Faculty of Arts and Science
The Sociological Imagination
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Introduction to the perspectives and methods that sociologists use to study the social life of communities and societies. Processes and patterns of group interaction, and the influence of group power over individual behaviour are examined. Topics such as social stratification, racism, sexuality, work, religion, and the family may be used to illustrate these concepts.
Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Undergraduate Certificate in Indigenous Student Success
Equivalent:Sociology 1000
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Note:Sociology 0520 may be used in place of Sociology 1000 in program or major requirements.
Introduction to Sociology
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Human social behaviour, the processes and patterns of group interaction and group influence on individual behaviour. Areas of sociological concern such as social organization, social stratification, ethnic relations and family interaction introduce some of the major concepts, theories and procedures of sociological inquiry.
Equivalent:Sociology 0520
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Canadian Society
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The changing structure of Canadian Society and its current social features.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or a previous course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Social Inequality
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Analysis of social inequality in contemporary societies. Classical and contemporary theoretical approaches to class, power, and inequality. Empirical studies on inequality. Specific attention to several key sociological concepts, including power, class, gender, race and ethnicity, and the body.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or Sociology 0520
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Research Methodology
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Introduction to the philosophy of social scientific investigation; concepts and methods of qualitative and quantitative research.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or a previous course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Quantitative Research Practice
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-2-0
A general introduction to the practice of social statistics, with an emphasis on the use and implementation of basic quantitative procedures to analyze social data.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or Sociology 0520
Mutually Exclusive:
Psychology 2030
Recommended Background:
One of Mathematics 30-1, Mathematics 30-2, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520
Substantially Similar:
Psychology 2030
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Committing Sociology
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Sociology as a way of thinking, theorizing, and analyzing. Students will be required to develop questions about the social world: what it means to examine the world sociologically, what it means to reflect critically on those assumptions, ways of seeing, and the commitments that come with being members of society.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or Sociology 0520
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Sociology of Gender
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An introduction to sociological perspectives on gender, focusing on the social construction of gendered bodies, subjectivities, desires, sexuality through social interaction, and institutions. Comparative and historical perspectives on gender as foundational to operations of power in western societies.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or a previous course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Deviance, Conformity and Social Control
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Normative processes by which deviance is constructed with a particular focus on power as both implicated in, and the outcome of, these processes.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or a previous course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
The Individual and Society
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Symbolic interaction and theories of the self are studied in the context of shifting interrelationships between the individual and society, from institutions to networks and from face-to-face to digitally-mediated interactions.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or a previous course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Sociology 2700/Health Sciences 2700
Health and Society
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Sociological perspectives on health and wellness within Canadian and global contexts. The relationship between social organization and health; social constructions and meanings of health; social epidemiology; health beliefs and behaviour; and the experience of illness.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000, Sociology 0520, or Admission to the Public Health major of the Post-Diploma B.H.Sc. program
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
The Sociology of Youth
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An examination of structures and processes impacting youth in society. Topics may include socialization, the maturation process, youth culture, and adolescence in historical and comparative perspective.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 1000 or Sociology 0520
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Social Problems
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Processes by which social conditions come to be defined as problems, the consequences of these social problems for society and the nature of social reaction.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Racialization and Resistance
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Examination of the social production, transformation and effects of categories of racial difference, ethnicity, and inequality, using sociological theory, research, and resistance texts.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology AND
Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Survey Research
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Interviews and questionnaires in data collection, quantitative data analysis, statistical analysis using computer techniques.
Prerequisite(s):Sociology 2100
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Qualitative Research Methods
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Techniques in qualitative data collection and analysis; interviews, participant observation and unobtrusive methods.
Prerequisite(s):One of Sociology 2100, Addictions Counselling 3260, or Nursing 3360
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Multivariate Quantitative Research Practice
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Statistical procedures commonly used in social science research, with an emphasis on hands-on training on topics related to multivariate research procedures, data sources available for such research, and the implementation of multivariate procedures using statistical software.
Prerequisite(s):Sociology 2130
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Classical Sociological Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Early theoretical development of sociology as a mode of inquiry and field of study.
Prerequisite(s):Sociology 2100
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Contemporary Sociological Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Recent theoretical developments and diversifications in sociology to the present.
Prerequisite(s):Sociology 3210
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Sociology of Families
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Functions of the family as a social institution. Developmental stages in family life. The changing nature of family and its relationships with society. Changing role relationship involved in family interactions, marital stability, adjustment and breakdown.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Sociology of Religion
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Religion as a cultural and social phenomenon; religious experience and its institutional expression.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology or Religious Studies
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Medical Sociology
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Sociological analysis of Western medicine as knowledge, institutions, practices, and power.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Recommended Background:
Sociology 2010 AND
Sociology 3020
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Political Sociology
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Sociological and institutional underpinnings of politics. Theories of political action. Intersection of politics with factors such as class, gender, and ethnicity. Social movements, nationalism, the role of states versus markets, and the power of international corporations.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology or Political Science
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Sociology of Work
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Examines trends, structures, and social relations related to paid and unpaid work and labour. Topics may include industrialization, restructuring, globalization, unemployment, gender, technological change, worker-management relations, and family and volunteer work.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Body and Society
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The social aspects of bodily expression and repression. Selected theories of the body in socio-historical and cultural contexts. Social institutions and relations concerning reproductive, aging, ill, disabled, gendered, young, and marginalized bodies.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Digital Culture and Society
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Social impact and significance of web-based communication media. Critical examination of the implications of cyberspace for sociological concepts and constructs such as culture, community, identity, agency, democracy and education.
Prerequisite(s):One 2000-level course (3.0 credit hours) in Sociology
OR
One of Sociology 1000 or Sociology 0520 AND
Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Advanced Themes in Social Institutions (Series)
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Senior seminars involving intensive and rigorous study of social institutions and the social forces that transform institutions over time and space. May include study of language, gender, families, communities, and markets; and religious, political, and other organizations. Offerings vary depending on student interest and faculty availability.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours) AND
Additional prerequisites will be specified, including any recommended background, for individual offerings, but will normally include two courses (6.0 credit hours) in Sociology at the 3000 level
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Population and the Environment
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Examination of the complex and reciprocal relationship between population dynamics and the environment. The focus pertains to how people respond to changing environments and how population processes influence the environment. Theoretical approaches and empirical research from a range of social sciences including sociology, geography, demography, human ecology, environmental economics, and political science.
Prerequisite(s):Two courses (6.0 credit hours) in Sociology or Geography at the 3000 level AND
Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Equivalent:Geography 4850 (Population and the Environment) (prior to 2022/2023);
Sociology 4850 (Population and the Environment) (prior to 2022/2023)
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Advanced Themes in Social Control (Series)
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Senior seminars involving intensive and rigorous study of the formal and informal ways in which individuals, groups, and/or subjectivities are produced and constrained. Offerings vary depending on student interest and faculty availability.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours) AND
Additional prerequisites will be specified, including any recommended background, for individual offerings, but will normally include two courses (6.0 credit hours) in Sociology at the 3000 level
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Advanced Themes in Culture (Series)
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Senior seminars involving intensive and rigorous study of advanced themes in culture. Offerings vary depending on student interest and faculty availability.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours) AND
Additional prerequisites will be specified, including any recommended background, for individual offerings, but will normally include two courses (6.0 credit hours) in Sociology at the 3000 level
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Advanced Themes in Population Studies (Series)
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Senior seminars involving intensive and rigorous study of subjects such as contemporary social, economic, and environmental issues of global populations. Offerings vary depending on student interest and faculty availability.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours) AND
Additional prerequisites will be specified, including any recommended background, for individual offerings, but will normally include two courses (6.0 credit hours) in Sociology at the 3000 level
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Advanced Themes in Social Theory and/or Methods (Series)
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Senior seminars involving intensive and rigorous study on a selected theme in social theory and/or methods. Offerings vary depending on student interest and faculty availability.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours) AND
Additional prerequisites will be specified, including any recommended background, for individual offerings, but will normally include two courses (6.0 credit hours) in Sociology at the 3000 level
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Undergraduate Thesis
Credit hours: 6.00
Contact hours per week: Variable
This is a research-oriented course in which students will conduct fieldwork, text or library-based research, submit a report in the form of an Undergraduate Thesis which will be made publicly available, and report orally on the work. In consultation with their Thesis Supervisor, students will define a research problem and formulate a research plan.
Prerequisite(s):Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours) AND
A minimum GPA of 3.30 calculated on all completed University of Lethbridge courses or calculated on all University of Lethbridge and transferable courses taken within the terms containing the last 20 courses (60.0 credit hours), whichever is higher AND
One of Sociology 3110, Sociology 3120, or Sociology 3130 AND
Three additional courses (9.0 credit hours) in Sociology at the 3000 or 4000 level
Note:Contact hours will vary. Students should be aware that this course involves regular contact with the Thesis Supervisor as well as considerable independent work.