|
Introduction to Sociology is a
survey of the concepts, methods, and theories scientists use to study
social
life. Lecture and course materials explore the sociological paradigm,
major theoretical
perspectives, research strategies, and politics of science. The goal of
this
course is to acquire two intersecting forms of knowledge: scientific
– competency in the language and logic sociologists use
to describe, explain, and understand social structure and processes; critical-practical – to see science as a
method for criticizing exploitative-oppressive social relations and
imagining and
constructing alternative possibilities. Objectives of this course:
develop a
sociological vocabulary and conceptual inventory; cultivate a critical
sociological
perspective, what C. Wright Mills calls "sociological imagination";
recognize
the major social forces and relations that produce and reproduce social
order; identify
and comprehend the structural contradictions and social struggles that
surround
and involve us; develop a critique of scientific practice, which
involves
understanding how social scientific research and social policy are
created, who
they are created for, and what purpose they serve.
Best viewed using Microsoft®
Internet Explorer
© Socius Web 2000-2011
|
