SOCIOLOGY NEWSLETTER. Look inside for Summer & Fall 2013 Course Offerings. 120 Bedford Street Department Faculty:

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1 SOCIOLOGY NEWSLETTER Look inside for Summer & Fall 2013 Course Offerings. Department September of Sociology Bedford Street Department Faculty: John Baugher, , Donna Bird, Wendy Chapkis, , Ed Collom, , Hello Sociology majors, minors, and potential majors! We hope this newsletter will be a useful resource for you when choosing your courses for the Summer and Fall 2013 semesters in addition to providing useful information about the major and minor. In this newsletter you will find: degree requirements for the major & minor, a list of department members and their contact information, as well as a detailed list of our proposed Summer and Fall 2013 course offerings. Summer registration began on March 1 st Advance registration for Fall 2013 will begin April 10 th with advising appointments beginning Monday, April 1 st. Luisa Deprez, , deprez@usm.maine.edu Rolf Diamon, , rdiamon@usm.maine.edu Cheryl Laz, , cherlaz@usm.maine.edu Department Staff: Jill Jordan-MacLean, jjordan@usm.maine.edu You must meet with your academic advisor before you can register for Fall 2013 classes appointment sign-up sheets are available call for an appointment.

2 Degree Requirements for a Sociology Major (38 hours) Required Prerequisites for all advanced sociology courses (6 hours): SOC 100 SOC 210 Introduction to Sociology Critical Thinking About Social Issues Required Courses (11 hours): Sociological Theory Qualitative Research Methods Quantitative Research Methods Required Course in Class Processes Choose one course from the following (3 hours): SOC 348 Sociology of Work SOC 358 Sociology of Women s Work SOC 359 Leisure and Consumption Under Global Capitalism SOC 392 Poverty: Policy & Perspectives SOC 393 Women, Welfare, and the State Elective Courses choose 18 hours from among 300-level or above Sociology courses Degree Requirements for a Sociology Minor (19 hours) SOC 100, Introduction to Sociology SOC 210, Critical Thinking About Social Issues, Sociological Theory, Qualitative Research Methods OR, Quantitative Research Methods AND Two Sociology electives (6 credits) at the 300- level or above. Please see the following pages for catalog course descriptions of courses proposed to be offered Summer and Fall 2013 The Sociology Department is located at 120 Bedford Street on the Portland Campus. Jill Jordan-MacLean, our departmental Administrative Specialist, is in Monday through Thursday 7:30-4:00 and is always willing to assist students. She can be reached at: or by jjordan@usm.maine.edu. If you have questions about the major or minor, please contact Jill or the Department Chair Cheryl Laz at cherlaz@usm.maine.edu or

3 IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING REQUIRED COURSES Fall 2013 through Spring 2017 Proposed schedule for offering, and Fall 2013 Spring 2014 No Fall 2014 Spring 2015 No No Fall 2015 Spring 2016 No Fall 2016 Spring 2017 No 1 No

4 SUMMER 2013 COURSES Registration for Summer classes began March 1 st SOC 100, Introduction to Sociology The fundamental concepts, principles, and methods of sociology; analyzes the influence of social and cultural factors upon human behavior; evaluates effect of group processes, social classes, stratification, and basic institutions on contemporary society. May 13-June 28 TTH 4:00-6:45 Rolf Diamon SOC 210, Critical Thinking About Social Issues Designed to follow Introduction to Sociology, this course further develops students skills of critical analysis through the application of sociological principles to current social issues. The course uses popular media as well as sociological materials. Examples of issues which may be examined are: poverty, health care, homelessness, aging, drugs, violence, bureaucracy, white collar crime, and changing gender roles. Prerequisite: Successful completion of SOC 100 with a grade of C or better or permission of the instructor. July 1-August 16 TTH 4:00-6:45 Rolf Diamon SOC 315, Self and Society This course explores the social construction of self as the result of both face-to-face and societal-level social processes such as language acquisition, identity development, and the effects of culture and social structure on individual and collective conceptions of selfhood. Readings and discussions focus on the relative contributions of individual selfdetermination and societal constraints on selfhood. Specific topics include childhood identify development, social stigma and society definitions of normality, social structure and selfesteem, and cross-cultural differences in the concept of selfhood. Prerequisite: SOC 210 with C or better or permission of instructor. May 13-June 7 MTW 5:30-8:45 p.m. John Baugher SOC 355, Politics and Society This course will focus on power relationships in U.S. society, with some cross-national comparisons. Specific topics to be covered include the nature and distribution of power among social groups and organizations, theories of the state, social class and political participation, policy formation, and the interactions between democracy as a political system and capitalism as an economic system. Prerequisite: SOC 210 with C or better or permission of instructor. July 1-August 16 Blended, online & classroom Classroom meetings: M/Th 5:30-6:45 p.m. Donna Bird

5 FALL 2013 COURSES Advance registration for Fall begins April 10 th SOC 100, Introduction to Sociology The fundamental concepts, principles, and methods of sociology; analyzes the influence of social and cultural factors upon human behavior; evaluates effect of group processes, social classes, stratification, and basic institutions on contemporary society. MW 10:15-11:30, John Baugher TTH 8:45-10:00, Ed Collom, Sociological Theory Critical evaluation of selected classical models of the social world. Includes consideration of the foundations of sociological thought, the content of major classical theories and theory groups, and the socio-cultural settings within which they developed. Prerequisite: completion of SOC 210 with a C or better or permission of instructor. TTH 1:15-2:30, Cheryl Laz TTH 10:15-11:30, Ed Collom MW 8:45-10:00, Rolf Diamon MW 11:45-1:00, Rolf Diamon Monday 5:35-8:05, TBA SOC 210, Critical Thinking About Social Issues Designed to follow Introduction to Sociology, this course further develops students skills of critical analysis through the application of sociological principles to current social issues. The course uses popular media as well as sociological materials. Examples of issues which may be examined are: poverty, health care, homelessness, aging, drugs, violence, bureaucracy, white collar crime, and changing gender roles. Prerequisite: Successful completion of SOC 100 with a grade of C or better or permission of the instructor. Monday 5:35-8:05, Wendy Chapkis Tuesday 4:10-6:40, Wendy Chapkis TTH 10:15-11:30, Luisa Deprez Wednesday 1:15-3:45, Luisa Deprez, Qualitative Research Methods This course provides an overview of the process of social research utilizing qualitative methods. Topics include the logic and principles of the research process, as well as specific techniques in qualitative research (e.g., writing field notes, conducting interviews, analyzing qualitative data). A fieldwork/lab component allows students to apply research skills in settings outside the classroom. Prerequisite: completion of SOC 210 with a C or better or permission of the instructor. MW 11:15-1:00, John Baugher SOC 327, Social Movements This course is divided into two sections: social movement theory and social movement cases. First, students will explore the three dominant theoretical approaches covering the micro, meso, and macro context of social movements. These include framing and interpretive processes, mobilizing structures, and political opportunities. The classic U.S. social movement of the 1960s (civil rights, women s liberation, anti-war and free speech) and 1970s-80s (environmental and peace) will be utilized as historical cases to comprehend social movement theory. The second section of the course will address contemporary movements including (but not limited to) labor, antiglobalization, local alternatives, and the new peace movements. Prerequisite: SOC 210 with C or better or permission of instructor. Monday 1:15-3:45, Ed Collom

6 SOC 334, Sociology of Religion Review and critique of classical and contemporary sociological interpretations of religion, with emphasis on the changing character of religious expression in the twentieth century. Prerequisite: completion of SOC 210ew with a C or better or permission of the instructor. TTH 11:45-1:00, Professor Diamon SOC 358, Sociology of Women s Work This course will introduce students to theoretical and empirical literature on women s work in the paid labor force, on their unpaid labor in the home, and on the relationship between these two kinds of women s work. The course emphasizes the diversity of women s work and the interconnections among race-ethnicity, class, and gender through a detailed examination of professional women, blue-collar women, and pinkcollar employees. Additional topics include occupational segregation, earnings differentials, poverty, law and public policy, and labor militancy. Prerequisite: completion of SOC 210 with C or better or permission of instructor. TTH 2:45-4:00, Cheryl Laz SOC 380, Grief, Suffering and Transformation This 2-credit, 10-week, experiential seminar will create spaces for participants to contemplatively investigate, write about, discuss, and explore with others experiences of grief, suffering, and transformation. The format, materials, and activities of the course will invite participants to learn from grief and suffering, rather than just learn about such experiences. Nobody wants to suffer, yet grief and suffering are inevitable for embodied, sentient beings, raising important questions regarding how humans respond to and seek to make sense of experiences of suffering and loss. Drawing on social scientific research on posttraumatic growth, the narrative experience of suffering, and the sociology of emotions as well as resources from literature, poetry, music, and teachings from enduring wisdom traditions, we will seek to understand under what conditions and through which processes experiences of grief and suffering are linked with individual growth and social transformation. The only prerequisite for this course is a willingness to explore one s own experiences of grief and suffering and to contribute meaningfully to building a supportive learning community through our weekly class sessions and related activities. This course meets September 4-November 13, Wednesday 4:10-6:40, John Baugher SOC 380/WST 380, Politics of Difference This course explores the advantages and disadvantages of using gender, sexuality, race, and nationality as fundamental categories of analysis. The course will examine how these categories have functioned in the creation of a normative Self and deviant Other in the Post-9/11 United States. We will also consider contemporary feminist challenges to this understanding of difference through the work of anti-globalization and transgender activists. Prerequisites: completion of SOC 210 C or better or permission of instructor. Thursday 4:10-6:40, Wendy Chapkis SOC 393, Women, Welfare and the State The course explores the gender bias of social welfare policy in the U.S., revealing a welfare state whose adherence to central elements such as the Protestant work ethic, family values, and a laissez-faire economy excludes over half the population. From both historical and theoretical perspectives, the course examines the development of the American welfare state, compares it to Western and Eastern European states, and assesses its impact of women s lives. Prerequisites: SOC 210 with a grade of C or better and junior/senior standing, or permission of instructor. Tuesday 4:10-6:40, Luisa Deprez