Sociology Major

IN THIS SECTION

Get training that will prepare you to make a positive difference in the world.

In the Sociology Major, you will learn to take on pressing social problems through critical thinking joined with action. You will study the nature of group behavior and social interaction viewed through analysis of structure, norms, and values to get a critical understanding of individuals as social beings. In classes on topics ranging from race, class, and gender inequalities to capitalism, immigration, cities, and the environment, you will develop the ability to make connections between lived experiences and social issues, and you will examine social justice issues and efforts to make the world a better place.

You will read works by thinkers such as Karl Marx, W.E.B. Du Bois, C. Wright Mills, Patricia Hill Collins, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, and Mary Romero to get an understanding of fundamental concepts and intellectual traditions. In addition, you will learn how to conduct ethical sociological research and how to analyze results and present research papers. You also have the option to take the major through Worcester State’s 4+1 program, earning both your bachelor’s in sociology and a master’s in nonprofit management in just five years.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

  • Develop a deep understanding of structural inequalities
  • Apply sociological knowledge to address pressing social issues
  • Examine everyday lived experiences in connection to large social forces
  • Challenge current power structures and imagine inclusive, just, and sustainable futures

VIEW THE CATALOG

Explore sample courses in this program.

SO-100 Introduction to Sociology

The nature of group behavior and social interaction viewed through analysis of structure, norms, and values.
3 credits

SO-110 Cultural Anthropology

Cross-cultural analysis of the human capacity for adaptation and technological and ideological development. Significant field studies are examined.
3 credits

SO-190 Sport and Society

Analysis of sport as a social system. The implication of sport within inter-relational contexts of other social systems.
3 credits

SO-193 First Year Seminar Sociology

Introductory level course covering topics of special interest to first-year students.
3 credits

SO-199 Special Topics in Sociology

Foundations in a selected sub-field of sociology; announcement of topic made at pre-registration time.
3 credits

SO-200 Contemporary Social Problems

Analysis of social, political, urban, and economic changes that have introduced specific problems into contemporary society.
3 credits

SO-201 Prejudice, Privilege, and Power

Introduction to the social psychological foundations of identity and identity’s relation to prejudice, privilege, and power in micro-interactions and social structures. Students engage with social-psychological understandings of categorizations and their implications at individual and structural levels.
3 credits

SO-207 First Generation to College: Campus Diversity and College Inequality

As college has been increasingly framed as the primary mechanism for social and economic mobility, college attendance has reached historic highs for nearly every demographic, including for historically marginalized communities. This has created increasingly diverse campuses and has increasingly bound colleges to broader patterns of inequality. This course examines the racial and economic politics facing first-generation college students as well as the structural inequalities shaping college and its promises of social and economic mobility.
3 credits

SO-215 Medical Sociology

The structure of health care delivery systems and levels of health care personnel, patients, and families of patients.
3 credits

SO-220 Sociology of the Family

A comparative approach to the study of the structure of family systems with emphasis on changing patterns of family life.
3 credits

SO-228 Latina-Latino Experiences in the US and the World

Survey of current theoretical approaches used to explain Latina/o experiences and an empirical overview of how social institutions affect the daily lives of Latinas and Latinos in the US and the world.
3 credits

SO-230 Political Sociology

Foundations of social movements in political phenomena, social conditions, and emerging political institutions; the structural basis of social change and politics.
3 credits

SO-235 Music and Social Change

Using case studies, social theory, and historical materials, this course explores the role of music in social change.
3 credits

SO-240 Sociology of Education

Study of modern educational systems, emphasizing the social, political, and economic factors that influence their organization and functions.
3 credits

SO-250 Sociology of Religion

A cross-cultural comparative study of the nature of religious institutions as systems of socially determined and socially relevant beliefs and practices.
3 credits

SO-255 Sociology of Disability

Using theory and practical application, this course explores the impact of impairment and disability within a societal context.
3 credits

SO-270 Social Theory I

Fundamental concepts and intellectual traditions, especially the contributions of Comte, Spencer, Marx, Toennes, Durkheim, and Simmel.
3 credits

SO-275 Social and Behavioral Statistics

Data tabulation; graphing; measurement of central tendency, variability, and correlation; hypothesis testing applied to psychological and sociological data. Hand and computer analysis.
3 credits

SO-280 Research Methods of Sociology

An analysis of the research function in sociology; conduct of research appropriate to undergraduate students; formal presentation of research papers.
3 credits

SO-285 Race, Class, and Gender

An introduction to dominant-minority group relations through the investigation of the patterns and dynamics of differentiation, inequality, and discrimination.
3 credits

SO-295 Sociology of Death and Dying

The course explores the sociological concepts and perspectives as they relate to death and dying and how American society deals with illness, dying, death, and bereavement.
3 credits

SO-299 Special Topics: Sociology Concepts, Realities, and Representations

Intermediate level topics.
3 credits

SO-300 Social Change

A study of the conditions, patterns, and consequences of social transformation with emphasis on institutional and individual patterns of adjustment and adaptation.
3 credits

SO-305 Applied Sociology

This course approaches applied sociology through a project-based learning experience incorporating elements of a community-based research process and/or public sociology. While applied topics of the course change from semester to semester, this course explores the theories and methods of applied sociology, potentially including ethnographic, institutional, and participatory research techniques in community settings.
3 credits

SO-307 Puerto Rican Diaspora

Survey of a wide range of Puerto Rican experiences and overview of how social structures shape the daily lives of Puerto Ricans in the United States. Through a focus on diasporas, the course centers on migration as a key experience within Puerto Rican imaginaries. The course explores the sociological themes of identity, race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexuality, social class, and stratification through the lens of Puerto Rican struggle and resistance. Puerto Rican diasporic communities are examined at the intersections of colonialism, modernity, and neoliberal globalization.
3 credits

SO-312 Youth, Race, and Public Space

The course studies young people as agents of social change through key debates and local/global case studies across the academic subfields of youth studies, critical race theory, and public space scholarship. Students in this course engage with youth experiences of increased surveillance and regulation in public space as well as creative forms of subversion and resistance. Through the discussion and analysis of cutting-edge scholarship, students in this course craft critical ethnographies at the multiple intersections of youth, race, and public space.
3 credits

SO-315 Social Movements

Processes by which new norms and forms of social organization emerge from group behavior, aggregate behavior, and social movements.
3 credits

SO-318 Worcester and Its Discontents

This course studies the city of Worcester from a sociological perspective focused on settler colonialism, industrial capitalism, and neoliberal gentrification. Students learn about the systematic erasure of indigenous knowledge as crucial to the formation of the capitalist city. Students make key connections between settler colonialism and the contemporary displacement of working-class communities of color in Worcester. The course chronicles lived experiences of economic restructuring within Worcester that signal a meaningful shift from industrial powerhouse to postindustrial theme park.
3 credits

SO-320 Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

This course focuses on historical and contemporary discussions of race and ethnicity within sociology. The course familiarizes students with central threads in the study of race and ethnicity and identifies gaps, particularly as they are relevant for the academic and social sphere of today.
3 credits

SO-321 Wealth, Poverty, and Power

Sociological examination of economic stratification; focuses on the translation of class into power via politics, education, and collective struggle.
3 credits

SO-332 Contemporary Immigrant Experiences

In this course students examine immigrants’ lived experiences in the US and learn about the legal systems immigrants must navigate and their experiences with incorporation into different areas of society. Students are exposed to current debates in the field and engage with theories of immigration, immigration policies, and other laws that shape immigrants’ lives. This course facilitates an understanding of how communities respond to practices that curtail immigrants’ basic rights as they navigate intersecting structures of power in American society. Students are encouraged to look at local examples to make connections between policies, theories, and debates.
3 credits

SO-340 Social Psychology

Dynamics of small group involvement and other environmental influences on the shaping of an individual’s personality.
3 credits

SO-350 Wealth, Poverty, and Power

Sociological examination of economic stratification; focuses on the translation of class into power via politics, education, and collective struggle.
3 credits

SO-355 Gender and Sexuality

This course introduces the sociologist study of gender and sexuality. This course examines how social institutions and cultural norms construct particular gender roles and sexual identities within society.
3 credits

SO-360 Urban Sociology

A cross-cultural study of urban social systems and the phenomena and problems connected with the planning process.
3 credits

SO-375 Contemporary Social Theory

Analytical devices, conceptual schemes, and models used by contemporary theorists with emphasis on structural sociology.
3 credits

SO-400 Independent Study

For advanced sociology majors only; topic to be approved by an independent study advisor. (Requires 8 prior courses in sociology.)
1 to 6 credits

SO-403 Environmental Sociology

This course explores the relationship between environment and society through a focus on political ecology, sociological dimensions of environmental crisis, and dynamics of social change.
3 credits

SO-408 Directed Study

Directed study offers students, who because of unusual circumstances may be unable to register for a course when offered, the opportunity to complete an existing course with an established syllabus under the direction of and with agreement from a faculty member.
1 to 3 credits

SO-410 Field Work

Data collection based on participant observation within a social service organization; assignment approval by field-work advisor. (Requires 8 prior courses in sociology.)
1 to 6 credits

SO-420 Seminar in Sociology

Advanced study topics in selected areas of sociology.
1 to 3 credits

SO-425 Global Capitalism

This class looks at the development of capitalism from an historical, sociological, and critical perspective and considers the ways capitalism has made and unmade the world. Themes may include imperialism and the underdevelopment of the Global South, decolonization struggles, global urbanization, global financial institutions, global labor struggles, war and capitalism, global environmental crises and the struggle over resources, and market hegemony.
3 credits

SO-435 Introduction to Social Enterprise

This course examines social entrepreneurship and social enterprise in a global context.
3 credits

SO-499 Sociology Capstone

Overview of the discipline of sociology, emphasizing the mastery of the discipline at an undergraduate level.
4 credits

Meet the Sociology Faculty

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Alex Briesacher

Associate Professor

My research hovers around the intersection of sociological social psychology and psychological social psychology with specific applications primarily focused on racialized experiences in different educational setting. Working within a department with [...]

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Siri Colom

Assistant Professor of Sociology

My research focuses broadly on understanding the operation and social organization of power. I delve into questions about urban space, environmental change, politics, and the role of institutions of racial domination . I am driven by questions that [...]

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Trinidad Morales III

Visiting Assistant Professor

Trinidad is a recent transplant to the New England region, but was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, a southwestern city bordering Mexico and New Mexico.  He has taught classes in sociology, criminology, and demography at several academic [...]

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Francisco Vivoni

Associate Professor of Sociology

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