Course Catalog - Sociology and Anthropology
Sociology
Introductory Courses
Sociology 101 — The Sociological Perspective
Fall, spring
A one-semester introduction to the principles of sociological analysis. Th rough a critical examination of selected topics and themes, this course develops a sociological perspective for the interpretation and understanding of cultural diff erences, age and sex roles, discrimination, the family and the workplace, bureaucracies, stratifi cation, the problems of poverty. One unit.
Sociology 145 — Leadership and Authority
Annually
The eff ective practice of leadership requires a knowledge of group dynamics—the ability to analyze and understand how groups and organizations work, avoid change, and sometimes adapt to the challenges they face. This course examines group behavior and what it takes to mobilize groups into action. Experiential learning is emphasized to help understand roles, power, group dynamics, authority and leadership. One unit.
Sociology 155 — Social Psychology
Annually
A survey of the interdisciplinary fi eld of social psychology. Students are acquainted with: 1) the nature of the fi eld and its range of topics, including person perception, attitudes, attraction, social interaction, and social infl uence processes; and 2) the theories, models, and methods used to understand human social behavior. One unit.
Intermediate Courses
Sociology 203 — Race and Ethnic Relations
Annually
An examination of 1) the emergence of race in modern societies, with special emphasis on the North American context; 2) various theories of race and ethnicity, including the historical conditions under which those theories surfaced; 3) experiences of race and ethnicity in contemporary societies. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 205 — Structures of Social Inequality
Every third year
Examines American class structures and processes, acknowledging the unequal distribution of resources and analyzing aspects of institutionalization serving to support such inequality. Course focuses on the various social, economic, and political indicators of an individual’s position in society, including occupation, income, wealth, prestige, and power, as well as characteristics of life at diff erent levels of the class hierarchy. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 217 — Criminology
Annually
Th e study of crime and society. Areas of focus include patterns of criminal behavior, theories of crime causation, and the administration of criminal justice. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 223 — Methods of Social Research
Annually
An introduction to the logic and procedures of social scientifi c research. Readings, lectures, and laboratory exercises are directed toward the development of skills in theory construction, research design, operationalization, measurement, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 241 — Development of Social Theory
Annually
A descriptive and critical study of the 19th- and early 20th-century social thought which informs contemporary sociological theory. Some attention is given to historical infl uences on emerging sociological theory. Emphasis is placed on four major theorists: Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Simmel and on the 20th-century developments in functionalism, symbolic interactionism and the sociology of knowledge. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 242 — Sociological Theory
Annually
Four topics frame each section of this course in sociological theory: First, the cultural shifts that gave rise to sociological reason in Europe during the nineteenth century. Second, the key concepts that preoccupied early sociological thinkers, and their legacy in current fashions of sociological theory. Th ird, the craft of forming theoretically refi ned and empirically testable research questions from sociology’s principal concepts. Fourth, discerning the appropriate methodology(ies) for approaching answers to research questions. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 243 — Social & Religious Thought
Alternate years
Th is course is an introduction to the critical dimensions of African-American social and religious discourses on race, antiblack racism, African-American ethnic identity, and liberation. Students will review a number of social and religious criticisms about these concerns while examining the logic of these criticisms as the product of social and cultural forces. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 245 — Modernity: Culture, Consciousness, & Institutions
Alternate years
An examination of some of the ways in which modernity constitutes what might be called a “world-organizing” system. Topics include technology, the rise of capitalism, and the eff ect of modernity on community and family life, religion, bureaucratization, loyalty, authority. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 256 — Self and Society
Annually
Addresses the relation of the individual to society through the study of the self. Th eoretical issues include human nature; the social and cultural construction of the self; subjective experience and self-consciousness; social interaction, social structure, and the self; and the politics of identity. Emphasis on studies of everyday life in the symbolic interactionist, dramaturgical, and interpretive traditions. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 257 — Aging and Society
Annually
A thorough introduction to the sociological study of people’s experience of late life. Strives to increase awareness of the social, cultural, and historical aff ects on aging by examining people’s accounts of late life and aging, their social and psychological compensations, and the bearing of late life experiences on end-of life decisions. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 258 — Childhood
Annually
Addresses the lives of children from early childhood to the beginning of adolescence. Explores childhood experiences and seeks to understand how they are shaped by the immediate social worlds of children and the institutional structures and culture of the larger society. Topics include modern and postmodern childhoods, social problems and children, and preadolescent peer culture. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 259 — Children and Violence
Every third year
This course is organized around three general themes: (1) an introductory overview of the topic of violence, including theoretical background and structural factors; (2) an analysis of violence-related issues, including family, street, and school-based causes and consequences; and (3) consideration of prevention and intervention strategies and relevant policy implications. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 261 — Sociology of Religion
Annually
An analysis of religion as a socio-cultural product. Emphasis on the interrelationship between religion and society in a cross-cultural perspective. Major topics include the social functions of religion, the organization of religious practice, and the impact of social change on religion. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 262 — Sociology of Mental Health
Alternate years
Th e study of mental health is a signifi cant are of sociological inquiry. Special attention is paid to epidemiology and the socio-cultural forces infl uencing symptom presentation, diagnosis, and service delivery. Topics include the history of mental health treatment, medicalization, in-patient care and hospitalization, deinstitutionalization and community-based services, stigma management, and the research within forensic psychiatry. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 263 — Medical Sociology
Alternate years
A critical study of the institution of modern medicine. Special attention is paid to socio-cultural and political factors infl uencing susceptibility, diagnosis and treatment. Topics include the social meaning of disease, patienthood, the medical profession, and the organization of medical care. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 264 — Sociology of Power
Every third year
A critical study of the social bases of power and of the existing constraints and limitations upon its exercise. Emphasis is given to major power theories, the forms and processes of power, and the consequences of these diff erent understandings for the exercise and use of power. Consideration is given to the redistribution of power and its responsible use in contemporary society. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 265 — Sociology of Work and Labor
Every third year
Th is course focuses on topics related to the study of work and labor in the United States today. Th e course has a strong historical dimension and some of the material crosscuts sociology, history, and economics. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 266 — Sport and Society
Annually
A critical analysis of sports as social phenomena. Topics include sports and socialization; sports and children; deviance and aggression and sports; gender, race, ethnicity, social class and sports; and sports in relation to the economy, the media, politics, and education. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 271 — The Family
Alternate years
Examination of patterns in American family behavior. Strives to increase awareness of the social, cultural, and psychological facets of family life by examining kinship relations, child socialization, dating behavior, patterns of sexual activity, parental decisions, family development, divorce, violence in the family. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 275 — The Sociology of Men
Alternate years
An analysis of men’s experiences as men and the (sub)cultural blueprints for masculinities. Drawing on a social constructionist perspective, topics include men’s power over women and other men, sexualities, bodies, homophobia, success-orientations, relations with families, anti-femininity and violence, and health. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 276 — Women and Society
Annually
A sociological analysis of women in contemporary (primarily U.S.) society with a focus on the structural contexts that shape women’s lives and place barriers on and provide opportunities for women’s development. Th e political, economic, cultural, and personal dimensions of women’s experiences are examined with attention given to racial-ethnic and class diff erences. Women’s struggles for social change and self-defi nition are explored through case studies and an examination of current issues. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 285 — Latinos in the United States
Alternate years
Examines the origins, experiences, infl uence, and future prospects for Latinos in the United States. Topics include: the origins of Latin-American immigration into the United States, the diversity of Latino cultures, the relationship between Latino communities and other racial-ethnic communities in their local environment, and organizational and cultural forms of resistance, adaptation, and survival by Latino groups. Course includes a practicum experience in the Worcester Latino community. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Sociology 299 — Special Topics
Annually
Th ese intermediate level courses address selected sociological issues not covered by the regular curriculum. Th ey are off ered on an occasional basis; topical descriptions for specifi c off erings are available before the enrollment period at the departmental offi ce. Prerequisite: Sociology 101. One unit.
Advanced Courses
Sociology 325 — Research Practicum
Alternate years
An advanced research seminar, and hands-on opportunity for social scientifi c research, emphasizing the involvement of students in the whole research experience including formulation of the problem, instrumentation, quantitative and qualitative interview techniques, data analysis, and the interpretation of fi ndings. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 341 — Sociology of Knowledge
Alternate years
This advanced seminar provides a forum for the discussion of classical and contemporary writings in the sociology of knowledge. Considers such topics as the role of consciousness in the production of knowledge, the impact of language on perceptions of reality, and the ethics and politics of knowledge. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 346 — Reading the Times
Alternate years
Th e course uses Th e New York Times as a window for a sociological analysis of the society in which we live. It is also a window on American journalism. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 357 — Small Group Processes
Every third year
An introduction to the study of small groups. Topics include social infl uence processes, group development, and group structure. A major part of the class involves experience-based learning. Prerequisite: permission of instructor and Sociology 101 or 155. One unit.
Sociology 359 — Girls and Violence
Every third year
Examines the social science literature pertaining to girls both as victims and as perpetrators, as well as structures infl uencing personal experiences and interpersonal dynamics. In addition to theory related both to gender and violence, topics covered include bullying and relational aggression, sexual harassment, gangs, child sexual abuse, traffi cking, and living in a war-torn society. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 360 — Sociology of Education
Annually
A critical examination of education in the U.S., with a special emphasis on public schooling. Th is course considers how the functions and goals of education have changed over time, factors leading to the current crisis in education, and controversial programs for fi xing the problems such a vouchers, charter schools, and multicultural education. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 371 — Family Issues
Every third year
An advanced topical course providing a critical analysis of social structural processes that foster and maintain family stresses and confl ict. Examines the bearing of sources of family diversity (e.g., culture, political economy) on such stresses as single-parenting, health, devitalized relations. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 375 — Men and Violence
Every third year
A capstone research-based seminar that examines the ways masculinities are associated with interpersonal violence, especially within intimate relationships. Th e semester involves reviewing key sociological questions and perspectives, reading original texts in the sociology of men, learning how to use SPSS and analyze available survey data, and developing an original research project and paper on men and violence. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 380 — Sociology Capstone
Annually
Th is seminar is designed as a fi nal course for majors. Students examine fundamental socio logical questions, apply methodological skills in original research, and think refl exively and sociologically about their identities as senior Holy Cross students and members of Ameri can society. Prerequisites: permission of instructor, Sociology 101 & 223. One unit.
Sociology 399 — Selected Topics in Sociological
Analysis Annually
A critical examination of selected topics utilizing sociological theory and research methods. Topics and staff rotate. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Sociology 494, 495 — Directed Research
Fall, spring
Students may undertake independent research projects under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Individuals contemplating a research project should make inquiries during their third year, since the project is usually initiated by the beginning of the fourth year. Pref erence for sociology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.
Sociology 496, 497 — Directed Reading
Fall, spring
An individualized reading program addressing a topic in sociology not covered in course off erings. Reading tutorials are under the supervision of a sociology faculty member, usually limited to the fourth year students, and arranged on an individual basis. Preference to sociology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.
Sociology 498, 499 — Special Projects
Fall, spring
Program for individual students who wish to pursue supervised independent study on a selected topic or an advanced research project. Ordinarily projects are approved for one semester. Open to selected third- and fourth-year students with preference to sociology majors. Each project must be supervised by a faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.
Anthropology
Introductory Courses
Anthropology 101 — The Anthropological Perspective
Fall, spring
A one-semester introduction to the main modes of cultural anthropological analysis of non-Western cultures, such as those of Latin America, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Polynesia, sub-Saharan Africa and Native America. Topics include: ethnographic methods; concept of culture; symbolic communication; ecological processes; introduction to anthropological approaches to kinship, religion, gender, hierarchy, economics, medicine, political life, transnational processes. One unit.
Anthropology 130 — Anthropology of Food
Every third year
Food lies at the heart of human social systems worldwide, as symbolic good, gift, and token of love and political control. Th is course addresses such topics as: gender hierarchies, eating, and food; foods such as sugar and chocolate and colonial systems of power; food/body/power dynamics; food and social identity construction; and famine in a time of world plenty. Focus is on specifi cally anthropological approaches to food cultures in Asia, Africa, Latin America, with comparative material from the U.S. One unit.
Intermediate Courses
Anthropology 255 — Genders & Sexualities in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Every third year
Th is course asks students to critically explore the contemporary anthropological scholarship on gendered social worlds and ways of imaging sexualities, across diverse cultures. At issue: how do gender ideologies relate to social hierarch and systems of power? How do various ways of representing the reproductive body relate to social class? To nationalism? Focus is on non-Western cultures (e.g., Japan, Papua New Guinea, Brazil). Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 256 — The Imagined Body
Every third year
In cultures worldwide, the ways that human bodies are thought about, controlled, manipulated, and put on public display are patterns that are often imbued with political dynamics of power and resistance. Th is course draws on ethnographic material from Papua New Guinea, India, island Southeast Asia, east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the contemporary United States to look at issues of body, gender, social hierarchy, and state power. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 260 — Constructing Race
Alternate years
An examination of “race” from an anthropological perspective, in order to further our understandings of the ways this socially constructed category has had, and continues to have, concrete impact in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Topics include: the role anthropology has played in constructing racial categories, passing, multiracial identities, popular representations of “race,” and identity politics. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 262 — Anthropology of Religion
Alternate years
A social scientifi c, cross-cultural consideration of religious worlds created in such locales as village and urban Indonesia, India, Papua New Guinea, and Africa, especially in terms of their power dynamics vis-a-vis social hierarchies. Covers classic topics such as the study of ritual and ecology, village myth, trancing, shamanism, witchcraft, and sorcery accusations, but also deals at length with such matters as the connections between Christian missions and empire. Also turns an anthropological gaze on contemporary U.S. religions. Prerequisite:
Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 267 — Political Anthropology
Every third year
This course takes a broadly comparative and historical perspective, using cross-cultural analysis to understand the workings of politics and power in non-Western contexts. Topics include: colonialism and its impact on colonized populations; the formation of post-colonial national states; leadership, authority, and the construction of political subjects; and the links between local processes and global political systems. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 268 — Economic Anthropology
Every third year
An introduction to the issues, methods, and concepts of economic anthropology. Th is course places economic features such as markets, commodities, and money into a larger cross-cultural context by exploring relations of power, kinship, gender, exchange, and social transformation. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 269 — Fashion and Consumption
Annually
A comparative, cultural anthropological exploration of fashion and consumption as tools for the creation, expression, and contestation of social, cultural, economic, political, and individual identities. Topics include: sociological and semiotic theories of materialism and consumption, subcultural styles, colonialism, race, gender, veiling, globalization, and ethnic chic. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 270 — Youth Culture and Consumption in Comparative Perspective
Annually
A comparative, cultural anthropological exploration of how youth use cultural products such as music, fashion, film, television and the Internet in forming social identities and subcultures in a variety of settings. This course draws on ethnographic material from the U.S., the Caribbean, Samoa and England to address how youth use popular cultural products in articulating and resisting ethnic, class, gender, and age-based identities. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 272 — Culture and Identity in the Caribbean
Annually
Th is course will introduce students to the cultural complexity of the Caribbean region. While an emphasis will be placed on the Anglophone Caribbean, analyses of French- and Spanish-speaking nations will also be considered, with specifi c examples from Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Drawing on anthropological, historical, sociological and popular literature, we will investigate topics such as, the historical legacies of colonialism and slavery (with a focus on resistance), the negotiation of gender identities and kinship structures, how “race” is conceptualized in the Caribbean, globalization and gendered work, and Caribbean popular culture. Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 274 — Art & Power in Asia
Alternate years
How does art interrelate to political power and to wealth? Th is course examines such questions in regard to the art of ancient kingdoms in Asia such as Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Indonesia’s Borobudur. Also at issue are the contemporary arts of Southeast Asia, seen too through this anthropology of art lens. Additionally, this course looks at the power dynamics of international art collecting of Asian art and artifacts; the politics and aesthetics of putting Asian art into worldwide museums is also studied. Includes museum study tours. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Anthropology 299 — Special Topics
Annually
Th ese intermediate level anthropology courses address a variety of issues of contemporary ethnographic importance. Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 recommended. One unit.
Advanced Courses
Anthropology 310 — Ethnographic Field Methods
Annually
An examination of cultural anthropology’s main data-gathering strategy: long-term ethnographic fi eldwork of small communities, often located in non-Western cultures. Topics include: review of the methodology literature, participant observation, in-depth interviews, designing fi eld studies, oral histories, spanning deep cultural divides via fi eldwork. Often involves hands-on fi eldwork in Worcester. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Anth 320 — Th eory in Anthropology
Alternate years
A historical examination of the development of diff erent theoretical perspectives in cultural anthropology. Th is course explores, compares, and critiques diff erent schools of thought about human society and culture, from the 19th to the 21st centuries, looking at the ways in which anthropological scholars and those from related disciplines have attempted to understand and explain the human condition. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Anthropology 370 — Television and the Family
Annually
Th is seminar investigates how the family and kinship are constructed on and around television, exploring questions such as: How are gender, ethnic, class and age-based identities formed in and through televisual portrayals of the family? Although the primary focus is on the American context, ethnographic investigations of India, China, England and the Caribbean will also be considered. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. One unit.
Anthropology 399 — Selected Topics in Anthropological Analysis
Annually
A critical examination of selected topics utilizing anthropological theory and research methods. Topic and staff rotate. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit.
Anthropology 494, 495 — Directed Research
Fall, spring
Students may undertake independent research projects under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Individuals contemplating a research project should make inquiries during their third year, since the project is usually initiated by the beginning of the fourth year. Preference for sociology/anthropology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.
Anthropology 496, 497 — Directed Readings
Fall, spring
An individualized reading program usually addressing a topic in anthropology not covered in course off erings. Reading tutorials are under the supervision of an anthropology faculty member, usually limited to the fourth year students, and arranged on an individual basis. Preference to anthropology majors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.
Anthropology 498, 499 — Special Projects
Fall, spring
Program for individual students who wish to pursue supervised independent study on a selected topic or an advanced research project. Ordinarily projects are approved for one semester. Open to selected third- and fourth-year students with preference to sociology/anthropology majors. Each project must be supervised by a faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One unit each semester.
* The courses and descriptions listed above are taken directly from the official College Catalog.