Sociology (SC)

Professors:  D. A. Dukes, S. O. Long, P. B. Harris (Chair); Associate Professors:  K. N. Eslinger, R. D. Clark, E. M. DeZolt; Assistant Professors:  W. A. Wiedenhoft, G. Vaquera; Visiting Assistant Professor:  P. F. Lipold

Sociology is a broad discipline that includes the study of human interaction as well as the analysis of underlying social structure.  Thus sociology students study social human behavior, in particular, the way people interact, organize, and take action.  The discipline provides students with a strong analytical and theoretical background and skills to work with and understand people.  The substantive areas covered within the Sociology Department include aging, anthropology, crime and deviance, cultural diversity, the environment, the family, health and illness, human service/social justice, poverty and social inequality, prejudice and discrimination, and sex and gender.  The Department of Sociology offers regular coursework in all of these areas.
Many students participate in internships in nonprofit and governmental agencies.  Graduates have gone into many careers:  law and criminal justice, social work and counseling, public health and nonprofit administration, education and business, as well as sociology and anthropology.

Major and Minor
Sociology majors may elect to focus their study in one or more of the areas of expertise (tracks) represented in the department.  Depth of knowledge can be obtained by taking a larger portion of course work within one of these areas.  Such focus, however, is not required, and students may elect to take a variety of courses in the field, as a broad education in sociology can be obtained in this manner.
SC 101 is usually taken in the freshman year and is a prerequisite to most 200, 300, and 400-level courses.  Upper-division courses are advanced courses and should ordinarily be taken during junior and senior years.  At the time that students declare their major, all who intend to declare sociology must make application to the department and meet with the department chair to be accepted as majors.  Applicants will be expected to have an overall quality-point GPA of 2.5 to be accepted as sociology majors.  Conditional acceptance of students below 2.5 may occur only under special circumstances.

Specialized Tracks in Sociology
Sociology majors or minors may elect to focus attention on one of three specialized tracks in sociology.  Fulfillment of the tracks requires that all requirements and options within the tracks be successfully completed.  In some cases, the requirements for a track may exceed the requirements for the sociology minor.
The Criminology track is recommended for students interested in crime, forensics, law, police work, and justice. Internships are available to seniors in their spring semester, and students will be matched to an internship site based on their career interests.  Seniors interested in an internship should notify the department in September of their senior year.  Track requirements are 18-19 credit hours.  The track consists of five tiers of courses.  Tier I:  Introductory Courses (Select 1) – SC 230 or 240; Tier II:  Special Topics in Criminology (Select 1) – SC 220 or 275;  Tier III:  Additional Sociology Courses (Select 1) – 215, 225, 330, or 360; Tier IV:  Advanced Topics in Criminology (Select 1) – SC 340, 343, 345, or 365; and Tier V:  Summary Courses in Criminology (Select 2) – SC 435, 440, or SC 475C.  All tiers must be completed to fulfill the requirements of this track.
The Cultural Diversity track promotes an appreciation of the variety of ways humans live and prepares students for an increasingly interdependent world.  It is recommended for students considering a career in a multicultural setting or graduate study in comparative sociology, ethnic studies, international studies, anthropology, law, counseling, or social work.  Internships are available to seniors in their spring semester, and students will be matched to an internship site based on their career interests.  The track requires a total of 18 credit hours.  Students must take either SC 245 or 255 as their foundational course in the diversity sequence and one course that will deepen their knowledge of a particular culture or world area (SC 151, 250, 253, 353, or another course approved by the department chair).  Additionally, students must select four other courses from the following list:  SC 151, 245, 250, 253, 255, 315, 320, 330, 353, 355, 370, 390, 450, 455, 475S, 490, CO 390, or CO 394.
The Human Service, Health, and Social Justice track is recommended for students interested in counseling, social work, law, advocacy, public health, public policy, public administration, non-profit administration, and other related careers.  Internships are required of seniors during their spring semester, and students will be matched to an internship site based upon their career interests.  The track requires a total of 19 credit hours, consisting of SC 111, 385, 475S, 490, and at least two of the following:  SC 225, 230, 255, 275, 285, 290, 295, 300, 310, 315, 320, 330, 340, 370, 380, or 390.
Please consult the department chair about questions and details regarding the tracks.

Interdisciplinary Concentrations
Sociology majors and minors may also participate in any of these five inter-disciplinary concentrations: 1) Aging Studies; 2) East Asian Studies; 3) Environmental Studies; 4) Perspectives on Sex and Gender; and 5) Latin American Studies.  For details about concentrations, see pages 82-88 of this Bulletin and consult the respective coordinators of the concentrations.

Core Curriculum Requirements and the Writing Intensive Course in Sociology
The content of sociology courses contributes strongly to students’ education through the Core Curriculum.  The field of sociology initiated much of the early research on diversity, and most sociology courses reflect a continuing emphasis on that topic.  Sociology also offers numerous international courses as an important part of the department’s curriculum.  The emphasis on scholarly writing is reflected in course content, and students will find that the schedule of classes for a given semester will reflect these emphases.  For students taking SC 101 or SC 245 as a Core requirement, it is recommended that the course be taken at John Carroll.
It should be noted that the writing requirement of the Core Curriculum must be fulfilled by sociology majors through completion of a writing-intensive course in sociology.  Students will find appropriate sociology courses marked with a “W” in the course schedule, signifying it is a writing-intensive course. 

Academic Study-Abroad Opportunities for Sociology Students
The Sociology Department encourages its students to engage the world through a number of academic study-abroad opportunities:  1) interdisciplinary courses abroad offered in the summer by department faculty with other John Carroll faculty:   SC 235 (Popular Culture in Japan); SC 393 (Peace and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland); SC 299G (The Social and Economic Development of Ghana); and SC 399A (Restoring a Nation:  Post-Conflict Transformation in South Africa); or 2) study-abroad programs coordinated by the university’s Center for Global Education.

Community Service and Social Justice at John Carroll University
The university encourages student service to the community.   The Sociology Department is committed to social justice and community service with a faculty and curriculum oriented to provide such opportunities for students.  The department provides preparation for service and understanding issues of social justice through SC 111, SC 475, and many other courses.  It cooperates with other university offices in placing students for volunteer service.  See the department chair for full details.

Graduate Programs
Many graduates from the Sociology Department have undertaken graduate study in sociology and a variety of related fields, such as anthropology, law, social work, counseling, public health, public policy, and non-profit administration.  The department encourages the intellectual development which makes graduate work possible.  The department also assists in graduate school application procedures.  Consult an academic advisor in the department for more information.
The Sociology Department was also a founding member and is a participating department in the new master of arts in Non-Profit Administration at John Carroll.  The Non-Profit Administration program is intended for those who would like careers managing non-profit organizations that provide assistance to people in need.  It is an interdisciplinary professional degree program housed in the social sciences.  Faculty from ten different departments of the university, including the Boler School of Business, offer coursework in the program.
A special agreement with the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (M-SASS) at Case Western Reserve University enables qualified sociology majors to enroll in the M-SASS program after their junior year at John Carroll.  Successful completion of this two-year program results in a B.A. degree in sociology from John Carroll and a masters in social work from Case Western Reserve University.  For details, including standards for eligibility, consult the chair of the Sociology Department during the freshman year.

101. INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY 3 cr.  Survey of human social relations, diversity,  and societal social structure; introduction to the major divisions of the field of sociology.
111. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL JUSTICE 3 cr.  No prerequisite. Overview of the history of issues related to social justice, including analyses of social inequalities both globally and nationally, and issues related to social responsibility and civic engagement.  A service learning component is required.
151. CULTURES OF EAST ASIA 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Introduction to the cultures of China, Korea, and Japan.  National variations among cultural heritages vastly different from the Western tradition.
199. SPECIAL STUDIES 1-3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Variety of courses with special focus; subjects will be announced in the course schedule.
201. SOCIAL PROBLEMS 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Survey of modern problems using frames of reference and concepts introduced in SC 101.  Topics include crime and deviance, delinquency, health care, mental health, sex-related social problems, divorce and the family, poverty, discrimination, population and environmental problems.
215. INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101. Analysis of the interdependence of social and individual determinants of human behavior with emphasis on social roles, socialization, and symbolic interaction in a group context.
220. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Overview of the American system of criminal justice as an integrated process with focus on procedures and functions or system components, including law, police, prosecution, court, and corrections.
225. SOCIOLOGY OF THE FAMILY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Analysis of the family life cycle with special emphasis on mate selection and the developmental periods of marital adjustment.
230. DEVIANT BEHAVIOR 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Causes and effects of violating social norms.  Inadequate socialization, labeling, and the relationship between individual and society.  Role of social control.
240. CRIMINOLOGY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Survey of sociological data and theories pertinent to the types and incidence of crime in America.
245. INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Study of the diversity of human lifeways that have existed historically and in the contemporary world, viewed in a framework of biological and cultural evolution.
250. JAPANESE SOCIETY 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Study of Japan as a postindustrial society, focusing on social relationships, institutions, and contemporary issues.
253. POPULAR CULTURE IN JAPAN 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Study of contemporary Japanese material culture and lifestyles in the context of an affluent, commercialized society.
255. PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Study of prejudice and discrimination, including their history, contemporary sources, and prospects for their reduction, with application to U.S. institutions.  Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the social construction of difference and the experiences of stigmatized statuses, as it relates to sex and gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, class, and disability.
265. VICTIMS OF CRIME 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Special problems faced by victims of crime; crime prevention; post-crime trauma.
275. FAMILY VIOLENCE 3 cr.  Prerequisite: SC 101.  Social causes of violence in the family, especially dynamics of child and spouse abuse.  Review of current research with attention to measures for preventing family violence and treating its effects.
285. AGING AND SOCIETY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Interdisciplinary overview of the aging process with special attention to the impact on the individual, family, and society.  Experiential learning and review of current research findings with emphasis on successful aging. 
290. ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Critical examination of the relationship between society and nature, particularly how humans have attempted to dominate nature throughout history.  Topics of study include consumption, food and agriculture, population growth, and renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.  The course will conclude with exploring solutions to stop environmental degradation.
295. SOCIOLOGY OF DEATH AND DYING 3 cr.  No prerequisite. Sociological study of death and dying from a life-cycle perspective, including pain, grief, bereavement, and widowhood.
299. SPECIAL TOPICS 1-3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Specialized focus on selected areas and issues in sociology.
300. DEATH PENALTY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  An interdisciplinary team-taught class about the sociological and philosophical beliefs underlying support for the death penalty, nationally and internationally.  Topics include the history of executions; legal changes in the death penalty process; public opinion; deterrence; living and working on death row; and human rights concerns.
310. HEALTH AND ILLNESS IN SOCIETY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Analysis of the institution of medicine, health-care delivery, and the social factors that influence the patient’s illness through its various stages.
315. SEXUALITY AND SOCIETY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Human sexuality, identity, expression, and variation as products of social control, values, and norms; a social scientific understanding of human sexuality; social causes and consequences of sexual dysfunction; perspectives on developing healthy family lives.
320. SEX AND GENDER 3 cr. Prerequisite: SC 101.  Study of the relationship among culture, biology, and social expectations of male and female behavior.  Traditional and non-traditional American gender roles viewed cross-culturally and historically.
330. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Theoretical background, methodological approaches, and analysis of the consequences of systems of stratification.  Emphasis on issues of social class, class structure, and mobility in American society.
335. SOCIOLOGY OF WAR 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Selected aspects of the relationship between war, the state, and society from a historical and comparative perspective.  Focus on the relationship between international warfare and national societies organized to wage war in the modern period, and the extent to which this relationship has changed over the last two centuries.  Issues include nationalism, the state, resource mobilization, institutions and organizations of armed force, citizenship and social inclusion, the experience of combat, memory of war, and treatment of the enemy.
340. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Historical development of America’s juvenile justice system since its inception in 1902.  The range of offenses committed by youth, including delinquency and status offenses; social and personal causes and effects.
343. DRUGS AND CRIME 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Introduction to the relationship between drugs and crime; law enforcement techniques used to reduce drug abuse; prevention and treatment; and the arguments for and against drug legalization.
345. CORRECTIONS 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Rationale of correctional procedures and the types of penal institutions, policies, and practices in the supervision of convicted offenders.
353. LATINA/O TRANSNATIONAL EXPERIENCE 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  Examination of social issues impacting Latina/o communities (Chicanas/os, Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Central Americans) within the U.S., abroad and in this emerging transnational space.  Topics include ethnic movements, immigration, identity construction, borderlands, labor, education, gender, and language policies.
355. COMPARATIVE RACIAL/ETHNIC RELATIONS 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101. Overview of historical and contemporary dynamics of ethnic relations in the U.S. and selected regions and societies around the world.  Fundamental concepts and dynamics in ethnic relations, the historical and contemporary experiences of major ethnic groups in the U. S., and instances of ethnic cooperation, conflict, and inequality in specific countries and regions of the world.
360. URBAN SOCIETY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Growth of urbanization; patterns of ecology, social institutions, characteristic lifestyles, and current problems in the core city, suburbs, and the urbanized region.
365. CORPORATE CRIME 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Analysis of moral issues in business from the perspective of organizational deviance; case analyses of corporate and governmental deviance.
370. MEDICINE AND CULTURE 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Influence of culture on illness and medical care; ecological context of illness; practitioner-patient relations; mental illness; folk and alternative methods of healing; social and cultural construction of illness.
380. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS 3 cr.  Prerequisite: SC 101.  Focus on how environmental movements have developed over time and in different contexts.  Developments of the U.S. environmental movement from its early pursuits for the conservation and preservation of nature to its more recent struggles for environmental justice.  Global environmental movements, particularly those fighting for sustainability, will also be studied.
385. POVERTY AND WELFARE IN THE U.S. 3 cr.  Prerequisites: SC 101, and one additional course in sociology.  Critical examination of poverty and welfare reform:  the underlying causes, the consequences, and the people who are affected.  Student team projects focus on special populations, such as pregnant teens, abused children, the homeless, and HIV/AIDS.
390. HEALTH AND HEALING IN EAST ASIA 3 cr.  No prerequisite.  In-depth understanding of a system of medicine based on understandings of the human body very different from those of biomedicine.  Explores the practice of traditional Chinese medicine in China, Japan, and the U. S.
393. CULTURE AND COMMUNITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND:  DYNAMICS OF CONFLICT AND PEACE 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Part of John Carroll University’s summer institute on Peace-building and Conflict Transformation.  Examination of the historical and sociocultural dimensions of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the movement towards peace-building and community reconstruction since the Belfast Agreement of 1998.  The majority of contact hours will be in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following a week-long academic and practical orientation at John Carroll.
399. ADVANCED SPECIAL TOPICS 3 cr.  Prerequisite:   SC 101.  In-depth focus on specialized areas and issues in sociology.
400. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY 3 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 101, and one additional course in sociology.  Overview of classic and contemporary theories of society.  Particular focus on the following theorists and schools of sociological thought:  Marx and Critical theory, Weberian theory, Durkheim and Structuralism, Symbolic Interactionism and Micro-level theories, Postmodernism, and Critical Race and Feminist theory.
435. LAW AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 340, 345, or 365.  Interrelationship between law and its system of implementation; legal processes and institutional framework; social factors affecting practice in the criminal justice system.
440. VIOLENCE AND SOCIETY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 340, 345, or 365.  Incidence of violence in society, its social causes, and effects.  Special attention to the social environment, the effects of interpersonal relations, and the developmental influence of socialization.
450. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  SC 101.  Examination of the social and cultural contexts of changing society; theories of social change applied to an understanding of the social-change process; roles of individuals, society, and culture in changing technology and values.
455. CULTURAL DIVERSITY TRAINING 3 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 245 or 255, and one additional 300-level course in the cultural diversity track.  Principles underlying cultural diversity training and their application in programs in non-governmental, corporate, law enforcement, and educational settings.
460. SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS 4 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 101, one additional course in sociology, and MT 122.  Focus on the logic of, procedures for, and issues related to theory testing in social research.  Specific attention to hypothesis construction, concept operationalization, research design, data collection methodologies, instrument construction, and sampling techniques.
460L. SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS COMPUTER LABORATORY 0 cr.  Corequisite:  SC 460.  A hands-on course that uses a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the social world.  Topics include content analysis, field research, interviewing, survey research, and statistical analysis program SPSS.
475C. INTERNSHIP AND SEMINAR IN CRIMINOLOGY 4 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 435 or 440, senior standing, and permission of instructor.  Internship in a correctional, justice, or legal setting; seminar on the analysis of internship experience.
475S. INTERNSHIP AND SEMINAR IN HUMAN SERVICES, HEALTH, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 4 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 285 or 385, senior standing, and permission of instructor; or completion of a minimum of 12 credit hours within the cultural diversity track, senior standing, and permission of instructor.  Internship in a social service, health, social justice, or research setting; seminar on related personal and professional growth, and analysis of internship experience from cultural, value, and theoretical perspectives.
490. MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING 3 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 101, one additional sociology course, and junior standing; or graduate standing.  Designed to lead the student to a better understanding of counseling in contemporary America.  Ethnicity/race relations, social- class effects, ageism, changing roles of women, sexual orientation, cultural mores, and their relevance to counselor-client relations.
Registration for SC 491, 492, and 493 requires a pre-approval process which involves an instructional plan reviewed by the course instructor, department chair, and dean’s office.
491. INDEPENDENT STUDY 1 cr. 
492. INDEPENDENT STUDY 2 cr.
493. INDEPENDENT STUDY 3 cr.  Prerequisite:  approval of project by instructor of course and chair of the department.  Directed advanced research and/or supervised advanced readings.  Students must report regularly to faculty advisor during the semester.  Course available only if regular classroom instruction on the selected topic is unavailable, and/or course of study extends beyond a previously taken course. 
499. ADVANCED SEMINAR 1-3 cr.  Prerequisites:  SC 101, two additional courses in sociology, and senior standing.  In-depth analysis of selected sociological topics.  Responsibility for this seminar rotates among faculty members.