Sociology Minor

The nature of group behavior and social interaction viewed through analysis of structure, norms, and values.

Cross-cultural analysis of the human capacity for adaptation and technological and ideological development. Significant field studies are examined.

Analysis of sport as a social system. The implication of sport within inter-relational contexts of other social systems.

Introductory level course covering topics of special interest to first-year students.

Foundations in a selected sub-field of sociology; announcement of topic made at pre-registration time.

Analysis of social, political, urban, and economic changes that have introduced specific problems into contemporary society.

Introduction to the social psychological foundations of identity and identity’s relation to prejudice, privilege, and power in micro-interactions and social structures. Students engage with social-psychological understandings of categorizations and their implications at individual and structural levels.

As college has been increasingly framed as the primary mechanism for social and economic mobility, college attendance has reached historic highs for nearly every demographic, including for historically marginalized communities. This has created increasingly diverse campuses and has increasingly bound colleges to broader patterns of inequality. This course examines the racial and economic politics facing first-generation college students as well as the structural inequalities shaping college and its promises of social and economic mobility.

The structure of health care delivery systems and levels of health care personnel, patients, and families of patients.

A comparative approach to the study of the structure of family systems with emphasis on changing patterns of family life.

Survey of current theoretical approaches used to explain Latina/o experiences and an empirical overview of how social institutions affect the daily lives of Latinas and Latinos in the US and the world.

Foundations of social movements in political phenomena, social conditions, and emerging political institutions; the structural basis of social change and politics.

Using case studies, social theory, and historical materials, this course explores the role of music in social change.

Study of modern educational systems, emphasizing the social, political, and economic factors that influence their organization and functions.

A cross-cultural comparative study of the nature of religious institutions as systems of socially determined and socially relevant beliefs and practices.

Using theory and practical application, this course explores the impact of impairment and disability within a societal context.

Fundamental concepts and intellectual traditions, especially the contributions of Comte, Spencer, Marx, Toennes, Durkheim, and Simmel.

Data tabulation; graphing; measurement of central tendency, variability, and correlation; hypothesis testing applied to psychological and sociological data. Hand and computer analysis.

An analysis of the research function in sociology; conduct of research appropriate to undergraduate students; formal presentation of research papers.

An introduction to dominant-minority group relations through the investigation of the patterns and dynamics of differentiation, inequality, and discrimination.

The course explores the sociological concepts and perspectives as they relate to death and dying and how American society deals with illness, dying, death, and bereavement.

Intermediate level topics.

A study of the conditions, patterns, and consequences of social transformation with emphasis on institutional and individual patterns of adjustment and adaptation.

This course approaches applied sociology through a project-based learning experience incorporating elements of a community-based research process and/or public sociology. While applied topics of the course change from semester to semester, this course explores the theories and methods of applied sociology, potentially including ethnographic, institutional, and participatory research techniques in community settings.

Survey of a wide range of Puerto Rican experiences and overview of how social structures shape the daily lives of Puerto Ricans in the United States. Through a focus on diasporas, the course centers on migration as a key experience within Puerto Rican imaginaries. The course explores the sociological themes of identity, race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexuality, social class, and stratification through the lens of Puerto Rican struggle and resistance. Puerto Rican diasporic communities are examined at the intersections of colonialism, modernity, and neoliberal globalization.

The course studies young people as agents of social change through key debates and local/global case studies across the academic subfields of youth studies, critical race theory, and public space scholarship. Students in this course engage with youth experiences of increased surveillance and regulation in public space as well as creative forms of subversion and resistance. Through the discussion and analysis of cutting-edge scholarship, students in this course craft critical ethnographies at the multiple intersections of youth, race, and public space.

Processes by which new norms and forms of social organization emerge from group behavior, aggregate behavior, and social movements.

This course studies the city of Worcester from a sociological perspective focused on settler colonialism, industrial capitalism, and neoliberal gentrification. Students learn about the systematic erasure of indigenous knowledge as crucial to the formation of the capitalist city. Students make key connections between settler colonialism and the contemporary displacement of working-class communities of color in Worcester. The course chronicles lived experiences of economic restructuring within Worcester that signal a meaningful shift from industrial powerhouse to postindustrial theme park.

This course focuses on historical and contemporary discussions of race and ethnicity within sociology. The course familiarizes students with central threads in the study of race and ethnicity and identifies gaps, particularly as they are relevant for the academic and social sphere of today.

Sociological examination of economic stratification; focuses on the translation of class into power via politics, education, and collective struggle.

In this course students examine immigrants’ lived experiences in the US and learn about the legal systems immigrants must navigate and their experiences with incorporation into different areas of society. Students are exposed to current debates in the field and engage with theories of immigration, immigration policies, and other laws that shape immigrants’ lives. This course facilitates an understanding of how communities respond to practices that curtail immigrants’ basic rights as they navigate intersecting structures of power in American society. Students are encouraged to look at local examples to make connections between policies, theories, and debates.

Dynamics of small group involvement and other environmental influences on the shaping of an individual’s personality.

Sociological examination of economic stratification; focuses on the translation of class into power via politics, education, and collective struggle.

This course introduces the sociologist study of gender and sexuality. This course examines how social institutions and cultural norms construct particular gender roles and sexual identities within society.

A cross-cultural study of urban social systems and the phenomena and problems connected with the planning process.

Analytical devices, conceptual schemes, and models used by contemporary theorists with emphasis on structural sociology.

For advanced sociology majors only; topic to be approved by an independent study advisor. (Requires 8 prior courses in sociology.)

This course explores the relationship between environment and society through a focus on political ecology, sociological dimensions of environmental crisis, and dynamics of social change.

Directed study offers students, who because of unusual circumstances may be unable to register for a course when offered, the opportunity to complete an existing course with an established syllabus under the direction of and with agreement from a faculty member.

Data collection based on participant observation within a social service organization; assignment approval by field-work advisor. (Requires 8 prior courses in sociology.)

Advanced study topics in selected areas of sociology.

This class looks at the development of capitalism from an historical, sociological, and critical perspective and considers the ways capitalism has made and unmade the world. Themes may include imperialism and the underdevelopment of the Global South, decolonization struggles, global urbanization, global financial institutions, global labor struggles, war and capitalism, global environmental crises and the struggle over resources, and market hegemony.

This course examines social entrepreneurship and social enterprise in a global context.

Overview of the discipline of sociology, emphasizing the mastery of the discipline at an undergraduate level.