Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

In this foundational course, students explore the principles necessary for achieving personal and career success. GEN 101 serves as a road map, guiding students as they begin their academic journey. Through self-discovery, surveying available resources, connecting with UAGC groups, and engaging with Career Services, students learn the essential skills of planning and goal setting. Students apply their personal strengths, skills, and lifelong learning strategies to develop essential career competencies. By making these meaningful connections students gain a deeper understanding of how their education relates to their desired career path.  Congratulations on embarking on this college journey filled with growth, exploration, and endless possibilities! This course is not available for non-degree seeking students and is not available as an elective.

This course offers an overview of digital fluency as it applies to personal, academic, financial, and professional success. Students will analyze the impact of digital technology on personal, social, and diversity issues and will develop digital skills that will assist in achieving academic, personal, and career goals. An overview of digital media is introduced with practical strategies for application in personal and professional life.

Learn and use key, practical skills that are applicable at home, at work, and in all UAGC courses! As UAGC students progress in their academic journey, strategies for personal, professional, and academic success continue to develop. This introductory course takes a two-pronged approach to setting students on a path to success. It merges fundamental informational literacy concepts with essential resources and skills that prepare students for college and career. Students learn how to identify, locate, evaluate, apply, and acknowledge information obtained through UAGC Library databases and internet search engines. By applying the research process, students sharpen critical thinking skills and learn to use information ethically. The final project is a practical and relevant opportunity for students to apply their learning in personally, professionally, and academically meaningful ways.

ENG 121 is designed to introduce students to the standards of writing in both academic and professional settings. The class will operate by first introducing, and then allowing students to practice, several written communication skills. Throughout, we will work to understand writing as a process, one that is strengthened through critical thinking, deepened by research, and built on a foundation of professional standards. Students will articulate a sense of their own skills and goals, and engage in collaborative conversations with peers and their instructor so as to be able to express their ideas more effectively. During the course, students will use the writing process to scrutinize their own perspectives while challenging them to embrace a wider conversation.

This course is designed to expand students’ appreciation of film and knowledge of how films are made. Through analysis of storytelling in a visual medium, students will examine the ways in which movies are shot, develop characters, evoke emotion, depict physical reality, reflect society, and have the power to influence it. Though the focus of the course is film itself, students will gain deeper intercultural fluency while growing their skills in critical thinking, written communication, and visual analysis.

This course is a study of correct and incorrect reasoning involved in everyday activities. The fundamentals of language and argument, deductive and inductive reasoning and other aspects of practical reasoning are examined. 

This course examines and evaluates theories and arguments concerning ethics and moral reasoning from a philosophical perspective. By engaging with historical and contemporary sources, students will analyze theories about the meaning, nature, and justification of ethical concepts; determine and assess how different forms of moral reasoning apply to contemporary moral issues; become more reflective and informed about their own moral beliefs; and develop their capacity for critical practical reasoning.

In this course, students will develop and expand their research and writing skills to communicate ideas in informed, ethical, and persuasive written documents intended for a range of audiences across a range of situations and contexts. Students will receive instruction and practice in synthesis and analysis, bolstering their written communication skills with a thorough understanding of academic research while honing critical thinking skills and effective work habits. Through writing well-structured, logical, and effective academic essays, students will explore tools and develop topics in a way that is meaningful to academic and professional lives. Prerequisite: Successful completion of ENG 121 or equivalent with a grade of “C-” or better.

This course is designed to aid students in understanding the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Verbal and nonverbal communication patterns among people in personal, social, academic, and professional settings will be examined, within and between cultures, including both face-to-face and technologically mediated channels.  The nature of these interactions will be evaluated using contemporary communication theory. The course will enable students to identify their interpersonal communication skills and behaviors and to more critically evaluate their own oral communication and that of others. The primary goals of the course are to improve the quality of students’ communication in their personal and professional relationships, to enhance students’ experience and. confidence with oral communication, and increase awareness of the importance of interpersonal communication that is inclusive and equitable.

A survey of government at the national level. Emphasis is placed on the constitutional basis of American government, federalism, the sources and forms of political behavior, the operation of the three branches of government, and the making of national policy.

Students explore culture in its role of guiding human behavior and providing social order, structure, and stability for individuals and groups of people. Culture is presented as a system of adaptation involving beliefs, behavior, language, customs, socio/political strategies, traditions, and technology that evolve over time. Recommended prerequisite: ENG 122.

This course focuses on sustainable development from a cross-disciplinary approach, including, economics, management, education, policy, and science. Students discuss sustainability conflicts at the national and international levels, and use online simulations to understand and evaluate sustainability practices.   Topics include zero waste, water management, smart growth, green technology, global change, renewable energy, agriculture, and land management.  

In this course, students will explore a wide range of Algebra topics. Topics will include study of linear equations, linear relationships, slope, polynomials, and functions, including graphing relations and solving systems of equations. Emphasis will be placed on developing an awareness of historical and current uses of algebra in real life settings, in various careers, and in solving important societal problems.

The capstone serves as an opportunity to reflect upon, integrate, and showcase learning achievement. Through discussions and course-embedded assessments, students will demonstrate a mastery of essential general education competencies as they relate to their personal and professional lives and provide evidence of growth through application of competency related skills to real-world situations. A minimum grade of “C-“ is required to meet course requirements. Prerequisite: 75 completed credits or permission of the student’s college or dean.

This Introductory course presents concepts, theories, and research in sociology. Intersections of identity and privilege are considered alongside relationships and the social construction of race, class, gender, and other forms of identity. Group organization and collective action are also presented in the course to explain human behavior and social change.

This course examines the major theoretical and conceptual explanations for social problems in modern society. Students will be introduced to a variety of current social problems in the United States and around the world, and will consider and suggest potential social action through the use of foundational sociological tools such as research, social theory and understanding of inequality and identity groups. The focus of the course is twofold: the critical analysis of the causes and consequences of these social problems from a sociological framework; and the considered social action through community action, using sociological tools.

Social theory presents opportunities to rethink and reform cultural, social, and political societal assumptions with the goal of promoting liberation for all people and exposing oppression in its many forms. Key critically minded contributors to social theory include economists, philosophers, psychologists, historians, activists, dramatists, essayists, poets, and novelists. Social theory, from a critical perspective, is accessible to everyone and seeks ways to understand social life and is crucial for helping people make sense of their daily lives and is essential to understanding new research, social practices, and institutions. With the long-term aim of helping us better understand our lives and world, students will study what theorists have to say about the social world. The course covers key areas such as Queer Theory, Crip Theory, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and other areas of inquiry that seek to engage a multidisciplinary perspective with the goal of advancing emancipatory knowledge.

This course examines quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods and associated data interpretation within the context of research, policy and practice within the social sciences. This course also examines the relationship between research, policy and/or theory. Students will examine types of data, measurement scales, hypotheses, sampling, probability, and varied research designs for research in the social sciences and related disciplines.

Descriptive and inferential statistics are investigated and multiple techniques for statistical analysis are introduced in this course. Formulas for presenting and evaluating data are explored in accordance with generally accepted protocol for statistical analysis. Prerequisite: MAT 232. Students in the RN-BSN program are waived from the MAT 232 course prerequisite. 

The course considers issues of identity, social inequality, and discrimination in society. The focus is on identities such as race and ethnicity, sex and gender, social class, culture, age, and ability, as well as the intersection between them. The focus is on these social categories as both elements of personal identity and sources of social inequality.

The course focuses on social stereotypes and prejudice against the aged, discrimination, friends and family, care giving, living environments, demography, senior political power, legislation, elder abuse, and death and dying.

This course is an examination of global socioeconomic development in the context of globalization. Topics include population growth, natural resources, sustainable growth, migration, diplomacy, and the global consequences of inequality, poverty, and war. These topics are examined through the lens of social expectations, gender ideals, and economic justice.

This course examines key sociological perspectives, concepts, and current research related to race and ethnicity. Its primary focus includes the social construction of race and ethnicity, patterns of inequalities and discrimination on the basis race and ethnicity, and the ways in which key social institutions impact and are impacted by race and ethnicity. Also covered are current issues related to immigration, inter-group relations, and how race and ethnicity are shaped by other systems of inequality such as gender, class, nationality, and culture.

This course is an introduction to gender and sexuality studies from a sociological perspective. Its primary focus is critical perspectives on the social construction of gender and sexuality, inequalities on the basis of gender and sexuality, activism around issues of gender and sexuality, and how gender and sexuality shape and are shaped by other systems of inequality such as race, ethnicity, class, culture, and age. Also covered are key sociological discourses in the areas of feminism, masculinities, and queer theory.

This course engages applied and public sociological frameworks to train students to work toward social change in their communities and society. The course helps students identify how social forces in everyday life impact the lives of individuals, groups, communities, and societies and what part they may play in those forces through social institutions to which they belong. By engaging in sociology, students will recognize issues of stratification and discrimination related to gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, and other social identities and discover ways these identities intersect. The course will also review a sampling of career opportunities in applied sociology, such as journalism and media, nonprofit work, health and human services, marketing, government, demography, social research, and others. Prerequisites: SOC101, SOC333, and SOC301 or ANT340, ANT351, ANT353 and ANT 340. This course is not available for non-degree seeking students.