Emphasis on the conceptual adequacy and the logical consistency of major contemporary theoretical perspectives. Traditional social science perspectives on community studies and problems of quantitative methods in black community studies are examined in light of contributions by black sociologists. Examines current studies of the black community with a focus on the family, education, media, and leadership. An overview of the research process in social science, focusing on problems of research design, techniques of sampling, methods of data collection, principles of measurement, problems of inference and proof, basic methods of data analysis, and ethical considerations. A Level II course in Problem Solving and Technology Studies.
Students engage in ethnographic field studies.
Class discussions and assignments focus on internship experiences in sociological perspective. Applications for internships are made to the internship coordinator of the Career Development Office prior to spring or fall break for the following semester. Learning contracts must be approved by the instructor, the work site supervisor, the student's academic adviser, and the dean of the college. Topics include historical origins of the family, traditional marriage and alternative processes of mate selection and family formation, parenting, divorce, family violence, racial-ethnic variations in family experience, and gay and lesbian families. Attention to the multidimensionality of work both paid and unpaid in and outside the home.