Sociologists study race and ethnic relations, the lives of working people and the poor, voluntary associations, religions, family and sexual life, and social movements. In fact, there are no areas of social life, from the briefest two-person interactions to the most enduring cultures of world civilizations, that sociology does not incorporate. This breadth partly explains the diversity of styles of sociological work. Social research is carried out by analysis of historical documents, observations of social interaction, analysis of institutional statistics, survey questionnaires, field experiments, mathematical models, and analysis of cultural content. Virtually every technique ever developed for the study of human societies is represented in the work of current sociologists.
Theoretical approaches are at least as diverse as methods of research.
Nevertheless, most sociologists share a perspective that focuses on the processes of collective action and the construction of social arrangements as the primary sources of human activity. The 300-level courses greatly outnumber the others and allow for greater focus on topics of particular interest to faculty and students. The department also cooperates with other divisions of the University. The department gives courses in association with departments and programs such as the Business Institutions Program, American Culture, Urban Studies, Gender Studies, and African American Studies. Some sociology students also complete a major in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences.