Section
Eastern University Sociology
Sociology Students

NEW: Tony Campolo teaching SOC 320 in spring, 2012!

Course Descriptions

SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
The nature of society with special emphasis on the basic concepts, social processes, social institutions and social change.

SOC 105 Contemporary Social Problems
Selected social problems such as poverty, ethnic relations, the population explosion and pollution are examined. How sociological insights can inform Christian value judgments concerning social structural conditions will be emphasized.

SOC 205 Introduction to the City
This foundational course introduces students to the city. This course gives students "first hand' experience in the city through a variety of field trips, excursions, and personal assignments in the City of Philadelphia. A wide seledtion of topics, lectures, and readings are explored pertaining to the urban context. Lab fee.

SOC 220 Social Statistics
An introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics employed in the social sciences.  This course emphasizes the organizing, calculating, and interpreting of data.

SOC 245 Socialization and Group Relations
This course (a) explores the process of socialization across different social environments and how, through this process, people construct their sense of reality, values, and worldviews, (b) examines intergroup processes focusing on the sociocognitive, motivation, prejudice, language, social status, and cultural factors in these intergroup processes with the objective of learning about how socialization is a springboard for these determinants of people’s roles in intergroup processes, and (c) analyzes socialization contexts and how these contexts frame people’s worldviews, thought patterns, and service orientations. Prerequiste: minimum grade of C in SOC 100.

SOC 305 Collective Behaviors
This course will review national and international social movements in the context of recent social movement theory and research, considering whether they reflect Christ’s call to usher in the Kingdom of God.  Prerequisite:  Minimum grade of C in SOC 100.

SOC 312 Majority/Minority Relations
This course focuses on the nature of relationships between the privileged and underprivileged across race, gender, and class.  This course attempts to understand these subgroups in terms of their socio-political heritage, their lifestyles, their social identities, and their social circumstances. A wide variety of subgroups - such as racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, class, religious, and age populations - in the American society are examined.

SOC 315 Social Stratification
The course deals with the unequal and stratified distribution of wealth, income, social power and life changes in society, focusing on how class, race/ethnicity and gender pattern these uniquely and in interlocking ways.  Prerequisite:  Minimum grade of C in SOC 100.

SOC 318 Research Methodology
A survey of research methods employed in the social sciences. Emphases will include theory construction, measurement and data gathering techniques, sampling, data analysis and research ethics. Prerequisite: Six hours credit in sociology and/or anthropology with minimum grades of C.

SOC 320 Church-Based Economic Development
This course will survey models for the organization of macro and micro entrepreneurship programs in the context of urban churches. The theological dimensions of small group development will also be explored. The purpose of this course is to develop a rudimentary model for micro economic programs in a church setting.

SOC 321 Crime and Delinquency
A critical analysis of various theories of crime and delinquency, emphasizing how well the theories explain empirical data. The implications of theory for treatment will be examined. Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 100 or permission of department.

SOC 322 Criminal Justice
This course will attempt to convey an understanding of how the criminal law actually operates. It will deal in part with the following areas: the concept of punishment, role of the police, the role of the attorney, bail, trials, pleas, sentencing and corrections. One objective of the course is to raise questions about the purposes of the criminal law and how those purposes can best be realized in modern society. Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 100 or POS 103 or permission of department chair. May count as a Political Science course.

SOC 340 Urban Sociology
The course is designed to cover the basic concepts of urban sociology. Special attention will be given to problems related to the contemporary urban crises such as ethnic tensions, poverty and environmental degradation.

SOC 350 Poverty, Oppression and Development in Africa
The course deals with why Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, is mired with poverty, oppression, and underdevelopment, and discusses the alternative development approaches and strategies sub-Sahara African communities could follow. Recommended for juniors and seniors.

SOC 370 Immigration and Transnationalism
This course is a critical examination of immigration as a social phenomenon. It draws upon the tools of sociological theory and research to analyze causes, contours and repercussions of migration flows worldwide, while focusing more specifically on contemporary immigration in the United States.  Modes of incorporation, patterns of assimilation and mobility, and second generation trends are some of the issues of interest in the course. Also of interest are increasingly intense patterns of transnationalism among immigrant groups and individuals, whether in terms of politics, religion, citizenship or other.  The impact and significance of these and other dimensions of today’s immigration are considered. Recommended for juniors and seniors.

SOC 373 Social Institutions and Justice
The course explores the social justice opportunities and shortfalls in the social institutions of religion, economy, politics, education, family, healthcare, and entertainment. We examine the nature and how each social institution operates with the objective of identifying the opportunities and shortfalls in the practice of social justice in the institution. We draw upon Biblical insights and sociological arguments to explain how social institutions have compromised social justice, and propose ways of how they can uphold social justice.  Prerequisite:  Minimum grade of C in SOC 100 and must be at least a junior.

SOC 374 Sociology of Religion
A survey of major sociological theories of religion. Topics include theories of conversion and retention, rational choice theory, new religious movements and cults. Class will consider the secularization debate and recent theories of religious growth. Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 100 and one other sociology course.

SOC 375 Social Change and Globalization
This course is an exploration of major transformations and processes that underscore and inform human social experience in the (post-) modern world, whether at the local, national or global levels.  Its approach is primarily an analytical rather than exhaustive one.  That is, the course does not attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of social change throughout human history.  Instead, it seeks to make use of the tools of sociological inquiry to gain understanding of some of the essential dimensions of social change that affect our lives today.  Examples include changes related to the environment, population growth and movement, colonialism and post-colonialism, development and underdevelopment, globalization, technology, and others.

SOC 402 Classical Sociological Theory
The history of the development of Social Theory in the West. Major attention will be give to Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber as the most significant formulators of classic sociological models.  Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 100.

SOC 404 Contemporary Sociology Theory
A survey of contemporary sociological schools of thought by reviewing the criteria and classification categories for “mapping” the major approaches to studying and understanding social reality.  Emphasis is given to acquaintance with the classic formulators of major schools of theory as well as to development of a systematic understanding of the major questions all forms of social theory must answer. Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 402.

SOC 409 Community Development in Developing Nations
The course starts by defining nation in ethnic terms, developing nation, community, and community development then discusses the issues of concern, approaches, and strategies of community development. Of note, the course underlines the role of religious, political, economic, social, and cultural systems in community development, explaining the responsibilities of the systems as God intended for community development to take place, how the systems fail to fulfill their responsibilities, and what needs to be done for the systems to be able to carry out their responsibilities as God intended. The course ends with a discussion of how communities in developing nations can best use their systems in inventorying, sourcing, mobilizing, and utilizing relationships, resources, assets, and valued goods in their development. Recommended for juniors and seniors.

SOC 416 Research and Data Analysis
An introduction to how data is analyzed in the social sciences with the computer.  The student will learn how to enter, analyze, and interpret data.  Several data analyses (from univariate to multivate) are explored with the computer package of SPSS.  Prerequisite:  Minimum grade of C in SOC 220 Social Statistics or an equivalent statistics course in psychology, business, or math.

SOC 417 Senior Thesis
The development of an empirical research project under the guidance of the instructor. Completed projects will be presented and critiqued by other students and the instructor. Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 318.

SOC 418 Senior Seminar
A topical seminar, the content of which will vary year by year. Emphasis on integrating one’s faith with sociological knowledge and examining the viability of such integrative endeavors. Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in SOC 402 and 403.

SOC 495 Sociology Internship
Internship provides a supervised work experience in a related field of sociology for those students desiring an opportunity for “hands-on” experience in an area of their choice.  Prerequisite:  Minimum grade of C in SOC 100 and must be at least a junior.