SOC 1020 - Introduction to Sociology

Credits: 3
Hours/Week: Lecture 3 Lab None
Course Description: This course is a survey of sociology’s major theoretical perspectives and research methods. Basic concepts include culture, socialization, groups, organizations, deviance, social institutions, change, and inequalities based on class, race, and gender. The course explains how sociological research is conducted using concepts, theories, and methods as well as the significance of a global perspective for understanding social behavior.
MnTC Goals
5 History/Social/Behavioral Science, 7 Human Diversity

Prerequisite(s): Course placement into college-level English and Reading OR completion of ENGL 0950  with a grade of C or higher OR completion of RDNG 0940  with a grade of C or higher and qualifying English Placement Exam OR completion of RDNG 0950  with a grade of C or higher and ENGL 0090  with a grade of C or higher OR completion of ESOL 0051  with a grade of C or higher and ESOL 0052  with a grade of C or higher.
Corequisite(s): None
Recommendation: None

Major Content

1. Culture and society
2. Economics and politics
3. Education and medicine
4. Family and religion
5. Gender and age
6. Population, demography, and environment
7. Race and ethnicity
8. Research methodology, measurement, and ethics
9. Social control, deviance, and crime
10. Social groups and organizations
11. Social movements and change
12. Social stratification: U.S. and world dynamics of global inequality
13. Socialization
14. Sociological perspectives
15. Theory construction

1. apply critical thinking skills to analyzing and interpreting information accurately from opinion, theoretical, and empirical research-based sources.
2. use appropriate research methods to conduct different types of social research.
3. determine the best theoretical perspective or theory to use in given research situations.
4. apply the Sociological Imagination to analyzing global, societal, institutional and individual social inequalities and their consequences.
5. explicate sociological knowledge about various minorities.
6. describe how more objective, broader study has influenced one¿s attitudes and beliefs regarding diversity.
7. explain the cultural experiences and contributions of minorities in the development of the United States.

05. 03. Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.

05. 04. Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.
Competency 2 (7-10)
07. 02. Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.

07. 03. Analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts and beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry.

07. 04. Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion.

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