizations but are unsure of their beliefs. Topics include patterns of spirituality in Canadian society, new religious movements, gender and family issues within contemporary religions, violence, and the impact of immigration and multiculturalism on the journey of faith. The impact of changing socio-cultural conditions on religion in Canadian society will be highlighted. 

An introduction to a variety of perspectives designed to provide insight into social interaction on the interpersonal level. Attention is also given to some of the methodological problems involved in achieving a better understanding of this area of social life.

A critical overview of mass communications within Canadian society: media institutions and audiences; processes and the impact of the media; media control and policy; social problems and the media; and social issues in an information society.

Examines sociological perspectives on marriage and family life: changing forms and functions of the family in the context of the growth of capitalism and industrialism in Western society, women, liberation and the family, patterns and ideologies of family formation and dissolution, changes in family law, and future prospects and alternatives.

Focuses on the role of women within a historical and contemporary context, including women’s position in the family, and in educational, political, and economic institutions. The nature, perpetuation, consequences, and the ideology of sexism in capitalist and non-capitalist societies will also be examined.

An introduction to the basic physical, psychological, and demographic changes which occur in aging. Emphasis is given to understanding the everyday world of the young old, their participation in family life, personal life style and community activities after retirement, and with the restrictions created by limited financial resources.

An introduction to the world of the frail elderly, this course looks at the challenges of more advanced age, declining health, the loss of spouse and friends, and the need for either informal or formal care in the community.

Examines the process of dying and death through a consideration of the cultural and institutional expectations and interpretations which surround this final stage in the human experience. The focus is on the North American context although other social and historical contexts will provide insights and background to the course work.

Examines the importance of science and technology in contemporary society. Emphasis is placed on scientific rationality and the shaping of technology; political and economic forces; ideology and cultural values; gender and stratification; and on techno-science’s effect on colonialism, biotechnology, intellectual property ownership, and digital information technology inequality. 

Examines the social nature and consequences of health and illness and looks at medicine as an institution and a form of social control. Areas to be covered include the delivery of health care, the social construction of medical knowledge, social inequality and its impact on health and disease, the medical profession, the medical industrial complex, and sexism and patriarchy in the medical system.

An introduction to current social issues in Canada such as social inequality, regionalism, unemployment, media concentration, the role of multinationals, and the state of the Canadian economy. The impact of these in shaping our everyday actions and beliefs will be examined.

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop an understanding of various sociological approaches to the study of social problems and to focus on a selection of substantive issues such as the role of social movements in the construction of social problems.

An analysis of twentieth century social movements and revolutions from a sociological perspective. Emphasis is on a critical understanding of why they arise, why some fail, and why others succeed.

Explores the concept of community and belonging today, and introduces some of the important sociological studies of community, including many variants that are not commonly recognized. Considers ideas about the perceived loss of, and the attempts to reclaim, community in society.

Introduction to the study of general patterns and processes of social life. Attention is given to the basic forms of organization at the individual, group, and institutional levels.

Investigates ‘the information society’ debate by focusing on the major contributors who argue that the information society is new and revolutionary. Other scholars accept the important role of information technologies in contemporary society but maintain that these technologies help broaden and extend existing social, cultural, economic, and political relations. 

Examines the relationship between technology and social change, such as the sources and effects of technical change, the control of technology, and the origin and nature of controversies involving modern technologies.

Examines the elements and patterns of deviance, basic principles of both normative and deviant behaviour, and the institutionalization of each. Examples of specific areas and types of deviance are studied in some detail.

An examination of the history of juvenile delinquency, its incidence, its causes, and the methods of investigation. Also deals with agencies involved in the adjudication and treatment of the juvenile and youthful offender.

An examination of world and Canadian population variation and change through consideration of underlying fertility, mortality, and migration patterns. Also explores the rise and development of modern population theories, models, and policies.

A critical review of the first and second generations of sociology in Europe and the United States, with special emphasis upon the ideas of thinkers such as Comte, Spencer, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Mead, Cooley, Merton, and Parsons.

An overview of major developments in late 20th century sociological theory: the critique of functionalism and the rise of conflict theory; feminism and the critique of male-stream sociology; the revitalization of interpretive sociology; the emergence of neo-functionalism; and the debate over post-modernism.

Examines the basic assumptions of different social theorists’ conceptions of human nature and the implications of these models for the social sciences.

Introduction to the logic and forms of social research and statistical analysis. Examines the basic concepts and procedures required to understand and participate in the research process. 

Introduction to the nature and forms of social research with emphasis on reading, interpretation, and evaluation.

Introduction to the statistical analysis of sociological data, emphasizing the selection, application, and interpretation of statistical techniques.

Examines the interactional and institutional processes involved in ethnic and intercultural relations. Focuses on group experience, status and identity, communication and language, and the historical and contemporary conditions of social change, tension, and conflict.

Studies cultures as idea and value systems. Examines how cultural meanings are interpreted and used by individuals and groups in the course of everyday living.

An investigation of the issues, institutions, and actors related to international media, communications, and culture. Emphasis is placed on conflicting views surrounding the new world information and communication order (NWICO), flows of information, internationalization, globalization, sovereignty, and democracy.

Examines the place of media (such as film, television, and newspapers) in contemporary social life. Analyzes how media have emerged and developed, the organizational forms they have taken, and how they reflect and influence shared social experience.

Explores the role of religion in the Western World. Examines sociological theories about the nature of religion, the debate concerning secularization in modern society, and the contemporary relationship between religion and the state. Considers the impact of new religious movements.

Examines the relations between society and the state by comparing traditional political sociology with the contemporary approach. Issues include the nation state as the center of political activity, how power is exercised through institutions, social groups, class, the production of identity or subjectivity, how globalization and social movements decenter state political activity, the impact of these changes on citizenship and democracy.

An examination of the relationship between religion and gender in various interpersonal and societal contexts. Emphasis is placed upon understanding how modern religion both contributes to and challenges traditional notions of masculinity and femininity.

This two term course offers to the student a placement with an organization which provides service to seniors. The student will explore, as well, critical issues in the social organization and culture of formal care in Canada through research and monthly seminar participation. Enrolment is limited.

Examines the institution of health care with particular emphasis on the Canadian health care system. Topics to be covered include: theoretical approaches to the sociological study of health care; the history and development of Canada's Medicare system; the pharmaceutical industry; alternative/complementary health care; the socialization and legitimation of health care professionals; and the patient/practitioner relationship. 

A comparative analysis of the changing social role and significance of science in the East and West. Emphasis on the conditions of scientific work and development, on science as an institution, form of interaction, and world-view.

A comparative analysis of the nature and purpose of military institutions in different kinds of societies. Studies the military as a calling and an occupation, the role of the military in the rise of the state and the industrialization of society, and the social causes and consequences of the use of military means.

Examines social interaction and communication in society as it occurs in social encounters and gatherings. Explores the presentation and projection of self in everyday life.

Examines the wider socio-cultural context in which music is produced, distributed, and listened to (macro perspective), and how performers create and make music together (micro perspective). Also explores music as a social text.

Examines the process of social transformation in the third world. Includes discussion of ties between developed and under-developed countries, patterns of industrialization, urbanization, changing class structure including its relation to the state.

Examines the nature of social stratification from both a historical and a comparative perspective. Attention is given to current controversies in this area.

Examines the social construction of masculinity, femininity, and changes in gender relations over time and in different societal contexts.

A sociological examination of the way humans perceive and relate to their physical environment. Potential topics include: environmentalism as a social movement, the social dynamics of environmental controversies, and public policy toward the environment.

Explores the broad conditions that shape environmental health, with special emphasis on both sociological analysis and political ecology.  We will examine questions of science, public policy and social justice.  This course will bridge the gap in understanding between policy and social perspectives and examine emerging strategies, from community-based monitoring to international negotiations concerning health and environment.

An examination of the historical development of criminological theory and the causes of crime. Deals with criminal causation theories and with an evaluation of the theories and purposes of punishment.  

Emphasizes that organizations, not just individuals, act and therefore can commit deviant acts. An analysis of the organized abuses of institutionalized power, particularly on the part of corporations and governments. The problem of controlling corporate and governmental deviance will also be discussed, as organizations pose prevention and control problems differently from individual deviants.

Examines issues pertaining to violence against women in Western society, including gender socialization, gender dynamics in dating and family relationships, private versus public, the contributions of social institutions (e.g., sports; the media; schools; the workplace; the military; the medical, legal and criminal justice systems) and the special vulnerability of women in marginalized groups.

The course explores the nature of social and professional responses to conflict and conflict resolution. It critically assesses, contrasts, and compares theoretical literature and research studies on processes such as adjudication and arbitration, negotiation, restorative justice, circle sentencing, and mediation in the context of gender, culture and social-economic power. Students will have an opportunity to explore how conflict resolution processes, and the skills and techniques associated with them, affect how conflict is perceived and resolved.

This course examines the paradigms of both restorative and transformative justice. Reviews criminal justice systems in post-industrial societies with a focus on punishment as the principal response to crime. Contrasts restorative justice with the current paradigm of retributive justice. Discusses victims, offenders, and the community within the context of the failure of the retributive system in meeting its responsibilities towards them. Critically analyzes prisons, limitations of restorative justice models and programs, and aboriginal traditions in community justice.

An examination in both historical and contemporary settings of the demographic correlates of urbanization and industrialization. Attention will be given to how patterns of fertility, mortality, and migration both reflect and influence social change.

This course examines the transformation of societies from the colonial to the post-colonial period, a process still going on today.  It explores how both colonial powers and colonized peoples have been importantly affected by colonialism, understood as a mode of power.  It discusses how norms, rights, privileges, and interested have been articulated in colonial law, state processes, and social relations and looks at the difficulties that post-colonial societies have faced in trying to move beyond the colonial past.

This course provides students with a general understanding of the role of food in contemporary societies by exploring the socio-cultural aspects of food production and consumption in a cross-cultural context. It also analyzes the economic and political landscape of farming in an international context by examining food politics over regulatory measures in food labelling and safety, genetically modified food, organic and sustainable agriculture, and the future of the world food system.

This course examines feminist theories. It provides analysis of writing, theories, and debates regarding the development of contemporary feminist thinking. This includes critiques of traditional sociological theory and contributions to contemporary theoretical debates.

A hands-on approach to qualitative research methods. The course also considers the classical and contemporary sources of and trends in qualitative methodology.

Discussion and evaluation of issues in contemporary sociological methods with exercises to develop skills in selected research procedures. Directed to the needs of individual students.

A critical examination, for advanced students, of the social impact of communication technologies and electronic networks on society. Topics include communication technology and democracy, the politics of communication technology reform as well as the myths and power of cyberspace. 

Approaches to the formative, process and outcome evaluation of programs, and initiatives. Emphasis is on the development, design, practical and ethical problems and politics of evaluation research.

Explores aspects of language, thinking, social interaction and social structure by examining how various theoretical perspectives in sociology and descriptive linguistics highlight (or obscure) probable and important relationships among these four basic components of group life.

Examines the social and cultural implications of communication via computer network, with particular emphasis upon the similarities to and differences from other forms of electronic communication (e.g., television, telephone, radio). 

An examination of the socio-cultural forces which shape societal and individual attitudes toward self-body relations. Special emphasis on issues related to health, illness, and well-being.

Explores the nature and delivery of health care in a variety of international settings. Emphasis will be placed on comparative analysis of health care systems in relation to prevailing patterns of health and disease as well as the broader socio-cultural contexts in which they are delivered.

The sociological study of varied world religions at both societal and interpersonal levels. Topics may include new religious movements, conversion, gender issues, and the relations between Eastern and Western belief systems.

A seminar concerned with studying the relationship between the people and the institutions involved with the production of goods and services. Focus is placed on the shift from an industrial economy to the growth of the service economy, the increase of technological advances and the impact this has had on work and work-life balance. The impact of changing work conditions on jobs, occupations, labour organizations, knowledge workers, labour markets, skill/up-skilling/deskilling, and globalization will be examined. Note: Students cannot obtain credit for both SOCI 4325 and POLS 4713.

Studies critical social and educational processes and structures, and the rapport of educational institutions with other social institutions, using comparative concepts and theories of sociology.

A critical examination for advanced students of theoretical, legal and policy issues related to selected aspects of changing patterns of families and familial relationships in Canadian and other Western societies.

This course explores the successes, challenges, and failures of legal responses to domestic violence. Why has the legal system had difficulty responding effectively to domestic violence? Does it have something to do with the nature of law; the nature of gender; the nature of social science and social change? What happens when law is confronted by changing social conceptions of gender, of children, of the roles of men and women? Does culture matter? Do new multi-disciplinary, collaborative judicial initiatives offer promise or peril? Students will review legal cases and socio-legal research in order to search for answers to such questions. 

An in-depth look at Canadian feminist scholarship in sociology, examining both classical works and new developments in the field.

A sociological analysis of law in modern society, including discussion of: legal theory, sociological and feminist criticisms of law, law as a means of social control and change, socio-legal research into the processes used by the legal system and its alternatives (such as mediation, restorative justice models, victim-offender reconciliation programs) to resolve disputes, and the abilities of the legal system and its alternatives to offer justice to the disadvantaged.

Examines interrelationships between the individual and society, emphasizing issues and approaches within the interpretive traditions of the social sciences.

A sociological examination of current perspectives, responses, and debates about the meaning of equality and the just society. Possible topics include the shift from individual rights to collective rights; competition and cooperation at a macro and a micro level.

Examines some of the central problems and prospects for work and leisure now and in the immediate future. Potential topics include the continuing impact of technology, new modes of work organization, and the fate of occupations and professions.

Course study to be of an advanced topic in sociology chosen jointly by student and instructor with the permission of the Department Chair.

A systematic analysis focusing upon the nature and development of sociological theory and methodology in terms of major contributors and problems.

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