Sociology
Undergraduate Programs
Description
Sociology is the scientific study of society and culture that examines patterns of human social behavior. In the sociology program at Minnesota State University Mankato, students use a sociological lens to examine inequality from a variety of intersectional perspectives to become better informed global and local citizens and to transform the social world. They learn to understand, apply, and critically evaluate the major theoretical paradigms, perspectives, and key concepts in Sociology that examine real-world social issues and promote social change. Students will develop professional habits, skills, and behaviors, including strong written and oral communication, cultural competencies, and data management and analysis skills as they conduct and evaluate evidence-based sociological research and/or collaborate with community partners. Students will explore and identify careers and professions that employ/require sociological analysis and data management skills, preparing them for careers in academic and applied settings including human services, government, business, nonprofit organizations, and social action organizations.
Majors |
Program | Locations | Major / Total Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociology BS | BS - Bachelor of Science |
|
39 / 120 |
Minors |
Program | Locations | Total Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociology Minor |
|
22 |
Policies & Faculty
Policies
Admission to Major. Admission to major is granted by the department when the student declares a Sociology major.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 is required in the major.
Combined BS-MS/MA Program: Undergraduate students in our Sociology programinterested in pursuing a master's degree may be granted permission to double count up to 12 credits for both the undergraduate and the graduate program. To apply for this option, students must have completed their sophomore year, have and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0, and declare their intent to complete the graduate program following the completion of the baccalaureate degree. If accepted, students must obtain special permission to register for double counted courses and will receive graduate student credit when the undergraduate degree has been conferred and they have been fully admitted into one of our graduate programs. Please contact the Department Graduate Coordinator for detailed information.
Contact Information
113 Armstrong Hall
Department of Sociology
https://hss.mnsu.edu/academic-programs/sociology/
Faculty
Department Chair
- Sarah Epplen, Ph.D.
Faculty
100 Level
Credits: 4
Overview of the structure and processes of social life; impact of social forces on individuals and groups; interdependence of society and the individual; social significance of social class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality; emphasis on critical analysis of social inequalities and injustice.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-08
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
A critical description and analysis of selected social problems, as well as the social problems process through which problems are socially constructed and defined. A social constructionist approach examines how people and social systems define and react to social problems. Emphasis on the sociological perspective, critical thinking, roots of social inequality, and exploration of solutions and alternatives to existing social problems.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07
Diverse Cultures: Purple
200 Level
Credits: 4
Develop knowledge and application of statistical concepts and methods to facilitate research in social sciences disciplines. Students learn to work with quantitative databases obtained from census, social surveys, and experiments. Develop data analysis skills and use of statistical software programs. Practice data interpretations and statistical decision-making as used in everyday government, non-profit/for-profit, healthcare, academic and research organizations.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-04
Credits: 4
Relationships, marriage, and families are studied from a sociological perspective. Focuses on the connections between society, culture, social institutions, families, and individuals. Particular attention is given to the ways that race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality shape family patterns and dynamics.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
Explores the social construction of sex and sexuality. Key topics include the social, cultural, and historical construction of sexual identities, sexual bodies, sexual politics, sexual socialization, and sexual technologies, in the context of the sexual activities, beliefs, and morals of people.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
This course examines the role of animals in society and the social relationships between humans and other animals. Students will explore how culture and society shape the ways other animals are integrated and treated in our families, schools, economy, legal system, and other social institutions. Through dialogue and writing students will identify their own perspectives on nonhuman animals and our relationships to them.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-09
Credits: 4
A critical consideration of how conceptions of juvenile delinquency are socially constructed, emphasis on interactional and institutional contexts in which delinquent behavior takes place, critique of current theories on delinquency, and the juvenile justice response to delinquency.Prerequisites: none
Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-09
Credits: 4
Topics vary as announced in class schedule. May be retaken for credit if topic varies.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Topics vary as announced in class schedule. May be retaken for credit if topic varies.Prerequisites: none
300 Level
Credits: 4
This course reviews the fundamentals of social research methods. Students will learn about process of designing research studies and key methods of social science research; they will develop skills to read social science research articles and understand research findings. Students will also develop and practice research skills.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This course describes and analyzes sex/gender systems, interpersonal power, language and communication, the role of gender in social institutions such as the family, work, and politics, and the role of social movements in creating change in gender relations.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This course examines the sociological significance of popular culture and focuses on how popularized aspects of social life are produced, consumed, and experienced by members of society. Students will explore everyday rituals, collective behaviors, and cultural constructions that shape both macro and micro social interactions. Includes discussion of: celebrity culture, music, television and advertising, dating and romance, gendered inequalities, spaces and places, and the social and cultural significance of everyday practices.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This course explores theories of sociological social psychology, especially emphasizing the creation of reality, self and identity, emotions, social order, and how inequalities are produced and experienced in everyday life.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
In this class, you will learn about indigenous relationships with the environment and how interactions with Europeans and other invading groups have altered this interaction with nature. We will begin with an understanding of how indigenous groups view nature differently than Western societies and move to the general interaction of societies with the environment. By looking at our general interaction with the environment, we will be able to discuss the similarities and differences between the indigenous and sociological critiques of contemporary environmental interactions. Same course as AIS 360. Credit allowed for only one of these courses.Prerequisites: none
Diverse Cultures: Purple
400 Level
Credits: 4
Introduces students to social determinants of health and illnesses; health inequalities; and issues related to social class, race, gender, and ethnicity. Covers standards and practices in the healthcare services, professions, and institutions and their impacts. The course is designed to provide social and cultural competencies among students who choose the career path to becoming medical, health and human services professionals.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Aging and ageism in the US and globally from a sociological perspective; emphasis on how age intersects with race, social class, gender, and sexuality.Prerequisites: SOC 101
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
This course introduces students to thanatology, which is the study of the human response to death, dying, and bereavement within socio-cultural contexts. Topics include the history of death and dying practices and conceptions, current trends of death in our society, cross cultural beliefs and practices surrounding death, functions of death rituals, grief, the dying process, and debates about euthanasia and death with dignity legislation.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
The course will acquaint students with the dynamic forces operating in the field of population and development. Includes an introduction to basic theories and research techniques of population analysis, with coverage of national and global population patterns and their social determinants. In addition, the understanding of processes of fertility, mortality and migration. The causes and consequences of population growth (or decline) are discussed with special attention to resource depletion, food shortages, labor and others.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This course explores various forms of family violence including dating violence, spouse abuse, and child abuse. There is particular emphases on power dynamics in families and in the broader culture and evaluations of current policies related to family violence.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This higher level course offers knowledge, strategies, tools-techniques, and leadership skills to effectively manage human and social services programs. Learn sociological theories of organizations and behavior to manage programs and organizations with different structures and functions. Apply learned skills to current and/or future professional positions as, e.g., project managers, organizational leaders and CEOs, or as private contractors to federal and state government, local community, and/or international organizations.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Applies sociological theories of identity to the experiences of women being released from prison. Taught at the women's prison in Shakopee, Minnesota and integrates Minnesota State University, Mankato, students with students drawn from the educational program within the women's prison in Shakopee.Prerequisites: none
Diverse Cultures: Gold
Credits: 4
The course will explore how collective action creates social change by examining both academic and activist orientations toward social movements, with a focus on US movements. Students will learn about social movement histories, explore social movement theories, and examine how people achieve success in education, outreach, and activism efforts.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
In the media, the term ¿globalization¿ has been used to characterize the changes taking place in our world today, but this class will take a critical look at the term globalization and the increasing influence it has on the daily lives of people around the world. The course will examine how the single-minded focus on the growth of profit has transformed the world and affects the life circumstances of diverse populations. At the conclusion of the course, the students will have a better understanding of what has been called ¿globalization¿ and the forces that shape their lives.Prerequisites: none
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
Sociological perspectives on social deviance; overview of theoretical approaches; emphasis on symbolic interactionism; issues of social control; research examples and policy implications. Also examines how social constructions of deviance reinforce inequalities in society.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This course will cover theoretical perspectives on crime and their assumptions, empirical research on crime, myths concerning crime, and critiques of the criminal justice system. Students will apply a social justice lens to the study of crime, the criminal justice system and the unequal treatment of marginalized groups.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
The study of the principles and processes that account for the patterns of relations among racial and ethnic groups in the context of the U.S. society. It is designed to provide students with the essential background that will allow them to analyze social structures based on different dimensions such as class, gender, sexuality, and others. In any one of these dimensions or at the cross-section of two or more we find dominant (or majority) groups, which have better access to institutional resources, and subordinate (or minority) groups, which are kept on the margins and powerless.Prerequisites: SOC 101
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
Sociological Theory focuses on the application of theory to understanding the causes of contemporary and historical social problems. The course will introduce students to the connection between theory and research, the contribution of theory to understanding people¿s personal experience, and the role of theory to explain social struggle. Students will be exposed to some of the most notable social theorists, including Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Students will also learn diverse theoretical perspectives from African-American, Latina/Latino, Asian, and Indigenous social theorists, who have been historically excluded.Prerequisites: SOC 101 or SOC 150 or by instructor permission.
Credits: 4
The environment tends to be taken for granted, and it is often assumed to be separate from society. People are an inseparable part of nature and must interact with it if they are to survive. This course will encourage students to contemplate their relationship with nature over time and cross-culturally. The course will address a number of contemporary concerns regarding the environment, such as food production, toxins in the environment, natural resource extraction, and climate change. We shall also contemplate solutions to the current environmental issues facing society now and into the future.Prerequisites: none
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
A survey of sociological theory and research on the ecology, demography, and social organization of the urban community. Presents a sociological interpretation of the development of urban society and how the process of urbanization affects the basic societal institutions and individual behavior. Focus on the development of global cities and the global urban process and its determinants.Prerequisites: none
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
Within the pluralistic culture of the United States, sociology promotes knowledge about multi-cultural groups. With rapid globalization, sociology reveals how the sociological imagination extends beyond the United States. The principle goal of the course is to help students to develop a broader, more informed understanding of the past and present social forces that have created and sustained a global society composed of various class, racial and ethnic groups. The goal of this course is for students to develop an appreciation of the ways in which various theoretical perspectives lead to different understandings of the structures and practices of group relations.Prerequisites: SOC 101 or SOC 150 or by instructor approval.
Diverse Cultures: Purple
Credits: 4
Nonprofit, human services, and many other organizations develop programs and interventions to help people, the environment, animals, and the community. This course will explore the theoretical and practical aspects of how to plan and evaluate these programs using effective, evidence-based methods. Students will learn the basics of how to design and evaluate a program and will also have an opportunity to practice developing aspects of an actual program.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Seminar and workshop on the principles and techniques of survey research, including but not limited to understanding survey resarch and designing questionaires; students wil work directly on a survey research project and present project findings.. Prerequisite: SOC 301W or similar research methods course with instructor permission.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
A sociological perspective to examine the history of drug use and abuse in the United States. This may include a symbolic interactionist lens regarding symbolic meanings of drugs in society. Multicultural issues in drug abuse, international drug distribution networks, prevention efforts, and legal issues will be discussed, as well as inequalities in how drug laws are applied.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Examination of ethnographic methodologies in sociology with emphasis on analytic, performance, and autoethnography. Exploration of ethics in ethnography, visual sociology, and first-hand experience in both crafting and presenting ethnographic works.Prereq: SOC 301W or similar social science research course with instructor permission.Prerequisites: SOC 301W or similar science research course with instructor permission.
Credits: 4
Seminar and workshop on the principles and techniques of qualitative research, including but not limited to interviews and participant observation; students design and conduct original qualitative research projects, write and present analyses. Prerequisite: SOC 301W or similar research methods course with instructor permission.Prerequisites: SOC 301W or similar science research course with instructor permission.
Credits: 4
Analysis of social forces that impact social change in the United States and globally. Examines the interaction between structural and cultural forces in the understanding of societal changes. Explores the global economic impact and the implications for world-wide changes. Analysis of the process of development and globalization and impacts on nations and populations across the globe.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Upper-division seminar focused on major theories and findings in contemporary family sociology; emphasis on reading, interpreting, and critically engaging with scholarly research on families, including dating and cohabitation, marriage, divorce, and parenting.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Analysis of the structures, functions, and origins of religion, its relationship to other social institutions, and its role in modern secular society. Examines processes of individual religiosity and explores current religious movements and trends. Explores world religions to enhance greater cultural understanding.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 2-6
Topics vary as announced in class schedule. May be retaken for credit if topic varies.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 1-3
Workshop topics vary as announced in class schedule. These workshops will be based on skill-building and career connections for sociology majors. May be retaken for credit.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 1
For Honors students only.Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
This course will focus on ways that sociological concepts and research skills can be applied in practice settings to address human concerns and promote social justice. Students learn how sociological skills can be used to identify, investigate, and implement solutions to problems of social organization, social process, and social change. Through the course of the semester students will engage in experiential and/or project based learning, and collaborate in identifying and executing research in service of addressing a community problem or supporting a community organization.Prerequisites: SOC 301W or equivalent; Senior Standing.
Credits: 1-12
The internship in sociology is designed to provide opportunity to apply classroom learning, to practice and enhance skills, to experience professional socialization, and to explore a career. It also serves as a vehicle for the student to become more aware of personal strengths and identify areas in which further growth is needed.Prerequisites: Consent
Credits: 1-6
A maximum of six credits is applicable toward a single major in the department; three credits toward a minor.Prerequisites: Consent
