Introduction to Sociological Thinking "Goals: To introduce students to the basic sociological concepts. To show how these concepts are used to analyze society. To increase our knowledge of how society is organized and operates. To encourage creative and critical thinking.Content: Study of culture, socialization, social institutions such as the family, religion, and government, race, gender, social class, and social change."
Sociological Practice I and II "Goals: In this gateway seminar, students explore the discipline of sociology and engage in further discovery about what it means to employ a sociological perspective. The goal of this course is to help sociology majors successfully navigate their undergraduate education and prepare for advanced study in the field and/or their career. Ideally, students must take this course in their sophomore year. Transfer students will complete the course during their first year at Hamline. Content: Students will learn about the sociology department and major including resources and responsibilities of the major, internships, careers in sociology, and the role and value of public sociology. Students will review the core concepts (e.g., the sociological imagination), theories (e.g., structural functionalism), and methods (e.g., survey research) to which they were introduced in their introductory course. Students will learn how to formulate a research question, prepare an annotated bibliography, and consider how theory and methodology inform one's work, whether theoretical or applied. In addition, students may conduct mini-methodology assignments, considering the appropriateness of method to question."
Social Research Methods "Goals: To learn how to design and implement a research project. To become familiar with limits and appropriateness of various qualitative and quantitative research methods.Content: Various types of research methods such as field research, content analysis, and survey."
Critical Social Theory "Goals: To introduce student to sociological theories and to develop a scholarly sensitivity that is guided and shaped by critical concepts, ideas, and theories. Students will learn that understanding social reality is controversial and complicated. Content: In order to teach student a sociological way of ”thinking” and a critical examination of social issues, the course draws on the works of past and present sociologists."
Senior Seminar "Goals: To synthesize the diverse sociology courses taken during the course of the major. To discuss the discipline of sociology—its major issues and debates, its applications, and its occupational relevance through completion of an internship. Content: Completion of an internship fulfills the Hamline Plan LEAP requirement."
Elective Courses:
Sociology of Gender "Goals: To understand and evaluate gender as a form of social structure and the consequences that structure holds for individuals and society. To understand gender as a social, rather than purely biological, construct.Content: Covers a variety of topics including social constructionism, biological explanations of gender difference, feminist theory, and sexuality, as well as a selection of contemporary issues in gender studies."
Sociology of Racial and Cultural Minorities "Goals: To develop a critical understanding of the different racial, ethnic, and culturally distinct groups in society. To explore a range of theories which seek to explain the nature of minority relations."
Social Problems "Goals: To understand why we have social problems and what we can do about them. To learn about selected social problems.Content: Poverty, racism, sexism, urban issues, alcohol, and drug abuse. The social problems selected will vary with the instructor."
Medicine, Morality and Mortality "Goals: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: 1) describe the socialization experiences of students in medical school; 2) identify and describe historical shifts regarding the place and practice of medicine in American society; 3) describe patient-doctor interactions and experiences in various clinical settings; 4) compare and contrast health and illness across social differences including race, socio-economic status, and gender; 5) articulate key ethical issues in medicine including the case of organ transplantation; 6) comprehend some of the complexities of medical practice, such as the role of patient compliance, surgical risk, and the anatomy of hope. Content: This course explores the social worlds of medicine. Topics include the process of becoming a doctor, the history of medicine, patient and doctor experiences, inequities in access to health care, organ transplantation, medical complications, and the anatomy of hope. Using literature, film, text, and guest speakers, we will examine the roles of doctors, patients, and the institution of medicine in a social exploration of health, illness, and healing."
Race and Politics "This upper-division seminar course focuses on the issues at intersection of Race and Politics in the United States- issues foundational to the history of our society. The course is largely interdisciplinary, drawing from History, Political Science, and Social Psychology, while retaining the predominant Sociological frame to investigate how and why race and politics have recursively constructed each other over centuries and across normative regimes. Topics include the history of US racial politics, racial identity and political behavior, racial attitudes and political behavior, racial policy in the US, and race & social movements."