Courses

This course explores differing patterns of human relationships; the course further applies sociological concepts so as to enrich the understanding of human behavior.

This course presents information about a range of social problems (poverty, racism, sexual discrimination, crime, etc.) with emphasis on the relationship between the individual and the larger context within which the problems exist. Additionally, fundamental societal institutions and theoretical issues will be explored.

This course represents credit earned through a semester study abroad experience with an institution or program with which Texas Christian University has an official agreement to accept credit. The site and specific content will be identified on the official transcript. Courses appearing on a student's official transcript have been included in the student's grade point average.

A directed study course open to honor students with 6 semester hours of sociology and/or permission of the students' adviser and the instructor. A sociological analysis of the interplay of ideological and social factors in the development and decline of social systems and of present trends in world ideologies and societies is emphasized, with some possible implications for the future.

Prerequisite: SOCI 20213. This course introduces students to the field of applied sociology and prepares students for internships and career placement. Students develop a better understanding of how sociological concepts, theory, methods, and findings are used in practice, especially in settings related to one's own career interest.

The study of selected topics of current interest and importance in sociology. These topics will vary in accordance with the interests of student and faculty. May be repeated for credit with different course content.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the concept of sustainability from a multidisciplinary perspective. Sustainability includes a focus on the environment, social justice issues, and economic development that provides the basic needs for sustaining an acceptable quality of life. A focus on the global implications will be stressed and students will explore the connections between sustainability and citizenship and social values.

Prerequisites: SOCI 20213 or 20223, or permission of instructor. A survey of the major forms of violence in contemporary society. Examining the extent and distribution of violence and the sociological, anthropological and psychological theories devised to account for violence.

This course examines the connection between the environment and society, from the local to the global level. Environmental problems, and their potential solutions, can be extremely controversial points of discussion: are humans doomed or will we overcome these problems? In the course, we will look at debates related to energy resources, population growth, green consumerism, climate change, environmental justice, and other issues. Students will engage in an experiential learning project where they attempt a personal change in their behavior in an effort to improve the environment.

The course keys on macro and micro social factors that shape American families. It explores the theoretical and empirical analyses of family dynamics and family policy.

An examination of sociological and criminological theories of crime, criminality, and crime control. (Offered as CRJU or SOCI credit.)

This course offers an overview of the field of cultural criminology, from its theoretical and historical foundations to its current developments. The course explores the various intersections of culture, crime, and crime control, including criminal subcultures, crime and consumer culture, crime as pleasure and performance, and crime and crime control as public display. (Offered as CRJU or SOCI credit.)

Prerequisite: MATH 10043. An introduction to sociological research procedures, with emphasis on the collection, analysis and interpretation of both quantitative and qualitative data.

An examination of correctional agencies and programs, including the social structure of prisons and its impact on the offender, deterrent and treatment effects of correctional practices, probation and parole, and an examination of various experiments in institutional and community based corrections. (Offered as CRJU or SOCI credit.)

This course examines topics and perspectives on human-animal relationships (HARE) from multiple disciplines within the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. We will explore the complex relationships between humans and other animals, past and present, including the socially constructed meanings of animals that shape animal/human interactions and relations within institutions and social, cultural, geographic and interactional contexts. We will consider many types of relationships between human and nonhuman animals, both beneficial and detrimental, as well as the trends that are impacting the future of animal/human relations on the planet.

The course provides a critical examination of various media, especially film, video and television, from a sociological point of view. It serves as an introduction to various theories of mass media and to current research on the effects of mass media on the human self in particular and society as a whole.

This course explores various historical and contemporary social movements and protest movements. In each of these explorations key social and cultural dynamics are emphasized, including mass communication and persuasion, strategies and tactics for acquiring power, the emergence of collective goals, and the politics of social change.

This course explores the processes and patterns by which power is negotiated and contested by political authorities and social movements. The course emphasizes the roles that factors such as class, race, and gender play in how politics unfold at the state level and how individuals organize collectively to influence politics.

This course examines how groups of people create alternative and novel forms of cultural expressions (popular culture), and how such expressions eventually are filtered through media, either oral, electronic or print. It also considers how the meaning of popular cultural expressions both influence and are influenced by broader and institutionalized societal arrangements.

An examination of the process of death from a social psychological perspective. Topics will include the dying process as an interactional event, how survivors cope with loss, the life chances of people to live an extended life before dying, and how death serves as a symbol and metaphor for lived experience. The course will also focus on death as it has an impact on survivors and how survivors learn from the experience of another's death.

An examination of social psychological theories of the social self and how social selves are represented in various American films from the 1940s to the present. The course will combine lectures on concepts and processes associated with the presentation of the social self in everyday life with passages from films that provide detail about concepts and processes. Film displays will include processes of impression management and characterizations of social types - ranging from violent/impulsive to rational/strategic selves. Further, lectures and film passages will address the various portrayals of human relationships that involve self-display and self-disclosure.

This course will introduce students to the role of the wedding not only as a ceremonial rite of passage, but also as a multi-billion dollar industry in American society. Beginning with a historical overview of the role of the wedding in society, the course will address issues ranging from the emotion work of wedding work, bride power, the role of the wedding industry in a culture of divorce and the impact of the illegal diamond trade on war torn nations in Africa. A global comparison of wedding rituals will be included in the analysis, as well as a cross ritual/industry comparison of the funeral industry.

Prerequisites: SOCI 20213 or 20223 or permission of instructor. Theoretical and empirical literature on deviance and social control, showing how deviation arises from social interaction. Specific attention to forms of deviance including substance abuse, sexual deviance and violent behavior.

An examination of corporate and governmental deviance addressed from a sociological perspective. Emphasis is placed on the nature, extent, and costs of corporate and governmental deviance, with special attention on the social, structural, and organizational forces which give rise to such deviance. For example, we will examine the Ford Pinto case, Cold War Human Radiation Experiments, political corruption, Enron, and many other recent and historical cases.

This course introduces students to the impact of technology and social media in everyday life on dimensions of society such as the individual, groups, social processes, social institutions, and social structures. Particular emphasis is on understanding the impact of social media in areas such as politics, economics, revolutions, work, family, and everyday social interactions.

The sociological and social psychological examination of the impact of aging on the individuals and on society. Focus is on defining demography of aging, the problems, public perceptions and stereotypes, concepts and theoretical perspectives on aging, age norms and constraints, adjustment patterns and changing lifestyles in old age, retirement, death and dying, exploitation, and politics of aging. Societal issues that confront older Americans are discussed. The course is primarily concerned with aging in the United States.

Prerequisites: SOCI 20213. This course deals with the social context in which individuals experience food, with particular emphasis on how food influences, and is influenced by society. From the rituals of dinner and Americans' obsession with diet food, to global food production regimes, the role of food in patterns of social life, social institutions, social inequality and social change will be explored.

Discusses the intersection of food and justice. Investigates injustices generated by the current U.S. food system and by global agribusiness against farm workers in Mexico and the U.S. against residents of underprivileged communities in U.S. cities. Explores possible solutions to these injustices, including fair trade, urban agriculture, food banks, and food policy councils. Students will design an experiential, service learning group project in conjunction with TCU and community partners. (offered as ANTH or SOCI credit)

This class explores three iconic social types that emerged most visibly in the post WWII era-beatniks, hippies, and punks. Drawing upon classic sociological concepts and ideas - including the stranger in society, alienation, anomie, the small social group, rebellion, deviance, and social status - the course depicts the melodramatic changes in discourse, appearance, and emotional touch during the decades of the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's.

Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, or SOCI 20223 or permission of instructor. An introduction to understanding the role of religion in society and to sociological methods for the study of religion. The course will introduce theories and research pertaining to types of religious experience, conversion and commitment, denominationalism, secularization and fundamentalism. Class, gender, race and ethnicity will also be addressed as they influence religion in society. (Offered as RELI or SOCI credit.)

Prerequisites: SOCI 20213 or 20233 or any course approved for the minor/emphasis in Women's Studies. Critical examination of new ideas, data and theories about the roles of men and women in contemporary society. Focus is on a sociological analysis of gender stratification in our society.

This course introduces students to the myriad ways in which sexual desire and sexual activity are structured by social relations and to the ways that sexuality, sexual practices, and sexual identities vary in time and space. We will also consider how those social relations and sexual identities influence ethical judgment regarding various sexual practices and attitudes. Social science and philosophical theories of sexuality will be considered and cross-cultural and historical accounts of sexual practices will be reviewed. (Offered as PHIL 30343 or SOCI 30773 credit)

This course will examine the body, not through the lens of the physical or biological sciences, but as the product of complex social arrangements and processes. We will study the body as the container and expression of the self, as the object of social control, and as the repository of shifting race, gender, and sexual categories.

An examination of the major aspects of victimology. Topics include the historical role of victims, the nature of victimization in modern America, the victimization experience, legal aspects of victimization, victimization and the political process, solutions to victimization, and the future of victims' rights and victimology. (Offered as CRJU or SOCI credit.)

Prerequisite: SOCI 20213 or permission of instructor. An exploration of the foundations of sociological theory through the works of the classical theorists, e.g. Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, assessing the impact of their work on current sociological thinking and practice and on society itself. Attention will be paid to the intellectual heritage of the thinkers, their historical context and their biographical selves.

This course explores how politics is shaped by gender and, in turn, how gender shapes politics from an international and comparative perspective. The course will address how states have institutionalized gendered rights and responsibilities, such as maternity and paternity leave, and how social movements have emerged to advocate for new policies related to gender and sexuality.

An examination of the relationship between legal institutions and social processes. Topics include the nature of law, historical evolution of legal systems, creation and organization of law in modern societies, social functions of law, and limits of law as an instrument of social control. (Offered as CRJU or SOCI credit.)

Prerequisite: CRJU 20413, SOCI 20213 or PSYC 10213 or equivalent. An examination of the social psychological theories and research relevant for understanding criminal behavior. Topics include societal and victim responses to crime.

This is a seminar-style, site-based course taught in London as part of Leadership London, a TCU summer study abroad program. The city of London will provide the backdrop for studying social and cultural influences on leadership. Case studies are used to critically examine the nature and practice of leadership and explore the ways that social and cultural contexts shape leader-follower relationships. The course is designed to illuminate diverse perspectives on leadership and provide a knowledge base for evaluating and making informed judgments about leadership.

An overview of Japanese history and major cultural traditions. Japanese society will be looked at from its origins through the Tokugawa period and onto modern Japan. Religious traditions and cultural perspectives will be highlighted. Additionally, the place of modern Japan in the global community will be examined.

An overview of the functioning of the Japanese policing, court, and correctional systems. In addition, both Japanese street crime and organized crime will be examined with special emphasis on the organization and history of the Japanese Yakuza. Further, the course will examine the realities of a myriad of social problems in Japanese society both as individual issues and as causes/effects of criminality. These topics include but are not limited to issues of poverty, urbanization, drug use and family structure stresses.

An overview of Japan's perspectives on and efforts toward sustainability in relation to the environment and economic/technological growth. Issues of mass transportation, energy production, green architecture, and farming/fishing will be addressed. In addition the place of sustainability as a philosophical dovetail to Japanese religious and cultural traditions will be highlighted.

This study abroad course provides a sociological perspective of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway along with a specific emphasis on sustainable practices within the cities of Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo. The course includes 4 days of online preparation, and 2 weeks of travel and lectures within Scandinavia.

The course keys on the consequences of being labeled mentally ill (or of being stigmatized), the societal response to mental illness, and the experience of managing particular conditions, especially depression, identity disorders, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The course also focuses on the sociohistorical and socially constructed concepts and contexts associated with defining mental illness and becoming mentally ill. The course relies on a lecture-discussion format, making use of several concepts that have become linked to mental illness in general and the specific aforementioned conditions.

This course examines, from a social psychological perspective, the complex and dialectical relationship between meeting expectations (conformity) and defying expectations (rebellion) in regard to decisive activity. A social psychological perspective emphasizes the decisions people make in provocative settings, or contexts that involve moments of truth. In this vein, conformity appears in opposition to rebellion . However, conformity can, and often does, imply some form of rebellion just as rebellion implies some form of conformity. Both conformity and rebellion can become problematic, or linked to existential decisions to either act against habit, judgement, and moral standpoints. Rebellion can be seen as an unwanted occurrence that threatens our preferred styles of life, requiring resolution through conformity; conformity can become seen as an impediment to a free society which, in order to salvage a sense of free choice, requires some form of rebellion. Examination of the complex relationship between conformity and rebellion can sharpen our focus when considering, specifically, in what kind of society we wish to live.

An exploration of the social and cultural aspects of the relationship between humans and other animal species, with particular focus on (1) examining the place, meaning and treatment of animals across historical periods, cultures, and social contexts, (2) understanding a range of debates and controversies regarding the ways animals are used by humans, and (3) exploring how humans construct social meanings and identities for themselves and others through animals.

The course provides analysis of contributions of sociologists to theory and research in basic decision making, including examination of theories of conformity, social influence and symbolic interaction.

Prerequisite: SOCI 20213 or consent of the instructor. Courses taught under this designation focus on research design, perspectives and/or methods useful for conducting applied social research. Topics may vary from semester to semester in accordance with the changing interests of students and instructors. (May be repeated up to 6 hours under different topic offerings.)

The course provides a critical examination of how the media responds to and helps create images of a particular social problem, drug abuse. It serves as an introduction to theories and research pertaining to drug abuse, alcoholism, and to distinctions between justifications for the legality of some drugs and the illegality of others.

An examination of the causes, treatment, and prevention of delinquency, with particular focus on the relationships between juveniles, clinics, and the court, and the philosophical, historical, and traditional foundations of juvenile law. (Offered as CRJU or SOCI credit.)

Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, or 20223, or permission of instructor. Critique of the changing structure and functioning of the institution of medicine in America and the continuing inter- and intra-institutional contention for authority. Focus on current issues, problems, and trends such as litigation, governmental financing and regulation, corporate entry into medical care, sexism in medicine, and alternative medicines and practitioners.

Prerequisite: SOCI 20213, 20223, or permission of instructor. Examination of the current status of inequality in contemporary American society in terms of the distribution of power, prestige, and wealth. Course focuses on  the impact of inequality on personal life chances, health, and social mobility. The feasibility of equality in our society is addressed, including programs and policies to reduce inequality and their political and societal ramifications.

A sociological examination of work, particularly in a contemporary U.S. context. Focus is on how work has changed over time, how government and corporate policies impact the workplace, and how and what types of work inequalities persist.