Sociology
| SOC 100 | Social Structures | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| The course systematically covers major topics and issues of concern to anyone who wishes to begin to understand and come to terms with the modern world in a personally and sociologically relevant way. The basic theme of the course is that we are, to a greater extent than generally imagined, produced, structured and run by the social machine or social or societal determinants. This structured aspect of society is comprised of institutions such as the family, religion, the mass media and education, for example, as well as rules, customs, laws, ideologies, etc. Our society is also embedded with structural inequalities related to gender, social class and ethnicity. Utilizing what has been termed "the sociological imagination," the course looks at how we are influenced by these aspects of society and in turn how we react to these influences. | ||
| Note: Both SOC 100 and SOC 101 are required for students intending to major in Sociology at SFU or UBC. | ||
| SOC 101 | Concepts and Theories of Society | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| With current social conditions in mind, this course analyzes the general development of sociological thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will look at a variety of sociological theories and approaches to understanding society (structural functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminism, and others) and employ these approaches to analyze events of current interest, importance and impact in society. | ||
| Note: Both SOC 100 and SOC 101 are required for students intending to major in Sociology at SFU or UBC. | ||
| SOC 200 | Canadian Society | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 101 | ||
| An introduction to the study of Canadian society and culture, including an analysis of the major Canadian institutions studied on a national basis, with special emphasis on the dynamics of change in a complex multicultural society. Issues that explore the intersection of state, capital and labour with gender, class and ethnicity will be discussed as they relate to such concerns as multiculturalism, Aboriginal peoples and Quebec society. | ||
| Note: This course serves as a Canadian Studies credit. | ||
| SOC 201 | The Paradox of Plenty: Social Inequality in BC | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 101 | ||
| A sociological approach to the dynamics of Canadian society with special emphasis on British Columbia. Close attention will be given to economic, historical and cultural developments which have shaped British Columbia from its early years into a modern industrial society. Contemporary social questions surrounding such issues as education, health, labour, Native land claims, and resource questions will be discussed. | ||
| Note: This course serves as a Canadian Studies credit. | ||
| SOC 210 | Current Social Issues | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 101 | ||
| A study of social concerns and cultural problems common to current conditions in the 20th century in our society and in global perspective. Classical sociological concepts will be used to examine current social issues in a global framework of political, economic, and cultural analysis. The course may explore an array of social issues or have a specific emphasis on a particular concern (e.g. popular culture, or sociology of sport). Current issues are placed in the context of the student's daily world, as it is happening now, to develop the student's sociological imagination. | ||
| SOC 211 | Sociology of the Global South | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| A study of the major theories of development and under-development, social, cultural and political responses to under-development, and the interrelationship of social institutions in and between the "developed" and "under-developed" societies. This course will provide students with an opportunity to better understand the social, economic and political causes and effects of under-development. Both sociological and " non-sociological" literature on the impact of globalization on Third World Societies will be considered. This course may be taken by itself or as a complement to SOC. 210, Current Social Issues. | ||
| SOC 222 | Sociology of the Arts | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 101 | ||
| A sociological study of art and artists in western and non-western societies. The course will relate the various art forms (painting, music, literature) to the social context in which they exist and to their social production; hence it will develop an understanding of the interrelationships between ideas (aesthetic codes), social institutions, cultural politics and political economy. This course is particularly recommended as a complement to SOC. 101 or 223. | ||
| SOC 223 | Media and Society | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: SOC 100 or 101 | ||
| An intensive study of the relationship between a society's communication systems as media and its technological, economic and political base, its ideology, its behaviour patterns and its cultural life. This will encompass current forms of television, radio, magazines, all forms of advertisement, news production and films. This course is particularly recommended as a complement to SOC. 222 or 100. | ||
| SOC 300 | The Sociology of Consumer Culture | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: 45 lower level credits including one SOC course | ||
| This course looks at the construction of consumer culture in contemporary society. Specific attention is paid to the processes by which consumer culture is created, reproduced and sustained through the media and advertising. This course is situated in the historical and current debates on ideology, political economy and capitalism. It will also examine the processes by which the role of consumer is created and the impact and implications on personal identity and self. | ||
| SOC 351 | Modernism, Postmodernism, and Society | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: A minimum of 45 lower level credits including SOC 101 | ||
| Sociological tradition argues that empirical social science can be used as a tool to change society for the better. "Postmodern" social theories emerged in the 1970s to criticize these mainstream assumptions, about rational science, revolutionary politics, and the "grand narrative" of progress. The debate continues, and this course will provide an overview of the social theories involved and the social changes that provide the context for these theories. | ||
| SOC 352 | Marxism and Social Theory | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: Minimum of 45 lower level credits including SOC 101 | ||
| While Karl Marx's ideas seemed to collapse with the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, this course will argue that Marx is better seen as a critic of capitalism rather than a theorist of communism. His analysis of subjects such as class struggle, the magical lure of commodities, and the spread of globalization remain relevant today. Indeed, many contemporary thinkers have taken Marx's ideas and reworked them in ways that provide an original and critical view of our society. | ||