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Course Numbers
Guide to numbering
system:
• 1000s introduction – open to students with no prior credits
in sociology
• 2000s open to students who have 6 credit hours in sociology at
1000 level
• 3000s open to students who have 6 credit hours in sociology at
2000 level
• 4000s open to students who have completed required courses for
the Major insociology – specifically SOCI 2013 and SOCI 3013 and
SOCI 3023
• Last digits represent number of credit hours for the course
• Students who do not have the number of credit hours in sociology
required for senior courses, may be admitted at the discretion of the
instructor.
1006. Introduction to Sociology
A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology
with particular reference to Canadian Society. It examines theories
and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial
society; the relations between important structures or elements of society,
including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations,
racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several
major heoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the
course. 6 credit hours.
2013. Research Methods (NATI)
An introduction to the main research techniques used in sociology. The
course will include practical experience in research design, methods
of data collection, sampling procedures, and analysis of data. 3 credit
hours.
2023. Introduction to Statistics (NATI)
An introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics. The main
emphasis will be on the use and meaning of the principal statistics
used in sociology and social work. 3 credit hours.
Note: This course may not be taken for credit by students who
already have received credit for an introductory statistics course in
another discipline at STU or from another university.
2106. Canadian Society
The purpose of this course will be to give the student an understanding
of the operation and functioning of the society in which we live. The
configuration of Canadian institutions will be analyzed, including an
examination of their historical patterns of development. 6 credit hours.
2116. Sociology of Atlantic Canada
This course is designed as an introduction to the sociological study
of Atlantic Canada. The first term focuses on the development of the
Maritimes and Newfoundland from mercantile societies to under-developed
regions within the centralized Canadian economy. The second term
focuses on the contemporary structure, problems, and issues of Atlantic
Canadian society. 6 credit hours.
2213. Society and Ecology
This course is an introduction to the sociological study of environmental
problems and the issues they raise, using C. Wright Mills' notion of
the 'sociological imagination. 3 credit hours.
2313. Deviance (GEND; CRIM)
Review of theory and research, with a focus on the social basis of deviance,
deviance construction, and the consequences of social reactions to selected
forms of deviance. 3 credit hours.
2416. Inequality in Society (GEND)
This course explores existing patterns of social inequality and debates
concerning the possibility and desirability of greater equality. Taking
a theoretical and historical focus, we examine the changing nature of
inequality in contemporary Canadian society in the context of globalization.
Throughout, we develop our understanding of how different forms of inequality
- particularly social class, gender and race - intersect. One section
of the course may have a service learning requirement, where students
engage in volunteer work in the community, and then reflect upon
their experiences through reading, writing, and discussion. 6 credit
hours.
2423. Social Problems I — Sociological Perspectives (GEND)
The various perspectives used by sociologists to examine social problems
will be described and evaluated. Concrete social problems will be examined
to illustrate the use of these perspectives. 3 credit hours.
2433. Social Problems II — Canadian Social Problems (GEND)
Several current Canadian social problems will be examined from the above
perspectives. Problems include: poverty, minorities, Canadian identity,
the effects of urbanization, and technology, etc. Prerequisite: SOCI
2423.
3 credit
hours.
2443. Race and Ethnic Relations
This course examines theories and descriptions of race and ethnic relations,
focussing on the general concepts of the role of race and ethnicity
in social organization and stratification. Concrete situations in contemporary
social systems will be discussed. 3 credit hours.
2513. Sociology of Communication
This course will consider the mass media, principally print and electronic
media, their place in and impact upon Canadian society. Various perspectives
and related research will be considered with respect to the effects
on social relations of these as technologies per se; the control
and ownership of the media; the social organization of the production
of news, "facts", statistics, and other "messages";
and the themes expressed in the "popular culture" as conveyed
by the media. Underlying concerns are the social construction of what-is-taken-to-be
reality and the language that is used in the conveying of messages.
3 credit hours.
2523. The Sociology of Aging (GEND) (GERO)
This course will explore the comparative situation of older women and
men in different cultures and different historical periods within western
societies. The cultural and social-structural determinants of their
changing status will be examined through alternative theoretical perspectives
within sociology. The social construction of ‘elderly' as a status
will be explored through
how older people are perceived,described, talked about, and interacted
with, in everyday behaviour and how these relations may be ‘negotiated'
by the elderly themselves. The political economy of aging focuses upon
disparities of income, and the determinants and effects of poverty on
the lives of older people. 3 credit hours.
2543. Sociology of Religion
This course focuses on the relations between the beliefs and institutionalized
practices that people hold sacred, and contemporary community life.
We will explore the contradictory trends of mass secularism and the
rise of religious fundamentalism, and the practices through which people
collectively mobilize to sustain, challenge, and change religious identities.
We explore the question raised by Durkheim: If religion expresses and
reinforces community solidarity, how can modern societies accommodate
religious diversity? How are religions implicated in
political struggles, the women's movement, nationalism, and war? 3 credit
hours.
2613. Sociology of Gender (GEND)
This course will focus, in depth, on particular aspects of the social
processes shaping, and shaped by, female and male roles such as gender
and power, gender and social structure of work, and feminist social
movements. 3 credit hours.
2623. Women in the Third World (ECON 2303) (GEND)
This course will critically examine the role of women in the Third World.
It will concentrate largely on the changes in these roles and their
correspondence with the transition from traditional to new forms of
economic organization, production, and power. 3 credit hours.
2633. Sociology of the Family (GEND)
A critical analysis of various conceptual frameworks in family research,
and a cross-cultural analysis of marriage and the family, both past
and present. Particular attention will be paid to the current developments
in marriage arrangements, changes in the meaning of marriage and the
family, as well as the future of the family. 3 credit hours.
2643. Selected Topics on the Political Economy of Women
(ECON 2223) (GEND)
This is a seminar course examining, in depth, selected topics on the
political economy of women. Potential topics include women as paid workers,
domestic labour, and women and poverty. 3 credit hours.
3013. Classical Sociological Theory
A study of the classical tradition in sociological thought focussing
on those theorists whose ideas constitute the foundation of contemporary
sociological analysis. This will include a consideration of the work
of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, among others. 3 credit hours.
3023. Modern Sociological Theory
A study of modern developments in sociological theory, focussing on
major trends and their interrelationships, and on contemporary theoretical
issues and controversies. Prerequisite: SOCI 3013. 3 credit hours.
3033. Seminar in Research Strategies
This course provides experience in designing individual research projects.
Participants will review studies across a variety of subject matter
and research strategies - surveys, content analysis, discourse analysis,
symbolic interaction, institutional ethnography, oral tradition, and
the like. Special attention will be given to how sociologists link theoretical
questions to empirical evidence. Students will select a subject and
research strategy, and design a research proposal. This course is especially
recommended for students planning to take Honours in Sociology as it
provides an opportunity to develop a thesis research proposal. 3 credit
hours.
3043. Qualitative Research Methods
This course provides a methodological grounding in qualitative analysis
and familiarity with the critiques of more conventional methods. Through
class assignments, students will gain handson experience of fieldwork
and begin to observe some of the features of social relations. Fieldwork
may include ethnomethodological experiments in disrupting "normal
environments",
in-depth interviews, institutional ethnography, and the like. 3 credit
hours.
3113. Political Sociology
This course will focus on the type of political system known as liberal
democracy. Particular emphasis will be placed on the historical genesis
of liberal democracy, on its structural dynamics, and on the role of
the working class within the system. The examination will include an
analysis of the sources of stablity and cleavage governing the development
of liberal democracies. Finally, the functioning of liberal democracies
will be contrasted with that of communist political systems. 3 credit
hours.
3123. Social Movements
The emphasis of this course will be on one specific type of social movement—movements
of political protest. We shall concentrate on two sorts of questions:
(1) the structural conditions conducive to the development of movements
of political protest and (2) the factors conditioning the actual mobilization
of protest. Although the social movements examined will be diverse,
ranging from the Rumanian rebellion in 1907 to the rebellion of 1837
in Upper Canada, special emphasis will be placed on the almost simultaneous
appearance of both left and right wing
populist protest in Western Canada. 3 credit hours.
3133. Sociology of Work
Analysis of work and socio-economic origins of various work categories
as occupations and their relationship to changes in the social organization
of production. The relationship of various occupations to the class
and power structure of society will be examined together with processes
of recruitment, socialization, and control. 3 credit hours.
3153. The Political Sociology of War
Competing theories about the origin and nature of war from different
disciplines and traditions are introduced, and a sociological approach
to war as an intersocietal political institution of long-standing and
extending across the evolution of many social systems is developed.
The effects of the institution of war on contemporary societies are
examined, the utility of war in the age of nuclear weapons is questioned,
and the social movements that have arisen to challenge the institution
of war are scrutinized. 3 credit hours.
3163. Development Issues
This course focuses on current concerns, debates, and issues regarding
social, economic, and political change in an effort to better understand
varying levels of development throughout the world. The course examines
different development models, theories, and goals. The course pays particular
attention to historical processes and prospects for the future. Topics
may include: the debt crisis, food security and GMO foods, over/underconsumption,
the social impacts of structural adjustment programmes, and the global
economy. 3 credit hours.
3313. Sociology of Law (CRIM)
This course will critically examine law from various sociological perspectives.
The course is designed to cover sociological jurisprudence and selected
theories of law; an examination of administration of law and justice,
especially criminal law with particular reference to Canada;
and the social impact of critical work in this area. Prerequisite: SOCI
2313. 3 credit hours.
3323. The Sociology of Women and Law (GEND)
This course will explore the relationship of women to the state and
to law. The ways in which criminal and family law influence gender relations
in society will be analyzed, including the implications of legal intervention
and non-intervention in family relations. Sex-specific and sexrelated
legislation concerning such issues as sexual harassment, rape, pornography,
and affirmative action, will also be examined. Theoretical concepts
and issues, such as the position of women within capitalism, patriarchy,
sexuality and reproduction, formal and informal control, will be addressed.
3 credit hours.
3333. Social Control and Social Justice (CRIM)
This course will provide a critical examination of theories of social
control highlighting the tension between the requisites of social control
on the one hand and the ideals of social justice on the other. Though
emphasis will be placed on legal control by means of the criminal justice
system, some attention will be devoted to alternate modes of social
control such as that realized through the institutional, organizational,
and bureaucratic processes associated with professionalization, medicalization,
and victimization. 3 credit hours.
3413. Employment Equity Policy and Gender Inequality at Work (GEND)
This is an advanced course on the organization of gender inequality
in the labour force and the policies aimed at creating equal opportunities
for women. We begin by studying how gender segregation is organized
in the occupations of teaching, clerical work, and other professions.
Secondly, the course examines from a sociological perspective, the federal
and provincial government policies which are aimed at the equal and
fair treatment of individuals regardless of sex: pay equity legislation,
employment equity programmes, contractual provisions and human
rights legislation on fair employment practices. 3 credit hours.
3513. Sociology of Education
The focus of this course will be on the nature of the relationship between
school systems and the broader societies of which they are a part. This
will be done with two purposes in mind: (1) to determine both the structural
configuration and the functions of education in contemporary society
and (2) to demonstrate the effects of this relationship on the internal
functioning of schools. Accordingly, we shall examine a variety of theoretical
perspectives whose intent it is to conceptualize the school-society
connection. Of particular concern will be structural functionalism,
cultural reproduction theories, and theories of correspondence. Each
will be considered in some detail, especially in terms of the constraints
and limitations placed on education by the social structure. 3 credit
hours.
3523. Sociology of Knowledge
This course is concerned with the social organization of knowledge.
The focus is on the political and public social processes and contexts
in which local and ruling forms of knowledge are produced. For the purposes
of this course, knowledge may range from common sense and popular culture
to ideology, science, and information. Topics may include the connection
between knowledge and power and how they are controlled by states, corporations,
and professions, and the implications of the nature and distribution
of print and electronic information. This course combines discussion
of major theorists as well as an examination of current issues.
3 credit hours.
3533. Science and Scientific Knowledge (STS 3533)
This course examines the study of science and scientific knowledge from
a sociological perspective. It focuses on the effort of the Edinburgh
School to provide a materialist resolution to the debate between positivist
and relativist epistemologies. 3 credit hours.
3563. Sociology of Music (FNAR)
This course combines a number of macro- and micro-sociological perspectives
on music. The former refers to the wider socio-cultural context in which
music is produced, distributed, and listened to. It includes the social
functions and uses of music ranging from rituals and ceremonies
to its political-economic organization in "cultural industries".
Forms of music, such as the functional harmony vs. the Afro-American
traiditons, area related to forms of society. Micro perspectives analyze
how performers create and make music together in terms of the interaction
among musicians, audience, and conductor. The practices of improvisation
and maintaining synchrony will be examined principally in both classical
and jazz contexts. Prerequisite: permission of the course instructor
or the Director of the Centre for Musical Arts, UNB. 3 credit hours.
3573. Sociology of Art and Culture (FNAR)
Employing both classical and contemporary sociological perspectives,
this course will explore the nature of art in society by looking at
how art objects are produced, distributed, and consumed. Theoretical
perspectives will be related to historical and contemporary examples
from a range of artistic media (e.g., pictorial art, film, photography,
literature, and music) to expose
the interplay between art and society. The relationship between the
fine arts and popular culture will be examined, as well as the role
of technology in the various arts.
3903. Elite Deviance
This course challenges the prevailing conception of the deviant "outsider,"
shifting the focus from the criminality of the poor or disadvantaged
to the criminality of the elite. Specific emphasis will be on how organizations
act to cause social harm, and the very different problems for crime
prevention and control that organizations pose compared to individual
deviants. Both
corporate and governmental deviance will be explored.
4006. Honours Thesis
The Honours thesis is a scholarly essay or research paper on a topic
chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty committee composed
of a Director and two additional advisers. When completed, the thesis
is read and graded by this thesis committee. A minimum grade of B is
required. 6 credit hours.
4013. Senior Seminar
The senior seminar is a one-semester course, required for a Major degree
in sociology, which is to be taken in the final year of study. The course
will be organized around substantive issues, with the different sections
being devoted to different topics. These will be addressed as puzzles
or lines of inquiry that explore current concerns. Students will be
expected to bring the knowledge they have acquired of the competing
traditions of sociological inquiry to bear on that theme. This course
will be conducted as a seminar, with students taking responsibility
for researching, presenting, and discussing material. Regular attendance
and active participation will be emphasized. 1st and 2nd semesters.
Limited enrolment (approximately 15) in each section. 3 credit hours.
4023. Honours Workshop
This is a required course for Honours students in their final year.
Enrolment is restricted to such students. The course is organized around
two sets of activities: 1) workshops oriented to the development of
knowledge and skills directly applicable to the process of thesis research,
covering such topics as ethical decision-making in social research,
practical problems in collecting and analyzing research material, writing
in social research and 2) student presentations of thesis proposals,
progress reports, and final results. Entry of non-Sociology students
is with permission of instructor. 3 credit hours.
4033. Advanced Sociological Theory
A critical examination of selected orientations from contemporary sociological
theory. The implications of these perspectives, for both the nature
of sociological inquiry and the prevailing models of society, will be
considered. Prerequisite: SOCI 3013, 3023. 3 credit hours.
4043/4053. Independent Study
A programme on independent study under the direction of a member of
the faculty selected by the student. It is designed for students who
wish to pursue an area of special interest through reading, research,
and writing. 3 or 6 credit hours, depending on the project.
NOTE: Not all courses listed are offered each year.
Please consult with the Department Chair for more information
about current and planned course offerings.
UNB Courses
Available
The University of New Brunswick offers a number of courses in sociology
which are not available at St. Thomas. Students at St. Thomas are eligible
to take these courses with the approval of the Department. UNB courses
at the 1000 level shall not normally count as equivalent to SOCI 1006
for a Major in sociology. Students may not count more than 6 credit
hours at the 1000 level towards a Major in sociology. For further information,
please consult the UNB calendar.
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