Basic concepts, theoretical approaches, and methods of sociology, with an emphasis on culture, socialization, social organizations, and major institutions.
Athena Title
Introductory Sociology
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in SOCI 1101E, SOCI 1101H
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall, spring and summer
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to summarize and critique a piece of sociological research.
Students will be able to examine and articulate the complex relationship between structure, culture, and interaction.
Students will be able to illustrate the methods of studying social groups and society.
Students will compare, contrast, and categorize types of common data collection methods in sociology.
Students will be able to articulate why and how each method could be useful to collect sociological data.
Students will be able to assess the validity of research findings through a variety of forms, such as charts, figures, and text.
Students will be able to infer differences between qualitative and quantitative research findings and assess their validity and reliability.
Students will be able to assess the logic and assumptions of major sociological theories.
Students will be able to understand, summarize, and express the centrality and significance of research, what research is and what it involves, in the context of a research university such as the University of Georgia where one studies.
Students will be able to apply sociological ways of viewing the world; and to understand sociology’s configuration within the social sciences; and articulate how the social sciences in turn fit into the broader organization of knowledge in universities.
Students will evaluate how various social locations such as class, gender, race, and deviance are continually influencing their own lives and outcomes as well as people from different cultures or geographical locations than their own.
Students will be able to examine the major macro-level dimensions of social stratification and the micro-level processes through which stratification manifests.
Students will be able to relate their own experiences with contrasting experiences through classroom discussions, lectures, readings, experiential activities, and research papers.
Students will analyze how events and relationships in their own social lives are shaped and constrained by the larger social structure, how individuals create and transform social structures, and how social structures interact with one another.
Topical Outline
The following topics may be covered in this course:
1. The Sociological Perspective
2. Methods of Sociology
3. Culture and Social Structure
4. Socialization and Social Interaction
5. Gender
6. Crime and Deviance
7. Groups, Organizations, and Work
8. Childhood, Families, and Marriage
9. Stratification and Social Class
10. Education and Schooling
11. Race and Ethnicity
12. Age and Aging
13. Religion
14. Population and Urbanization
15. Technology and Environment
16. Social Movements and Collective Action
17. The Political Institution
18. Globalization and the Capitalist World System
General Education Core
CORE V: Social Sciences
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
