SOCI 211 - Principles of Sociology

3 Credits: (3 lecture)

Course Description
This course is an overview of the scientific study of sociology and will focus on the systematic understanding of social interaction, social organization, social institutions, and social change. This course meets the General Education competency of Values, Ethics, and Diverse Perspectives (VEPD).

Text
Witt, J. (2024). Soc (Rev 24). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Inc. 

Objectives
The student will be able to: 

A. Identify the various social institutions and processes operating in society. 

B. Define basic sociological concepts such as society, culture, groups, personality, social structure, and social change. 

C. Examine ethical problems from a variety of social and professional perspectives (VEDP) 

D. Examine the complexity of global humanity diversity and the various forces that shape it. (VEDP) 

E. Utilize the sociological method of investigation to study important sociological phenomena in our nation. 

Content
A. Sociological Research 

B. Culture 

C. Socialization 

D. Social Structure  

E. Deviance 

F. Families 

G. Education  

H. Religion 

I. Economics  

J. Politics 

K. Social Class and Inequality 

L. Gender and Sexuality 

M. Race and Ethnicity 

N. Population Demographics 

O. Social Change 

Student Evaluation
A. Objective tests and essays 

B. Objective tests and essays 

C. Objective tests, applied activities, essays, and Student Questionnaire on Global Learning and Ethical Reasoning 

D. Objective tests, applied activities, essays, and Student Questionnaire on Global Learning and Ethical Reasoning 

E. Group Project Bibliography
Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan S. Turner. (2000). The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. London: Penguin. 

Allan, Kenneth. (2006). Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. 

Durkheim, E., Lukes, S., & Halls, W. D. (2014). The rules of sociological method: And selected texts on sociology and its method. New York: Free Press. 

Mills, C. W. (2000). The sociological imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

McCammon, H. J., Taylor, V., Reger, J., & Einwohner, R. L. (2017). The Oxford handbook of U.S. Women’s Social Movement Activism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 

Oluo, I. (2020). So you want to talk about race. New York: Seal Press. 

Turner, J. (2003). The Structure of Sociological Theory. 7th ed. Belmont, CA:  

Thompson/Wadsworth. 

Wilkerson, I. (2021). Caste: The origins of our discontents. Waterville, ME: Thorndike Press.