Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Sociology
Courses of Instruction
Sociology (SOCI)
The terms indicated are expected but are not guaranteed. For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.
SOCI 100gm Los Angeles and the American Dream (4) Los Angeles as a metaphor for the American Dream, exploring the city’s history and potential futures, including economic opportunity, social justice, spatial organization, and environmental sustainability. (Duplicates credit in the former AMST 100gm and GEOG 100gm.)
SOCI 142gm Diversity and Racial Conflict (4, FaSp) Introduction to the causes and effects of contemporary race relations in a diverse U.S. society. Exploration of racial conflict at the personal and institutional levels.
SOCI 150gm Social Problems (4, Fa) Analysis of factors in current American social problems: crime, delinquency, prostitution, family disorganization, race relations, mental illness.
SOCI 155gm Immigrant America (4, FaSp) Examination of the immigrant experience in the United States. Comparative analysis of social context of migration, formation of immigrant communities, and social integration of immigrants.
SOCI 169gm Changing Family Forms (4, FaSp) The peculiarity of the “modern” Western family system in historical and cross cultural perspective; focus on the “postmodern” family crisis in the United States.
SOCI 200m Introduction to Sociology (4) Basic concepts of sociology with special reference to group life, social institutions, and social processes.
SOCI 210g Science, Technology, and Social Conflict (4) Science and technology change society and how we understand ourselves. In turn, social struggles influence science. We will explore the interplay between these forces.
SOCI 220gm Questions of Intimacy (4, FaSp) Analysis of conditions of intimacy and intimate personal relationships as lenses for understanding social inequalities of race, social class, gender, sexuality, and nation.
SOCI 225g Sociology of Health and the Body: Social Perspectives (4, FaSp) Investigation of health as a social category and the varied ways that social and cultural factors shape bodies and health.
SOCI 242g Sociology, Human Behavior, and Health (4, FaSpSm) Sociological concepts and approaches that are important in explaining human behaviors and interactions to gain insights to the sociological causes of disease, health and wellness.
SOCI 250gm Grassroots Participation in Global Perspective (4) Theory and history behind the ideal of “the local, grassroots volunteer”: a direct link between theory and research using Los Angeles as a case study.
SOCI 255g Sociology of Globalization (4, FaSp) This course examines globalization through social and economic processes and its consequences for social conflict, economic development, human rights, social movements, and national identity.
SOCI 275 Sociology of Everyday Life (4) The social philosophy of understanding everyday life; describing and analyzing forms of interaction, emotions, knowledge, and the social self.
SOCI 305m Sociology of Childhood (4) Social construction of childhoods; children’s social relations and cultures; issues of childcare, poverty, violence, and children’s rights; effects of children on adults.
SOCI 313 Sociological Research Methods (4, FaSp) Logic of theory construction, research design, elementary data collection and analysis. Lecture and laboratory.
SOCI 314 Analyzing Social Statistics (4, FaSp) Sociological measurement, univariate description, elementary correlation, introduction to statistical inference.
SOCI 315 Sociology of Sport (4) Relationship between sport and politics, racism, and sexism; player and fan violence; sports for children; sport in the educational setting; drug abuse among athletes.
SOCI 320 Social Psychology (4) Process of interaction and communication by which persons influence and are influenced by others; development of self, role behavior, attitudes and values, social norms, cultural conditioning.
SOCI 331 Cities (4) Organization of urban society, including such topics as segregation, urban decay, local politics, residential change, and community conflict.
SOCI 335 Society and Population (4) World population trends and their consequences: determinants of fertility, mortality, and migration; development of elementary models of population change.
SOCI 340 Organizations: Bureaucracy and Alternatives to Bureaucracy (4) Importance of organizations in social life; techniques for using and changing organizations; examination of strategies for building and sustaining nonbureaucratic organizations.
SOCI 342m Race Relations (4, FaSp) Past and present relations between the White majority and the “conquered minorities” (Blacks, Chicanos, American Indians), as well as Asian immigrants; conflict vs. assimilation perspectives.
SOCI 345 Social Institutions (4) Cultural and interactional aspects of social institutions as complex social systems; religious, political, industrial, and familial institutions.
SOCI 350 Social Exclusion, Social Power, and Deviance (4, Fa) Current theories of origin, distribution, and control of deviant behavior; examination of processes involved in the career deviance of drug addicts, alcoholics, sexual deviants, gamblers, and mentally disordered.
SOCI 351 Public Policy and Juvenile Justice (4) Past and current theories of youth crime; gangs and other forms of youth deviance; the changing response of the police, courts, and public to these behaviors.
SOCI 353 Public Policy and Criminal Justice (4) Nature and trends in crime, policing, courts, and correctional agencies in relation to past, current, and prospective changes in society.
SOCI 355m Immigrants in the United States (4) Social construction of historical and contemporary immigration to the United States, including causes of migration, immigration policies, and the socioeconomic integration of immigrants.
SOCI 356m Mexican Immigrants in Sociological Perspective (4) Effects of class, global inequality, legal status, gender, racial/ethnic, and language differences in distinguishing Mexican immigrant populations from the U.S.-born population; differentiation among Mexican immigrants.
SOCI 357m Latino Politics (4) (Enroll in AMST 357m)
SOCI 360m Social Inequality: Class, Status, and Power (4, FaSp) Inequalities in wealth, prestige, and power in the United States; the American class structure and the extent of upward mobility in that structure.
SOCI 362 Global and Transnational Sociology (4, FaSp) Examines key issues in global and transnational sociology. Globalization is the empirical phenomenon where social, economic, and political interconnectedness across countries impacts the world.
SOCI 364m Racial and Ethnic Women in America (4, FaSp) (Enroll in SWMS 364m)
SOCI 365 Visual Sociology of the City and Its Residents (4) Students examine images of urban America and use the camera to produce visual representation in their analysis of social relations.
SOCI 366m Chicana and Latina Sociology (4) Sociological examination of Chicana and Latina experiences in the western region of the United States; issues of family, work, media, education and sexuality.
SOCI 369 The Family in a Changing Society (4, Fa) Changing family patterns; personality development; family unity, predicting success in marriage; the family in transition; crises such as economic changes, death, divorce; family reorganization.
SOCI 370 Sociological Theory (4, FaSp) Historical and contemporary approaches to sociological theory; analysis of conceptual frameworks applied to the study of society and social interaction.
SOCI 375m Asian Americans: Ethnic Identity (4) Cultural images and stereotypes, gender, immigration history, social class, politics, and social problems in Asian American communities.
SOCI 376m Contemporary Issues in Asian American Communities (4) Survey of current social and political issues facing Asian American communities with emphasis on Los Angeles region; design and implementation of community-based research projects.
SOCI 379m Mixed Matches: Intermarriage and American Society in the 21st Century (4, Sp) (Enroll in JS 379m)
SOCI 382 Judaism as an American Religion (4) (Enroll in JS 382)
SOCI 385 Population, Society, and Aging (4, Fa) Study of population characteristics related to the problems and processes of aging.
SOCI 386m Men and Masculinity (4) (Enroll in SWMS 385m)
SOCI 390 Special Problems (1–4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.
SOCI 402 Human Trafficking (4, FaSp) Interrogates the social construction of the legal category “human trafficking,” examining the ideological foundations, the social contentions, and political issues surrounding the issue.
SOCI 408 Volunteers, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Everyday Politics (4, FaSpSm) Theory, practice, and history of civic life. Examines communication, personal obligation, collective imagination, and political representation, in grassroots, state-sponsored, and non-governmental organization-sponsored civic associations around the world. Prerequisite: SOCI 370.
SOCI 410 The Sociology of Popular Culture (4) From the entertainment capital of the world, course surveys sociological research on artistic producers and critical theories of the connections between popular culture and society.
SOCI 420 Sociology of Violence (4, FaSp) Theoretical, conceptual and analytical skills in the study of collective violence, its legacies, and how society deals with it.
SOCI 425 Crowds, Publics, and Social Movements (4, FaSp) Spontaneous, expressive and creative forms that support or revolutionize society, including topics such as audiences, student unrest, tax revolts, patriotism, uprisings, and women’s movements.
SOCI 429 Immigration, Work and Labor (4, FaSp) Examination of the experiences of racial minorities in the labor market, niche concentration, the effects of globalization on labor migration, entrepreneurship, discrimination, and minorities in white-collar occupations.
SOCI 430m Work and the Workplace (4) Contrasting views of work in contemporary societies; technological change in the workplace; opportunity, inequality, conflict, and alienation in different occupations.
SOCI 432m Racial and Ethnic Relations in a Global Society (4, FaSp) Examination of race/ethnic relations with U.S. and selected countries from a global perspective, causes and social effects of globalization on people’s lives and on U.S. attitudes and political policies.
SOCI 435m Women in Society (4) Women today in the labor force, in politics, and in the family. Past and contemporary attempts to expand the position of women in society.
SOCI 437 Sexuality and Society (4) Historical and contemporary sexual issues (pornography, prostitution, rape) examined in light of Victorianism, Freudianism, Marxism, scientific sexology, feminism, gay liberationism, and sexual conservatism.
SOCI 445 Political Sociology (4, Irregular) Political power, conflict and apathy; public symbols, debate and discourse; nationalism; relations between politics, provision of social services and economics in comparative and historical perspective. Prerequisite: SOCI 370.
SOCI 450 Non-Governmental Organizations/Non-profits Field Practicum (4, FaSp) Internship in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Students will conduct sociological research on issues surrounding NGOs and the work they do. Prerequisite: SOCI 313 and SOCI 314. Open only to juniors and seniors.
SOCI 455m Gender and Sport (4) (Enroll in SWMS 455m)
SOCI 460 Key Issues in Contemporary International Migration (4, Irregular) Overview of contemporary patterns of international migration and its implications for receiving and sending countries, with a special emphasis on immigration to the United States.
SOCI 464 Sociology of Gender and Work (4, FaSp) Examination of gender inequality in the U.S. labor market; work-family conflict; employer remedies; comparative social policy.
SOCI 468 Sociology of Religion (4) (Enroll in REL 468)
SOCI 470 Development and Social Change in the Third World (4) Theories and case studies on social, economic, political, and cultural development and change in the Third World: Latin America, Asia, or Africa.
SOCI 475 Medical Sociology (4) Social and cultural factors in causation of disease, health care utilization and health care delivery.
SOCI 480 The Sociology of Risk and Disaster (4, FaSp) Is there such a thing as a “natural” disaster? Examination of both natural and technological disasters, and exploration of the centrality of risk in industrialized societies.
SOCI 490x Directed Research (1–8, max 12, FaSpSm) Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit.
SOCI 494 Sociology Honors Seminar I (4, Fa) Advanced seminar involving extensive reading, research and discussions. Selected subjects; offered in fall only and restricted to honors students. Acceptance into the Honors Program.
SOCI 495 Sociology Honors Seminar II (4, Sp) Seminar in workshop form to accompany completion of Senior Honors Thesis under faculty guidance. Acceptance into Honors Program. Prerequisite: SOCI 313, SOCI 494.
SOCI 499 Special Topics (2–4, max 8) An interdisciplinary examination of selected emerging issues.
SOCI 510 Sociological Theory I (4, Fa) Developments in sociological theory from the discipline’s 19th century origins to World War II.
SOCI 520 Qualitative Research Methods (4, Fa) Seminar in epistemologies, ethics, and techniques of qualitative research. Critical reading and practice in social observation, interviewing, fieldwork, and research design. Preparation of IRB proposal.
SOCI 521 Quantitative Methods and Statistics (4, Fa) Introduction to the logic and methods of quantitative analysis in sociology; covers the basic elements of designing and research, summarizing and exploring patterns in data, and making generalizations about populations based on characteristics of samples.
SOCI 523 Advanced Methods — Quantitative Research (4, Sp) Advanced research methodology in survey technique, evaluation research, instrument construction, and demographic analysis.
SOCI 524 Advanced Methods — Qualitative Research (4, Sp) Seminar and practicum in conducting and interpreting original qualitative research. Prerequisite: SOCI 520.
SOCI 525 Sociology Proseminar: Approaches to Sociological Research (4, FaSp) Graduate students begin their customized literature reviews and develop a paper that will frame the research they pursue in the empirical paper requirement. Open only to Sociology doctoral students.
SOCI 530 Sociology of Gender and Sexuality (4, FaSp) Approaches to gender and sexuality within sociology and social theory, highlighting contemporary empirical research on sexualities. Open only to master and doctoral students.
SOCI 532 Seminar in Science and Technology Studies (4, max 8, FaSp) Introduction to key concepts and theories in the interdisciplinary field of science and technology studies.
SOCI 535 Sociology of Culture (4, FaSp) Cultural theories and forms of cultural analysis appropriate for sociological research; critical examination of theory and research on how culture relates to social structure, social inequality, politics, institutions, and everyday interaction. Recommended preparation: SOCI 510 or prior undergraduate or graduate course work in social science or communication studies.
SOCI 537 Political Sociology: Politics, Symbols and Everyday Life (4, FaSp) Political power, conflict and apathy; public symbols, debate and discourse; nationalism; relations between politics, provision of social services and economics in comparative and historical perspective.
SOCI 540 Methods of Population and Ecological Analysis (2–4, Sm) Measures of population; ecological structure and change; life table methods; population estimates, projections, forecasts; distributional analysis and evaluation of demographic and ecological data. Prerequisite: SOCI 521.
SOCI 544 Population Trends: Public and Private Policies (4, Sm) World and national population trends; causes and implications for economic, health, and social policies.
SOCI 545 Seminar in World Population Problems (4) Demographic characteristics of the major regions of the world; social, economic, and political implications of population trends and methods of demographic analysis. Prerequisite: SOCI 335.
SOCI 548 Fertility Control Policies (4, Sm) Fertility control policies, and their consequences, including family planning and other pronatalist and antinatalist programs.
SOCI 549 Migration Policies (4) Analysis of migration and population redistribution; policies affecting such migration and redistribution.
SOCI 550 Seminar in Organizational Analysis (4) Literature evaluation, theory building, and research in the area of large-scale organizations and other types of institutionalized groups. Prerequisite: graduate standing.
SOCI 551 Seminar in Social Stratification (4) Critique of research literature and research methods in the area of social class and social stratification; major theories and theoretical implications of current research.
SOCI 552 Sex and Gender in Society (4, Fa) The social organization of gender in the contexts of work, families, intimacy, sexuality, reproduction, violence. Variations by race, ethnicity, social class. Processes of social change.
SOCI 554 Women in Global Perspective (4) (Enroll in SWMS 554)
SOCI 555 Seminar in Race Relations (4, Sp) Current racial problems in the United States and other countries; critiques of race relations literature.
SOCI 560 Feminist Theory (4) (Enroll in SWMS 560)
SOCI 566 Seminar in Social Deviance (4) Deviance and social rules in groups and communities; contemporary social policies involving ethnic, cultural, and social factors.
SOCI 571 Urban Sociology (4, FaSp) Examination of theories and research on cities in the United States, examining issues such as politics, race, development, and inequality. Open only to master’s, professional, or doctoral students.
SOCI 575 Seminar in Immigration (4, FaSm) Survey of key theoretical approaches and relevant issues in immigration studies. Themes include: transnationalism, globalization, gendered migration, segmented assimilation, immigrant labor markets, social incorporation and citizenship. Open to Ph.D. in Sociology students only.
SOCI 580 Seminar in Aging (4) Research seminar to review identification of problems, issues of theory, and methodology and implications for research designs.
SOCI 590 Directed Research (1–12, FaSpSm) Research leading to the master’s degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
SOCI 593 Practicum in Teaching the Liberal Arts (2, FaSp) (Enroll in MDA 593)
SOCI 594abz Master’s Thesis (2-2-0, FaSpSm) Credit on acceptance of thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.
SOCI 599 Special Topics (2–4, max 8, FaSp) Seminar in selected topics in sociology.
SOCI 610 Sociological Theory II (4, Sp) Developments in sociological theory from World War II to the present.
SOCI 621 Quantitative Methods and Statistics II (4, Sp) Casual modeling and the inter-relationships among social phenomena: covers the basic elements of casual inference and generalizability, linear regressions analysis, and categorical data analysis. Prerequisite: SOCI 521.
SOCI 628 Theories of Aging (4) (Enroll in GERO 628)
SOCI 635 Seminar in Social Structure (4) Research and theory development on the interrelations among the various structures that comprise social systems. An examination of large societal units. Prerequisite: advanced graduate standing.
SOCI 650 Topical Issues in Crime and Delinquency (2–4) Seminar in selected topics in criminology.
SOCI 664 Seminar in Advanced Methodology (4, max 8) Issues and problems in advanced research design and data analysis.
SOCI 790 Research (1–12, FaSp) Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
SOCI 794abcdz Doctoral Dissertation (2-2-2-2-0, FaSpSm) Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.