SOC 697Practicum in Survey Administration0.50 units
A practicum giving training in the administration of social survey research. Normally this will be in conjunction with the K-W Metropolitan Area Survey (KWMAS), an annual area survey administered by the Department of Sociology. Weekly seminars will combine examination of the scholarly literature on issues in survey research with case materials from the KWMAS. Students will gain practical experience in such issues as dealing with clients, working out a production schedule for the survey, assembling a questionnaire, writing an OHR (ethics) brief, making sampling design decision, and conducting pretest fieldwork. The course requires a paper on some aspect of survey administration.
A critical overview of selected original writings of major sociological theorists from the 19th and 20th centuries (including, among others, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Mead, Schutz, Wollstonecraft, Martineau, D. Smith, Giddens, and Habermas). Attention is paid throughout to issues in the philosophy of social science and sociology of knowledge.
SOC 703Social Theory and Enacted Realities: From the Early Greeks to the Present Time0.50 units
Using a symbolic interactionist/social constructionist frame as the integrating mechanism, this course examines the enduring problem of connecting social theory with human activity. Building on the works of early Greeks (e.g., Protagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides) and others (e.g., hermeneutic scholars, pragmatists, and contemporary social scientists) who have addressed matters of intersubjectivity and human accomplishment, the emphasis is on articulating theory that is attentive to community life in the making. Focusing on the interlinkages of speech, objects, and activity, particular attention is given to the development of pragmatist thought within rhetoric, poetics, philosophy, history, and the social sciences.
This course examines the conflicting views of six to ten pairs of theorists, from Hegel and Comte to major thinkers in our time. The study of the materials will allow students to become conscious of their personal locations in the history of social thought, and develop coherent theoretical positions of their own.
SOC 705Theory and Research in Social Organization0.50 units
A survey of current theories of social organization, which examines social institutions and their interconnections. Social structure is treated as a predictor of behaviour.
SOC 706Theory and Research in Social Psychology0.50 units
A survey of the field of social psychology. Major theoretical approaches are examined and compared in the context of course readings, discussion and student presentations. Topics address the processes of socialization, communication, attribution, social influence, identity, group structure, cognition, deviance, the life cycle, and social structure and personality.
An overview of the development of sociological theory in Canada. Focusing on English-language sociology, the course deals with major figures (Dawson, Hughes, Marsh, Porter, Clement) and theories in the discipline (human ecology, Fabianism, functionalism, elite studies). It examines as well scholars and schools of thought in closely related disciplines (Innis, the "new political economy", feminist scholarship) and related developments in Quebecois sociology.
SOC 708Contemporary Debates in Sociological Theory0.50 units
Deals with recent controversies in sociological theory; e.g. Giddens' theories of structuration and the state; critical theory, including the works of Habermas on communicative action; postmodernist theory and varieties of psychoanalytic theory.
Applied multiple regression/correlation, with emphasis on data processing/computing, model construction and interpretation and underlying statistical assumptions.
SOC 711Techniques in Longitudinal Analysis0.50 units
This course will cover topics related to the analysis of longitudinal and repeated-measures data in the social sciences, mainly using large multivariate datasets. Topics covered will include popular techniques including analysis of various duration measures, including event history and related models, growth-curve or latent trajectory models, and will also expose participants to newer approaches including sequence analytic methods. Open to all students, this course may be of particular interest to students planning research in connection with the Statisitics Canada longitudinal surveys housed in the university's South Western Ontario Research Data Centre.
An examination of techniques used in theoretically oriented research. Sampling. Questionnaire design and construction. Uses of qualitative data and procedures. Data preparation and processing. Multivariate analyses using contingency control. Introduction to scaling and index construction, causal inference, theory building, and the use of computer software.
SOC 713Design and Data Analysis in Quantitative Research0.50 units
Continuation of SOC 712 and 710 at a more advanced level. Philosophical and theoretical issues in quantitative research. Experimental and non-experimental research designs and procedures. Causal modelling and inference. Measurement theory. Latent variables. Longitudinal designs and data analysis. Use of computer software.
SOC 714Ethnographic Research in the Social Sciences0.50 units
Attending to the ways in which group life is (socially) constructed, this course provides (1) greater linkage of theory and method; (2) grounding in the interactionist literature; and (3) experience in data collection and analysis.
This seminar course focuses on effective research design in sociology. It covers a range of topics from selecting research areas/topics and research strategies, to planning feasible projects, writing research proposals and theses.
This course covers the basic techniques for collecting, interpreting, and analyzing qualitative data. The course will operate on two interrelated dimensions, one focused on understanding the relationship between theory, methods and data, the other focused on practical techniques such as identifying informants, and coding and analyzing data.
SOC 717Reflexive Research Methodologies: Contemporary Interpretive Traditions0.50 units
Drawing on the intimate intertwining of theory and methodology in such areas as phenomenology, ethnomethodology, hermeneutics and analysis, this course takes a practical approach to the reflexive research strategies these methodologies employ. Students will be encouraged to develop research proposals in line with their exposure to these methodologies.
This course will deal with class, status and power groups in an industrial society as they strive to maximize their share of wealth, prestige and power. Occupational structures of modern societies will be examined.
An overview of sociological approaches - theoretical and methodological - to the study of health, illness, and health care. Both the social organization of the health care system and the socio-cultural determinants of health and illness are considered.
The course examines key substantive, theoretical and methodological issues of the sociology of religion through the detailed study of important classical and contemporary works in the field. Representative issues addressed are: the social and psychological nature and function of religious experience, the character of conversion processes, the social and political implications of religious ideologies and organizations, the status of religious beliefs and practices in an age of seeming secularization. Attention will be given to both western and non-western religious traditions as well as to both established and newer forms of religious life.
Inquiry into the relationship between the natural environment and society. Review of the theoretical and paradigmatic approaches used to study society-environmental interactions, and analysis of issues relating to technology, social change, distributional impacts, politics of environmental reform and factors that contribute to environmental-resource conflict, and policy decisions as they relate to the larger ecological complex.
An overview of current sociological theories and research in the areas of crime and delinquency, and juvenile and criminal justice. The focus of the course is on recent developments in theory and research that have received widespread attention from sociological criminologists.
SOC 745Deviance: An Interactionist Perspective0.50 units
Viewing deviance as an emergent social phenomenon, this course considers: the social construction of norms and deviance definitions; the emergence of deviance in the context of social movements and work situations; and the reputations and career contingencies of persons involved in deviant activities.
An examination of women's and men's changing gender roles with particular emphasis on theoretical explanations of gender relations. Topics discussed include gender roles in the family, politics and the economy, socialization, health care, violence and reproduction.
A critical examination of theories concerning the origin of sex inequality and an attempt to identify indicators of changing status of the sexes as well as factors which account for such changes.
SOC 759Sociology of Work and Occupations0.50 units
The seminar examines extant theoretical perspectives on the study of work. Current theories of work, critical issues in the field, and changes in the roles of occupations in the social structure are examined with the view towards new perceptions of work in our society.
An examination of the use of the concept "social network" in studying social structure; including the applicability of the concept to social theories, methods of operationalizing and analyzing social networks, and examples of substantive research employing the concept.
A critical examination of political and governmental strageties for identifying social problems and managing the conduct of individuals, groups, and populations.
This course is designed to introduc estudents to the history, theoretical background and application of Participatory Action Research as it is used within the social sciences. Participatory Action Research (PAR) represents an alternative and collaborative approach to the design implementation and outcomes of a community-based research poject whereby democratic processes of social and organizational change are priority. A PAR approach is both a method for conducting research and a framework for the ongoing encouraging and/or facilitating social change and social action. The use of various methodologies including peer researchers, mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative), knowledge translation, mobilization strategies for the purpose of needs assessment, program evaluation and policy research, will be explored. Examples of PAR in Canada will be examined as well as examples from international practice. Both the benefits and challenges of a PAR approach will be discussed throughout the course.
SOC 768Community Engagement and Social Development0.50 units
This course highlights the importance of participation by community members in matters related to their well-being and with methods to encourage their involvement. Community based research (CBR) as a method to engage communities towards social development will be explored. Processes of community entry and community engagement, particularly with disenfranchised and/or marginalized communities, will be examined, whereby methods for enhancing community capacity, inclusion, and empowerment will be given special attention. The role of effective leadership toward creating and sustaining social innovation will be discussed and examples of innovative social development practices in Canada will be assessed as well as examples from international practice. The theorectical and historical background of Social development will be covered, included social capital theory, and political economy perspectives of urban sustainablity.
The course is devoted to the comparative study of selected western and non-western societies in relation to their institutions, structures, value systems, changes and interactions.
Family and kinship are viewed as the rudimentary structures of society from which other structures differentiate. They are shown to persist in modern society as a reinforcement structure beneath the specialized institutions.
The seminar undertakes to develop a general theory of the relation of social thought to social action, comparative value systems and the role of the scientist, artist and intellectual in society.
SOC 778Theorizing Discourses of Health, Illness and Disease in Everyday Life0.50 units
This course will focus on identifying areas of strain or conflict in public helath and everyday life in relation to medical, literary, philosophical and everyday discourses of health and sickness. It will examine contested representations of the relations of health and life, healing and cure, pleasure and pain, self-governance and negligence, body and mind, and policy and polity. Core texts will span a wide variety of fields, eras and authors (e.g., Beckett, Benjamin, Descartes, Foucault, Freud, Gadamer, Goffman, Garfinkel, Parsons, Plato).
A systematic review and analysis of major theories of social change. Theoretical problems are examined within a specific context such as social organization, economic institutions, social stratification, and urban structures.
The course explores theoretical perspectives on the global governance of development, with critical attention to how processes of global development shape local environments and their inhabitants, challenge notions of state sovereignty and territory, and engender diverse responses to regimes of control. Cross-disciplinary perspectives will enable students to engage with a wide range of sociological, ethnographic, and political analyses of development through case studies and themes.
An examination of criminological and sociological theory and research on the problem of security and related regulatory agencies. Various forms of regulation will be examined (e.g. discipline, surveillance, control, security detention, security intelligence, risk management) as they apply to particular bodies, mobilities, borders, and private and public spaces.
SOC 786Interdisciplinary Seminar in Aging0.50 units
Faculty members and students from the disciplines of Biology, Sociology, Psychology and Statistics meet to develop an integrated view of aging and death in their biological and social aspects. Topics examined include evolutionary and genetic factors, demography of aging, social attitudes, and human aging patterns.