Minor:
Family Studies
Departments/Programs:
| Required Courses | |
|---|---|
| SOC 003 Introduction to Sociology | 3 hours |
| SOC 120 Sociology of the Family | 3 hours |
| Select courses from: | 12 hours |
|---|---|
| ENG 101 Masterpieces of Literature | 3 hours |
| COMM 040 Interpersonal Communication | 3 hours |
| SOC 115 Population, Resources, and Environment | 3 hours |
| PSYCH 130 Child and Adolescent Psychology | 4 hours |
| COMM 145 Family Communication | 2 hours |
| SOC 222 Sociology of Gender | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 135 Family Violence | 3 hours |
| Student must take courses from at least three different disciplines. Note that PSYCH 130 Child and Adolescent Psychology has prerequisite of PSYCH 002 Applied Psychological Science (Adult Undergraduate Only), and SOC 222 Sociology of Gender has prerequisite of SOC 003 Introduction to Sociology. | |
This introductory course presents the basic processes of human interaction in everyday life while introducing students to the theories and methods governing social inquiry. The sociological perspective is used to study the impact of the forces of culture, socialization, social stratification, race, gender, and population on human thoughts and actions.
(Normally offered each semester.)
An analysis of various interrelationships of man and woman with emphasis on love, courtship, marriage, and family. Institutional, social, and legal perspectives are presented in a cross-cultural and historical frame of reference to elucidate the dynamic relationship between the family, its members, and broader U.S. society.
(Normally offered each semester.)
An introductory course designed to help students appreciate the literary record of human relationships with nature, the supernatural, and each other. Each course examines a particular question or condition as it is represented in a restricted number of literary works, with core readings from the Bible, Greek or Roman classical literature, Shakespeare, literature by women, and literature by writers of color. Current offerings include the following:
Encountering Others This course looks at texts that represent moments of contact, conflict, or exchange between different cultures, or between a society and those individuals the society has designated as 'different' in some crucial way.
Coming of Age-Becoming Women, Becoming Men This course looks at texts that represent the forces and processes that are part of maturation, especially those related to gender identity. This course focuses on gender issues and includes feminist perspectives. Note: This course also counts for Gender Studies credit.
Families and Relationships This course will examine how writers from different historical eras and cultural contexts write about family, in every sense of that word. Writing the Self 'Who am I?' This is the quintessential question that all human beings ask. This course examines how writers from different historical eras and cultural contexts use various narrative strategies to construct a sense of self. We will also examine numerous theories that seek to explain what constitutes the 'I' that locates the self as a palpable center of self-awareness, as well as how genre influences the accounting of personal history.
Sexualities This course is designed to help students appreciate the literary record of romantic relationships. Specifically, the course will explore how writers from different historical periods and cultural milieus address the issue of human sexuality. Note: same-sex relationships will be routinely read about and discussed in the class. Note: This course also counts for Gender Studies credit.
Law and Justice The courtroom is a place where one's telling and interpretation of stories can mean the difference between life and death, so the analysis of literature and the practice of the law are already intertwined. This course explores the connection further by focusing on literary works that deal with the principle of justice and the application of law.
Revolution This course looks at texts that represent moments of sudden change, upheaval, and transformation, both within societies and within individuals.
Religion and Spirituality Religion is a virtually universal constant in recorded human history, but with answers of different religions to humankind's big questions have varied enormously. What is the origin and purpose of evil? What is death? What things should be held sacred? What is the nature of the divine? How should we treat other people - and should we distinguish between those who share our beliefs and those who do not? This course will study some of the ways these questions have been answered, from most ancient times to the present.
The Environment How are nature and the natural world imagined through literary texts? In the western tradition, "nature" is usually considered separate from humanity - a passive landscape designed to be dominated and used by humans for human purposes. What is the origin of this cultural attitude? What alternative views do we find in the history of western literature? What does the literary record of nature look like in some non-western cultural traditions? Is nature best understood as a universal category apart from human culture or is the idea of nature created by human culture? This course will explore such questions by reading texts from different eras and cultural traditions.
War Virtually every culture has experienced war, and cultures often define and understand themselves through the memories of their wars. Literature about war, from western civilization's founding epic, Homer's Iliad, to blogs maintained by contemporary soldiers, provides us with not only some of our most memorable images of courage, loyalty, and self-sacrifice, but also compelling evidence of war's cruelty, horror, and senselessness; its themes encompass both enormous historical and cultural change and the most intimate, personal suffering.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 001 English Language and Writing.
An introductory study of theories, models, and key variables of communication within the context of interpersonal relationships. Using primarily an experiential approach, the course covers topics including verbal and nonverbal processes, listening and feedback, communication competence, and goals.
An examination of population in its demographic, dynamic, and social aspects. The course also examines the problems associated with the interaction between populations and the environment. Strong cross-cultural emphasis.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
An introduction to development from infancy through adolescence. Topics include cognitive, physical, social and personality development, and child-rearing practices.
Prerequisite(s): PSYCH 101 Introduction to Psychological Science.
Family Communication is designed as an introduction to communication phenomena in the context of the family. The overall goal of the course is to help students understand how, through communication, we develop, maintain, enhance, or disrupt family relationships. Students will be exposed to research and theory which focus on the communication patterns and practices that shape family life.
This course explores sex and gender relations as major features of social life; it considers the social construction of gender and examines the impact of gender ideologies on the social positions of women and men. In particular, it emphasizes the inequality of women's social positions in modern societies, and the embedded gender inequality in social institutions.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 003 Introduction to Sociology or SOC 004 Social Problems.
(Normally offered alternate years.)
This course will expose students to the various types of violence experienced by individuals and families across their lifespan. An introduction to various theories used in working with survivors of abuse will be presented and students will learn about bruises and fractures associated with child abuse. The influence of societal "isms", culture, gender, and sexual orientation related to violence will be incorporated into the material being discussed.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
Lectures and demonstrations that present psychology as a science of behavior and mental processes. Emphasis is on the topics of scientific methodology, development, intelligence, personality description and assessment, psychopathology, psychotherapy, social psychology, and health psychology. Applied Psychological Science and Basic Psychological Science are not sequential. Applied Psychological Science may be taken prior to or following Basic Psychological Science.
(Normally offered each semester.)