The course will consist of two two-hour lectures with open discussion time each week. The student will be required to discuss lecture problems and assigned readings in open lecture theme periods.
Each student may be obliged to prepare, deliver and defend one short seminar paper during the semester. This paper may provide the basis of the final essay.
Audio-visual material will be utilized wherever appropriate to illustrate course content and directed field research will be encouraged on the part of the student for the final essay.
- An Introduction to Macrosociology:
- The analysis of large scale institutions and systems
- The terminology of demography, social stratification and population dynamics
- A general overview of the sociological concepts involved in the analysis of national systems
- The Historical Development of Canadian Society:
- A sociological interpretation of the transition of a nation from colonial status to autonomy of governance
- The historical basis of regional disparity
- Social economic and political differences and the distribution of ethnic and social groups in Canada
- The Emergent Canadian Social System:
- Conflict and consensus in an emerging nation
- Conflict and consensus building around groups
- The Social Types:
- An analysis of the smaller immigrant populations, with an emphasis of the regionalization of ethnic groupings
- An understanding of their roles in the displacement of native peoples
- The Structural Base of a National System:
- The application of European and American economic systems to a Canadian society
- The division of labour and the emergence of industry with American corporate productive systems
- Regional disparities in the distribution of wealth
- Canadian Social Institutions:
- The nature of Canadian educational, welfare, social control, family and religious institutions as they relate to consistency and change in Canadian society
- The ideology and practice of enterprise and service structures in Canada
- The changing role of the state in Canada
- Conflict and Consensus in Canadian Society:
- An interpretation of social differences and cohesion
- An analysis of socialism, separatism and populism as the occur in different regions
- An analysis of political, religious, economic and social similarities and differences among Canadians
- The effects of the Charter of Rights, the media and pressure groups on the Canadian social fabric
- Canada and its Relations with Developed and Developing Nations:
- The effect of globalization
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Discuss the diverse lifestyles and institutional and informal interactions of members in Canadian society.
- Describe the operations of class, status and power as they affect different strata of Canadian society, and gain an understanding of the social processes operating in a diverse and heterogeneous social system.
- Interpret Canadian society from the sociological perspective, and utilize different analytical tools in this endeavor.
- Analyze change and development of Canadian society in a global context.
The evaluation will be based on course objectives and carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation may include a combination of exams, short written assignments, participation, seminar presentations, essays, or book reports.
An example of an evaluation scheme would be:
| Midterm | 30% |
| Term Paper | 30% |
| Library Assignment | 10% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples are:
- Hiller, Harry, H. (2006). Canadian Society: Macro Analysis (5th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Canada.
- Angelini, Paul (2011). Our Society: Human Diversity in Canada. Nelson Education Canada.
SOCI 2000-level courses