Course description
Concentration in Media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies.
[Concentration Coordinator: Dr. Gerry Coulter]
(i)Major in Sociology / Concentration in Media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies (42 credits).
30 credits are required: SOC 101 (Canadian Society), SOC 102 (Quebec Society), SOC 110 (Research methodology), SOC 111 (Data Collection / Analysis), SOC 221 (Classical Sociology), SOC 222 (Dialectical Reasoning), SOC 105 (Media and Society), SOC 315 (Political Sociology in the Digital Era) plus two from: SOC 320 (Knowledge), SOC 381 (Media and the Environment), SOC 321 Sociology of Technology).
Majors concentrating in Media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies must also complete 12 credits from the following list of elective courses in this concentration.
(ii) Honours in Sociology / Concentration in Media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies (60 credits). Honours in this concentration are required to complete the required courses for the Major / Concentration in Media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies, and SOC 311, SOC 402 and SOC 404, and are also required to complete SOC 395 (Advanced Theories of Social Sustainability).
Honours concentrating in media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies must also complete 15 credits from the following list of elective courses and 3 credits in open electives in Sociology:
Elective courses for the Honours or Major / Concentration in Media, Technology, and Contemporary Studies:
BIO 138 The Genetics Revolution
CLA 128 The City in the Ancient World
CLA 212 Classical Mythology I
CLA 213 Classical Mythology II
CLA 250 Women in the Ancient World
CLA 350 The Goddess: History, Cult and Myth
CSC 102 Essentials of Computing on the PC for Non-Scientists
DRA 170 Introduction to Film
DRA 202 Contemporary American Drama
DRA 203 Contemporary European Drama
DRA 230 Women in Performance
DRA 273 Women Dramatists
DRA 300 Contemporary Theatre Practice
DRA 301 Contemporary Dramatic Theory
DRA 319 Film Criticism and Theory
DRA 322 Topics in Shakespeare
ENG 102 Approaches to Media Studies
ENG 211 Cultural Spaces of Childhood
ENG 233 History of Literary Criticism
ENG 234 Contemporary Literary Theory
ENG 235 Cultural Studies: History, Theory and Practice
ENG 236 Popular Culture
ENG 287 Image and Communication
ENG 291 Film Theory
FIH 108 History of Photography
FIH 223 Art and Art Criticism in France
FIH 235 Museology
FIH 250 Women in Art
FIH 310 Current Issues in the Theory and Criticism of Art
FRA 181 Histoire socio-culturelle du Québec I
FRA 182 Histoire socio-culturelle du Québec II
FRA 261 Le Théàtre du XVII-XIX siècle
FRA 283 Théàtre québécois
FRA 285 Romain québécois contemporain
FRA 384 Poésie et chanson du Québec
HIS 371 A History of Communications
MUS 104 History and Analysis of Jazz 1945-Present
MUS 110 The Art of Listening I
POL 221 Political Communication and Rhetoric
POL 222 Politics and the Arts
POL 420 Modern Political Thought
POL 421 Advanced Political Thought
PHI 170 Introduction to the Philosophy of Knowledge
PHI 246 Philosophy of Art
PHI 247 Philosophy and Film
PHI 364 Post Modernism
SOC 100 Sociological Imagination
ELL 200 Experiential Learning Lab
ELP 300 Experiential Learning Placement
The Department of Sociology provides students with theoretical and methodological tools and substantive insights which can assist them in understanding social life, social organization, and action. The program is designed to provide students with a broad intellectual and sociological background which will help prepare them for a variety of careers and for advanced study at graduate school.
SOCIOLOGY PROGRAMS’ COURSES
Sociology 100ab Sociological Imagination 3-3-0
The primary objective of this course is to stimulate curiosity about that part of people’s behaviour that is determined by relationships with others and by membership in groups. This course examines and evaluates the contribution sociology makes to the ongoing process of attempting to understand the surrounding social world. This course is intended for students lacking introductory sociology.
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 100ab La pensée sociologique 3-3-0
Ce cours a pour principal but d’éveiller chez l’étudiant le goût du questionnnement et de l’interrogation au sujet des comportements humains determinés par les relations avec d’autres et par les contextes de groupes. L’apport, passé et présent, de la sociologie à la compréhension de l’environnement social, ainsi que les contributions pragmatiques du domaine seront évalués critiquement. Le cours s’adresse aux étudiants n’ayant pas encore touché aux matières d’introduction à la sociologie.
Staff
Sociology 101a Canadian Society 3-3-0
This course provides an opportunity to examine a variety of aspects of Canadian social structure including stratification and inequality regarding class, gender and ethnicity.
This course is required of all Sociology Minors, Majors, and Honours students.
Staff
Sociology 102b Québec Society I 3-3-0
The course presents an analysis of Québec in historical perspective, and examines nationalism, bilingualism and social structures.
This course is required of all Sociology Minors, Majors, and Honours students.
Professor Gosselin
Sociology 105a Media and Society I 3-3-0
An introduction to the impact of media upon society and the social structuring of contemporary media as industries which produce values and ideology.
Professor Czernis
Sociology 107 Canadian First Nations 3-3-0
An introduction to the study of First Nations in Canada.
Professor Donnan
Sociology 110a Research Methodology 3-3-0
Sociological research will be dealt with in its quantitative and qualitative orientations. Students will be introduced to techniques of conceptualization, hypothesis formulation, and operationalization.
This course is required of all Sociology Majors and Honours students.
Professor Czernis
Sociology 111b Data Collection/Analysis 3-3-0
Emphasis will be placed on the construction of different methodological frameworks (survey, experiment, fieldwork, unobtrusive measures) as well as the preparation of adequate methods and techniques for data gathering and analysis (sampling, design, coding, questionnaires, interviews).
This course is required of all Sociology Majors and Honours students.
Prerequisite: Sociology 110a
Professor Czernis
Sociology 129ab Sex and Gender 3-3-0
The relation between sex and gender is examined in terms of roles and values, social inequality and transformations in these over time; the interface between class, gender, and ethnicity is examined with regard to specific social problems and theories.
Staff
Sociology 155 Sociology of Sport 3-3-0
A theoretical and empirical introduction to the social organization of sports and how they are mediated.
Professor Coulter
Sociology 190 Introduction to Postcolonial Study 3-3-0
An introduction to postcolonial theory and sociological issues arising from the cultural and economic conditions left behind by colonizers and the colonized. By looking at events in countries such as India, Nigeria, the Congo and other former colonies we come to understand the challenge of developing theoretical perspectives which grasp the complex influences of colonizer and colonized upon each other.
Professor Donnan
Sociology 202a Directed Independent Study I 3-3-0
A tutorial course in which the student (normally a major) may pursue his or her interests in a selected area of sociology, under the direction of a member of the Department.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and the Department
Sociology 203b Directed Independent Study II 3-3-0
See Sociology 202a.
Permission of the instructor and the Department
Sociology 205a Family I 3-3-0
Changing forms and functions of the family in Western society; growth and decline of the symmetrical family, definitions, theories, marital and sexual roles, and child rearing.
Staff
Sociology 207b North American First Nations 3-3-0
The course examines the sociology of strategies of assimilation and the forms of resistance to these strategies in North America.
Prerequisite: Sociology 107 or permission of the instructor.
Staff
Sociology 208ab Criminology 3-3-0
A survey of theories of crime and criminality in relation to class, race and gender. Substantive issues will include: murder, prostitution, legal and illegal drug use, woman abuse, white collar crime, and organized crime.
Staff
Sociology 209 Young Offenders 3-3-0
The subject of young offenders in Canada is addressed using both contemporary critical theory and empirical evidence. The topics covered include the treatment of youth in Canada by the justice system, enforcement agencies, and their social realities. Variables of class, social inequality, gender and ethnicity contribute to the examination of the relationships of youth to criminal trends and behaviors patterns.
Sociology 214ab Aging 3-3-0
Aging and the life course perspective. Sociological theories on aging in relation to gender, class, and ethnicity.
Staff
Sociology 215ab Culture, Ethnicity and Aging 3-3-0
This course is designed to raise an awareness of aging in relation to culture and ethnicity. Concepts and theories of culture, aging and group interaction understood within a Canadian perspective will be provided in addition to sociological examination of class, gender and race.
Staff
Sociology 217ab Social Policy of Aging 3-3-0
This course will study the content, the interpretation and impact of laws affecting elderly and will examine the evolution of social policies and programs in the province of Quebec and in Canada. It will analyse the principles that the state follows to determine its implication in the field of social and health services to the aging population. The evolution of social policies and programs, the current configuration of governmental resources, community resources, and natural networks will also be examined.
Sociology 219 Sociology of the Body 3-3-0
Notions of the body as the cultural representation of our contemporary “embodied” selves will be explored. This course will uncover the strategies of social, political and economic forces as theses problematize the body and seek to control, manipulate, and alter behaviour.
Professor Gosselin
Sociology 220ab Work and Leisure 3-3-0
Industrial and “post-industrial” societies, especially Canada, are examined within a world-system framework. The focus is on power dynamics, contemporary and theoretical issues, involving workers, professionals, owners and consumers.
Formerly called “Industrial Sociology I”.
Staff
Sociology 221a Classical Sociology 3-3-0
An introduction to the nature and purpose of sociological theory and reasoning through a critical examination of the work of Durkheim and Weber.
This course is required of all Sociology Majors and Honours students.
Formally called Soc 121.
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 222b Dialectical Reasoning 3-3-0
In tracing the tradition which collects Plato, Marx and Simmel, this course seeks to examine the place of dialectical theory and reasoning in sociology.
This course is required of all Sociology Majors and Honours students.
Formally called Soc 122.
Prerequisite: Sociology 221 (formally Soc 121) or permission of the instructor
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 223ab Women and Global Inequality 3-3-0
This course considers the social location of women within a political economy of globalization. Understanding women’s diverse lives requires attention to public, private, local, regional, national and global factors.
Staff
Sociology 225ab Québec Society II 3-3-0
Selected topics for analysis of the values, ideologies, behaviour patterns and material culture of Québec society. The course critically examines Québec society during modernity and early post-modernity and draws heavily on artistic and cultural representations (painting, sculpture, literature, etc.)
It is recommended that students take Soc 102 or Soc 101 prior to this
Professor Coulter
Sociology 229b Communications: Gender and Culture 3-3-0
This course examines how society defines gender through communication and what that means for our institutional and personal lives, safety, relationships, and professional opportunities. The focus is on how men and women participate in the social construction of gender, its impacts, and efforts to achieve equality. Topics include: gendered identities, gendered verbal and non-verbal communication about race, gender and violence in the workplace and other institutional or personal settings.
Staff
Sociology 230ab Deviance I 3-3-0
Definitions of deviant behaviour, social roles of deviants and the structure of control.
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 235ab Women and the Penal System 3-3-0
A critical understanding of gender in criminology. Substantive issues will include: Sexual assault and the justice system, women and family law in the courts, domestic violence, gender and murder. Contemporary theories in criminology and their application are examined.
Staff
Sociology 241ab Cinema 3-3-0
Culture phenomena and values such as: class interest, gender roles, important events, national character and foreign policy, the ideal family, the deviant, etc., are reflected and contested in film. Students will be exposed to and discuss a variety of theories and methods of analysing culture by way of film as industry and meaning creation.
Professor Coulter
Sociology 245ab Race and Ethnicity 3-3-0
The sociology of multiethnic and multiracial societies examines social conflicts over the distribution of resources and power; racism and multicultural ideologies are examined.
Professor Gosselin
Sociology 250b Collective Behaviour 3-3-0
Macro-structures of society such as crowds, publics, fads and riots are examined, including evolving collectivities and their subsequent ideological transformations.
Professor Czernis
Sociology 260a Community 3-3-0
A comparative and historical analysis of rural, urban, and ethnic communities.
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 280a Interpersonal Communication 3-3-0
Human interaction at the macrosociological level. Equality, domination, integration, marginalization, co-operation and conflict will be examined.
Professor Czernis
Sociology 281b Communications Methods 3-3-0
Research in the areas of interpersonal, organizational and mass communication. Methods particular to communications studies are examined and applied.
Professor Czernis
Sociology 290ab Contemporary Theory 3-3-0
A survey of twentieth century theory through a variety of schools including symbolic interactionism, functionalism, neo-Marxism, feminism, modernism and postmodernism.
Professor Coulter
Sociology 291b Sociology of Art 3-3-0
An introduction to the Sociological study of the Arts. The course focuses on the social practices and organizational frameworks related to artistic production/creation, mediation processes, and the reception of art works and artists. Attention will be given to issues related to race, gender, class, and power.
Professor Coulter
Sociology 292 Social Policy 3-3-0
Introduction to the sociological study of social policy in the Canadian context. The course will examine civil society in relation to a rapidly changing policy context. The development and outcomes of policy will be investigated from a number of theoretical perspectives.
Prerequisites: None
Staff
Sociology 293 Visual Sociology 3-3-0
We live in cultures which are saturated with digital information and new media. This course engages with major thinkers who study the use of photographs, film, and video to understand society. The course is organized around a series of ideas and problems involving intersections between theory and practice.
Professor Coulter
Sociology 294 Sociology of Tourism 3-3-0
Travel, journeys and their associated human migrations are the key areas of focus in this course. While movement for purposes of rest and recreation has always been part of our collective legacy, in this world of increasing globalization, the mass tourist industry and a variety of leisure activities has helped transform many locations around the globe. The course will explore tourism, in all its forms and the impact of traveling, both positive and negative, on cultures, sustainability and the environment.
Professor Gosselin
Sociology 295 Sustainable Societies 3-3-0
This course addresses concepts of social and cultural sustainability. Key questions concerning the environmental impacts of social organization as well as options for change will be considered.
Professor Donnan
Sociology 296 Globalism and Culture 3-3-0
An introduction to key concepts for the current understanding and applications of cultural and social globalization.
Sociology 299/EDU303 Sociology of Education 3-3-0
Comparative study of the Canadian education system and processes in light of current sociological theory and research
Staff
Sociology 301b Aspects of Sociological Inquiry 3-3-0
The relationships between language and inquiry will be examined with reference to the works of contemporary sociological theorists.
Prerequisites: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 302a Directed Independent Study III 3-3-0
See Sociology 202a.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and the Department
Sociology 303b Directed Independent Study IV 3-3-0
See Sociology 202a.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and the Department.
Sociology 305b Family II: Selected Topics 3-3-0
An advanced seminar on selected issues affecting the family in historical and contemporary settings involving the relationship between public and private spheres and between production and reproduction.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Staff
Sociology 307 Sociology of Health 3-3-0
This course seeks to examine the place of health and illness in society, the relationship between bio-medical problems and the social, political and economic realities that help shape them. Topics will include poverty and health, mental illness, aging, death and dying, professionalism, health service organization, inequalities in health service access and use, recent policies and difficulties with health care reform.
Sociology 308b Formal Organization 3-3-0
The institutionalization and legitimation of power and decision-making processes. Special emphasis is given to innovation and deviance in formal organizations.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor.
Professor Czernis
Sociology 309 Advanced Seminar in Global Colonization and Decolonization 3-3-0
Colonialism and imperialism are considered in relation to settler societies and global power structure. This course questions theories of decolonization and liberation in the context of cultural and economic empires.
Prerequisite: Six courses in Sociology including one of the following: Sociology 190, Sociology 207, Sociology 245, Sociology 296
Professor Donnan
Sociology 311b Quantitative Tools for Social Research 3-3-0
A critical review of statistical methods frequently used in social research.
Prerequisites: Sociology 110 and 111, or permission of instructor.
Required for Honours Sociology students.
Professor Coulter
Sociology 315ab Political Sociology in the Digital Era 3-3-0
This course examines the state and policy making in Canadian and global contexts, from a sociological perspective. Marxist, feminist and traditional theories are examined.
Prerequisites: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Coulter
Sociology 320ab Knowledge 3-3-0
How do we know what we know?An analysis of the role of ideas in the development of social institutions and the impact of belief systems on social values. Science, politics, education, religion, the arts and the professions are examined.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Czernis
Sociology 321b Sociology of Technology 3-3-0
This course treats the social meanings of work and leisure in industrial and “post-industrial” societies.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Staff
Sociology 322ab Urban Sociology 3-3-0
Theories of urban growth and development; comparative analysis of cities and their problems.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Gosselin
Sociology 331b Deviance II: Selected Topics 3-3-0
Selected topics such as drugs, homosexuality, prostitution and juvenile delinquency will be discussed.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 340b Women: Theory and Ideology 3-3-0
Women are viewed as both object and subject of ideological and theoretical discourses. Oppression and liberation are investigated from a variety of theoretical perspectives.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Gosselin
Sociology 361b Ethnographics 3-3-0
The emphasis is upon understanding and utilizing ethnographic methods in the examination of societal events and relationships, in terms of how these are perceived and socially organized.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Lustigman
Sociology 381ab Media and the Environment 3-3-0
This course examines processes of technologically mediated interaction at the macrosociological level. Trends and structures of mass culture and communications are examined in relation to how we relate to nature.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Czernis
Sociology 390ab Social Justice and Contemporary Theory 3-3-0
The course focuses on the effort to develop a credible progressive vision of an alternative to the present social order given the collapse of socialism as the principal ideal that inspired many struggles for social transformation over the last century. Included is an assessment of the emergence of neo-liberalism and the decentering of class in contemporary theory. The course also investigates efforts to develop a theory of social justice that includes both recognition and redistribution claims.
Prerequisite: Students should have 9 credits in Sociology or permission of the instructor
Professor Coulter
Sociology 395 Advanced Theories of Social Sustainability 3-3-0
Advanced seminar on the dynamics of global and local relationships regarding the nature of sustainable societies.
Prerequisite: Six courses in sociology including Sociology 295 or permission of instructor.
Professor Donnan
Sociology 396 Post Colonial Theory 3-3-0
Advanced seminar in contemporary postcolonial theories.
Prerequisite: Six courses in Sociology including Sociology 296 or permission of instructor.
Professor Donnan
Sociology 402a Honours I: Special Topics 3-3-0
The course accommodates the study of particular sociological topics at an advanced undergraduate level. Subjects will vary from year to year.
Required for Honours Sociology students; normally to be taken in the final year.
Prerequisite: The completion of all required courses within the Major
Staff
Sociology 404b Honours II: Research Strategies 3-3-0
This course examines research procedures, the objectives and limits of particular approaches, and the relationships between theory, research strategy and its application.
Required for Honours Sociology students
Prerequisite: Sociology 402 and completion of all required courses in the Major
Staff
Sociology 450 Thesis 6-0-0
Supervised honours research project under the direction of an instructor. This is an option for Honours Sociology students only and must be submitted to the Department upon completion.
Prerequisite: The completion of all required courses within the Major and the permission of the Departmental member who acts as the thesis advisor.
Normally taken along with 402 and 404 in the final year of the Honours Sociology program.
Staff
