SOC 320 Sociology of the Family 3 Credits F Examination of the human family historically and comparatively in various cultures with major emphasis placed upon the modern American family. Included are such topics as the diversity of family structures, the social construction of emotions, gender expectations and roles, parenting, the life cycle, and family tensions. SOC 325 Development and Underdevelopment in the Modern World 3 Credits S Dilemmas, tensions, and theoretical and policy issues related to the position of Third World countries in the modern world. Questions of urbanization, industrialization, modernization, westernization, and distribution of economic resources are discussed. Various theories of development and underdevelopment are critically examined.
Special attention is paid to the relationship between Latin America and the United States.
The nature of racial relations and inequalities in American society, including their historical origins and relationship to western capitalist development. The ethnic composition of contemporary American society, impact of legal and illegal immigration patterns, dynamics of modern structures and institutions, the civil rights movement, inter-ethnic conflicts and attitudes, multiculturalism and status of affirmative action are analyzed in the context of national and global social change. The social factors influencing the aging process and the social issues raised by an aging population. Cross-cultural and historical contexts of old age are considered with major emphasis on growing old in contemporary American society. The social construction of aging, impact of social context upon the experience of aging, theories of aging, and relation between culture, public policy, and social services for the aging are explored.