Department of Sociology

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

 

SOCI 5000 E - MASTER’S THESIS

 

SOCI 5000 E - MASTER’S ESSAY

 

SOCI 5106 E - THEORY AND SOCIETY

This course provides an introduction to theoretical approaches as they relate to applied social research with an emphasis on social justice.  It focuses on the inter-relationships between researcher, theory, and the social relations or sites being explored.  Theories will be evaluated in relation questions of state formation, and class, gender, race, sexuality and other areas of social difference.  The sociology of power, language, and discourse will be explored.  There will be a focus on questions of epistemology and ontology and on the encouraged to develop linkages between a substantive area of research interest and the theoretical perspectives that assist in opening up these social sites for investigation and analysis.

 

SOCI 5216 E - SEMINAR IN RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS

This course will familiarize students with the tasks of planning empirical research using a critical applied social research perspective.  To this end, students will learn how to define research problems in light of theoretical (especially epistemological) questions and the larger social context.  Students will acquire skill in determining the usefulness of a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including, but not limited to, surveys, interviews, and focus groups.  Emphasis will be placed on articulating a research problematic for investigation, developing a research plan, crafting a literature review and proposal, writing an ethics application and beginning preliminary fieldwork, with the goal of combining these into a final research report. 

 

SOCI 5217 E - ADVANCE STATISTICAL METHODS*

This course in multivariate statistics builds on the introductory and intermediate-level statistics courses that students are presumed to have taken.  It is designed to provide students with and up-to-date approach to the most common statistical methods that can be used when more than two variables are considered simultaneously.  The emphasis throughout will be on linear statistical models and related topics and it is expected that students will be able to apply these statistics in their own research and use their knowledge to critically review that of others.

 

*Students without an intermediate-level statistics course beyond the introductory level will require the permission of the Department before registering in this course.

 

SOCI 5406 E - STATE FORMATION AND SOCIAL POLICY

This course examines historical accounts and theoretical analyses of the modern state from the viewpoint of a variety of theories that address power relations in state formation.  Particular emphasis will be given to the study of state institutions, policies and political practices as these mobilize, shape and maintain power relations based on gender, race/ethnicity, class and sexualities.  State definition and management of “social problems” is key to its power to legitimize or delegitimize certain populations and to thereby determine their access to basic human rights.  The way in which “globalization” is leading to an undermining of the powers of the nation-state will also be addressed. 

 

SOCI 5416 E - APPLIED SOCIAL RESEARCH IN THE COMMUNITY CONTEXT 

This course prepares students for employment with government departments and non-profit organizations.  Each year a human rights issue such as “child poverty” or “food security” is conceptualized; measurement issues are explored; and explanatory perspectives are compared.  The course emphasizes learning-by-doing: student are given research design challenges and data collection exercises that alert them to the constraints and opportunities faced by social researchers outside of academe.

 

SOCI 5417 E - QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

This course provides an overview, critique, and applied approach to qualitative inquiry.  Questions of epistemology and ontology will be taken up.  Students will engage with multiple ways to collect and analyze data in qualitative traditions such as institutional and critical ethnography, historical research methods, textual/discourse analysis and action research.  Methods such as interviews, focus groups, visual methods and content analysis will be studied.  Students will be challenged to develop their own areas of research and will be supported in using qualitative methods in their work.

 

SOCI 5506 E -  SELECTED TOPICS IN SOCIAL POLICY ANALYSIS*

This course provides an overview of policy development within the context of larger society.  The particular policy area covered will depend on the areas of expertise of the professor but may include one or more of the following areas: (1) health; (2) children’s and family services; and (3) employment.

 

*This course may be cross-listed with a policy course in the Social Work master’s program.

 

SOCI 5507 E -  SPECIAL TOPICS ONE

This course is open to a wide variety of pertinent topics according to the teaching and research interests of the professor. 

 

SOCI 5517 E -  SPECIAL TOPICS TWO

This course is open to a wide variety of pertinent topics according to the teaching and research interests of the professor. 

 

 

 
 
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