B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology

Sociology attempts to understand how societies function. The course explores how social forces influence our lives and our chances for success. It also examines social groups, the relationships among social groups, and the ways groups get and maintain power.

The course will examine each of the different parts of the American criminal justice system (policing, courts, and corrections), the procedural laws governing the system, and the ways the various parts of the system are interrelated and interdependent. The interaction between the Deaf community and the criminal justice system will be used as a special case, and students will learn about their rights as deaf individuals and how to protect those rights.

This course examines the social construction of deviance. That is, it examines how society makes rules for behavior, how those rules change over time, and who tends to benefit (and who tends to be limited) because of society's rules. The question of whether deviance is ''good'' or ''bad'' for society will also be examined. Finally, the course will consider what happens to people who break society's rules, both in terms of how society views rule-breakers and how they view themselves.

Problems of research planning; collection, analysis, and presentation of research data. Significant studies from various fields of sociology and related disciplines exemplifying different research approaches will be analyzed.

This course examines how society treats young people who break the law, the social causes of juvenile delinquency, and rates of juvenile delinquency.

An introduction to descriptive statistics and methods of organizing, presenting, and interpreting data. Covers measures of central tendency, measures of association for two variables, and some multivariate analyses. Includes computer analysis of real data.

This course will analyze the causes and consequences of major social problems of our time. Applying sociological theories, problems such as group conflict, family disorganization. poverty, violence, and hunger are examined.

This course will cover major sociological and criminological theories, both from classical and contemporary writers. It will then consider whether these theories can help us better understand controversial social situations, such as union organizing, the pro-choice/pro-live movement, and gang rape.

Students will apply knowledge and skills gained in the classroom to an internship in a site agreed upon with the internship professor. For four credits, the student will work 120 hours in the internship and attend a 1-hour class weekly. Students will be required to complete reading assignments and write papers applying the concepts and ideas in the readings and classroom sessions to their workplaces. This course is offered during the fall semester only. Students must have confirmation of an internship placement that starts by the first Friday of the semester.

This course is designed to encourage students to integrate previous course-work into a conception of sociology as an approach to inquiry and a useful tool. This is the first half of a year-long course. Students will develop a topic, discuss relevant theories, do a literature review, and write a brief proposal which includes discussion of hypotheses, variables, methods, and sampling techniques.

This course continues the work of SOC 491. Students will collect data, do qualitative and quantitative analyses, and write a project report. Students will also present their results to their classmates.

This course investigates the chemical aspects and applications of forensics studies. The lecture and the laboratory provide a means to develop skills in the following areas: soil analysis and organic analysis, fingerprint analysis and foot print analysis, hair analysis, fiber analysis, physical evidence evaluation, document examination, forensic anthropology, forensic toxicology and drug analysis.

This course serves as an introduction to psychopathology in adults and children. Students will be introduced to the classification used by psychologists, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. Disorders such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, cognitive disorders, personality disorders and sexual and gender dysphoria will be covered. Historical background, causes, and some treatment approaches will also be included.

This course is an experiential seminar. Students learn about the criminal justice system through a combination of weekly field trips, discussions with guest lecturers, and classroom discussions. Highly recommended as a first course in criminology for students who are considering working in the criminal justice system, as well as for students who would just like an insider''s view of police departments, courts, and correctional institutions in the United States.

While our responses to death and dying would seem to be very personal and therefore individually determined, they are, in fact, greatly influenced by the beliefs of society. Therefore, this course will not only examine the physiology of death and dying, but will primarily emphasize the sociology of death and dying. Focus will be on social factors related to causes of death and routines and rituals related to dying, death, funeral and burial practices, and grieving.

This course will examine a specific issue that poses current problems in the criminal justice system. Examples include: the exploding prison population, the challenges of policing post-9/11, and deaf people in the criminal justice system. This course may be repeated as topics change.