Credits: 3.00 The social world is often taken for granted or reduced to explanations that stem from conventional wisdom and personal experience. This course is designed to encourage students to develop social scientific frameworks for analyzing the social world in a context that transcends conventional wisdom and personal experience. The major question is “What are the social forces, operating in society and often beyond the control of individuals, that shape individual behaviors and societal changes?” Topics include culture, socialization, social and economic inequalities, social structure, organizational behavior, social groups, deviance, and social institutions (family, religion, education, and political economy). Prerequisites: none

This course uses a sociological lens to investigate, describe, and analyze patterns of human behavior in all areas of human experience for the purpose of understanding the human condition. Theoretical approaches such as structural functional, symbolic interactionist, and conflict theories will be used to analyze topics such as socialization, stratification, inequality, and social movements within the micro, meso, and macro levels of society. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to utilize their sociological imagination to better understand other cultures and develop insight into themselves and their world. Pre-Requisites: SSC 100 or concurrent