Readings cover such topics as suicide, near-death experiences, euthanasia, the funeral industry, the experience of dying, hospice, children and death, and the grieving process. Examines the nature of criminal behavior, criminal law, and the American system of criminal justice. Sociological, biological, and psychological theories of criminal behavior are explored. The relationship of the police, the courts, and correctional institutions to American society are also discussed. This course examines the relationships between ethnic groups in America.
Special emphasis is on relationships between social class and race as well as ethnicity.
Although the perspective is historical, contemporary data is used to explore the question of the persisting impact of ethnicity. Sociological, historical, psychological, and biological approaches are used to examine the patterns, processes, and problems of sport behavior by gender. An examination of the nature, extent, causes, and possible solutions to a selected number of social problems including the contributions that sociology, psychology, and related behavioral sciences have made in terms of both theory and empirical research. Examines the structures, functions, and conflicts of the contemporary family beginning with an historical review of the origins of the modern family and a cross-cultural examination of family forms. Social class, race, and sex are examined as factors contributing to family structure.