Sociology - B.A.
Rolande D. Dathis, Ph.D., Discipline Coordinator
The sociology discipline is dedicated to continuing its legacy of excellence in teaching and research as exemplified through the contributions of early and significant Fisk University sociologists such as W.E.B. Du Bois, George Edmund Haynes, and Charles S. Johnson.
The discipline is committed to preparing its students for graduate or professional school and employment in a variety of professions. Thus, emphasis is placed on the understanding of sociological theory, competence in qualitative and quantitative methods, and the application of sociological knowledge in real world settings.
The program in sociology seeks to offer to the sociology major the knowledge and skills necessary for pursuing graduate studies and for careers in the professions such as law, medicine, business, teaching, research, government, urban planning and human services.
Sociology studies how human beings live in groups and in societies, and how they judge the meaning of their social lives. Sometimes sociologists begin with the individual and observe how the commitments of social factors bind them together in social relationships and result in the production of beliefs, values, and behaviors. At other times sociologists begin with cultural traditions, societies, and even entire civilizations, and study the different cultural designs, the social organizations, and the modes of consciousness according to which people both in conflict and in cooperation order their shared lives.
Sociology fosters reflective self-understanding in students through the appreciation of their own and others' underlying commitments. It also cultivates the ability of human beings to act competently in the various social worlds in which they live.
Majors in sociology will find it helpful to become closely acquainted with at least one other discipline in the humanities or the behavioral and social sciences, such as history, English, economics, religion, or psychology. Joint majors and interdisciplinary studies are encouraged by the faculty in sociology.
By an emphasis on sociology's educative rather than training value, majors are enabled to serve in a broad range of endeavors, including law, social work, counseling, journalism, urban politics, medicine, government, human services, business, and teaching at the elementary school or college level.
For all students, regardless of major, the program seeks to offer opportunities for intellectual and imaginative growth gained through the study of global issues and the inquiry into the experience of African peoples in the Americas and elsewhere.
The sociology discipline’s purpose is to:
- Prepare majors for graduate or professional school;
- Train students to conduct social research;
- Develop in students an awareness of the nexus between sociology and international and cross-national issues;
- Expose students to major sociological theorists; and
- Promote sociological thinking and train students to apply sociological concepts to real-world solutions.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the sociology major, the student will:
- Demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the major concepts relevant to social theory, research methods and the major substantive areas of sociology;
- Design and conduct an empirical study and demonstrate proficiency in data analysis;
- Identify the major theorists in sociology and demonstrate knowledge of their major contributions to the discipline of sociology;
- Recognize diversity as an explanatory variable within and across societies; and
- Apply specific sociological concepts, theories, and principles to real-world situations.
Requirements
Requirements for the undergraduate major in sociology, in addition to the University degree requirements specified within this Bulletin, are:
Required Courses
Courses in sociology - a minimum of 45 credits, including:
Minimum twenty-seven (27) hours of electives in sociology are chosen in consultation with and with the approval of a discipline faculty academic advisor.
Required Cognates
Required cognates [6 credits] as follows: HSS 280 Social Research Methods and HSS 290 Behavioral Statistics, which are taken normally in the sophomore year, with a prerequisite of CORE Mathematics, College Algebra or a higher-level mathematics course. The cognates suffice for the Core Group B option.
Joint Majors
- Joint majors, combining sociology with another concentration, are encouraged by the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Education, and may be arranged according to the usual University regulations.
- The student who chooses to pursue a joint major in sociology and another discipline must complete the required courses in sociology (SOC 100, SOC 374, SOC 373, SOC 370 Practicum I or SOC 380 Practicum II, and SOC 499), at least three additional courses in sociology, and the required cognate courses in social science (HSS 280 and HSS 290).
- The joint major requires a minimum of 33 credits in sociology and the approved number of credits in the other major.
- The joint major will have an advisor from the faculty in sociology as well as from the other major.
Suggested Program Plan for Sociology Majors
First Year, Fall Semester
| CORE 100 | NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION SEMINAR | 1 |
| CORE 150 | COMPOSITION I | 3 |
| SOC 100 | INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY | 3 |
| | |
| CORE 131 | ESSENTIAL MATHEMATICS FOR A CONTEMPORARY WORLD | 3 |
| Or | |
| MATH 101 | COLLEGE ALGEBRA | 3 |
| | |
| GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| FOREIGN LANGUAGE 101 - FRENCH OR SPANISH | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
First Year, Spring Semester
| CORE 160 | COMPOSITION II | 3 |
| CORE 120 | CRITICAL THINKING | 2 |
| SOC 101 | FAMILY LIFE | 3 |
| FOREIGN LANGUAGE 101 - FRENCH OR SPANISH | 3 |
| CORE A: CULTURAL EXPOSURE | 3 |
| CSCI 100 | INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 17 |
Second Year, Fall Semester
| ENG 275 | AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1919 | 3 |
| HSS 280 | SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS | 3 |
| SOC 115 | SOCIAL PROBLEMS | 3 |
| CORE D | 3 |
| GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Second Year, Spring Semester
| CORE 260 | HUMANITIES: THOUGHT AND EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| SOC 254 | DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL | 3 |
| HSS 290 | BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS | 3 |
| CORE C: ARTS | 3 |
| GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Third Year, Fall Semester
| CORE 201 | INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 3 |
| SOC 206 | URBAN SOCIOLOGY | 3 |
| SOC 245 | MEDIA, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE | 3 |
| SOC 360 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY | 3 |
| GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Third Year, Spring Semester
| SOC 282 | LIFE CYCLE, ADULTHOOD, AND AGING | 3 |
| SOC 351 | CRIMINOLOGY | 3 |
| SOC 342 | SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| SOC 326 | DEMOGRAPHY | 3 |
| CORE D: NATURAL SCIENCE | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Fourth Year, Fall Semester
Fourth Year, Spring Semester
| SOC 374 | SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY | 3 |
| SOC 380 | INDEPENDENT READINGS AND RESEARCH | 1-3 |
| SOC 390 | PRACTICUM II | 3 |
| SOCIOLOGY ELECTIVE | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
Total Credit Hours: 120
CORE Curriculum
The Cafeteria-style CORE Curriculum will be chosen from one of the courses in each of the following groups, A- E.
GROUP A (Choose one of the following)
GROUP B (Choose the following)
GROUP C (Choose one of the following)
GROUP D
Choose CORE 240 or any two science courses from the list below).
GROUP E (Choose one of the following)