Introduction to Sociology

Student Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, you will have the capability to:

1. Adopt a sociological perspective to analyze people’s behavior, identify your own sociological imagination, and apply it to various social problems and situations.
2. Explain the evolution of sociology as a scientific discipline and differentiate it from other social sciences.
3. Enumerate at least five notable sociologists and elucidate their significant contributions to the field.
4. Elaborate on the three primary sociological perspectives – Functionalist, Conflict, and Interactionist – and adeptly apply these perspectives to analyze human behavior.
5. Clarify the components of culture and distinguish it from society.
6. Outline the seven stages of the scientific research process and recognize appropriate research procedures in both experiments and articles describing research.
7. Elucidate the connections between social structure, social stratification, and the repercussions of social status.
8. Identify a minimum of four universal social institutions and describe their distinctive characteristics.
9. Describe how inequality and other social factors play a role in driving social change.
10. Summarize the interrelationship between socialization and the institution of the family.