SOCIOLOGY

SOC 101:
Introductory Sociology I 3 credits

Prerequisite: none

Transferability: UBC, SFU, UVic, OU, TWU

An analysis of the basic concepts, methods, and theoretical orientations which are characteristic of sociology, this course is designed to acquaint you with the discipline and to facilitate critical and logical thought concerning explanations of society and social interaction.

SOC 201: 3 credits
Key Ideas in Sociology

Prerequisites: SOC 101 or MACS 110

Transferability: pending

This course provides a survey of sociological perspectives in the 19th and 20th centuries. It provides a history of sociology as it focuses on the thinkers and ideas that have shaped it. Students will study selected works which represent the breadth and depth of sociology.

SOC 210:
Social Problems of Canadian Society 3 credits

Prerequisites: SOC 101

Transferability: UBC, SFU, UVic, OU, TWU

This course examines a number of selected social issues in Canadian society from a variety of theoretical perspectives. It focuses on change and continuity in Canadian society. Issues include poverty and power, the place of ethnic and minority groups, social impacts of economic change, and other social problems facing Canadians.

SOC 215:
Socialization 3 credits

Prerequisites: SOC 101 recommended

Transferability: SFU

Socialization is the process by which people learn the norms and values of the society in which they live. This course examines the process of socialization in one or more of the following institutions: family, education, media, and/or religion. Particular emphasis will be placed on issues of gender, ethnicity and class in North America.

SOC 220:
Sociology of Women — Women in Canada 3 credits

Prerequisites: SOC 101 preferred

Transferability: UBC, SFU, UVic, OU, TWU

This course will explore basic sociological approaches to understanding the changing roles of women in Canada. After introducing the process whereby women and men learn gender roles, the course will emphasize the changes occurring for Canadian women in the family, the labour force, and the community. Students will have the opportunity to research local issues and to examine changes in their own social world.

SOC 230:
The Individual and Society 3 credits

Prerequisites: SOC 101

Transferability: UBC, SFU, UVic, OU, TWU

As members of a society, we spend our lives working and playing within a variety of institutional structures. From birth through infancy, childhood, adulthood, and old age, our lives and consciousness are moulded by social forces. This course will focus on education and ethnic stratification, with attention also being paid to the family, the workplace, and other socializing agencies.

SOC 250:
Sociology of Development
— The Third World Experience 3 credits

Prerequisite: none

Transferability: UBC, SFU, UVic, OU, TWU

A great deal of attention is given to the problems of the underdeveloped world. In this course we look at the major explanations of underdevelopment and consider what policy implications they may carry. Case studies from Latin America are used to evaluate critically the alternative paths of development. As such, the course will be of interest to anybody concerned with the present and future of the Third World. It will be of specific interest to those planning to teach, to anyone hoping to work in or travel to the Third World, and to those people interested in Canada’s position in the international scene.

SOC 331:
Sociology of Families 4 credits

Developed in partnership with Simon Fraser University

Prerequisites: 45 credits, to include at least six credits sociology.

Transferability: OU, SFU

A description and analysis of family structures in modern industrial society. Major theoretical perspectives on families and family change in developed societies will be examined, as well as varying methodological approaches to the study of families. Topics may include mate selection, marriage and divorce, family size and structures, domestic labour, power relationships within family, childhood socialization, variant family forms, and policy issues related to families. (Seminar)

(This course was previously numbered SA 331, and is known as such at SFU. Students having credit for SA 331 at UCFV or SFU will not receive additional credit for SOC 331.)

SOC 333:
Schooling and Society 4 credits

Developed in partnership with Simon Fraser University

Prerequisites: 45 credits, to include at least six credits sociology.

Transferability: OU, SFU

A sociological analysis of the education system and its relation to major social institutions in Western industrial societies, in particular Canada. Aspects studied may include the classroom, teachers, student culture, bureaucratization, inequality, employment, and social policy. (Seminar)

(This course was previously numbered SA 333, and is known as such at SFU. Students having credit for SA 333 at UCFV or SFU will not receive additional credit for SOC 333.)

SOC 335:
Gender Relations and Social Issues 4 credits

Developed in partnership with Simon Fraser University

Prerequisites: 45 credits, to include at least six credits sociology. (SOC 215 and/or 220 recommended.)

Transferability: OU, SFU

A sociological study of the position of women and men in one or more of the major social institutions in western industrial societies, in particular Canada. Social institutions that may be examined include the family, education, the economy, the polity, law, and the mass media. Particular attention will be paid to social policy issues.

(This course was previously numbered SA 335, and is known as such at SFU. Students having credit for SA 335 at UCFV of SFU will not receive additional credit for SOC 335.)

SOC 340:
Sociology of Religion 4 credits

45 credits, including ANTH 130 and three Sociology credits

Corequisites: None

An examination of the classical theories and modern research used to explain religion and its role in society and social change. Topics may include Australian totemism, the growth and spread of Christianity, Protestantism and capitalism, religion as the opiate of the masses, secularization and fundamentalism, liberation theology, “spirituality” vs. “organized religion”, cults, the New Age, and “Turning East”, the feminist critique of religion, and religion in the media.

SOC 350:
Classical Sociological Thought 4 credits

Developed in partnership with Simon Fraser University

Prerequisite: 45 credits, to include at least six credits sociology; SOC 201 recommended

Transferability: OU, SFU

An examination of selected works of the 19th or early 20th century sociological theorists.

(This course was previously numbered SA 350, and is known as such at SFU. Students having credit for SA 350 at UCFV or SFU will not receive additional credit for SOC 350.)

SOC 450:
Selected Issues in Sociological Theory 4 credits

Developed in partnership with Simon Fraser University

Prerequisites: 60 credits, to include at least nine credits sociology. (SOC 350 recommended.)

Transferability: SFU (pending)

An advanced seminar devoted to an in-depth examination of a topic not regularly offered by the department. The disciplinary designation will change to reflect specific topics. (Seminar)

SOC 490:
Directed Readings in Sociology 4 credits

Prerequisites: 60 credits, to include at least nine credits of sociology plus permission from supervising faculty member and department head.

Directed reading in a selected field of study under the direction of a single faculty member. A major paper will be required.

NOTE: The following SCMS courses can be used as sociology credit. Course descriptions are found under Social, Cultural, and Media Studies.

SCMS 255 — Introduction to Social Research
SCMS 310 — Special Topics: Regional Studies in Latin America
SCMS 334 — Cultural Policy
SCMS 355 — Quantitative Research Methods
SCMS 356 — Qualitative Research Methods
SCMS 363 — Processes of Development and Under- Development in Latin America
SCMS 387 — Canadian Native People
SCMS 388 — Comparative Studies of Minority Indigenous Peoples
SCMS 440 — Selected Topics in the Sociology of Religion
SCMS 440A — Religion in Latin America
SCMS 460 — Issues in the Information Society
SCMS 463 — Special Topics in Development Studies
SCMS 468 — Environment and Society
SCMS 470 — Race and Racism: Selected Topics
SCMS 470A — Latin American Immigrants and Immigration


Return to Course Descriptions index