Course Descriptions

14 Internship in Urban and Organizational Studies
Supervised placement in urban planning agencies and settings or in other specialized organizations. Cross-listed with SOWK 10. One semester, 3 credits.

100 Introduction to Sociology
A general introduction to the topics, methods, and theories of the discipline. The course will address basic social processes and institutions, including social solidarity, inequality, conflict, interaction, ideology, culture, and social structure. Open to freshmen or sophomores. One semester, 3 credits.

200 Race, Class and Gender
The primary goal of this course is to ensure that students develop a sociological imagination - that is, the ability to pose sociological questions and to find ways to investigate those questions. The course will be organized around three important sociological monographs - book-length seociologicval studies - which will wxamine race, class and/or gender. We will spend the semester meticulously breaking apart these studies so that students begin to understand the process of conducting sociological research. One semester, 3 credits.

215 Geographic Information Systems
(Same as ES 140) One semester or January. 4 credits.

216* Sociology Through Photography
An introduction to the use of visual tools for the exploration of society. Through the creation and analysis of photographs, students will broaden their understanding of social life and social institutions. Topics covered will include interaction with subjects, selection of images, use of photographic techniques, "truth" and representativeness, integrating photographs and text, and ethical issues. January session, 4 credits.

260 Social Movements
An historical and comparative study of popular movements in the U.S. and internationally. We will examine how and why popular movements emerge; what sustains them; what constitutes a successful social movement; and why social movements fail. We will also pay close attention to the relationship between social movement goals and their actual effect on the larger society. A key focus will be the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., and the several ethnic and racial movements that the Civil Rights movement inspired. We will use these movements, taken together, as an example of the emergence of an "identity politics" on a global scale. One Semester, 3 credits.

270 Death, Dying, and Bereavement
Explores historical and cultural variations in attitudes and practices surrounding death, dying and bereavement. We examine major causes of death across age and other social groups, social inequality related to death and dying, individual and social practices of grieving, and the ethics of dying in an age of technology. We study death-related issues both at the level of social organization and in terms of how they affect people at varying stages of the life course. January session, 4 credits. (Cross-listed with SOWK 270)

280 Le Flaneur I
(Pre-departure course for January class in Paris). A "fl aneur" is defi ned as "an aimless idler; a loafer...from flaner, to idle about, stroll.” This class will initiate students to fields of knowledge ranging from urban studies to literature all the while exploring L.A. Students will use what they learn in this class for studies and an eventual project to be completed in Paris, in January. Though the course is in English, some language abilities are a must. Students are therefore required to enroll in a French language of have taken courses in French at Whittier prior to the January class in Paris. Experience in sociology is strongly recommended. One semester, 3 credits.

281 Le Flaneur II
This is the companion course to 280 and builds on the theoretical knowledge and experiences of Le Flaneur I. Le Flaneur II takes place in Paris and uses the city to build comparative knowledge of the historical, cultural, environmental, geographical and other forces that inform the modern city. The Paris experience is intended not only to give fuller knowledge of an alternative urban environment, but should serve as a comparative tool for better understanding of Los Angeles. In order to get Liberal Education Comparative Knowledge credit, students must successfully complete both Le Flaneur I and II. January term. 3 credits.

287 Workshop in Urban Studies
The workshop uses Los Angeles and Tijuana as settings for studying urban spatial and social organization, with special attention to the design and use of public space. It examines the economic, demographic, and cultural linkages between these two areas and locates each city in terms of current global economic, social, and cultural transformations. Permission. January, 4 credits.

302 Social Theory in Social Context
An examination of major figures and debates in the history of sociological theory. Original works of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and more recent writers will be read in conjunction with materials on the historical settings in which they wrote. Prerequisite: 100, 200 or instructor
permission. One semester, 3 credits.

310 Approaches to Social Research
Techniques for basic and applied social research. Research skills will be developed in the complementary use of informant interviews, observations, surveys, and documents in addressing theoretical issues in the social sciences and practical applications in fields such as social work, healthcare delivery, law, and business. Prerequisite: 100, 200 or instructor permission. Cross-listed with SOWK 310. One semester, 4 credits.

311 Field Research: Crossing Cultural Boundaries
(Same as ANTH 311) One semester or January, 3-4 credits.

314 Statistics
(Same as PSYC 314) One semester, 4 credits.

320 Social Psychology
(Same as PSYC 352) One semester, 3 credits.

324 Micro Sociology
Sociology at the level of experience and interaction, with special emphasis on the ways people make sense of social experience. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

326 Diverse Identities
(Same as PSYC 354) One semester, 3 credits.

328 Human Behavior in the Social Environment
(Same as SOWK 373) One semester, 3 credits.

330 The Cultural Contexts of Childhood
(Same as ANTH 374) One semester, 3 credits.

332 Life in Minority Environments
(Same as ANTH 387) One semester, 3 credits.

345* Social Planning and Evaluation
Planning of urban physical and social social programs; and evaluating organizational and program effectiveness. Special attention will be given to the relation between the technical and political aspects of planning decisions. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

346* Social Power and Social Control
This course explores how social theorists understand the forms and exercise of power. It will draw on Marxian, Weberian, and Foucauldian analyses of power, as well as theories of race, gender and sexuality in order to offer both complementary and competing understandings of power. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. Recommended: 302. One semester, 3 credits.

354* Political Sociology
This course is a study of power in the institutions of society, focusing on the state, groups that compete for control of the state, ideologies of state legitimacy, and the relationship of the state and capital. We will also look at how and why states and state policies change over time. We will necessarily examine the ways in which race and ethnicity shape and are shaped by their interaction with the state. Prerequisites: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

357* Sociology of Development: Third World Studies
Considers development issues related to economics, politics, inequality, human rights, gender, and environment and examines modernization, dependency, and world-system approaches to the theoretical understanding of these issues. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor
permission. One semester, 3 credits.

358* Population Problems and Policy
Policy-oriented examination of the interplay between demographic processes (fertility, mortality, migration, immigration) and social organization. Techniques of demographic analysis are introduced, and current population issues and policy alternatives are examined against a background of world population history and projections. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 4 credits.

375* Modern Society
This course examines forms of social structure, culture, and interaction associated with highly industrialized societies. Particular attention is paid to theoretical explanations of the transformations associated with modernity. Topics addressed may range from the nature of the polity and economy of advanced nations, to the formation of ideas of nature versus culture that dominate the modern west. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

377* Comparative Urban Development
A comparative examination of urbanization in varying historical and geographical settings and in the light of major theories of urban growth, organization, and community. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

378* Professions, Work and Careers
The organization of work settings, occupations, professions, and careers in contemporary United States, examined in historical and comparative context. Attention is given to the interplay of organizational form, productivity, and the lives of individuals. Prerequisite: 100
or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

381* Social Class and Inequality
Students will apply contrasting theories concerning who gets what and why, in order to compare social class formations in the contemporary United States with those in other settings. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

385 Sociology of Gender
This course will explore the ways that people "do gender," how gender structures and stratifi es the social order and how gender differences are reproduced culturally. It will examine femininity and masculinity in their contemporary, cross-cultural, and historical forms and will study the production and maintenance of gender as a master social status, investigating how gender norms are both constructed and challenged in popular culture, family and work arrangements, organizations, personal relationships, and social movements. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

386 Racial and Ethnic Relations
An examination of central theories and concepts in the fi eld. Specifi c attention will be paid to topics such as the historical emergence of minorities, ethnic solidarity, and racism. Contemporary trends in the dynamics of intergroup relations in southern California, the United States and abroad will be considered. Prerequisite: 100 or instructor permission. One semester, 3 credits.

404 Topics in Contemporary Sociological Theory
A comparative, in-depth examination of central issues in contemporary sociological thought. Permission. One semester, 3 credits.

406 Feminist Social Theory
Examines the perspective and contribution of feminist theory: particularly the intellectual and social circumstances of their production, their analytic strengths and weaknesses and the political ramifi cations of their analyses. Introduces a variety of intellectual traditions within feminism, including liberal, Marxist, radical, socialist, psychoanalytic, anti-racist, post-modern and post-colonial. Permission. One semester, 3 credits.

408 Senior Integrative Seminar
A capstone writing-intensive course exploring application of sociological knowledge and skills to the production of public scholarship. Prerequisite: Senior status Sociology major/ minor or permission. One semester, 3 credits.

412 Preceptorship
A one semester course designed to engage students in the theory and practice of teaching sociology. This course is appropriate for students intending to teach secondary school or enter a graduate program in sociology. Students participating in the preceptorship will work closely with the faculty teaching introductory courses. By permission only. Variable credits.

414 Practicum in Urban and Organizational Studies
Supervised field experience in urban planning agencies and settings or in other specialized organizations. Involves a careful examination of the interplay of theory and practice for the advanced student. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Permission. One semester, 1 to 3
credits.

190, 290, 390, 490* Selected Topics in Sociology
Variable credits. Permission. May be repeated for credit.

295, 395, 495* Independent Studies
Variable credits. Permission. May be repeated for credit.