Sociology Department

This course introduces students to the origins and development of sociological thinking and research, beginning with the foundations of the discipline in the 19th century. Students are then introduced to the concepts and methods within sociology. The objective is to explore the extent and limits of our capacity to change the social world by reference to sociological research in both a Canadian and global context. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 101 or SOCI 100. Three credits.

This course builds on the foundations of sociological theory, methods and historic considerations established in SOCI 101. Students will explore a range of topics dealing with various aspects of social inequality, culture, integration, and ideological conflict in both a Canadian and global context. Together with SOCI 101, this course provides the prerequisite for all other sociology courses. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 102 or SOCI 100. Prerequisite: SOCI 101. Three credits.

This course addresses how various philosophic assumptions shape the aims and practices of research in sociology. It provides students with empirical research design principles and an introduction to methods of collecting and recording data, assessing reliability and validity, and conducting data analysis. Different research strategies are introduced. The ethical implications of research will be discussed. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

Students will approach the study of human health from an intersectional, critical sociological perspective that emphasizes the links between social, economic, political, environmental and climate justice. The class will engage in an ongoing analysis examining how equality along the lines of race, class, gender, ability and sexuality are relevant to accomplishing health justice. Beginning with an understanding of the distinction between biomedicine and the social determinants of health, the class will explore some of the dominant sociological debates and approaches to the study of health and illness and how these can best be used as instruments for achieving health justice. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course presents an analysis of Canadian Society and its development from a sociological perspective. Particular attention is given to political/economic institutions, ideology, class structure, regionalism, cultural forms and national identities. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

Looked at through the lens of class and power, this course examines the socio-economic roots of social inequality, as well as the causes and consequences of poverty. Special attention will be paid to rise of social inequality, and the impact of neoliberal social policies. Topics include: the relationship between wealth, occupation, and education; the structural and cultural factors generating cumulative disadvantage across generations, especially related to race, gender and disability; and the consequences of inequality as it relates to health, incarceration, and homelessness. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 218 or SOCI 328. Three credits.

This course analyzes the marriage and family life from a sociological perspective. It provides an overview of social changes over the past century, such as the falling birth rate, the rise in cohabitation and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Topics include marriage and fertility trends, the rise of intensive parenting and the dual earner family, the normalization of separation and divorce, the social cost of family violence, and how technology is influencing parenting. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 221, SOCI 210, or WMGS 210. Cross-listed as WMGS 221. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits. Not offered 2022-2023.
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An introduction to the sociological study of religion. Topics include social factors that influence religion at individual and communal levels; religion as agent of social cohesion and social conflict; religion and power structures; the impact of pluralism and globalization on religion today. Cross-listed as RELS 215. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course provides students with a sociological interpretation of education in Canada. Students will investigate the relationship between education opportunity and conditions of inequality, socialization, social participation in education, and the contextualized within the historical development of Canadian educational institutions. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 231 or SOCI 230. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

The course introduces students to social justice theory and research. Students will examine social movements and theories (e.g., postcolonial theory, black feminist thought, and indigenous perspectives) that helped shape conceptions of social justice. Students will examine social justice research in areas such as environmental racism, barriers to health care, education, and employment, and barriers and challenges to achieving social justice. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 237 or SOCI 297 (2020-2021). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course introduces students to topics and debates in youth sociology, including contemporary and historical conceptualizing of youth, social, cultural, and political theories pertaining to youth, the impact various social institutions have on youth from diverse backgrounds, and youth participation in social movements and politics. Students will come away with a deeper understanding of the forces shaping what “youth” means today. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 238 or SOCI 298 (2021-2022). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course is designed to introduce students to core sociological issues and debates pertaining to technology. Topics covered include the nature of technological artifacts and systems, technology and social change, the relationship between technological innovation and scientific knowledge, technology and inequality, the social shaping of technology, and the role of digital media in relation to new forms of cultural identity and social control. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 242 or SOCI 496 completed between 2012-2014. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course will focus on exploring how society shapes culture and culture shapes society. Drawing on local, national and global practices of culture and cultural objects, students will learn how meaning-making is critical to understanding everyday life. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 244 or SOCI 298 offered in 2015-2016. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course offers students a theoretical foundation for understanding social processes of deviance and social control. Using various theoretical devices, students will critically examine the social category of deviance and its use in social institutions and daily social practices. Topics could include mental illness, drug and alcohol use, alternative sexualities, social violence and disability. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 251, SOCI 250 or SOCI 298 completed in 2016-2017. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course draws upon the theoretical preparation provided in SOCI 251 to critically assess various topics in deviance and social control, and their power relations. Students will for instance, consider the complex relations of power and control associated with sex and sexuality, contemporary notions of fitness and health, white versus blue collar crime, as well as ‘natural’ disasters. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 252 or SOCI 250. Prerequisite: SOCI 251. Three credits.

This course explores social class as a lived experience - one in which everyday life both reveals and denies the structural advantages and disadvantages that perpetuate class differences. By way of ethnographic and theoretical literatures, students will study how stages of life and encounters with institutions (school, state, family, etc.) shape social class experiences. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

The topic for 2021-2022 is Youth. This course introduces the issues related to the sociological and political study of youth. The relevant debates and issues in the youth studies field will be examined, including contemporary and historical conceptualizing of youth, social / cultural / political theories pertaining to youth, the impact various social institutions have on youth, and youth political participation and social movements. Students will come away with a deeper understanding of what “youth” means. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

Explores the development and diversity of sociology’s foundational perspectives through the study of selected original works by such authors as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This seminar course on contemporary theory varies from year to year. While a survey approach to contemporary theory may be part of the course, it is probable that the professor will choose specific interests for in-depth analysis. Potential perspectives include feminist theory, anti-racist theory, postmodernism, and neo-Marxist theory. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course examines various directions feminists have taken in studying women’s experiences and the construction of gender. Students will learn how these theoretical approaches have influenced feminist research and critical practice. The course will include early feminist thought as well as contemporary feminist theory. Cross-listed as WMGS 303. Prerequisite: WMGS 100. Three credits.

The course introduces students to the qualitative research methods used by sociologists. The course introduces the philosophical, theoretical, and ethical aspects of qualitative research as well as qualitative approaches to data collection, data analysis, presentation of results, and methods of evaluating qualitative research. The various aspects of qualitative research are illustrated with classical and contemporary studies. Prerequisite: SOCI 202. Three credits.

A critical review of the science of masculinity and recent theoretical developments on the social construction of men’s lives and masculinities. Topics include male gender role socialization; the role social institutions play in shaping masculinities; masculinity politics, men’s movement, and social change. Cross-listed as WMGS 311. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

An introduction to the field of disability studies, this course examines the ways in which disabled people and disability issues are defined and treated in contemporary society. Social and political conceptions of disability are contrasted with medical and individualistic definitions of disability with the aim of developing a critique of taken-for-granted conceptions of normal bodies, minds, and senses. Community-based contributions and responses to disability knowledge are emphasized and common ideas and assumptions about disability are situated historically to illustrate changing relations to disability over time, and to the role of disability knowledge in social change. The experience of disability will be stressed. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

In this course we investigate drug and alcohol addiction as an epidemic social problem from several key perspectives. Social theories are used to explore subcultures of addiction, race and racism, addiction’s impact on women, and how addiction is understood and experienced in Canada. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 315 and SOCI 395 (2018, 2019). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

Students learn about federal and provincial policies that influence family formation (e.g., marriage, cohabitation, fertility, adoption), family care work (parental leave, family leave, childcare, domestic worker programs, elder care), family dissolution (separation, divorce), and family violence. Attention is given to how Canadian family laws and policies reflect and/or shape the cultural and structural aspects of gender, sexuality, Indigenous status, race and ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic status. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 319 or SOCI/ WMGS 395(2019-2022). Cross-listed as WMGS 319. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course considers a broad array of issues and controversies pertaining to the study of media effects. Topics covered include the development of propaganda theory, the social significance of advertising, and debates concerning the influence of media content on behavior and popular understandings of social reality. Attention is given to both traditional and holistic approaches to media effects in terms of the strengths and limitations of each. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 331 or SOCI 325. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course critically examines structural and sociocultural factors that operate to produce and/or reproduce powerlessness among Black people in the Diaspora. Attention will also be given to the contributions of Blacks to society, Black resistance, self-determination, and self-reliance. The course will discuss globalization, racism, and transnationalism as factors in the contemporary Black experience. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 337 or SOCI 395(2016-2017). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course begins with an interdisciplinary survey of the scientific, philosophical, political, social and cultural aspects of global agriculture and food production. Topics examined include the green revolution, the relations between agricultural and social sustainability, local food versus export economies, food security, food sovereignty and justice, as well as biotechnology, soil science and climate framing. At least one farm visit is included. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 341 or SOCI 398 (2016-2018). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course examines the structure and operation of the Canadian criminal justice system, including policing, court systems, correctional institutions, philosophies, and practices. This includes exploring the relationship between law and social order; the justice system as a means of social control; and the experiences of Indigenous and visible minorities in the Canadian justice system. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 351, SOCI 350 or SOCI 374(2019-2021). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

Students gain an understanding of the diversity of Islam and Muslims in Canada. The course examines how Muslims negotiate their religious identities in Canadian civic society. Students engage critically with different theoretical models shaping conceptions of identity and consider their relevance to public policy debates. They course uses Muslim and non-Muslim authors representing diverse points of view that have an impact on questions of immigration, multiculturalism, and religious pluralism. Cross-listed as RELS 375. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This seminar will assist honours students in their third-year and their thesis planning and provide an environment in which to learn with senior students working on their thesis. Students will choose an advisor with whom they will develop a proposal, collect materials, and consider methodological and ethical issues relevant to their research. Students are expected to attend colloquia, guest lectures and public talks relevant to the discipline. Highly recommended for and restricted to honours students. Three credits.

A required course for all senior honours students. Six credits.

421 Ancestry, Society, and Personal Identity
This course attempts to locate personal biography in the context of social history. Students’ genealogies provide the starting point for explorations of family, social history, and personal identity. Students will apply sociological ideas to the historical periods that helped shape their personal and family histories. Prerequisite: 12 credits of SOCI. Three credits.

This course considers such matters as the distinction between science and other ways of knowing, the relationship between technological innovation and scientific knowledge, the role played by technology in relation to social change and cultural identity, the social shaping of technology, forms of governance in contemporary ‘information societies’, and questions of human and non-human agency. Prerequisite: 12 credits of SOCI. Three credits.

A forum in which students gain scholarly experience by presenting and discussing their research; and taking part in colloquia, guest lectures, and public talks relevant to sociology. Required for honours students in their senior year. No credit.

The topic for 2022-2023 is Refugee Resettlement in Canada. This course focuses on Canada’s unique refugee resettlement framework, with an emphasis on refugee resettlement since Canada’s ‘Refugees Welcome’ campaign in 2016. Examining the social science literature on the evolution of Canadian refugee law, policies, and practices, student develop a critical understanding about why Canada’s refugee resettlement system receives international praise while also being the subject of criticisms (e.g., emerging ethical dilemmas, post-migration equity). Three credits.