Courses & Syllabi

Sociology (Arts): The origins and history of the welfare state and the differences between types of welfare state regimes; debates about and empirical evidence for current developments in welfare state programs. Special attention will be paid to the interconnections between the evolution of the labour market and the resulting pressures on the welfare state.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisites: SOCI 210 and SOCI 211 or instructors permission.

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Axel van den Berg

Sociology (Arts): The effects of early childhood experiences upon adult personality, and the transmission of social roles and values. Topics include: social reinforcement theories, modeling theories, maternal deprivation, culture and personality studies, cognitive development and infantile sexuality. The processes of sex role socialization.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Mehri Ghazanjani

Sociology (Arts): Socio-economic, political and cultural dynamics related to processes of globalization. An examination of the following: key theoretical foundations of the globalization debate; the extent and implications of economic globalization; global governance and the continuing relevance of nation-states; instances of transnational activism; the diffusion of cultural practices; patterns and management of global migration and mobility.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210 or Permission of Instructor

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Health and illness as social rather than purely bio-medical phenomena. Topics include: studies of ill persons, health care occupations and organizations; poverty and health; inequalities in access to and use of health services; recent policies, ideologies, and problems in reform of health services organization.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Amélie Quesnel Vallée

Sociology (Arts): Data and theories of mental disorders. Transcultural psychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology, stress, labelling, mental health care delivery, the family, positive mental health and the "sick" society in the framework of sociological theories of stratification, organization and social psychology.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): The development of the world of work from the rise of industrial capitalism to the postindustrial age. Responses of workers and managers to changing organizational, technological and economic realities. Interrelations between changing demands in the workplace and the functioning of the labour market. Canadian materials in comparative perspective.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Ian M Van Haren

Sociology (Arts): A survey course; examines various topics, theories, and research related to the sociological and cultural study of the media, both traditional and new.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Summer 2021
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Examination of selected topics in sociological theory and research.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOC1 210 or Permission of instructor.
• Note: Topics will vary from year to year.

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Focus on men's and women's work in North American societies, historically and contemporarily, in order to understand the dynamisms of gender (in)equality in and outside of the home. Topics explored include: housework; the relationship(s) between gender, organizations and bureaucracy; emotional labour; occupational segregation and stratification; sexual harassment; and work-family policy.

Offered by: Sociology

• Course for the Women's Studies Concentrations

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Elaine S Weiner

Sociology (Arts): A review of sociological research on the production, readership, and broader social implications of literature. Topics will include: the issue of whether literature "reflects" society, the use of literature in establishing collective identities, and reading as a social practice.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI-219.

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): A review of sociological research on science as an institution. Topics include the culture and practice of science, societal influences on scientific processes, the use of scientific output and technology in media and society, and the impact of cultural and institutional forces on the evolution of scientific knowledge.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Peter McMahan

Sociology (Arts): An examination of the social changes that underlie the emergence of modern politics. An outline and empirical critique of the principal alternative models of political functioning in industrial societies. Empirical analysis of elite and mass political behaviour.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Major themes in sociological theory as developed by key classical and contemporary theorists. Uses and limitations of social theory for understanding the social world. Themes may include inequality/power; culture/structure/values; strategic action; and social construction.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210 or permission of instructor

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Jennifer Elrick

Sociology (Arts): Main topics and controversies linking population processes and the environment. Topics include how population processes influence the environment, population responses to changing environments, policies related to these effects, variation across and within developed and developing countries.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite(s): SOCI 210 or SOCI 211 or SOCI 234 or SOCI 254

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Sarah R Brauner-Otto

Sociology (Arts): The pattern, causes and consequences of social inequality. Among the inequalities considered are those of economic class, sex (gender), race, ethnicity and age. Competing theories of the causes of social inequalities are compared and assessed.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Thomas G Soehl

Sociology (Arts): This class will introduce students to the growing body of interdisciplinary research suggesting social factors strongly influence healthy and successful aging. Topics will include the impact of stratification (race, class, gender), neighborhood processes, social networks, family and partnerships, and bio-social interactions, on life trajectories and the aging process.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Aniruddha Das

Sociology (Arts): The dynamics of biomedical disciplines and specialties. Social, scientific, political and commercial aspects of biomedical research. The organization of work in clinical and fundamental research and its consequences on the choice of research topics.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Intended for students who are adequately prepared to undertake advanced work and have an explicit proposal to submit.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students only

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Intended for students who are adequately prepared to undertake advanced work and have an explicit proposal to submit.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students only

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Michael R Smith, Elaine S Weiner

Sociology (Arts): Intended for students who are adequately prepared to undertake advanced work and have an explicit proposal to submit.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students only

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Topics in Sociology. Topic varies by year.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): This is an introductory course in descriptive and inferential statistics. The course is designed to help students develop a critical attitude toward statistical argument. It serves as a background for further statistics courses, helping to provide the intuition which can sometimes be lost amid the formulas.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 211
• Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PSYC 204, PSYC 305 or ECON 227
• You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • William Z Marshall

Sociology (Arts): Theories of social, economic, and political change in the industrialized societies. Causes of cycles in economic growth; imperialism and war; and in ethnic, religious, and industrial conflict. Causes of long run trends in social inequality, crime, family stability, and the position of women. Comparison of North America, Europe, Russia, and Japan.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210 or any other introductory course in the social sciences

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Focus on rural life in North America in the context of rapid globalization and accompanying social, demographic, economic, and cultural change. Topics include rural identity, persistent poverty, gender, race/ethnicity, environmental issues, politics, economic development strategies, education, demographic decline and aging, internal migration, health, and family dynamics.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Shelley D Clark

Sociology (Arts): Main concepts and controversies linking health to broader social and economic conditions in low income countries. Topics include the demographic and epidemiological transitions, the health and wealth conundrum, the social determinants of health, health as an economic development strategy, and the impact of the AIDS pandemic.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 234 or SOCI 254

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): The causes and consequences of neighborhood-based social inequalities in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Forms of inequality covered include poverty, segregation, ethnic enclaves, unemployment, educational attainment, crime, and health. Methodological issues and social policy will also be examined.

Offered by: Sociology

• Offered in Winter 2014
• Prerequisite(s): SOCI 210 & SOCI 222

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Exploration of the main development theories and discussion of how gender is placed within them, analysis of the practical application of development projects and discussion of how they affect gender dynamics, and examination of power relations between development agencies and developing countries. Examples from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America are used.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Poulami Roychowdhury

Sociology (Arts): This course will address the challenge of diverse, liberal societies like Canada, of dealing with "suspect" minorities of various types --racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic -- from the perspective of the minority group, and majority group, and the society and polity at large.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prequisite(s): SOCI 210, or SOCI230, or consent of the instructor

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Morton Weinfeld

Sociology (Arts): Sociological perspectives on sexual activity and attitudes, and their consequences for individuals and society. Topics include gender and life-course patterns, race and class differences, social networks and STDs, and interactions of biological (hormonal, genetic) and social factors in shaping sex. Emphasis is on quantitative evidence from recent national surveys.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210 Sociological Perspectives

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): This course will focus on contemporary social movements in Canada, the U.S., and Western Europe, such as the civil rights movement, the women's movement, and the environmental movement. Empirical studies of movements will be used to explore such general issues as how social movements emerge, grow, and decline.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Carl B Eidlin

Sociology (Arts): Introductory course on methods and theories in criminology. Exploration of the nature and distribution of crime; and critical evaluation of definitions and the measurement of crime; review of theoretical approaches used to understand such a phenomenon; a comparative overview of the criminal justice system.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Jan Doering

Sociology (Arts): Key conceptual and substantive issues in gender and health since c1950: stratified medicalization of women's and men's health; social movements in health including the women's health movement; gender inequality in morbidity and mortality; gender, power and control in patient/physician interactions; embodied experience; politics and policies of gender and health.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): The course provides an overview of the role that law plays in modern society from a sociological perspective. The first part of the course explores major theoretical traditions within the sociology of law emphasizing relevant theoretical statements by Durkheim, Marx, and Weber and examines how these theories continue to influence our understanding of the law today. The second part draws from both theoretical and empirical work to assess the ways in which the law serves as a form of social control, produces and reproduces inequality in society, and finally considers the possibility that law can act as a vehicle for social change.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite(s): SOCI 210

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Advanced course on international migration, belonging and diversity in contemporary societies. Will examine dynamics of exclusion and inclusion, the accommodation of cultural diversity, the adaptation of immigrants and how global international migration challenges and re-shapes citizenship. Will cover key theoretical debates in the field and the data and case studies on which these debates hinge.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Zoua Vang

Sociology (Arts): This course examines the comparative and interdisciplinary dimensions of family changes and their repercussions on individuals' life courses. It examines topics such as the effects of parental separation on children's well-being and development, or the impact of the diversification of family trajectories on the provision of care at old age.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210 or SOCI 247 or permission of the instructor

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): This course surveys the tradition of urban ethnography in sociology. Students will read, discuss, and assess major classic and modern urban ethnographies as well as theoretical and methodological debates that pertain to urban ethnography. Special attention will be paid to scholarship that illuminates race and ethnicity, crime, and poverty as social phenomena.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite(s): SOCI 222 or SOCI 366

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Focuses on the mechanisms by which educational institutions foster and maintain equalities and inequalities around the world, considers the kinds of inequalities which exist in our society, their bases and sources, and analyzes educational practices and structures related to the production and maintenance of equalities and inequalities. Considers the consequences of educational opportunity of recent reform proposals, and the relation of education to occupational opportunities. Engages with multidisciplinary theories of social stratification and examines empirical and theoretical studies from both low-and high-income societies.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): A survey of theories of organization with particular reference to problems of growth, technology, centralization and decentralization, and organizational environments.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisites: SOCI 210 or SOCI 235

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Michael R Smith
  • Michael R Smith

Sociology (Arts): Relational and network-analytical approaches to social structure. The theory and methods of network analysis. Subjects will include communication networks, online community structure, social support, influence processes, and overlapping networks.

Offered by: Sociology

• Familiarity with R, Stata, or another programming language is strongly encouraged.

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Peter McMahan

Sociology (Arts): Advanced course on theoretical approaches to citizenship. Focus will be on multiple dimensions of citizenship: legal status, rights, participation and belonging. Examines how class, race, ethnicity, gender and immigrant status inform the relationship between individuals and states. Will address contemporary debates about the reconfiguration of citizenship.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Jennifer Elrick

Sociology (Arts): Intended for students who are adequately prepared to undertake advanced work and have an explicit proposal to submit.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students only

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Intended for students who are adequately prepared to undertake advanced work and have an explicit proposal to submit.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students only

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Intended for students who are adequately prepared to undertake advanced work and have an explicit proposal to submit.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students only

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Peter McMahan, Jan Doering

Sociology (Arts): Specialist examination of key issues in sociological theory, either through treatment in depth of a single theorist or through concentration on analytic issues that form the centre of continuing debates in the philosophy of social science.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 330 or permission of instructor

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Forms that colonialism took, its impact on colonial societies, and its modern legacies, focusing on overseas colonialism between 1600 and the 1970s.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210 or permission from instructor.

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Matthew K Lange

Sociology (Arts): The demise of Communist Party rule between 1989 - 1991 throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The societal implications (e.g. class formation, gender relations, nationalism, corruption, religious freedom) of these dramatic economic and political changes.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210.

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): This seminar focuses on attempts to resolve social problems. There will be discussion and debate concerning policies suggested and critical examination of their potential successes and failures. The course presupposes knowledge of social problems issues obtained in 166-250. Topics include: crime and prisons; discrimination and inequality; poverty; and drug use.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): This course blends theory and applications in regression analysis. It focuses on fitting a straight line regression using matrix algebra, extending models for multivariate analysis and discusses problems in the use of regression analysis, providing criteria for model building and selection, and using statistical software to apply statistics efficiently.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 350
• You may not be able to get credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Aniruddha Das

Sociology (Arts): Topics in economic sociology. Topics vary by year.

Offered by: Sociology

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): An interdisciplinary seminar focusing on current social sciences research and public policies in areas relating to Canadian ethnic studies. Topics will include ethnic and racial inequalities, prejudice and discrimination, ethnic identities and cultural expressions, the structure and organization of minority groups.

Offered by: Sociology

• Restrictions: Open to students following the Minor Concentration in Canadian Ethnic Studies; or to students with at least nine credits, three at the 300 level, in the social sciences; or with permission of instructor. Not open to students who took CANS 404 in 2007-08.

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Morton Weinfeld

Sociology (Arts): Introduction to qualitative research methods. Students will be exposed to various types of data collection (e.g., textual, observational) and data analysis techniques (e.g., in vivo coding) for qualitative data in an experiential, hands-on fashion.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 211

• Terms
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Elaine S Weiner

Sociology (Arts): The Honours Project, normally in the form of a paper, provides every Honours student with the opportunity to work independently on a topic of special interest. The student works out the topic for the Honours Project through discussions with appropriate potential supervisors (aided by the Honours Adviser when necessary).

Offered by: Sociology

• Restriction: For Sociology U3 Honours and Joint Honours students only

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Sarah R Brauner-Otto
  • Jan Doering, Peter McMahan

Sociology (Arts): Focus on the sociological aspects of recent transitions to democracy within developing countries - particularly within Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Exploration of why democratization has taken place, to what extent it has been successful and the implications of democratization.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): An overview of research on prison "communities" and prison riots. An assessment of incapacitation, deterrence and labelling effects of incarceration. A conceptual framework for analyzing variations (across societies) and changes (over time) in the overall aggregate rates of punishment that social systems impose on their offender populations.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: SOCI 210

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): This seminar examines how the definition of deviance, reactions to deviance and explanations of deviance are gendered. Specific topics vary from year to year.

Offered by: Sociology

• Course for Women's Studies Concentrations
• Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
• Restriction: open to U3 students concentrating on social problems.

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
• Instructors
  • Poulami Roychowdhury

Sociology (Arts): This course explores the social construction of "social problems". It focuses on the social conflicts involved in the definition of social issues and on how and why "problems" change over time. Issues such as drinking, smoking, drug use, pornography, abortion, and homosexuality will be discussed.

Offered by: Sociology

• Prerequisite: permission of instructor

• Terms
  • This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
• Instructors
  • There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Sociology (Arts): Internship with an approved host institution or organization.

Offered by: Sociology

• Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students with a minimum CGPA of 2.7, and permission of the departmental Internship Advisor. This course will normally not fulfill program requirements for seminar or 400-level courses. A letter from a supervisor at the institution must attest to successful completion of the student's tenure.

• Terms
  • Fall 2020
  • Winter 2021
• Instructors
  • Peter McMahan
  • Céline Le Bourdais