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PROGRAMS OF STUDY & COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Sociology (SOC)

Major: Yeshiva College
SOC 1001, 1504 or 1505, 1643 or 1644, 4931 or 4932, STA 1021 or 1022, and an additional 15 credits in SOC courses chosen in consultation with the senior professor. 1506-1509 may substitute for 1504 or 1505 with permission of senior professor.

Minor: Yeshiva College
SOC 1001, 1504 or 1505, STA 1021 or 1022, and an additional 6 credits in SOC courses. 1506-1509 may substitute for 1504 or 1505 with permission of senior professor.

Minor: Yeshiva College
Public Health
SOC 1001, 1233, 1236, 1242, 1504. BIO 1011–1012 R&L and STA 1021 or 1022 are recommended for students who opt for this minor track. 1506-1509 may substitute for 1504 with permission of senior professor.

1001 Introduction to Sociology. 3 credits.
Basic concepts, theories, methods, and findings of sociology; forms of social life: interaction, groups, organizations, and societies; socialization; inequality; social institutions.

1116 Sociology of Deviance. 3 credits.
Analysis of different theoretical perspectives in the study of deviance; social sources of deviance; study of various types of deviant behavior and attributes; reduction of and coping with deviance; the reintegration of the deviant in society.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1158 Criminology. 3 credits.
The study of delinquent and criminal behavior; theories of criminality; extent and patterns of criminality; behavior systems in crime; an overview of societal response to crime, including the police, courts and prisons; prevention and treatment of crime.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1160 Criminal Justice. 3 credits.
Extent and types of crime; criminal law; history, organization, functions, roles, lifestyles of the police; origin and role of the courts; sentencing; prosecution, defense, arbitration; ethics of lawyers; community and institution corrections and alternatives; juvenile justice; crime victims’ rights; international and comparative criminal justice.
Prerequisite: SOC 1158.

1163 Penology. 3 credits.
Overview of past and contemporary programs, purposes, issues, and problems related to correctional facilities. Viewpoints of administration, prisoners, victims, families of inmates, and society at large. Addresses work training, therapeutic care, and incarceration; controversy surrounding furloughs, recidivism, probation, and parole. Field trips to prisons.
Prerequisite: SOC 1158 or 1160.

1164 White-Collar Crime. 3 credits.
Links white-collar crime (both individual and organizational) to “common crimes” by studying their similarities and differences. Study of the notion that one’s respectability, occupational position, or access to wealth and power leads to and creates opportunity structures for crime that can be unique in and of themselves, but that may have corollaries to or spin-off from common crimes. Political and sociological aspects of these assumptions are analyzed.
Prerequisite: SOC 1158.

1166 Organized Crime. 3 credits.
Attempts to provide a theoretical and practical basis for understanding the structure, function, and societal impact of criminal organizations. In-depth examination of the connection between urban political machines and organized crime, utilizing sociological theories developed to explain the rise and continued existence of the organized-crime phenomenon.
Prerequisite: SOC 1158.

1202 Social Institutions. 3 credits.
The role and function of social institutions in the formation and maintenance of community and nationhood; historical background and contemporary ideological, technical, and ethical challenges. The political, economic, sociological, religious, and communication structures of contemporary life.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1203 Biological Anthropology. 3 credits.
The The biological evolution and variation of humans from the point of view of physiological and cultural adaptation. Introduces the student to materials, methods, and ideas (classical and contemporary) related to the field.

1204 Social Anthropology. 3 credits.
The study of people in relation to their geographic and sociocultural environments. Cultural variations and adaptive strategies in a broad range of societies focusing on food-gathering, marriage and the family; kinship terminology; psychology; religion; recreation; and folklore. Emphasis on field research methods.

1209 Introduction to Anthropology. 3 credits.
Introduction to the reconstruction of human evolution through the study of fossils and other evidence; primate behavior and ecology in the field; the comparative study of human cultural and social variation and similarity; archaeology; anthropological linguistics. Insights promote useful social policies.

1215 Sociology of Religion. 3 credits.
The reciprocal relationship between religion and the rest of society; how people interact and organize themselves within religious settings; research methods and dilemmas raised in the scientific study of religion; religious diversity, change, and stability; the complexities involved in the sociological study of Jewry and the various Eastern and Western religious traditions; how religious rituals, tales, myths, and facts shape, endorse, and validate humanity’s responses to the world.

1232 Sociology of Health. 3 credits.
Distribution of disease among and within populations; trends in medical practice; politicization of health care; contemporary social and ethical issues in health care: genetic engineering, right to die, living wills, and consumer movements in health care.

1233 Introduction to Public Health. 3 credits.
History and philosophy of public health; socioeconomics of health care delivery and administration; management and planning of health care programs.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1236 Epidemiology. 3 credits.
Distribution of disease and determinants of its frequency; history of epidemiological thinking, concept of cause, sources of data, design of epidemiological studies.
Prerequisites: SOC 1001, SOC 1233.

1242 Sociology of Mental Health. 3 credits.
Family role, expectations, hostility, and accommodation in relation to mental disorders; rationale for community care and kin support; preventable stressors; stress responses to war, social transitions, anomie, social isolation, social disintegration; tools of evaluation; prevalence and incidence of mental illness in the community.
Prerequisites: SOC 1001, SOC 1233.

1283 Sociology of Education. 3 credits.
Examination of the effects of formal and informal education on groups in society. Explores the relationship between education and social mobility; family background and values; and political pressures from communities, administrators, and teachers. Course discusses the development and status of the profession, its goals, its expectations, its strategies, and its culture.

1311 Urban Sociology. 3 credits.
Focuses on contemporary city life. Methods of studying the city, ranging from community studies to detailed observation of daily interaction; growth of the city, suburb and metropolis; political and economic issues such as gentrification, race relations, and the relationship among city, state, and federal government; critical evaluation of classical theorists; contemporary problems of the city.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1402 Social Organization. 3 credits.
Social structure and dynamics; analysis of selected institutions and processes.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1413 Social Stratification. 3 credits.
The study of the distribution of power in society; classical systems of stratification; theories of social stratification; gender and age stratification; social stratification in the United States; measurement of stratification; stratification and social mobility; achieved vs. ascribed status.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1436 Social Movements. 3 credits.
Theoretical perspectives appropriate to the analysis of political, religious, and cultural movements; case studies of various social movements as selected by the students.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1504 Methods of Social Research. 3 credits.
Application of the scientific method to social data; definitions, concepts, and hypotheses; research design; techniques of collection and analysis of data.
Prerequisite: STA 1021 or any other course that encompasses quantitative methodological techniques.

1505 Qualitative Research Methods. 3 credits.
Experience in designing, collecting, analyzing, and writing of qualitative-based research. Extensive workshops with written practica and verbal reports. Students learn to use audiotape, film, video, photography, and computer-based multimedia while exploring the wide range of studies utilizing a qualitative approach.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001 or an introductory course in psychology or anthropology.

1506-1509 Topics in Social Science Research. 3 credits.
Applied research in sociology. Understanding societal concepts through experiments (laboratory and field) and recitation. Students may elect this course several times, provided different topics are studied.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001, any social science class, or permission of the instructor.

1640 Sociological Theories. 3 credits.
Selection of theories and theorists from SOC 1643 and 1644.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1643 Early Sociological Theories. 3 credits.
Social forces in the development of early sociological theories: political revolution, industrial revolution, rise of capitalism, rise of socialism, urbanization, religious changes, and the growth of science; historical and intellectual evaluation of major sociological theories and theorists before contemporary times: Saint-Simon, Comte, Marx, Weber, Simmel, Spencer, Pareto, Mosca, Durkheim.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1644 American Sociological Theories. 3 credits.
Societal and political sources of American sociological theories: industrial revolution, urbanization, immigration, development of the American university system, and impact of European theory on American sociology; major sociological theories and histories of theorists in America: Sumner, Ward, Thomas, Park, Cooley, Mead, Sorokin, Parsons, Kuhn, Homans, Mills, Goffman, Schutz, Merton, Becker.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1730 or 1730H The American Jewish Community. 3 credits.
The effects Jews have had on American society and how American society has influenced Judaism; mechanisms used by Jews and other religious groups to thwart change or to adapt to the host culture: membership in associations and organizations, political behavior and lobbies, links with Israel. Relationships between Jews and other societal groups. In the honors version, each student reviews research literature on Jews in America, Israel, and/or another geographic location; comes up with a research design; and implements the collection of data. As a group, students critique all projects, reinforcing their knowledge of several methodological techniques as well as becoming informed about scientific investigations relevant to various aspects of contemporary Jewish life.

1746 Ethnic Groups in the United States. 3 credits.
Nature of ethnic and minority groups; acculturation and assimilation in the United States; relation of ethnic groups to the institutions of the dominant society; nature and causes of prejudice and discrimination.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1757 Race, Caste, and Ethnicity. 3 credits.
Consequences of ascribed status. Ethnocentrism; hosts, immigrants, and settlement; assimilation patterns; ethnic and racial myths; contributions to society by minorities; responses to subordination practices; consequences of prejudice and discrimination; attitude formation and change; multiculturalism; political correctness: sensitivity and oversensitivity.

1831 Self and Society. 3 credits.
Analyzes how identity and the self are created through social, psychological, cultural and historical processes. These include socialization over the life course, and the performance of social roles such as child, student, spouse, consumer, worker, and senior citizen. Special emphasis on understanding the ways that gender, race and ethnicity, and class shape emotional life and the creation of a multilayered self.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

1842 Study of Folklore. 3 credits.
An interdisciplinary course examining humanistic, oral, and written expression transmitted among sociocultural groups. Also explores the origins, forms, variant interpretations, methods of communication (including contemporary means such as the Internet and film), and social-psychological functions of various types of folklore and midrash.

1848 Culture and Personality. 3 credits.
Comparative study of people, their environments, culture, behaviors, attitudes, and feelings; formation and characteristics of social character and national character; problems with assessing personality; ethnopsychiatry; changing definitions of masculinity and femininity; witchcraft frenzy and other group madnesses; social psychology of time.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001 or PSY 1010.

1931 Sociology of Language. 3 credits.
    (Same as PSY 1150).
Varieties of verbal skills; word classification systems; “correct” and “incorrect” language; language labels; linguistic changes due to societal pressures; media and the changing types of communication; sign language; conversational analysis; censorship; language of body movements; propaganda and persuasion.

1934 Sociology of Mass Media. 3 credits.
Role of mass media in the formation of public opinion in areas ranging from elections to images of women, Jews, and other groups; analysis of content of TV programming and production, how media influence politics and public opinion; dynamics and role of the pollster; mass media and consumerism; image ethics; public vs. private beliefs; and attitude formation.

2110 Demography. 3 credits.
Population trends in relation to resources; changes in birth and death rates; span of life and morbidity; social and other causes and effects of these changes; immigration; population policies and theories; collection, analysis, and interpretation of demographic data.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

2210 The Family. 3 credits.
Analysis of the family in historical context; functions of the family; analysis of popular myths of the family; changes in gender roles and family relationships; cross-cultural perspectives on the family; divorce rate and the family; the idealized family and attitude formation.
Prerequisite: SOC 1001.

2230 Sociology of Death and Dying. 3 credits.
Current knowledge on a wide variety of death-related topics: attitudes toward death, medical-care systems, grief, living wills, ethical wills, medical ethics, definitions of death, social psychology of aging, death in popular culture, and how life and death affect all sociocultural processes, values, and events.

3200 or 3200H Jewish Religious Behavior in Sociological Perspective. 3 credits.
Review of theories to explain key patterns, features, and issues in contemporary Jewish religious behavior. Exploration of the character of mainstream religious movements, novel alternatives, and challenges to the Jewish community. The relationship between the United States and Israel is discussed in light of social institutions.

4901 Independent Study.

4911 Guided Project
Meet with the Yeshiva College academic dean.

4930 Topics in Sociology. 3 credits.
A course for subject matter not provided in other SOC offerings. The content will change from semester to semester. Students may elect this course several times, provided different topics are studied. Recent offerings: Sociology of Visual Expression, Biblical Archaeology.

4931 Seminar in Sociology. 3 credits.
Seminar for majors. Extensive reading, discussion of current issues and problems in sociology, and preparation of papers.
Prerequisite: senior status or permission of the instructor.

4932 Contemporary Israeli Society. 3 credits.
Examination of diverse cultural and religious sub-populations, governmental structures, political cultures, the relationship between religion and state, and the kibbutz experiment. Issues are considered in the context of Israel as a Jewish democratic state and in the light of growing American cultural influence.