4000

Students majoring in Sociology must complete the sociology achievement examination prior to graduation.

A course designed to gain an understanding of the normal aging process by using a bio-pyscho-social framework to examine the historical, cultural, physiological, psychological, and social aspects of aging. Emphasis is given to the changes that are associated with aging and the resulting dynamic interactions between older persons and their environment. Prerequisite: SOCI 1311 (Same as SOCW 4313).

The course explores social, psychological and biological processes of death, dying, and bereavement. It includes processes that define the role of the dying and the status of being dead in our society and in other cultures of the world. Topics include cross-cultural practices related to death, funerals, burial rituals, suicide, terminal illness, and care systems that attend the dying. Other topics include the concept and treatment of pain, and medical, legal and ethical values related to death and terminal illness in contemporary society. The study of death and dying often includes a journey that is intellectual and scholarly on one hand, emotional and experiential on the other. The fusing of these elements offers a comprehensive understating of our individual and collective mortality. (Same as SOCI 4315)

An overview of crime in America, various theories concerning causes of crime, and the criminal justice system. (Same as CRIJ 4317)

A study of the development of social thought with an emphasis on late nineteenth and twentieth century sociologists, their contributions, and developments in American Sociology. Prerequisite: SOCI 1311.

This course focuses on issues of drug use, misuse, and abuse. Special emphasis is given to the sociological aspects of drug-taking behavior, the relationship between drugs and crime, and the criminal justice system. Descriptions, classifications, and analyses are used to explore the extent of the drug problem. Prerequisite: SOCI 1311. (Same as SOCI 4319).

Religion is one of the most powerful forces of social cohesion, order, meaning, disruption, and change in human societies, both historically and today in the modern world. Sociology provides a particular disciplinary perspective and analytical tools and theories for describing, understanding, and explaining the nature and influence of religion. Prerequisites: SOCI 1311.