The Senior Capstone Experience in sociology is a significant piece of independent research, generally in the form of a thesis, undertaken by each senior with the guidance and mentorship of a department faculty member. The SCE integrates the diverse learning that students have accomplished throughout their undergraduate years, not only within the major, but also across the liberal arts and sciences. The range both of topics and methods is broad. The Capstone Experience is based on a topic of the student's choosing, with the guidance of a faculty member to assure that it is both significant and capable of completion in the time available. Work on the Sociology Capstone is supported by some of the work of the Sociology Senior Seminar, SOC 491, taken during the fall semester. A more extensive description of the SCE is available from the department chair. Discussion of a joint thesis, undertaken by a student with two majors, can be found in the section Double Majors, Minors, and Concentrations/Specializations within the Academic Program portion of this Catalog.

Introduction to basic concepts and theories in sociology concerning the nature of society, culture, and personality. Consideration of social processes, groups, and institutions found in modern American society. Specific topics include deviance and social control, social networks, bureaucracy, families, education, race, social class and gender.

This course introduces the major concepts, tools, and debates of Public Health through an exploration of issues in this interdisciplinary field including health inequities, historical and ongoing strategies for control of communicable and noncommunicable diseases, and connections between social structures and the distribution of disease from a Public Health perspective. Students acquire basic knowledge, attitudes, and skills that are important for Public Health practice. This course is one of the two required courses for the Public Health minor.

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise. Graded A-F and Pass/Fail.

This course studies historical aspects of family formation and function as well as contemporary patterns of the institution and individual experiences. Theory and research dealing with courtship, marriage, children and parenting, and disorganization of the modern family is examined.

Course examines sex, gender, sexuality, and their intersections with other statuses. The effects of gender on individuals' statuses and opportunity structures is considered as are the impacts of interactions and institutional patterns. Focus on contemporary American responses to sex and gender.

This course examines the structure of social stratification in the U.S. from various perspectives and from micro- and macro-levels of analysis. This course is based on the seven statuses (race, social class, gender, physical/mental ability, religion, sexual orientation and age) that most significantly determine who gets what in American society. Historical and contemporary examples highlighted in readings and discussion range from medicine, law, education, the family, the military, housing, food security, and other.

An overview of how scholars of sociology and criminology analyze and understand the frequency of crime, criminal patterns, varieties of criminal offending, characteristics of criminal offenders, and theories of criminal offending. This course covers the core concepts related to criminological study, the nature and frequency of crime, patterns of criminal offending, victims, public fear of crime, criminological theory, and the critical evaluation of different types of crimes including violent, economic, public disorder, and terrorism.

Examines reciprocal relationships of society and the individual, and of the nature of face-to-face human interaction. Introduces key concepts, theories, and methodologies of sociological social psychology. Students read, analyze, and perform research that explores the ways in which society affects individuals and groups; how individuals and groups, reciprocally, influence society; how individuals interpret and negotiate the social world; and the influence individuals and groups have on others.

Global Health Disparities offers a cross cultural comparative analysis of the definitions of health and health care delivery, as well as an overview of specific chronic and acute health issues. The course addresses global health broadly and focuses on global health disparity. We analyze disparity with a multidisciplinary perspective, evaluating the political, economic, and sociocultural aspects of health inequality. This course is one of the two required courses for the Public Health minor.

The department encourages students with prior courses in sociology to develop, with a member of the department, internship opportunities. Students interested in pursuing internships should read Internships and Other opportunities, in this Catalog. In addition to the requirements listed there, interns should expect to write a paper describing their experiences, as relevant to sociology, and connected to a reading list to be developed and agreed upon by the intern and the supervising faculty member. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 and permission of the department chair. 45 hours are required per credit.

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise. Graded A-F and Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student, researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted on campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student, researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted on campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required per credit.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student allowing the student to study a topic of interest that is presently not offered at WC. 45 hours are required per credit.

The study of the leading social thinkers from 1800 to the present and the associated theoretical perspectives with an emphasis on contemporary applications of sociological theory.

Introduction to the methods used in studying society. Selection of research topic, experimental design, sampling, methods of data collection, statistical analysis of findings.

Washington Center Interns participate in an evening seminar selected from a variety of topics offered during the semester. STudents engage in class discussion and may also research seminar topics, prepare written asignments, and take examinarions. Required of and limited to students enrolled in SOC 327. Three credits.

Washington Center Interns participate in lectures, site visits, small group discussions, briefings, and other required events designed to help them understand the connection between their academic and professional goals and the special educational opportunities available through living and working in Washington, DC. Evaluations of these experiences are included in the student portfolio. Required of and limited to students enrolled in SOC 327. One credit.

Victimology broadens criminological scholarship by focusing on the vitims, rather that the perpetrators of crime. Students are introduced to the multifaceted issue of victimization in the U.S. including victimization theories, trends in criminal victimization, treatment of victims in the criminal justice system, victim support issues, and the victimization of certain subgroups in the population.

This course explores variant behavior in a variety of contexts including crime, body modifications, gender and sexual identity, and health behaviors. We regard deviance not as bad behavior, but as behavior contrary to norms. Deviance is examined as a conceptual category that is socially constructed by interactions and reactions to certain types of behavior be they biological, social, or both. Students analyze the processes and social agencies that define, detect, and sanction variant behavior over time.

This course examines four major questions associated with punishment in the United States: 1.) Why do we punish? 2.) Who do we punish? 3.) How do we punish? 4.) What are the consequences of punishment? To answer these questions, students explore ideas related to sociology, criminology philosophy, law, history, to assess the ethics and utility of punishment and the problems punishment creates for society and offenders.

This course places women at the forefront when examining all facets of crime, victimization, and the institutions that handle both victims and offenders. To fully explore the issue, this course is split into four units that explore women as victims, women as perpetrators, women who are in custody of the criminal justice system, and women who work in the criminal justice system.

This course explores a broad range of topics related to gang activity in the United States and abroad. Topics include: historical, theoretical and socioeconomic processes leading to gang formation, gang activities and typologies, gang membership and organization, gender roles within gangs, and social problems associated with gangs.

A sociological exploration of youth, crime, and the juvenile justice system in the United States. A wide variety of topics are covered, including the history, philosophy and contemporary context of the juvenile court, shifting patterns and trends relative to juvenile offending and crime, sociological theories accounting for involvement and deterrence from juvenile delinquency, the application of the rule of law to juvenile offending, and the effectiveness of rehabilitative programming in response to youthful offenders. The course covers the history of adolescence, youth culture, explanations for delinquency, the effects of race, class, and gender on delinquency, the relationship between institutions, particularly family and school, and delinquency and the interaction between juveniles and the criminal justice system.

This course will apply the sociological perspective to various topics regarding mental health and illness. The course will cover topics such as the social construction of mental illness, the social epidemiology and epidemiology of mental illness, labeling and stigma of those with a mental illness, and mental health policy/treatment.

This class explores the human dimension of ecosystem science. We use environmental sociology as a framework for understanding the dynamic relationship between humans and the environment, trends in environmental policy and public opinion, environmentalism as a social movement, human-induced environmental decline, and environmental justice. Students explore how changes in ecosystems influence the achievability and sustainability of societal values such as security from natural disasters, health, good social relations, and freedom to pursue personal and cultural interests.

This course offers students a broad understanding of contemporary social problems and the social welfare policies, programs and services designed to address them. The history, individual and social consequences, and programmatic approaches to the amelioration of each social problem area is explored. A primary goal of this course is to introduce students to the profession of social work: its fields of practice, values and ethics. This course integrates core social work competencies and has particular relevance to students considering practice, administrative or policy careers in the helping professions.

The department encourages students with prior courses in sociology to develop, with a member of the department, internship opportunities. Students interested in pursuing internships should read Internships and Other opportunities, in this Catalog. In addition to the requirements listed there, interns should expect to write a paper describing their experiences, as relevant to sociology, and connected to a reading list to be developed and agreed upon by the intern and the supervising faculty member. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 and permission of the department chair. 45 hours are required per credit.

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise. Graded A-F and Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student allowing the student to study a topic of interest that is presently not offered at WC. 45 hours are required per credit.

This course examines the expectations, opportunities, and rewards as well as the limitations that men and women face in paid and unpaid labor. The historical contexts of work, the intersection of race and gender, the balancing of paid and unpaid labor, and global patterns of work with respect to gender are studied.

This course evaluates the social, psychological, and biological changes that occur with aging and how these changes affect interactions between older people and their family, friends, home, community, and society. Special attention is given to the sociological aspects of aging and the impact the increasing older adult population has on the US today. The course takes classroom learning and apply it to real world experiences through a significant service-learning project. Students should be prepared to spend 20 hours in a community-based project during the course of the semester.

An examination of bodies as a source of power, repression, and subjugation, a medium for expression, and an entity to be controlled. This course investigates how the body is influenced by social forces, the meanings attached to the body and particular body parts, the ways in which we experience our own bodies in contemporary society, and the significance of the body for the discipline of sociology. Includes study of characteristics such as body size, physical ability, race, and sex as well as various forms of elected or forced body modification.

A study of the organization and operation of social agencies. Field experience in welfare work under professional supervision.

A study of the organization and operation of social agencies. Field experience in welfare work under professional supervision.

The department encourages students with prior courses in sociology to develop, with a member of the department, internship opportunities. Students interested in pursuing internships should read Internships and Other opportunities, in this Catalog. In addition to the requirements listed there, interns should expect to write a paper describing their experiences, as relevant to sociology, and connected to a reading list to be developed and agreed upon by the intern and the supervising faculty member. Prerequisite: Sociology 101 and permission of the department chair. 45 hours are required per credit.

Students will meet for 75 minutes each week in the fall semester of their senior year for general guidance in the Capstone process, for integration of the undergraduate educational experience, and for guidance in the transition from undergraduate study to employment and to post-BA academic work. Participation in the Senior Seminar is a requirement of the major and counts towards the overall SCE grade.

Topics not regularly offered in a department's normal course offerings, chosen based on current student interest and faculty expertise. Graded A-F and Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student, researching a topic of interest that is relevant to a student's major or minor. Research is conducted on campus. Students must be enrolled before the research can begin. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required per credit.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty member and a student allowing the student to study a topic of interest that is presently not offered at WC. 45 hours are required per credit.