Sociology

Requirements for the Sociology Major (37 semester hours)

Core Courses (12-13 semester Hours)

One introductory course (4), chosen from among:

• SOC 182 Racism and White Supremacy in the U.S. (4)
• SOC 184 Global Sociology (4)
• SOC 186 Navigating Social Worlds (4)
• SOC 188 Can Activists Change the World? (4)
• SOC 199 Topics in Sociology (4)

One theory course (4), chosen from among:

• AES 330 Theory and Methods in American Ethnic Studies (4)
• SOC 303 Sociological Theory (4)
• WGS 353W Feminist Theory (4)

One Applied or Community-Based Elective (4-5), chosen from among:

• SOC 321 Climate Justice Workshop (4)
• SOC 364 Transnational Feminism (4)
• SOC 388W Internship in Sociology (5)
• SOC 399 Topics in Sociology (4) (topic dependent)

Electives (20 semester hours)

Courses may be chosen from any with a SOC prefix or from the following list of approved courses originating outside of Sociology. No more than 8 credits may be at the 100 level. No more than 8 credits may have prefixes other than SOC:

• AES 330 Methods and Theory of American Ethnic Studies (4)
• ANTH 231 Indigenous Peoples of North America (4)
• ANTH 351 Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights, Environment (4)
• CCM 260 Communicating Environmental and Climate Justice (4)
• CCM 261 Media, Technology, Society (4)
• CCM 265 Rhetorics of Sex and Gender (4)
• CCM 310 Asian Social Media (4)
• CCM 335W Communicating Self and Society (4)
• CCM 345 Latina/o/x Communications Studies (4)
• ENG 101W Reading Literature and Culture (topic dependent) (4)
• ENG 381 Latinx Literature and Culture 
• FREN 275 African Cinema (4)
• FREN 285W Gender and Sexuality in African Literature and Cinema (4)
• HIST 262 Gender and Women's History in the United States (4)
• IDS 205 Chemawa Indian School Partnership (2)
• PPLE 318 Death in America (4)
• PPLE 338 Reforming Criminal Justice (4)
• WGS 245 Feminism, Gender, and Society (4)
• WGS 353W Feminist Theory (4)
• LW 223 Introduction  to Environmental & Natural Resource Law (3)
• LW 226 Environmental Justice (3)
• LW 350 Immigration Law (3)

Senior Experience (5 semester hours)

• SOC 402W Qualitative Methods of Social Research (4)
• SOC 492 Career Lab & Sociology Senior Portfolio (1)

Requirements for the Sociology Minor (20-21 semester hours)

• One Introductory course, chosen from list under Major requirements, above;
• One Applied or Community-Based elective (4–5), chosen from options under Major requirements, above;
• Twelve semester hours of electives (12), chosen from options under Major requirements, above. No more than 8 credits may be at the 100 level. No more than 4 credits may have prefixes other than SOC.

Indicators of Achievement

Student Learning Outcomes for the Sociology Major

1. Students will develop their capacity to think sociologically, cultivating in them a “sociological imagination” with which to interpret the social world;
2. Students will develop their ability to apply sociological and relevant interdisciplinary concepts and theory to an understanding and analysis of social institutions and social structure;
3. Students will develop the tools needed to think methodologically about how to gather qualitative and use data as part of a collaborative research team and use qualitative data to study social life
4. Students will cultivate and strengthen their critical thinking, collaborative project-based work, and analytical writing in theory and applied sociology;
5. Through internships, students will develop their knowledge about career fields that put into practice a sociological imagination.

Faculty

• Janet Lorenzen, Associate Professor of Sociology
• Jonneke Koomen, Professor of Sociology
• Kelley Strawn, Associate Provost of Institutional Research

Course Listings

SOC 182 Racism and White Supremacy in the U.S. (4)

This course examines the historical, political, economic and sociological dynamics of race, racism, and white supremacy in the United States. It investigates how institutions and culture reproduce the structures of inequality that impact the self-concept, interactions, opportunities and life chances of all people in the United States. This course focuses on the various ways race and ethnicity are created and re-created in society, and the way these social constructions permeate all aspects of societal life, despite remaining largely invisible and normalized. By analyzing the complex intersections of race, racism and white supremacy within the U.S. political and social structures, students gain a critical analysis of historic and contemporary racial inequality, and consider the effectiveness of the various solutions put forth by public policy, academics, and community activists.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: First and second year students only
• Offering: Annually
• Instructor: Drew

SOC 184 Global Sociology: Nation/Empire/Race/Gender (4)

Why do nation-states go to war? Can international institutions promote peace? And how do people organize across borders to address injustice? This course examines the politics and sociology of war, peace, and knowledge-making across borders and investigates how race, class, gender and colonial legacies structure the world. We will think about power, inequality and resistance from a “global perspective” and reflect on the ways that global events shape our everyday lives.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: First and second year students only
• Offering: Annually
• Instructor: Koomen

SOC 186 Navigating Social Worlds (1)

This course is organized as a "gateway" to the discipline of sociology, which is the study of processes and relationships we all know as "society." The course introduces the student (a) to the four primary dimensions into which sociology is loosely organized -- social systems, social institutions, human agency and interaction, and culture; (b) to the ways in which sociologists ask and analyze research questions; and (c) to the theories and research methods sociologists use to examine social relationships. The course emphasizes reading primary sources, class discussions, and other appropriate pedagogical methods. By the end of the course, students will have developed their own "sociological imagination" and, in particular, a critical perspective on relationships of power, on social inequality, and on social change.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
• Prerequisite: First and second year students only
• Offering: Annually
• Instructor: Staff

SOC 188 Can Activists Change the World? (4)

Can activists change the world? This introductory course investigates transnational struggles for peace, justice, and human rights. We will explore how people can work together across borders and differences. Students will develop their “sociological imagination” and critical perspectives on global inequality, power, and the possibilities for social change. 

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: First and second year only
• Offering: Every semester
• Instructor: Koomen

SOC 199 Topics in Sociology (1-4)

A semester-long study of topics in Sociology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
• Prerequisite: Topic dependent
• Offering: Occasionally
• Professor: Staff

SOC 299 Topics in Sociology (1-4)

A semester-long study of topics in Sociology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.cs.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
• Prerequisite: Topic dependent
• Offering: Occasionally
• Professor: Staff

SOC 303 Sociological Theory (4)

This course introduces the undergraduate to the important theoretical paradigms that have historically oriented the discipline of sociology. Classical sociological theory emerged in the works of Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, among others. Out of the ideas of these thinkers evolved the major schools of modern sociology, in particular Structural-Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, Neo-Marxism, and Neo-Weberian theories of modernity. Throughout the 20th century, new critical paradigms have emerged to challenge the modern schools, including postmodern and cultural critiques, as well as feminist, race, and queer theories. More recently, theories of globalization have attempted to synthesize a diversity of sociological paradigms to explain contemporary social phenomena.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course
• Offering: Every semester
• Instructor: Lorenzen

SOC 321 Climate Justice Workshop (4)

How are local activist groups taking action to address climate inequity and transition off of fossil fuels? And how do we support them? This course is about taking action against racial injustice and the climate crisis. More specifically, this course explores how social change happens by examining climate justice politics, policies, and activist tactics in Oregon. This course intentionally avoids a focus on problems (like the 4 D’s of doom, delay, division, and deflect attention) in order to focus on climate solutions. This course explores how social movements and other mechanisms of social change work toward climate equity. Students will explore activism by local environmental justice groups and climate equity coalitions. Students will also practice lobbying to support bills and work with local activists to support their goals.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course
• Offering: Spring semester
• Instructor: Lorenzen

SOC 350 Pan-African Revolutions and Black Liberation (4)

This course examines Pan-African revolutions, black liberation struggles, and anti-colonial solidarity movements around the world. Through the texts of Pan-Africanist thinkers and revolutionaries, we will investigate the history of black internationalist theorizing and organizing and examine international political sociology through anticolonial and Afro-centric lenses. Case studies may include black liberation struggles, revolutions and solidarity movements in Burkina Faso, Cuba, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, the Pacific, South Africa, Tanzania, the USA, Western Europe, and their transnational reach.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course
• Offering: Alternate years
• Instructor: Koomen

SOC 355 Health and Society (4)

Drawing from a diverse range of theoretical and methodological resources, this course examines contemporary topics in the sociology of health and illness. Topics include the role of sociological theory in understanding health and illness; social meanings and experiences of illness; patient-professional relations in medicine; health inequalities across and between race, class, and gender; health and the life course; healthcare delivery systems and patient outcomes; the Affordable Care Act; and other key developments in the field such as medical ethics and health movements.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course
• Offering: Annually
• Instructor: Drew

SOC 364 Transnational Feminism (4)

Many feminists try to think, dialogue, and organize transnationally. This raises challenging questions: Is there a global sisterhood of women? Can feminists promote solidarity across divides of class, race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and language? This course asks students to critically examine these questions through the study of black feminisms, critical race theory, anticolonial and postcolonial theories, and other approaches. The course will examine the emergence of transnational feminism as interdisciplinary field of study, introduce students to key concepts such as identity, difference, solidarity, and intersectionality, and explore the dilemmas and opportunities of transnational feminist theory and praxis.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course or one AES course at any level
• Offering: Alternate years
• Instructor: Koomen

SOC 382 Human Rights: Research and Advocacy (4)

Can activists working across borders change the world? How can researchers and activists promote human rights in the face of repression? This upper division seminar examines scholarship on human rights and transnational advocacy networks. We will study interconnected transnational struggles for women’s human rights, workers’ rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, and the rights of indigenous peoples.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; PDE
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course
• Offering: Alternate years
• Instructor: Koomen

SOC 386 Special Topics in Sociology (2 or 4)

This course offers timely exposure to a variety of relevant topics in sociology. Topics might include the study of homelessness, poverty, death and dying, or cultural diversity.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences; PDE (topic dependent)
• Prerequisite: Any 100-level Sociology course or consent of instructor
• Offering: Every semester
• Instructor: Staff

SOC 388W Internship in Sociology (5)

This course provides an opportunity for students to work in selected social service and other organizations supervised by on-site professionals. Opportunity to observe the operation of agencies and develop some skills in working with people. Students spend 12 to 15 hours a week interning and attend a weekly seminar.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Social Sciences
• Prerequisite: SOC 186, SOC 303, and SOC 402W
• Offering: Spring
• Instructor: Drew

SOC 399 Topics in Sociology (1-4)

A semester-long study of topics in Sociology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
• Prerequisite: Topic dependent
• Offering: Occasionally
• Professor: Staff

SOC 402W Qualitative Methods of Social Research (4)

This course will introduce students to qualitative research methods in sociology and cover the major forms of qualitative inquiry including research design, data collection, data coding and analysis, and research ethics through the study of a specific research topic in sociology. The relationship between theory and research will also be considered as it pertains to the topic under analysis. Students will be required to conduct original research, write a literature review, and produce a research report of their findings.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Social Sciences
• Prerequisite: SOC 303 and WGS 353W 
• Offering: Every Semester
• Instructor: Lorenzen

SOC 429 Topics in Sociology (1-4)

A semester-long study of topics in Sociology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
• Prerequisite: Topic dependent
• Offering: Occasionally
• Professor: Staff

SOC 490 Research and Independent Study (2 or 4)

This course is intended only for the qualified advanced student with a solid preparation in the theory and methods of sociology who wishes to do an intensive research analysis or advanced independent study in an area not covered by an existing course in the department.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
• Prerequisite: SOC 186, SOC 303, and SOC 402W
• Offering: Occasionally
• Instructor: Staff

SOC 492 Career Lab & Sociology Senior Portfolio

In this course, students will explore different career paths, translate the knowledge and skills learned in their sociology major into materials appropriate for their desired career path, and develop their sociology senior portfolio. After exploring their options, students are asked to focus on either a job track or graduate school track. This course brings together resources from the American Sociological Association on career paths enabled by an undergraduate degree in sociology, expertise from the WU Career Development office (on resumes, cover letters, networking, job searches, and interviewing), and sociology faculty expertise on applying to graduate programs. When this course ends students will have the tools necessary for an accomplished job search and/or graduate school application. Additionally, students will construct and submit their sociology senior portfolio. Students will submit a timeline of their sociology major course work, select and submit four papers from their undergraduate course work, and assess their own learning and the department’s teaching strategies and methods.

• Prerequisite or corequisite: SOC 402W 
• Offering: Every semester
• Instructor: Staff