Current Courses

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

An introduction to the main research approaches used in sociology. The course includes practical experience in developing a research program by considering research question development, research design, methods of data collection, research ethics and data analysis. Of particular interest are the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.

A study of the classical tradition in sociological thought focusing on those theorists whose ideas constitute the foundation of contemporary sociological analysis. This will include a consideration of the work of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, among others.

This course reviews theory and research with a focus on the social basis of deviance, deviance construction, and the consequences of social reactions to selected forms of deviance.

This course unpacks issues associated with sport in North America. Students are asked to critically engage with sport practices as they intersect various social phenomena including identity, nationalism, the body, colonialism, and the family. Students examine how power operates through the practices associated with sport and consider the potential, and consequences, of using sport for social change.

This course focuses on particular aspects of the social processes that shape, and are shaped by female and male social roles such as gender and power, gender and social structures of work, and feminist social movements.

This course will critically examine the role of women in the Third World. It will concentrate largely on the changes in these roles and their correspondence with the transition from traditional to new forms of economic organization, production, and power.

This course explores health from a sociological perspective. The course focuses on the social determinants of health, inequalities in health and illness, health care provision, and the social construction of health and health practices.

The focus of this course is on the type of political system known as liberal democracy. Particular emphasis is placed on the historical genesis of liberal democracy, on its structural dynamics, and on the role of the working class within the system. The examination includes an analysis of the sources of stability and cleavage governing the development of liberal democracies. Finally, the functioning of liberal democracies is contrasted with that of communist political systems.

In Sociology we study human society. Humans, however, have always lived in relation to other non-human animals, and these relations and these animals have in fact been central to human society. In this course we will re-think what we mean by 'human society,' by showing how integral animals have always been to what we take to be 'human society.'

This seminar course encourages students to explore how research can inform social justice and social change. Examining specific debates from the fields of feminist research, Indigenous methodologies, and critical race theory, students will gain new understandings in the various ways research can both reproduce and challenge operations of power and privilege. This course offers students the opportunity to engage in debates around these methodologies as they consider how to do research for social change.

The senior seminar is a one-semester course, required for a Major degree in sociology, which is to be taken in the final year of study. The course is organized around substantive issues, with different sections devoted to different topics. The issues are addressed as puzzles or lines of inquiry that explore current concerns. Students are expected to bring the knowledge they have acquired of the competing traditions of sociological inquiry to bear on the theme. This course will be conducted as a seminar, with students taking responsibility for researching, presenting, and discussing material. Regular attendance and active participation will be emphasized. Enrolment limited to approximately 15 students in each section.

This is a required course for Honours students in their final year. Enrolment is restricted to Honours students. The course is organized around two sets of activities: 1) workshops oriented to the development of knowledge and skills directly applicable to the process of thesis research, covering such topics as ethical decision-making in social research, practical problems in collecting and analyzing research material, writing in social research and 2) student presentations of thesis proposals, progress reports, and final results. Entry of non-Sociology students is with permission of instructor.

A critical examination of selected orientations from contemporary sociological theory. The implications of these perspectives for both the nature of sociological inquiry and the prevailing models of society are considered. Prerequisites: SOCI 2033 and 3023.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

A survey course that introduces students to the discipline of sociology with particular reference to Canadian Society. This course examines theories and research concerning the nature of social order and conflict in industrial society; the relations between important structures or elements of society, including the economy, family, education, religion, complex organizations, racial and ethnic groups, and the dynamics of social change. Several major theoretical approaches in sociology are compared throughout the course.

An introduction to the main research approaches used in sociology. The course includes practical experience in developing a research program by considering research question development, research design, methods of data collection, research ethics and data analysis. Of particular interest are the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.

Statistics are used and misused by social scientists, policy makers, and the media to describe the social world. Sociologists use statistics to understand social inequality and examine relations of power. In this course you examine the use and meaning of statistics in sociology, social policy and popular media to increase your ability to differentiate dodgy statistics from valid evidence. Note: To fulfill requirements for the Minor, Major or Honours in sociology, students may take this course or any other statistics course.

Drawing from C. Wright Mills' sociological imagination, this course builds on the foundations established in Introduction to Sociology, using Canada as its contextual field. This course explores the historical and contemporary events and movements that have shaped Canadian institutions, power structures, and ideologies. Topic may include settler colonialism, Indigeneity, national identities, and symbols, extractivism, multiculturalism, immigration, and inequality. Prerequisite: SOCI 1006.

Introduction to Sociology of Globalization explores social conditions characterized by global economic, political, cultural, and environmental interconnections and flows that cross existing political borders. Therefore, it challenges our existing conceptualization of an international world of borders and nation states. The course explores the concept of globalization and its relevance to our lives. Types of empirical topics covered include contemporary global inequalities; environmental problems; transnational communities and families; transnational migration; the effect of globalization on gender, race, ethnicity, and religion; transnational social movements; and the women's movement.

This course reviews theory and research with a focus on the social basis of deviance, deviance construction, and the consequences of social reactions to selected forms of deviance.

This course examines critical features of developing surveillance practices, including changes in privacy and identity, the integration of surveillance throughout the society, and the challenge to civil liberties that they raise,as well as resistance and opposition.

A critical analysis of various conceptual frameworks in family research, and a cross-cultural analysis of marriage and the family, both past and present is pursued. Particular attention is paid to the current developments in marriage arrangements, changes in the meaning of marriage and the family, as well as the future of the family.

A study of contemporary developments in sociological theory, focusing on major trends, their interrelationships, and controversies. Prerequisite: SOCI 2033.

In this course, students examine the social production of masculinities in North America and the impacts of these gender expressions on the lives of boys and men, and people of all genders. Students are introduced to theoretical perspectives used to understand the lives of men and boys, while examining topics such as fathering, the social construction of men's bodies, the ways the media (re)produces notions of masculinity, and sports masculinities.

This course critically examines law from various sociological perspectives, with particular reference to Canada. The course is designed to cover sociological jurisprudence and selected theories of law, as they relate to family, administrative, labour, criminal and other types of law.

This course explores the interaction between society and the body. It begins with an examination of classical and contemporary theories of the body, and then explores special issues with regard to the development of the civilized body, as well as gender, sexuality, marginalization, deviancy, chronic illness and disability.

Employing both classical and contemporary sociological perspectives, this course explores the nature of art in society by looking at how art objects are produced, distributed, and consumed. Theoretical perspectives are related to historical and contemporary examples from a range of artistic media (e.g., pictorial art, film, photography, literature, and music) to expose the interplay between art and society. The relationship between the fine arts and popular culture are examined, as well as the role of technology in the various arts.

This course explores the social construction of disease in modern medicine. We will examine the process of medicalization, focusing on the classification of human experience into disease categories; medical authority to diagnose and treat disease; the ways in which disease categories validate or invalidate experiences of illness; and the effects of being labeled as diseased. These topics are explored through sociological analyses of specific diseases, including diseases that are contested and stigmatized.

The senior seminar is a one-semester course, required for a Major degree in sociology, which is to be taken in the final year of study. The course is organized around substantive issues, with different sections devoted to different topics. The issues are addressed as puzzles or lines of inquiry that explore current concerns. Students are expected to bring the knowledge they have acquired of the competing traditions of sociological inquiry to bear on the theme. This course will be conducted as a seminar, with students taking responsibility for researching, presenting, and discussing material. Regular attendance and active participation will be emphasized. Enrolment limited to approximately 15 students in each section.