Sociology Course Descriptions

Anthropology Course Descriptions

Sociology

Introductory Courses

Sociology 101 - The Sociological Perspective
Fall, spring
A one-semester introduction to the principles of sociological analysis. Through a critical examination of selected topics and themes, this course develops a sociological perspective for the interpretation and understanding of cultural differences, age and sex roles, discrimination, the family and the workplace, bureaucracies, stratification, the problems of poverty. One unit.

Intermediate Courses

Sociology 203 - Race and Ethnic Relations
Annually
An examination of 1) the emergence of race in modern societies, with special emphasis on the North American context; 2) various theories of race and ethnicity, including the historical conditions under which those theories surfaced; 3) experiences of race and ethnicity in contemporary societies. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 205 - Structures of Social Inequality
Every third year
Examines American class structures and processes, acknowledging the unequal distribution of resources and analyzing aspects of institutionalization serving to support such inequality. Course focuses on the various social, economic, and political indicators of an individual’s position in society, including occupation, income, wealth, prestige, and power, as well as characteristics of life at different levels of the class hierarchy. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 206 — Sociology of Poverty
Alternate years
Intensive analysis of the lower levels of the socioeconomic status hierarchy in the U.S. How a person’s place in the status system structures personal experience, especially for those who are less fortunate. Overview of structural roots of poverty; contributions of classical theorists such as Marx and Weber to debates on poverty; gender and race/ethnicity in relation to poverty. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 210 - Corporate & Consumer Social Responsibility
Alternate years
This course asks what it means to be a good citizen, good consumer, and good corporation in light of contemporary social and environmental problems by focusing on the relationship between democracy and capitalism. It investigates the complexities of understanding and implementing social responsibility on the local, national, and global level. One unit.

Sociology 215 — Sociology of Law   
Every third year
This course examines the social context of law, the legal structure of the United States, and the relationship between society and law. As a society, we create laws to address social problems and to provide social control, thus as society is constantly changing, law does as well. This course will look at law as a social construction and will consider the ways in which legal structures reflect society’s norms and values and the relationship between law and social change. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 219 - Deviance
Annually
An introduction tothe sociological study of deviance, this course explores 1) key theoretical perspectives to deviance and social control, 2) how people come to view certain attitudes, conditions, and behaviors as odd, morally reprehensible, or illegal and 3) the identities and life chances of people who are labeled as "deviant". Pays close attention to the relationship between deviance, power and social inequaliry. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 223 - Methods of Social Research
Annually
An introduction to the logic and procedures of social scientific research. Readings, lectures, and laboratory exercises are directed toward the development of skills in theory construction, research design, operationalization, measurement, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 241 - Development of Social Theory
Annually
A descriptive and critical study of the 19th- and early 20th-century social thought which informs contemporary sociological theory. Some attention is given to historical influences on emerging sociological theory. Emphasis is placed on four major theorists: Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Simmel and on the 20th-century developments in functionalism, symbolic interactionism and the sociology of knowledge. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 245 - Modernity: Culture, Consciousness, & Institutions
Every third year
An examination of some of the ways in which modernity constitutes what might be called a “world-organizing” system. Topics include technology, the rise of capitalism, and the effect of modernity on community and family life, religion, bureaucratization, loyalty, authority. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 246 - Sociology of News
Alternate Years
What Americans know about their social and political world is heavily mediated by “the news.” This course draws on sociology of media research and wider media studies to ask: what social forces shape how journalists cover the news? How might U.S. media be reformed? Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 247 - Sociology of TV and Media
Alternate years
This course investigates the evolving role of television in shaping our understanding of the world as it relates to democracy, consumerism, human relationships, how we make sense of our own lives. More specifically, the course examines the nature of entertainment, advertising, news and the institutions that create television programming. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 255 — End of Life Issues
Every third year
Sociological inquiry into how elders, their families, healthcare and social service professionals and the U.S. legal system negotiate the choices that need to be made in late life. How end of life matters are deeply shaped by social structure. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 256 - Self and Society
Every third year
Addresses the relation of the individual to society through the study of the self. Theoretical issues include human nature; the social and cultural construction of the self; subjective experience and self-consciousness; social interaction, social structure, and the self; and the politics of identity. Emphasis on studies of everyday life in the symbolic interactionist, dramaturgical, and interpretive traditions. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 257 - Aging and Society
Annually
A thorough introduction to the sociological study of people’s experience of late life. Strives to increase awareness of the social, cultural, and historical affects on aging by examining people’s accounts of late life and aging, their social and psychological compensations, and the bearing of late life experiences on end-of life decisions. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 259 - Children and Violence
Alternate years
This course is organized around three general themes: (1) an introductory overview of the topic of violence, including theoretical background and structural factors; (2) an analysis of violence-related issues, including family, street, and school-based causes and consequences; and (3) consideration of prevention and intervention strategies and relevant policy implications. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 260 - Sociology of Education
Alternate years
A critical examination of education in the U.S., with a special emphasis on public schooling. This course considers how the functions and goals of education have changed over time, factors leading to the current crisis in education, and controversial programs for fixing the problems such as vouchers, charter schools, and multicultural education. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 261 - Sociology of Religion
Annually
An analysis of religion as a socio-cultural product. Emphasis on the interrelationship between religion and society in a cross-cultural perspective. Major topics include the social functions of religion, the organization of religious practice, and the impact of social change on religion. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 262 - Sociology of Mental Health
Every third year
The study of mental health is a significant area of sociological inquiry. Special attention is paid to epidemiology and the socio-cultural forces influencing symptom presentation, diagnosis, and service delivery. Topics include the history of mental health treatment, medicalization, in-patient care and hospitalization, deinstitutionalization and community-based services, stigma management, and the research within forensic psychiatry. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 263 - Medical Sociology
Annually
A critical study of the institution of modern medicine. Special attention is paid to socio-cultural and political factors influencing susceptibility, diagnosis and treatment. Topics include the social meaning of disease, patient hood, the medical profession, and the organization of medical care. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 264 - Sociology of Power
Every third year
A critical study of the social bases of power and of the existing constraints and limitations upon its exercise. Emphasis is given to major power theories, the forms and processes of power, and the consequences of these different understandings for the exercise and use of power. Consideration is given to the redistribution of power and its responsible use in contemporary society. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 265 - Sociology of Work and Labor
Every third year
This course focuses on topics related to the study of work and labor in the United States today. The course has a strong historical dimension and some of the material crosscuts sociology, history, and economics. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 271 - Famiies and Societies
Annually
Examination of patterns in American family behavior. Strives to increase awareness of the social, cultural, and psychological facets of family life by examining kinship relations, child socialization, dating behavior, patterns of sexual activity, parental decisions, family development, divorce, violence in the family. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 275 - Sociology of Men
Alternate years
An analysis of men’s experiences as men and the (sub)cultural blueprints for masculinities. Drawing on a social constructionist perspective, topics include men’s power over women and other men, sexualities, bodies, homophobia, success-orientations, relations with families, anti-femininity and violence, and health. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 277 — Gender and Society
Annually
On women’s and men’s gendered experiences at the individual, interactional, and institutional levels; how gendered experiences vary by race/ethnicity, sexuality, social class, and other ways. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 278 - Gender, Body, Health
Annually
This course examines the body as a medium for self-expression and an entity to be controlled. They body is a site where men and women "do gender"; this can have both positive and negative effects on health. Among the topics covered; transgender and intersex conditions; culture and bodies; expression and repression; violence; sports; health behavior engagement; childbirth. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 279 - Men, Women, and Medicine
Alternate years
This course examines the ways that medicine as a social institution is a gendered (and sometimes sexist) workplace, has historically medicalized and socially controlled women's lives more than men's, and (re) defines standards of masculinities and feminities with health definitions. Topics include gender and medical workforce issues, the experiences of women physicians and men nurses, medicalized masculinities/feminities and the implication for men's and women's health, sexual and reproductive health, and the growth of cosmetic surgery for gendered bodies and sexing the body. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 280 - Global Culture and Society
Every third year
This course will examine the way social identities and everyday cultural practices are linked to global circulations of capital, taste, fashion, and power. Through a comparative analysis of representations of globalization, cultural products such as McDonald’s and Sesame Street, mega-events such as the Olympics, virtual cultures and technologies, and leisure and consumption practices such as shopping, eating, and international tourism, students will gain a critical understanding of the debates surrounding cultural imperialism, cultural homogenization, and the hybridization of culture. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Sociology 299 - Special Topics
Annually
These intermediate level courses address selected sociological issues not covered by the regular curriculum. They are offered on an occasional basis; topical descriptions for specific offerings are available before the enrollment period at the departmental office. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.

Advanced Courses

Sociology 346 - Reading the Times
Every third year
The seminar uses The New York Times as a window for a sociological analysis of the society in which we live. It is also a window on American journalism. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 359 - Girls and Violence
Every third year
Examines the social science literature pertaining to girls both as victims and as perpetrators, as well as structures influencing personal experiences and interpersonal dynamics. In addition to theory related both to gender and violence, topics covered include bullying and relational aggression, sexual harassment, gangs, child sexual abuse, trafficking, and living in a war-torn society. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 361 - Catholic Thought and Social Action
Alternate years
An advanced community-based learning seminar integrating topics of Catholic social teaching with the study and practice of community organizing. Course includes sociological analysis of Catholic social thought, leadership, power, poverty, social movements, and organizational behavior. Students will analyze and write about their projects in light of course readings. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 371 - Family Issues
Every third year
An advanced topical course providing a critical analysis of social structural processes that foster and maintain family stresses and conflict. Examines the bearing of sources of family diversity (e.g., culture, political economy) on such stresses as single-parenting, health, devitalized relations. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 375 - Men and Violence
Every third year
A capstone research-based seminar that examines the ways masculinities are associated with interpersonal violence, especially within intimate relationships. The semester involves reviewing key sociological questions and perspectives, reading original texts in the sociology of men, learning how to use SPSS and analyze available survey data, and developing an original research project and paper on men and violence. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 380 - Sociology Capstone
Annually
This seminar is designed as a final course for majors. Students examine fundamental sociological questions, apply methodological skills in original research, and think reflexively and sociologically about their identities as senior Holy Cross students and members of American society. Prerequisites: permission of instructor, Sociology 101 & 223. One unit.

Sociology 381 - Qualitative Research Capstone
Every third year
This seminar enables students to learn the underlying logic of qualitative research approaches and to develop skills in moving from description to theory building with qualitative data. Students will also become familiar with key aspects of qualitative research design, as well as issues related to rigor, soundness and the ethical dimensions of qualitative research. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 385 - Technology, Mobility & Social Life
Alternate years
A seminar on how social life is increasingly organized through various intersecting mobilities (travel, migration, and virtual or communicative mobilities, such as cybertourism and mobile communication). Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 399 - Selected Topics in Sociological Analysis
Annually
A critical examination of selected topics utilizing sociological theory and research methods. Topics and staff rotate. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 492, 493 - Directed Honors Research
Fall, spring
Honor students undertake a research project under the direction of a department faculty member. The results are presented in the form of a thesis and two semesters credit, granted at end of second semester. Candidates selected from invited applicants to the Department Honors Selection & Review Committee. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Sociology 494, 495 - Directed Research
Fall, spring
Students may undertake independent research projects under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Individuals contemplating a research project should make inquiries during their third year, since the project is usually initiated by the beginning of the fourth year. Preference for sociology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.

Sociology 496, 497 - Directed Reading
Fall, spring
An individualized reading program addressing a topic in sociology not covered in course offerings. Reading tutorials are under the supervision of a sociology faculty member, usually limited to the fourth year students, and arranged on an individual basis. Preference to sociology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.

Sociology 498, 499 - Special Projects
Fall, spring
Program for individual students who wish to pursue supervised independent study on a selected topic or an advanced research project. Ordinarily projects are approved for one semester. Open to selected third- and fourth-year students with preference to sociology majors. Each project must be supervised by a faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.

Anthropology

Introductory Courses

Anthropology 101 - The Anthropological Perspective
Fall, spring
A one-semester introduction to the main modes of sociocultural anthropological analysis of non-Western cultures, such as those of Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Native America. Attention also to anthropology of the U.S. Topics include: ethnographic methods; concepts of culture; sym- bolic communication; introduction to anthropological approaches to kinship, religion, gender, hierarchy, economics, medicine, political life, transnational processes, and popular culture. One unit.

Anthropology 130 - Anthropology of Food
Alternate years
Food lies at the heart of human social systems worldwide, as symbolic good, gift, and token of love and political control. This course addresses such topics as: gender hierarchies, eating, and food; foods such as sugar and chocolate and colonial systems of power; food/body/power dynamics; food and social identity construction; and famine in a time of world plenty. Focus is on specifically anthropological approaches to food cultures in Asia, Africa, Latin America, with comparative material from the U.S. One unit.

Anthropology 170 — Contemporary Asia   
Alternate years
This course examines contemporary Asia as an interconnected region that influences world events and as diverse societies, cultures, and nation states that face particular problems as they struggle with issues of globalization, modernity, and neoliberalism while trying to maintain a sense of national or cultural identity. Readings focus on India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, and the Asian diaspora. Topics include religion, aging, family, gender, politics, economics, class, labor migration, consumerism, ethnicity, and Orientalism. One unit.

Intermediate Courses

Anthropology 255 - Genders & Sexualities
Alternate years
This course asks students to critically explore the contemporary anthropological scholarship on gendered social worlds and ways of imaging sexualities, across diverse cultures. At issue: how do gender ideologies relate to social hierarch and systems of power? How do various ways of representing the reproductive body relate to social class? To nationalism? Focus is on non-Western cultures (e.g., Japan, Papua New Guinea, Brazil). Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 256 - The Imagined Body
Every third year
In cultures worldwide, the ways that human bodies are thought about, controlled, manipulated, and put on public display are patterns that are often imbued with political dynamics of power and resistance. This course draws on ethnographic material from Papua New Guinea, India, island Southeast Asia, east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the contemporary United States to look at issues of body, gender, social hierarchy, and state power. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 261 - Witchcraft and Cultures of Terror
Alternate years
The witch represents evil within one's midst, disguised as a neighbor or even family member, driven by antisocial impulses. This class considers the role of fear in social organization and cultural imagination. We examine why images of fear are so cross-culturally compelling, the ways witchcraft discourse serves as an idiom for social conflicts both local and large scale, and the effects of techniques of eradication societies employ to rid themselves of evil. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 262 - Anthropology of Religion
Every third year
A social scientific, cross-cultural consideration of religious worlds created in such locales as village and urban Indonesia, India, Papua New Guinea, and Africa, especially in terms of their power dynamics vis-a-vis social hierarchies. Covers classic topics such as the study of ritual and ecology, village myth, trancing, shamanism, witchcraft, and sorcery accusations, but also deals at length with such matters as the connections between Christian missions and empire. Also turns an anthropological gaze on contemporary U.S. religions. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 267 - Political Anthropology
Every third year
This course takes a broadly comparative and historical perspective, using cross-cultural analysis to understand the workings of politics and power in non-Western contexts. Topics include: colonialism and its impact on colonized populations; the formation of post-colonial national states; leadership, authority, and the construction of political subjects; and the links between local processes and global political systems. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 268 - Economic Anthropology
Every third year
An introduction to the issues, methods, and concepts of economic anthropology. This course places economic features such as markets, commodities, and money into a larger cross-cultural context by exploring relations of power, kinship, gender, exchange, and social transformation. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 269 - Fashion and Consumption
Annually
A comparative, cultural anthropological exploration of fashion and consumption as tools for the creation, expression, and contestation of social, cultural, economic, political, and individual identities. Topics include: sociological and semiotic theories of materialism and consumption, subcultural styles, colonialism, race, gender, veiling, globalization, and ethnic chic. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 271 - Anthropology of Peace and War
Annually
This class explores a variety of conceptual approaches to peace and war as it focuses on ways people have lived the experiences of war, peace, and peacemaking. Students bring the concepts and the experiences to- gether in term-long research that makes an important contribution to the class. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 274 - Art & Power in Asia
Every third year
How does art interrelate to political power and to wealth? This course examines such questions in regard to the art of ancient kingdoms in Asia such as Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Indonesia’s Borobudur. Also at issue are the contemporary arts of Southeast Asia, seen too through this anthropology of art lens. Additionally, this course looks at the power dynamics of international art collecting of Asian art and artifacts; the politics and aesthetics of putting Asian art into worldwide museums is also studied. Includes museum study tours. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Anthropology 299 - Special Topics
Annually
These intermediate level anthropology courses address a variety of issues of contemporary ethnographic importance. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.

Advanced Courses

Anthropology 310 - Ethnographic Field Methods
Annually
An examination of cultural anthropology’s main data-gathering strategy: long-term ethnographic fieldwork of small communities, often located in non-Western cultures. Topics include: review of the methodology literature, participant observation, in-depth interviews, designing field studies, oral histories, spanning deep cultural divides via fieldwork. Often involves hands-on fieldwork in Worcester. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Anthropology 320 - Theory in Anthropology
Alternate years
A historical examination of the development of different theoretical perspectives in cultural anthropology. This course explores, compares, and critiques different schools of thought about human society and culture, from the 19th to the 21st centuries, looking at the ways in which anthropological scholars and those from related disciplines have attempted to understand and explain the human condition. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Anthropology 361 — War, the Environment, Human Health
Alternate years
A historically informed anthropology seminar about linked issues often seen in isolation from each other. How has violence shaped environments? How has violence shaped the public health in places, like Vietnam? Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Anthropology 373 — Culture and Human Rights
Alternate years
A seminar that critically examines the debates surrounding the politics of Western human rights interventions into the non-Western world, as well as local or indigenous mechanisms of social justice and postconflict recovery. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Anthropology 399 - Selected Topics in Anthropological Analysis
Annually
A critical examination of selected topics utilizing anthropological theory and research methods. Topic and staff rotate. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Anthropology 492, 493 - Directed Honors Research
Fall, spring
Honor students undertake a research project under the direction of a department faculty member. The results are presented in the form of a thesis and two semesters credit, granted at end of second semester. Candidates selected from invited applicants to the Department Honors Selection & Review Committee. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.

Anthropology 494, 495 - Directed Research
Fall, spring
Students may undertake independent research projects under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Individuals contemplating a research project should make inquiries during their third-year, since the project is usually initiated by the beginning of the fourth-year. Preference for sociology/anthropology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.

Anthropology 496, 497 - Directed Readings
Fall, spring
An individualized reading program usually addressing a topic in anthropology not covered in course offerings. Reading tutorials are under the supervision of an anthropology faculty member, usually limited to the fourth-year students, and arranged on an individual basis. Preference to anthropology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.

Anthropology 498, 499 - Special Projects
Fall, spring
Program for individual students who wish to pursue supervised independent study on a selected topic or an advanced research project. Ordinarily projects are approved for one semester. Open to selected third- and fourth-year students with preference to sociology/anthropology majors. Each project must be supervised by a faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.

The final suthority of College and departmental policy, including faculty and course information, is the College Catalog. Please consult the Catalog for more information.