Introduction to Sociology

At the conclusion of the course, the successful student will be able to:

1. Define the basic concepts of sociology and communicate these effectively.
2. Identify several key historical processes and figures in the development of the discipline and discuss their contributions to the field.
3. Demonstrate the ability to apply a sociological imagination to the analysis of features of everyday life.
4. Be able to identify characteristics of the sociological perspective and to distinguish this from that of other scientific perspectives.
5. Identify and compare the dominant sociological theoretical perspectives.
6. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the relationship between theory and research in sociology.
7. Demonstrate the ability to interpret sociological data presented in the form of simple tables and graphs.
8. Identify the primary stages and agents of socialization.
9. Describe the characteristics of stratification systems, with particular emphasis on social class.
10. Discuss the ways in which social inequality is produced through social factors, especially class, age, gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity.
11. Identify some of the primary changes in social and economic organization which have taken place historically, with specific emphasis as well on recent years.
12. Describe the development of social institutions in Canadian society, with particular emphasis on at least one of the following: the family, education, crime and criminal justice, religion, politics, environment and sustainability, and/or health and medicine.
13. Identify some of the key features of contemporary demographic change, and describe how they differ from traditional demographic characteristics.
14. Discuss the characteristics of the processes of social change and modernization in Canada and on a global basis.