Graduate Courses

Case studies of art, music, literature, rituals and ceremony, food, dress, and other cultural objects. Topics include the dimensions of cultural objects; structuralist, postmodern, functionalist and semiotic perspectives; and basic issues such as consensus and diversity, ideology, collective…

Examination of local and national politics through the lived experience of local Athens area residents, social policymaking processes, and the role of research and storytelling for policy. Students will conduct fieldwork and create policy-relevant digital stories. Students will present their…

Mainstream and critical theories of how society shapes the purposes, processes, and organization of schools; current policy issues and sources of national education data, with primary focus on United States elementary and secondary schools.

The causes, nature, and consequences of changes in social structure and institutions.

Behavior disorders (BD) include non-criminal and non-developmental persistent behaviors that typically lead to formal interventions. Shifting boundaries define strategic action fields wherein BD are both directly and reactively controlled. Expanded from psychoses and substance addictions, BD now…

The political economy of global development and its impact on class, gender, race, and ethnicity; the application and relevance of theoretical and methodological paradigms. Topics include agriculture, urbanization, environment, education, health, migration, economic restructuring, and political…

An introduction to the profession of sociology. Faculty members describe their intellectual work and discuss issues of professionalization, including selecting a major professor, preparing for comprehensive exams, writing for publication, and preparing for the job market.
Non-traditional…

Pivotal theories from classic theorists such as Marx, Weber, and Durkheim to the present.

Offered on a regular basis. 

The German theoretical tradition, beginning with Marx and continuing with Wilhelmine-era sociologists, particularly Simmel and Weber; the Weimar and Nazi periods; and postwar critical theorists, notably Habermas.

The social factors that shape behavior and self-concept; theories such as behaviorism, symbolic interactionism, Freudian psychology, cognitive social psychology, and critical approaches. Topics include emotions, human development, and authenticity and sincerity in the postmodern age.

…

Feminist theories and methodologies on gender, with an emphasis on contemporary American society and the intersection of gender, race, and class. Topics include socialization, sexual orientation, reproduction, violence, family and household, work and global restructuring, and politics.

…

The concepts of community, authority, rank, the sacred, and alienation to examine conflict and consensus, modernity and postmodernity, classical theory, and the problem of meaning. The role of ideas in social integration and change, the problem of legitimation, civil religion in politics, "…

Social stratification in the United States. The perception of class distinctions; prestige and power; the criteria of status evaluation; and the consequences of class for social relationships, lifestyles, and personality development.
Offered on a regular basis.

Research and theoretical perspectives on how humans are affected by social structures and how they create the structures that shape and direct behavior. Particular emphasis on symbolic interactionism. Perception, identity, socialization, deviance and social control, power and inequality, and the…

The balance of political power between classes, races, and nations, as it shapes the economic forces that determine social order and the success or failure of social change.

Sociological research methods. Topics include conceptions of research, the philosophy of science, formal and grounded theory construction, and qualitative and quantitative approaches to research design.

Offered spring semester every year. 

This course is designed to acquaint students with the predominant issues and theoretical perspectives within the sociology of the family. The course will employ a critical focus, analyzing the assumptions and empirical adequacy of the various perspectives and theories extant in the field. Topics…

Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses of non-experimental quantitative evidence. Topics include frequency distributions, central tendency and dispersion, cross tabulation, mean difference analyses, statistical inference, regression, and the use of microcomputers and statistical…

Multivariate data analysis; the design and execution of an independent research project using such techniques.

Offered spring semester every year. 

The status, roles, and demographic aspects of the aging population and its relationship with social institutions.
Course will not be offered on a regular basis.

The procedures, methods, and problems of survey data collection. Topics include the historical development of survey research; sources of error in surveys; sampling; formatting questionnaires and interviews; and interviewing techniques.

Qualitative approaches to research, with an emphasis on participant observation, intensive interviews, and analysis of text. Students must complete a major fieldwork project.

Offered on a regular basis.

Theories and research on work, industry, and organizations. Topics include the impact of organizations and workplaces on employees; models of management and control; and recent transformations in work and work organizations.

Offered on a regular basis. 

Theory and research relating to various types of deviant behavior, including crime, family violence, substance use, and mental and physical illness. Social structural, cultural, social psychological, evolutionary, and biosocial theories will be examined.

Occupational choice, socialization, careers, and professionalization; contemporary issues concerning women and work, minorities and work, the consequences of bureaucratic and technological changes, and the impact of work on non-work behavior.

Offered on a regular basis. 

Introduction to the mathematical techniques commonly used to measure population characteristics and changes in fertility, mortality, and migration.

The impact of organizational structure on the lives and attitudes of employees; centralization, control, power, and accountability in workplaces; the role of gender in organizations.

Offered on a regular basis. 

Repeatable for maximum 45 hours credit.

Research while enrolled for a master's degree under the direction of faculty members.

Non-traditional format: Independent research under the direction of a faculty member.

Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters every year.…

Repeatable for maximum 45 hours credit.

Advanced supervised experience in an applied setting. This course may not be used to satisfy a student's approved program of study.

Non-traditional format: Seminar.

Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters every year. 

Thesis writing under the direction of the major professor.

Non-traditional format: Independent research and thesis preparation.

Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters every year. 

Theory and research on advanced topics selected by the student.

Non-traditional format: Directed study.

Offered fall and spring semesters every year. 

Approaches to culture, including the critical traditions of Frankfurt and Birmingham; the Durkheimian tradition of collective memory and social integration; and interactionist emphases on cultural products and structuration.

Contemporary social scientific approaches to the analysis of religion. Classic perspectives on religion and secularization contrasted to varied attempts to move beyond secularization theory in response to religious resurgence around the world. Other topics include attempts to reconceptualize the…

The relationship between contemporary American punishment and social organization and processes. Topics include historical features of, and justifications for, punishment; the death penalty debate; prisoner rights; and prison conditions.

Offered on a regular basis.

Selected topics on theory and research.

Critical social theory from its origins in Germany in the 1920s to its present development in Europe and the United States. Includes Frankfurt theorists such as Horkheimer, Marcuse, and Adorno; second-generation Frankfurters, especially Habermas; and contemporary critical theories of identity,…

Analysis of methodologies and theories used in the study of social movements. Case studies may include local, national, (United States and other) and transnational movements.

Non-traditional format: Seminar.

Offered on a regular basis. 

Research and theories of gender equality and inequality in America and other cultures. Topics include gender stratification in public and private domains, and the intersection of gender with race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation.

Offered on a regular basis. 

Analysis of diverse social and cultural manifestations of gender and its relationship to social, economic, political, and ideological spheres. Case studies may be drawn from Latin America, Caribbean, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Offered on a regular basis.

The relationships of racial and ethnic groups with each other and with social institutions and processes.

The relationships of racial and ethnic groups with each other and with social institutions and processes.

Theories and research on the nature of deviant behavior and its control by social institutions, agencies, and groups.
Offered on a regular basis.

Issues of class, gender, and race. Topics include power and state formation; competing paradigms of state action; the relationship between the state and economy; collective action; democratization, legitimacy and revolution.

Prerequisite: SOCI 6470 or SOCI 6800 or SOCI 6950.

Organizational processes that control behavior, including work performance, career development, and off-job attitudes, orientations, and behaviors.

Prerequisite: SOCI 6630 or STAT 6220 or permission of department.

Simultaneous equations and confirmatory factor methods to evaluate structural and measurement models. Emphasis on the interplay between theory and the construction and evaluation of empirical models.

Social network analysts consider relations to be the focal units of analysis – and the bases of social structure. This course surveys a mixture of mathematical and statistical techniques for analyzing social networks. Students will gain a working knowledge of relevant software packages and…

Major classic and contemporary theories, including Freudian theory, exchange theory, dramaturgy, phenomenology, and ethnomethodology.

Offered on a regular basis. 

The nature, extent, and correlates of crime; theories of criminal behavior and victimization.
Offered on a regular basis.

Urban crime and spatial variation in crime rates. The impact of crime on the structure of communities and its role in neighborhood decline.

Offered on a regular basis. 

Theory and research on the relationship between criminal violence and social structures and processes.

This course uses sociological and feminist theories to examine crime, criminology, and the criminal justice system from a gendered perspective. In doing so, the class is organized around three basic themes: the gendered nature of perpetration; gender variation in victimization; and women as…

The nature of law, and the ways the legal system reflects its broader social context.
Offered every year. 

Repeatable for maximum 45 hours credit.

Prerequisite: Permission of department.

Research while enrolled for a doctoral degree under the direction of faculty members.

Non-traditional format: Independent research under the direction of a faculty member.

Offered fall…

Advanced supervised experience in an applied setting. This course may not be used to satisfy a student's approved program of study.

Non-traditional format: Seminar.

Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters every year. 

Provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the academic and non-academic job market in sociology. Students produce professional products, including their application materials, practice job talks, and interviews talks. They will also learn about opportunities for…

Prerequisite: Permission of department.

Dissertation writing under the direction of the major professor.

Non-traditional format: Independent research and preparation of the doctoral dissertation.

Offered fall, spring, and summer semesters every year.