Sociology (SOCI)

SOCI 1210  Introductory Sociology    
3 credit hours  
This course is intended to give a basic introduction to the discipline. It will examine the sociological imagination which understands human life as fundamentally explained by our membership in social groups. Particular attention will be given to the basic theories, concepts and methods through which this view is explored.

SOCI 1800 – 1825 Special Topics in Sociology
6 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

SOCI 1826 – 1849 Special Topics in Sociology
3 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

SOCI 2100  Social Research Methods    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students are introduced to basic social research methods by examining various sociological research strategies, different forms of research design, and a range of methods of evidence collection. While the course is intended as a general introduction to social research methods, it will emphasize that choice of methods is closely related to theory and the nature of particular research questions.

SOCI 2800 – 2825 Special Topics in Sociology
6 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

SOCI 2826 – 2849 Special Topics in Sociology
3 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year. 

SOCI 3000  Social Inequality    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students apply a life course perspective to explore the extent, causes, and consequences of social inequality in Canada. Students use the intersectional approach to understand how various social dimensions are intertwined to exacerbate disadvantages and reproduce further disparities across the life course (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and class).
SOCI 3011  Sociological Theory in Context    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 with a minimum grade of C
Students are introduced to the major themes and theories in the discipline of Sociology from its origins through the 21st century. It will do so by contextualizing and relating these themes and theories with the social issues, economic transformations, wars and political developments, intellectual, literary and artistic traditions of the times.
SOCI 3012  Sociological Theory    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students conduct a critical examination of the major themes of social analysis in the 20th and 21st century, with particular emphasis on current theoretical issues and differences in theoretical approaches to problems in sociological analysis.
Note: Students who have completed SOCI 2363 will not receive credit for this course.
SOCI 3020  Introduction to Science and Technology Studies    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students are introduced to some of the central ideas in Science and Technology Studies (STS). STS is the interdisciplinary study of the ways in which science, technology, and society shape each other for better or worse. Topics covered may include definitions and critiques of science and technology; gendered, race, and classed-based stratification and discrimination in science, the role of interest and bias in science, and the socially constructed nature of science and technology.
SOCI 3100  Qualitative Research Methods    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 2100 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students are introduced to sociological research that uses qualitative methods. Students examine qualitative methodology, research strategies, designs and methods of qualitative data collection and analysis, including the contributions of feminist scholarship. Students explore different ways of interpreting qualitative data. Approaches covered may include grounded theory, participatory action research, historical and textual methods, and participant-observation/ethnography, among others.
SOCI 3102  Quantitative Research Methods    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 2100 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students are introduced to quantitative methodology, research strategies, designs, methods of quantitative data collection and statistical analysis. Key features are interpreting and critiquing statistical data, which is a major source of information for sociologists. Class 3 hrs. and Lab 75 min/week
SOCI 3306  Sociology of Education    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students study major sociological approaches (both conceptual and methodological) to education in different societies, with special emphasis on Canadian society. Students focus on topics such as relationship between family, education and society; education and inequality; the social organization of knowledge; education and social change; the politics of education.
SOCI 3310  Society and the Environment    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students engage in a sociological examination of selected environmental issues; acid rain, forestry/wildlife, toxic waste, human-caused climate change, etc.
SOCI 3316  Sociology of Health and Illness    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students investigate the social aspects of health and illness and the consequence of these notions to medical practice. Topics covered might include the development of biomedicine, the “medicalization of behaviour”, cross-cultural and historical perspectives on the experience of pain and dying, gender and health and the social meaning of illness.
SOCI 3333  Social Movements    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine some of North America’s most socially transformative social movements. Drawing on social movement theories, students explore not only how and why people organize and mobilize to address perceived grievances, but also when such mobilizations are likely to occur, succeed, or fail.
SOCI 3336  Sociology of Work    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine several ongoing debates about social organization of work and well-being, including precarious employment, work intensification, emotional labour, work-family conflict, and distributive justice. Students also examine job conditions that are harmful to workers, resources that protect workers, and how we contextualize job conditions and situate them in broader systems of stratification.
SOCI 3343  Society as Drama    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum of grade of C)
Students explore the features of social life that depend on the human ability to imagine ourselves as others see us. Drawing specifically from the theoretical perspectives of George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman, students investigates symbolic interactionist approaches to the (re)construction of the self and the self-society relationship as a process of symbolic communications between social actors. Central to this course is the notion that as social actors we attempt to shape the impressions that others have of us by projecting images of ourselves that best serve our own objectives. In so doing, students define the social situation and create appropriate expectations of ourselves and others.
SOCI 3347  Sociology of Race and Ethnicity    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum of grade of C)
Students analyze racial, ethnic, and minority group structure and inter-group processes in different societies, with special emphasis given to Canadian society.
SOCI 3387  Women and Development    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minim grade of C)
Students examine the role of women in development including the changing structure of the division of labour by gender in different international, regional and community contexts, and the interaction between the economics and politics of class and gender in different societies at different levels of development. Students address issues such as: the incorporation of subsistence economies into modern market economies; the establishment of labour-intensive multinational industries, particularly those drawing on female labour; the relationship between the household and the formal and informal economies and patterns of female migration; and the role of women in the transition from rural to urban/industrial worlds.
SOCI 3422  Political Sociology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine prevalent theories and emerging approaches on political behaviour, change and institutions. Topics include voting behaviour, political parties, international relations, lobbying, political culture, political news media, etc.
SOCI 3423  Ethnic Conflict    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Ethnic conflict is a social force that is shaping our lives, society, and world history. Students use sociological theories and research to tackle some of the current debates and controversies related to ethnic conflicts, such as opposition to Canadian multiculturalism, Aboriginal protests in Canada, the rise of Islamophobia, the resurgence of the Far Right in Europe, attitudes towards and prevention of Islamic terrorism, and the impact of globalization on ethnic conflict escalation.
SOCI 3431  Women, Migration and Identity    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
In this course, students explore the interrelationship between the mobility and identity of migrant women under the current conditions of globalization. Through various theoretical paradigms, students examine how the identities of migrant women are shaped by gender, nation-states, labour markets, and other migrant and non-migrant groups.
SOCI 3491  Rural Sociology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Using the contrasting concepts of community and locality as focal points, students examine key sociological concepts and theories related to cohesion, exclusion, identity, gender, class, and power. Next students explore the theme of rural revitalization in the global context within which rural communities struggle for survival.

SOCI 3800 - 3825 Special Topics in Sociology
6 credit hours
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Course content varies from year to year.

SOCI 3826 - 3849 Special Topics in Sociology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Course content varies from year to year.

SOCI 3876 - 3899 Contemporary Issues in Sociology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
The course will provide an opportunity for students to study contemporary substantive issues in considerable depth and detail.

SOCI 4210  Forced Migration and Refugees    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students critically examine the key determinants, processes, and consequences of internal displacement and forced migration across borders through the analysis of case studies from around the world. Topics include, selectively, contemporary refugee issues, gender violence in conflict zones, resettlement, repatriation, refugees and development, asylum-seekers, and the Canadian and UN refugee protection systems and various international conventions.
SOCI 4224  Inequality and Human Suffering    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine the social, cultural, political, and environmental, moral consequences of contemporary economic conditions in Canada and around the world. Particular attention is paid to the history of social inequality as well as to the many ways people cope with and resist inequitable conditions.
SOCI 4314  Sociology of Knowledge and Science    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine the relation between knowledge and social context and conditions. Among the issues discussed will be the social origin of modern science, the roles of society and nature in the content of scientific knowledge, the relation between sociology, history, philosophy and the natural sciences; and the authority, trustworthiness and credibility of that knowledge called “scientific”.
SOCI 4382  Gender and International Migration    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
This is a course on the theory and practice of international migration taking an explicitly gendered perspective. Students discuss the conceptual and theoretical frameworks on migration and gender and migration; the history of selected migration movements with a focus on the role of women; women in the migratory process, employment and family issues; the impact/consequences of international migration on development; contemporary migration policies; forced migration and refugee issues; gender and trans-nationalism.
SOCI 4422  Women, Gender and Development: Theory and Method    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine the role of women and development in the Third World. Students discuss the interrelationship of various development and feminist theories; methodological approaches to the study of women and development will also be examined. Students are provided with a conceptual overview and practical tools for understanding the problems faced by women in developing countries.
SOCI 4423  Women, Gender and Development: Policy and Practice    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine case studies of the role of women in the development process in various Third World countries. Students analyze the gender dimensions of programs and policies that affect women in different international, regional and community contexts. Case studies will focus on a number of specific issues such as work, education, health and empowerment.
SOCI 4427  Sociology of Tourism    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Tourism comprises the largest international economic activity of our time. But is it a blessing or a curse? Utilizing a range of sociological perspectives, students explore the tourist experience. Topics include, typical types of mass tourism and diverse alternative tourisms.
SOCI 4461  Applied Survey Design    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students explore issues that arise in the design and administration of surveys. These issues include: questionnaire design, ethics, pre-testing, sampling and developing a theoretically informed formulation of the research question. Students cover several states from data collection to preliminary analysis. On-line surveys and use of surveys with focus groups may be included.
SOCI 4462  Advanced Statistics    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 3102 (with a minimum grade of C)
Advanced analysis of quantitative data in Sociology. Topics covered include: the concept of association between variables, measures of association, multivariate analyses, regression techniques, inferential statistics and the research report.
SOCI 4463  Theory-Based Data Analysis    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 3102 (with minimum grade of C), or with permission from the instructor
This is a second course in quantitative research methods in the social sciences. Students learn the tools to translate ideas into a coherent data analysis plan and learn how to execute the plan using statistical software. The course focuses on multivariate statistics and covers topics such as multiple regression, dichotomous predictors, mediation, and interactions.
SOCI 4501  Advanced Social Thought    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Presentation of various topics of interest to advanced sociology students. Attention is given to the critical theoretical accomplishments of various writers, including feminist scholars. Students consider particular theorists and such matters as constructing social theories, traditions of theoretical writing, and new directions and problems in the field.
SOCI 4600  Honours Thesis Research Preparation    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Enrolment in honours program.
Students prepare for their honours thesis through workshops related to proposals, research, service learning and writing.
SOCI 4601  Honours Thesis Writing    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Completion of SOCI 4600 (with a minimum grade of B+)
Students work closely with their supervisor to complete their thesis.

SOCI 4800 - 4825 Special Topics in Sociology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine questions within an area of specialization and study a particular sociological issue in detail.

SOCI 4826 -  4849 Special Topics in Sociology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: SOCI 1210 (with a minimum grade of C)
Students examine questions within an area of specialization and study a particular sociological issue in detail.