INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
Sample Syllabus
This survey course offers students the opportunity to examine the world through a sociological lens. By developing and strengthening their sociological imaginations, students will become adept at linking individual challenges to broad social problems, recognizing how nested sets of social systems relate to each other and impact social life. We will begin by tracing the history of the field, noting key theorists and their critical perspectives. Next, we will address how sociology developed as a social science and the scientific tools sociologists use to examine our social world. We will examine key socializing agents such as family, peers, educators, religion, the internet, and mass media as they affect individuals’ lives and broad social trends. We will consider the historical and contemporary factors that shape inequalities in terms of class, race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality and how these inequalities persist on a domestic and global scale. We will broaden our understandings of topics such as politics and health and illness by adopting sociological perspectives. Overall, this course will help students map the diverse and dynamic field of sociology. This course will offer an engaged, student-centered learning environment in which students actively participate in the construction of knowledge and analysis of social, cultural, and political trends.