College of Arts & Sciences
Sociology
Concentration in Sociology (2208)
Minor Concentration in Sociology (2208)
Course Credits for Students Admitted from the College
of General Studies
Concentration and Minor Concentration Credits for Core
Curriculum Courses
Diedre H. Symington Scholarship
Honor Society in Sociology
Independent Work for Distinction in Sociology
Undergraduate Sociology Association
Courses
Chair Nancy Ammerman
Associate Chair Peter Yeager
Director, Undergraduate Studies David Swartz
Professors Ammerman (Theology), Connor (Political Science), Coulter, Eckstein, Greenfeld (Political Science), H. Levine (Religion), Monti, Stone
Associate Professors Kalberg, Kibria, Smith-Doerr, Yeager
Assistant Professors Barman, Go, Guseva, Olafsdottir, Swartz
Adjunct Professors Markson, Rieker
Professors Emeriti B. Berger, P. Berger, Cassidy, Cromwell, Field, Melbin, Miller, Psathas, Sanders, Teele, Verdet
Sociology is the study of interpersonal and group aspects of human behavior. Its subject matter ranges from the family to the state, from crime to religion, from work to health, from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from stability to change in whole societies.
Coursework in sociology offers strong preparation in analytic skills and broad knowledge of human relations and social systems. As such, the discipline provides useful tools for a variety of careers, including those in law, business, education, journalism, social work, criminal justice, and policy impact analysis. For example, pre-law students may wish to take courses in the sociology of law, criminology and criminal justice, and deviance and social control. Students pursuing careers in business may wish to take courses in the sociology of work, business and society, formal organizations, technology, law, and economic sociology. Premed students can take courses in sociology of health care, medical sociology, and epidemiology.
Concentration in Sociology (2208)
All courses taken to fulfill sociology requirements must be taken within CAS (unless transfer-of-credit courses, pending department approval; for other exceptions, on Metropolitan College and College of General Studies below). The concentration requirements comprise ten sociology courses and a statistics course, as described below. All courses for the major must be completed with grades of C or higher. All courses taken to fulfill sociology requirements must be taken within CAS with the exception of transfer-of-credit courses, based on department approval. Metropolitan College classes are treated as transfer-of-credit courses, and no more than two will be counted toward the major concentration. College of General Studies students who completed CGS SS 101 and CGS SS 102, each with a grade of C or higher, will receive credit for SO 100 (see “Course Credits for Students Admitted from the College of General Studies” section below).
The sociology concentration is as follows:
Required Courses One introductory sociology course from CAS SO 100–115; also CAS SO 201, SO 203, and SO 303, all of which must be taken within CAS. Students are expected to take CAS SO 201 and CAS SO 203 in their sophomore year or the first semester after declaring the major. It is recommended that CAS SO 303 be taken in the semester following completion of CAS SO 203.
Principal Courses Six additional sociology courses at the 200 level or above; at least four of the six must be at the 300 level or above.
Of these six courses, at least two must be seminars. A seminar typically enrolls no more than 20 students, who participate in the instruction by presenting original research in class. Seminars must be taken in CAS.
Statistics Requirement Students must take one course in statistical analysis from CAS MA 113, 115, or 213.
Minor Concentration in Sociology (2208)
The minor concentration in sociology is designed for students from other disciplines who are interested in the theoretical ideas and research methods used by sociologists in their study of society. Students have the opportunity to take a wide range of courses, many of which may deal with their own discipline, for example, law and criminology for pre-law students. These courses provide individuals with an alternative and valuable perspective for understanding the social issues many will have to deal with in their own professions. All minor concentrators develop their programs in consultation with the departmental minor concentration advisor. Students must earn a minimum grade of C in courses taken toward the minor concentration. Requirements for the minor concentration follow.
Requirements Students must complete the basic method and theory requirement by taking CAS SO 201 and 203. In addition, they must take two sociology courses at the 200 level or above (one 100-level course can be substituted here), and two sociology courses at the 300 level or above. All courses for the minor concentration must be taken within CAS with the exception of transfer-of-credit courses, based on departmental approval. MET classes are treated as transfer-of-credit courses. No more than one will be accepted toward minor concentration requirements.
Course Credits for Students Admitted from the College of General Studies
Sociology concentrators (including minor concentrators) admitted to CAS from the College of General Studies will receive credit for completing the introductory sociology course (for having completed CGS SS 101 and SS 102 each with a grade of C or higher).
Concentration and Minor Concentration Credits for Core Curriculum Courses
Students who have completed the two social science courses in the core curriculum (with grades of C or higher) will receive concentration credit (for either the major or minor) for the introductory sociology course.
Diedre H. Symington Scholarship
This scholarship is awarded annually to one or several juniors or seniors concentrating in sociology. The recipients are nominated by the faculty of the department on the basis of academic accomplishments and financial need.
Honor Society in Sociology
Majors who meet specified scholastic standards may be inducted into the Boston University chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society. For more information, see the Undergraduate Studies director in the department; also see Honor Societies on this site.
Independent Work for Distinction in Sociology
The department encourages interested and qualified students in the senior year to pursue a special course of independent work in sociology aimed toward graduation with distinction in the concentration. Interested students are encouraged to discuss the independent project with their advisors before the end of the junior year, when applications for such work must be filed. For more information, see the Independent Work for Distinction on this site and obtain a copy of the department’s Undergraduate Honors Thesis Guidelines.
Undergraduate Sociology Association
Students are encouraged to join this independent organization, which provides a number of services and programs for students, including working with faculty committees that do program planning in the department.
Courses
Courses marked with a (†) satisfy divisional studies requirements.
Introductory Courses in Sociology Concentrators must complete one course from CAS SO 100 through 115, unless exempted by the department. Students may receive concentration credit for only one of these courses. Nonconcentrators are advised to take only one of the introductory courses and then move on to 200- and 300-level courses. The series of introductory courses is designed to bring to concentrators and nonconcentrators important sociological insights and concepts, to introduce them to sociology as a craft, and to develop their critical thinking when facing facts, figures, opinions, and theories. Descriptions are listed below.
†CAS SO 100 Principles in Sociology
An introduction to the major theories and basic principles of sociological analysis. Subjects include methods of social research and investigation; role of individuals in groups, organizations, and society; socialization and education; stratification; race and ethnicity; science, culture, and religion; formal and informal organization; and economic and political systems. Coulter, Stone. 4 cr, either sem. (SS)
CAS SO 108 Introduction to Sociology: Community
Basic concepts, theories, and ways of studying interpersonal relations and large-scale societal conditions through the types of communities that human beings make. Includes several assignments where students become familiar with everyday life in Boston. TBA. 4 cr, 1st sem.
†CAS SO 115 Introduction to Sociology: Law and Society
Law and deviance as complementary aspects of the basic relationship between the individual and society. Structure and culture of agencies that maintain law and order. Students are expected to observe in court settings. Yeager. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 201 Sociological Methods
Required of concentrators and minor concentrators. Prereq: one introductory course or consent of instructor. Scientific method, measurement, experimentation, survey research, observational methods, projective techniques, and content analysis. Smith-Doerr, Olafsdottir. 4 cr, either sem.
CAS SO 203 Introduction to Sociological Theories
Required of concentrators and minor concentrators. Prereq: one introductory course or consent of instructor. Theoretical problems in sociology. Historical background of theories and methods of sociology; characteristics of most significant sociological systems. Coulter, Kalberg, Swartz. 4 cr, either sem.
†CAS SO 205 The American Family
Nature of the American family and its ethnic and class variants. Social changes affecting courtship, mate selection, sexual behavior, reproduction, marital stability, and divorce through the life cycle. Social policies affecting family life. Interrelations of family with economy, state, religion, and other institutions Kibria, TBA. 4 cr, either sem.
CAS SO 207 Introduction to Ethnic, Race, and Minority Relations
Social definition of race and ethnicity. The adjustment of different ethnic groups and their impact upon U.S. social life. How prejudice and discrimination create class identities and how caste relations have affected patterns of integration during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Vardi. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 208 Sociological Approaches to Current Issues
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 209 Crime and Delinquency
Analysis of criminal and delinquent behavior. Evaluation of current theories and research into causes and sociological implications of these behavior patterns. Examination of criminal justice systems, including police, courts, and corrections. Yeager. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 215 Health and Society
Social, cultural, and intercultural factors in health and illness. Training and socialization of medical professionals, roots of medical power and authority, organization and operation of health-care facilities. U.S. health-care system and its main problems. Comparison of health-care systems in the U.S. and in other countries. Guseva, Olafsdottir. 4 cr, either sem.
CAS SO 238 Sociology of the Life Course
Explores the social construction of adulthood and aging. Focuses on such topics as age stratification, role changes, work and retirement, interpersonal networks, health and health care, and social policies. TBA. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 240 Sexuality and Social Life
Introduction to sociological perspectives on sexuality. Historical and comparative analysis of sexuality, with a focus on the social and cultural institutions that shape sexuality in the contemporary U.S. Mears, TBA. 4 cr, either sem.
†CAS SO 242 Globalization and World Poverty
How and why over 80% of the world remains poor and inequality increases despite economic modernization and democratization. Addresses urbanization, immigration, religion, politics, development politics, foreign aid, women, drugs, environment, food security. Special attention to Latin American, African, and Asian experiences. Meets with CAS IR 242. Eckstein. 4 cr, either sem. (SS)
CAS SO 244 Urban Sociology
An analysis of cities and urban phenomena in preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial societies with an emphasis on European and U.S. urbanization. A comparison of social scientific “theories” used to explain these same phenomena. TBA. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 246 Sociology of Market Transitions
Focus on East-Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China in the context of post-communist economic and political reforms and globalization. Topics include privatization, entrepreneurship, banking, and corruption. Effects on health care, education, social inequality, family and household dynamics. Guseva. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 256 Contemporary American Society
Examines mainly American political and economic culture and patterns of social interaction. The unique dynamic introduced into American society by central tensions at the level of values is defined through comparisons to European societies. Authors include Tocqueville, Weber, Bellah, Lipset, Putnam. Kalberg. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 277 Technology and Society
Examines technology as a fundamental element of and dynamic force in our society with the aim of providing a balanced understanding of the promise, consequences, and dilemmas brought about by specific technologies and to broaden students’ perspectives and sense of social and professional responsibility for decisions related to technology. Combines both a liberal arts and an engineering perspective. Smith-Doerr. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 302 Social Networks
Examines social networks in the economy, family and community, technology, politics and crime, religious and social movement organizations, and popular culture. Introduces the social network perspective, and its tools of analysis. Smith-Doerr. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 303 Substantive Themes in Sociological Theory
Prereq: CAS SO 203. Critique and application of major sociological theories to key themes and topics. Connections between classical and modern arguments, syntheses of alternative perspectives, and gaps between various perspectives. Themes include the maintenance of social order, power and authority, conflict and change, and sources of alienation. Coulter, Swartz. 4 cr, either sem.
CAS SO 304 Formal Organizations
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 306 Boston's People and Neighborhoods
Prereq: CAS SO 244 or consent of instructor. A comparison between nineteenth- and twentieth-century neighborhoods, connecting changes in everyday life to larger demographic, economic, physical, and political changes affecting the whole city and immediate suburbs. Includes tours of several Boston neighborhoods and archival research using neighborhood newspapers. TBA. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 313 Economic Sociology
Prereq: CAS SO 100 or consent of instructor. Presents the sociological approach to the study of production, distribution, consumption and markets, emphasizing the impact of norms, power, social structure, and institutions on the economy. Compares classic and contemporary approaches to the economy by the social science disciplines. Bowman. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 315 The Social Nature of Technology
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 318 Sociology of Childhood and Youth
Prereq: CAS SO 205. Explores the “social construction” of childhood and youth, and examines ways in which social institutions (family, schools, media, and law) influence children’s lives in different social settings. Also examined are social and policy issues surrounding childhood in the U.S. today. Kibria. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 320 Political Sociology
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 324 Soviet and Post-Soviet Society
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 328 Contemporary South Asian Societies A broad introduction to contemporary South Asian societies. With a focus on the conceptual themes of modernity and identity, selected topics are explored, including South Asian ethnic and political conflicts, women’s movements, popular culture, and diaspora communities. Kibria. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 330 Criminology and Criminal Justice
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 333 The Workplace
Prereq: CAS SO 100 or consent of instructor. Investigates the social organization of work. Topics include the history of industrial work, the presence of inequality at work, the impact of the work experience for individuals, and the effects of globalization and the “new economy” on work both here and abroad. Feldscher. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 334 Sociology of Mental Illness
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 401, 402 Senior Independent Work
Prereq: approval of the Departmental Honors Committee. 4 cr each, 1st & 2nd sem.
CAS SO 403 Seminar: Gender Stratification
Inequality between women and men in employment, occupational position, and income. Examines the nature and causes of gender stratification in industrial societies. Smith-Doerr. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 404 Seminar: The Family
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 408 Seminar: Ethnic, Race, and Minority Relations
Prereq: CAS SO 207 or consent of instructor. Formation and position of ethnic minorities in the United States, including cross-group comparisons from England, Africa, and other parts of the world. Readings and field experience. Stone. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 410 Seminar: Formal Organizations
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 411 Seminar: Sociology of the Nonprofit Sector
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 415 Seminar: Sociology of Law
Prereq: CAS SO 203 or consent of instructor. Classical and contemporary perspectives on law’s development in society. Selected applications of law are then examined with attention to constraints on law’s ability to achieve such societal goals as justice and equality and to alter social relations fundamentally. Yeager. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 417 Seminar: Community Sociology
The study of communities in different settings; their organization and contribution to building a social and moral order in urban areas. The historical development of communities and the way persons adapt to urban life through communities are also considered. TBA. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 418 Seminar: Sociology of Medicine
Focuses on the medical profession, sources of its power and authority, the effects of recent changes in financing and delivery of health care. Medical training and decision-making analyzed. Doctor-patient interaction and the use of alternative treatments. Olafsdottir. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 420 Seminar: Women and Social Change in the Developing World
Prereq: concentration in sociology or anthropology. Studies women in nonindustrial countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, stressing empirical research, theory, and methodology. Comparisons between regions and with industrial countries. Focus on sex segregation, female labor force participation, migration, fertility, family roles, and women and political power. Also offered as CAS IR 425. Eckstein. 4 cr, either sem.
CAS SO 434 Seminar: Sociology of Mental Illness
Prereq: CAS SO 201 and CAS SO 203 or consent of instructor. An evaluation of current theories and research on the social sources and consequences of mental illness. Featured topics for discussion include social-psychological perspectives on the definition, diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of mental disorders. Coulter. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 437 Seminar: Sociology of Culture
Prereq: junior or senior standing and at least two 300-level sociology courses or consent of instructor. Examines the mutual interdependence between social structure and culture, focusing on the ways in which belief, faith, knowledge, symbol, ritual, and the like both produce and are products of social organization. Greenfeld. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 438 Seminar on International Migration
Prereq: consent of instructor. Explores the social dynamics of contemporary international migration, ranging from the development of transnational migrant communities to the impact of state policies that strive to regulate migrant labor flows. Kibria. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS SO 440 Seminar: Political Sociology
Prereq: CAS SO 201 and CAS SO 203 or consent of instructor. Explores sociological perspectives on political and civic life, including studies of political culture and ideology, social movements, elites and power, and community activism. Reviews classical perspectives on the state in society, and debates over individualism and participation in civil society. Kalberg. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 444 Seminar: Sociology of Education
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 450 Seminar: Sociology of Technology
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 457 Seminar: Sociology of Mind
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 462 Seminar: Great Theorists
Prereq: CAS SO 203. Explores works of major theorists and addresses central issues in sociological theory. Works of Bourdieu are compared with those of Weber, Durkheim, and contemporary theorists. Issues of power, stratification, structure, agency, and modes of research are considered. Stone. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 491, 492 Directed Study
Prereq: approval of CAS Room 105, junior or senior standing, and consent of instructor. Individual instruction and supervised study project in sociology for concentrators and nonconcentrators. Variable cr, 1st & 2nd sem.
CAS SO 521 Seminar: Epidemiology
Theoretical and empirical, cross-national examination of the social determinants (e.g., community, race, class, gender, ethnicity) of population health, and of the challenges posed to human capacity and hope by the biological facts of disease and the social processes of illness, including health care, policy, and research. Rieker. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS SO 534 Seminar: Modernity and Social Change
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS SO 541, 543 Modernity Seminars I and II
These seminars look at the phenomenon of modernity from a multidisciplinary point of view. Discussed are the cultural foundations of modernity, specifically and primarily nationalism but also Romanticism, science, and major political ideologies. Also analyzed are modernization and development as studied by the social sciences, modernism, and postmodernism in literary and cultural studies; and the nature of man and society in the perspectives of modern philosophy. May be taken either or both semesters. Greenfeld. 4 cr, 1st & 2nd sem.
CAS SO 559 Seminar: Deviance and Social Control
Focus on major institutional methods for responding to deviant behavior and the resultant organizational structures that are created. The various methods of control and their implications for social policy. Yeager. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
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