Sociology (SOC)

SOC 001 Introduction to Sociology 4 Credits

Patterns of social interaction, group behavior and attitudes provide a focus on the relationship of the individual to society. Social structure and social change within the institutions of society provide a focus on the relationship of society to the individual. The influences of social class, gender and race are explored at each level of analyses. Theories, methods and research results provide micro and macro models for understanding society.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 002 Social Problems 4 Credits

A sociological perspective on a variety of social problems. Specific topics vary, but include problems related to social class, race, gender, and sexual identity in social institutions such as the family, healthcare, the media, the environment, the educational system, political system, and criminal justice system. Both problems and solutions to contemporary social problems are analyzed at both micro and macro levels.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 012 Statistics for Understanding the Social World 4 Credits

An introduction to basic statistics in the social sciences. Emphasis is on the statistical concepts underlying calculations and formulas, and data analysis in the context of social science research. The course covers two main areas: basic descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. These concepts are taught through real world data using professional statistical software. By the end of the course, students will possess the skills necessary to both use and critically read and interpret statistical information in everyday life.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, Q, SS, SW

SOC 091 Special Topics 4 Credits

Special topics in sociology.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 100 Seminar in Sociology 1-4 Credits

Topics in sociology.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: SS

SOC 102 (HMS 102) Sociology of Mental Health 4 Credits

This course will provide an introduction to the sociology of mental health. You will learn how the social world influences our well-being, how the line between health and illness (“normal” and “crazy”) is socially constructed, and how mental health treatment has changed over time. We will also delve into demographic patterns of mental health and discuss the social stigma that surrounds mental illness, mental health treatment, and diagnosis. Throughout the course, we will discuss contemporary issues through a sociological lens.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 103 (AAS 103) Race and Ethnicity in the Contemporary U.S. 4 Credits

Examines race and ethnicity from a sociological perspective. Focus on the role of the major racial and ethnic communities in modern American society. Explores the roles of race and ethnicity in identity, social relations, and social inequality. Topics include racial and ethnic communities, minority/majority groups, assimilation, prejudice and discrimination, identity, and the social construction of the concept of race.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 104 (POLS 104) Political Sociology 4 Credits

An introduction to political sociology through an examination of the major sociological questions concerning power, politics, and the state. Covers questions concerning state formation, nationalism, social movements, globalization, political culture and participation, and civil society.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 105 Social Origins Of Terrorism 4 Credits

What is terrorism and its causes? This course explores the roots of terrorism sociologically. It offers critiques of common theories of terrorism and presents several analytic tools for better understanding the phenomenon. In doing so, students are able to explore the social, historical, political, and religious roots of terrorism.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 106 (AAS 106, LAS 106) Race and Ethnicity in the Americas 4 Credits

How is it possible that someone who is officially considered black in the United States can embody different racial identities throughout current Latin America? Even more, how is it possible that people considered white nowadays were not officially so in early twentieth-century US (although they were viewed as white in the Latin American context at the same time period)? This course offers a historical comparative analysis of the nature and dynamics of race between the United States and Latin America.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 109 Calling Bullshit 4 Credits

We’re awash in an information society, but do you really know how to make sense of any of it? Learn more about what sociology can teach us about the promise and pitfalls of reasoning with facts. Topics include data analytics, metrics, logical fallacies, psychological fallacies, sociological fallacies, fake news, cultural pressures, and more. This course will give you the skills you need to be a better student, scientist, citizen, consumer, and human being.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 114 (ASIA 114) Social Issues in Contemporary China 4 Credits

Dramatic economic, cultural and social changes are underway in China today and have aroused much debate among social scientists, East and West. The following social issues are critical for understanding China's development trajectory: inequality and poverty; rapid demographic shifts; provision of health care services; provision of education services; and becoming an "information society." We will explore how these issues intersect with old hierarchies in China, urban-rural differences, and gender differences.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 115 A Nation of Immigrants: The American Experience 4 Credits

The course provides an introduction to contemporary immigration, conceptualizing it as a social and economic process, as well as a human experience that is simultaneously liberating and limiting. Through immigration we will analyze processes of assimilation and resistance, the construction of cultural boundaries, the development of modern nation-states, as well as the role race plays in current debates about immigrants. The course advances a critical perspective by questioning how immigration is framed in the West, particularly in the Unites States.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 118 Sociology of Culture 4 Credits

Introduction to the ways sociologists and other social scientists think about this thing called “culture,” and help students become educated observers and analysts of culture throughout their lives. Topics include: how our brains and bodies are shaped during enculturation and socialization; how art, music, fashion, and myths are produced and shape our lives; how culture diffuses and changes; and how taste, knowledge, and values relate to status, power, and inequity.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 127 (WGSS 127) Sociology of Sexuality 4 Credits

Students in this course view human sexuality through a sociological lens. This includes theory, research methods, and topics such as LGBTQ identities, family formation, sex work, teenage sexuality, sadomasochism, and sexual technologies. We pay particular attention to ways in which sexual behavior is regulated, as well as social constructions of “the normal.” Course material focuses on the United States, although students are encouraged to bring cross-national perspectives into papers and class discussions.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 128 (WGSS 128) Race, Gender, and Work 4 Credits

Race, Gender and Work is a class designed to help students understand racial and gender inequalities as they relate specifically to work and employment. We explore the origins and histories of inequalities, the ways in which inequalities persist and/or change today, and what steps might be taken toward creating a more equal society.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 130 Sociology of Sports 4 Credits

This course provides an encompassing explanation of the process of globalization in the twentieth century through exploring the diffusion of sports, inquiring whether the sports has been connected to multiple forms of Empires, i.e. colonialism and imperialism. To do so, we will use sports to explore social and racial tensions, analyze mechanism of resistance, re-conceptualize the boundaries of social, economic and political spheres, examine the adoption of cultural practices, as well as understanding the construction of modern nation-states.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 138 The Sociology of Reality TV 4 Credits

How does The Bachelor shed light on courtship rituals, and what can Dance Moms teach us about the social meaning of childhood? Reality television shows may seem like frivolous fun, but they are also illuminating cultural artifacts that reflect contemporary American tastes, norms, and values. In this course—by reading sociological work, paired with episodes of reality shows—students learn to analyze these forms of entertainment through a social scientific lens.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 141 Breaking the Rules: Social Deviance 4 Credits

What institutions exert control over human behavior, and what are the incentives for adhering to social norms? Why do some people break those rules? What are the consequences of rule breaking? In this course, after examining theoretical scholarship on deviant behavior, students apply those theories to real-world examples— for example, criminal activities and policing, drug use, sexuality, body modification, mental illness, and atypical behavior at school and work…Are you ready? Let’s get weird.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 155 (AAS 155, LAS 155) Afro-Latino Social Movements in Latin America & the Caribbean 4 Credits

This course focuses on Afro-Latinos who make up nearly 70% of the population of the Americas. Despite the large amount of people of African descent living in the Americas, Afro-Latinos are an understudied population who face significant amounts of racial discrimination in their countries. Who are Afro-Latinos? Where do they live? How are they challenging the racism that they face? These are questions we will tackle in this course.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 160 (HMS 160) Medicine and Society 4 Credits

Sociological perspectives on health, illness, and medical care. Focus on social epidemiology, social psychology of illness, socialization of health professionals, patient-professional relationships, medical care organization and policies.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 162 (GS 162, HMS 162) HIV/AIDS and Society 4 Credits

Impact of the AIDS epidemic on individuals and on social institutions (medicine, religion, education, politics, etc.); social and health policy responses; international experience; effect of public attitudes and policy on people affected directly by AIDS.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 163 (AAS 163) Sociology of Hip Hop Culture 4 Credits

Hip Hop culture is a complex form of artistic practices reflecting and impacting the environments in which they were produced. Through readings, music and video, this class will uncover the origins of Hip Hop by examining the musical history of the Afro-diaspora in the 20th century. Further study will reveal how the young Bronx, NY underclass in the 1970s fused elements of past musical styles with their own personal and political expression that sparked a worldwide phenomenon and culture industry.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 164 (AAS 164, WGSS 164) Sociology of Black Families 4 Credits

The objective of this course is to help students learn more about Black family experiences within the United States and globally. In approaching the course with an intersectional lens, students will learn about the varied experiences of Black families, and the ways in which these experiences are embedded in empowerment, disempowerment, and self-actualization. Students will leave the course understanding Black families at the intersection of fatherhood, motherhood, marriage, singlehood, childrearing, LGBTQ families, interracial families, transnational families, and aging.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 166 Money, Power, Prestige: Social Stratification" 4 Credits

Who gets what and why? How does a person's social origin determine their social position later in life? Why do some groups maintain greater access to money and power than do others? Is wealth, influence, and prestige concentrated in a small group of 'power elite'? And when and why do the powerful fall? Course addresses these questions through the sociological study of stratification, with an emphasis on social mechanisms and processes.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 171 (REL 171) Religion And Society 4 Credits

An introduction to the sociology of religion. Covers both classical and contemporary approaches to understanding religion in society. Emphasis on religious beliefs and practices in the U.S., sources and contours of religious change, and effects of religion on individuals and society. Specific topics include religious fundamentalism, conversion, secularization, religious authority, religion in public life, social change, and terrorism, and religious impacts on personal health, educational attainment, and family life.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 186 (ASIA 186) Understanding China through Films 4 Credits

We will use documentary and feature films to demonstrate how Chinese people experience and interpret social, political, economic and cultural changes. Through sociological interpretation of film, we will focus on education provision, migration, environmental concerns, gender relations, poverty, and changing cultural norms and values. We will explore how these social issues have been intensified with economic reform and how they intersect with major historical hierarchies in China.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 191 Special Topics 4 Credits

Special topics in sociology.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 211 Research Methods and Data Analysis 4 Credits

Survey of social science research methods common in sociology and anthropology. Covers research question formulation, design, and analysis and interpretation of data. Ideally taken by majors in sophomore year.
Attribute/Distribution: Q, SS, SW

SOC 212 Development of Social Theory 4 Credits

This course introduces some of the most influential theoretical ideas in sociology. It focuses on understanding the differences among several classical theoretical traditions and their strengths and weaknesses in analyzing societies. It also helps students learn to apply social theory to contemporary sociological research and problems, learning the ways theory can be used to answer questions and problems societies face today. Ideally taken by majors in sophomore year.
Attribute/Distribution: SS, SW, W

SOC 221 Qualitative Methods 4 Credits

Provides a survey of methods social scientists use to collect data that is not easily reducible to numbers, such as in-depth interviewing, content analysis, participant-observation, comparative-historical analysis, and ethnography. Offers hands-on, practical experience with these methods as well as model cases of the methods as they are used by experts.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 222 Introduction to Survey Research 4 Credits

Surveys are important tools to provide us information about the world around us, from general populations’ values and attitudes to consumers’ behaviors. This course introduces the basic concepts and skills of survey methods, including questionnaire design, sampling procedure, implementing the survey, and evaluating quality of survey results. Through designing and conducting a survey of Lehigh students on topics of class’ own choosing, students will be critical readers of any survey data, and be able to design and conduct original surveys.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, Q, SS, SW

SOC 223 It's Who You Know: Understanding Social Networks 4 Credits

Who knows who? Who knows what? Who is influential? Why are your friends more popular than you are? How do ideas, diseases, fashion trends and innovations spread through groups? Such questions and more can be answered using network analysis. This class will explore key concepts and methods for understanding networks and how they shape social life.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, Q, SS, SW

SOC 226 Computational Text Analysis 4 Credits

Provides the fundamentals for designing and conducting computational text analysis projects from a social scientific perspective. We will touch on several advanced topics in this rapidly growing field, such as web scraping, sentiment analysis, classifiers, structural topic modeling, text networks, machine learning, natural language processing, and word embeddings. Hands-on analysis in the R statistical computing environment will be integral to the course, though no prior coding experience is required.
Attribute/Distribution: Q, SS, SW

SOC 229 Data Visualization in the Social Sciences 4 Credits

Our world is increasingly data-driven; how can we as social scientists take advantage of data to understand and address contemporary social problems? This course will introduce students to the visualization of quantitative social science data. Students will learn to use R to clean, organize, and visualize real-world data. These skills are invaluable for myriad future careers in medicine, policy, non-profits, finance, and more. No prior programming experience is required.
Prerequisites: SOC 012 or MATH 012 or ECO 045
Attribute/Distribution: Q, SS, SW

SOC 300 Apprentice Teaching 1-4 Credits

SOC 313 (AAS 313) Keep the Change: Social Movements in Society 4 Credits

Interested in how social change works? Or how to stop it? This seminar provides an introduction to the origins, dynamics, and consequences of historical and contemporary social movements, beginning with the American Civil Rights Movement. Students will discuss and develop their own ideas on these issues through examination of social movement theory and empirical case studies. They will also explore more general questions about the relationship between human agency, social structure, and historical change. More information is available at https://wordpress.lehigh.edu/zim2/soc313/.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 314 (AAS 314, GS 314, HMS 314) Infections and Inequalities: HIV, TB and Malaria in the Global South 4 Credits

This course will explore the social, economic, and environmental causes of HIV, TB, and malaria in developing nations, with a particular focus on the characteristics and causes of these diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Students will engage theories and perspectives on development, globalization, and social inequality to explain trends in HIV, TB, and malaria and to understand why certain groups are more vulnerable to infection than others. Prerequisite: Junior/senior standing with declared major/minor in SOC, ANTH, SOAN, HMS, GS, or AAS.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 316 Social Epidemiology 4 Credits

Social epidemiology is the study of the distribution and social determinants of health and disease in human populations. This course introduces the basic principles of epidemiological study design, analysis and interpretation, covering topics such as how a disease spreads across populations and how public health interventions can help control or reduce the spread of disease. This course also reviews epidemiology as a social science by reviewing the social causes and consequences of health.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 317 Seminar in Globalization and Social Issues 4 Credits

Advanced seminar that focuses on research and discussion of specialized topics in globalization and social issues. Subjects vary by semester. Junior or senior standing and departmental permission required.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 319 (GS 319) The Political Economy of Globalization 4 Credits

Studies the relationship among economic, political and cultural forces in an era of globalization, focusing on how global capitalism, the world market and local economics shape and are shaped by social, cultural, and historical forces. Topics include political and cultural determinants of trade and investment; culture and the global economy; global capitalism, especially studied through the lens of culture; globalization and patterns of economic growth; cross-cultural study of consumerism; and poverty and inequality.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W, WRIT

SOC 322 (GS 322, HMS 322) Global Health Issues 4 Credits

Sociological dimensions of health, illness, and healing as they appear in different parts of the world. Focus on patterns of disease and mortality around the world; the relative importance of 'traditional' and 'modern' beliefs and practices with regard to disease and treatment in different societies; the organization of national health care systems in different countries; and the role of international organizations and social movements in promoting health.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 324 Sociology of Children and Childhood 4 Credits

This course examines children and childhood from a sociological perspective, with a focus on growing up as a social process. We will explore childhood as a time of socialization, and the role of children as active social agents, paying special attention to the ways in which children and childhood are entwined with other major social institutions. This course analyzes the intersections of children and childhood with fundamental social inequities related to gender, race, and class.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 325 (HIST 325, WGSS 325) History of Sexuality and the Family in the U.S. 3,4 Credits

Changing conceptions of sexuality and the role of women, men, and children in the family and society from the colonial to the post-World War II era. Emphasis on the significance of socioeconomic class and cultural background. Topics include family structure, birth control, legal constraints, marriage, divorce, and prostitution.
Attribute/Distribution: SS

SOC 328 (GS 328) Global Food Systems 4 Credits

Where does our food come from? How does it get to our tables? Why are there famines in some parts of the world and obesity epidemics in other parts of the world? This course will investigate these questions by focusing on food systems – the chains of social action that link food producers to food consumers. We will also explore a range of alternatives to global food systems that emphasize food democracy, security, and sustainability.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 331 (GS 331, WGSS 331) Gendered Experience of Globalization 4 Credits

Women and men experience globalization differently and globalization affects women in different cultural and national contexts. Gender stratification has been intensified by the transnational flow of goods and people. provides students with a survey of new development in feminist theories on globalization and on gender stratification and development, and links these theoretical frameworks to empirical research about gender issues that have become more prominent with globalization.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 332 (POLS 332) The Politics of Inequality 4 Credits

Examines the politics of gender, racial, and economic inequality in the U.S. Explores the effects of growing inequality on political representation, and the impact of government policy on perpetuating inequality. Class consciousness, and its effects on political beliefs and behavior, are examined.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 344 (WGSS 344) Bad Girls: Gender, Sexuality, Deviance 4 Credits

This course focuses on people who perform their gender and/or sexuality in ways that fall outside of the norm. Topics include, but are not limited to: commercial sex workers, dominatrixes, transpeople, stay-at-home dads, and drag queens. We will regularly discuss readings in the context of current events and popular culture.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 355 Sociology Of Education 4 Credits

Examines the social organization of education as a social institution and the role of schools in society. Focus is primarily on educational processes in the United States. Topics include: IQ, curriculum, tracking, educational inequality, primary/secondary/higher education, private vs. public, informal education and social capital, effects on and of race/class/gender, schools as agents of socialization, educational policy and school reform.
Prerequisites: ANTH 011 or ANTH 012 or SOC 001
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 364 (WGSS 364) Sociology of Families 4 Credits

Sociological analysis of families in the United States, including investigations of historical and contemporary patterns. Issues addressed include parenting, combining work and family, divorce and remarriage, family policies.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 370 (EVST 370, GS 370) Globalization and the Environment 4 Credits

This course investigates how globalization has influenced society-nature relationships, as well as how environmental conditions influence the globalization processes, focusing on the rapidly evolving global economic and political systems that characterize global development dynamics and resource use. Particular attention is paid to the role of multi-national corporations, international trade, and finance patterns and agreements. Questions related to consumption, population, global climate change, toxic wastes, and food production/distribution are key themes.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 374 Social Stratification: Race, Class, Gender 3 Credits

This course is an introduction to social stratification. Examines social inequality as an organizing principle in complex societies. Explores the intersection of the "great divides" of race, class, and gender. Through readings from classical sociological theory to cutting-edge literature we embark on a critical analysis of the causes and consequences of social stratification and social mobility in the United States and in a global context.
Prerequisites: ANTH 001 or SOC 001
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 375 (REL 375) The Christian Right In America 4 Credits

What do we know about the Christian Right? Who are they? What do they believe? Where do they come from? Seminar explores answers to such questions through a focus on the history of the Christian Right as well as its ideologies and beliefs, the people who are a part of it, and its evolving relationship to the American political system.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW, W

SOC 379 (AAS 379) Race and Class in America 4 Credits

This course focuses on the ways in which race and class intersect in the social, economic, and political structures of American society. Through sociological literature, fiction, nonfiction, film, and other media we will explore the place of race and class in American society. We will examine how race and class operate on a personal, "micro" level, while at the same time operating on a large scale, "macro" level.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

SOC 389 Honors Project 1-6 Credits

Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.

SOC 391 Special Topics 4 Credits

Special topics in sociology.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: SS

SOC 393 Supervised Research 1-4 Credits

Conducting sociological or social psychological research under the supervision of a faculty member. Consent of department chair required.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: SS

SOC 395 Internship 1-4 Credits

Supervised experience in a setting suitable to anthropological or sociological analysis. May be repeated once for credit. Open only to department majors.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: SS

SOC 399 Senior Thesis 2-4 Credits

Research during senior year culminating in senior thesis. Required for sociology/social psychology majors seeking departmental honors. Consent of department chair required.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: SS