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1701 North State Street Jackson, MS 39210-0001 (800)352-1050 (601)974-1000
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1000 Introduction to Sociology (4 sem. hours). Adopting a cross-cultural and comparative approach, this course provides a comprehensive overview of sociological principles. Using the sociological imagination, students will explore the relationship between individuals and their social environment, as well as the origin, structure, and function of various social institutions. Specific issues include the self and society, marriage and the family, education, religion, popular culture and mass media, class, gender, and race/ethnicity. This class satisfies Core 6 requirements.
1000 Introduction to Anthropology (4 sem. hours). This course introduces cultural anthropology as a way of understanding and studying culture in all its complexity. The class is discussion-driven and relies on ethnographic texts as primary learning resources. Class discussions will encourage students to consider the implications of cultural variability and to ask deep questions about the nature of human experience and social conditions. At the end of the course, students will possess the tools to examine culture much more closely and critically and to evaluate deep-seated assumptions about the way the world works. This class satisfies Core 6 requirements.
2100 Methods and Statistics (4 sem. hours). A critical introduction to issues in research design. Types of data analysis and collection covered include fieldwork, interviewing, coding qualitative data, survey design/execution/analysis, and statistical analysis of numeric/coded data. Attention is also given to what inferences can legitimately be made from data.
2700 Food and Culture (4 sem. hours). This course examines food as a reflection of and a lens for examining culture and society. In foods meaning-laden symbols and in the circumstances surrounding food’s production and consumption we gain important insight into sociological and anthropological topics, including gender, religion, economics, and group identity. The course also asks students to prepare meals as a way of engaging texts and our ongoing discussions.
3110 Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (4 sem. hours). Desert winds whip through the ruins of long abandoned cities while the Nile laps at the eroded foundations of the tombs of ancient kings who ruled one of the world's first nations. The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt provides an in-depth examination of the history of Egyptian civilization as it transitioned from small groups of hunters and gathers to a single unified nation unlike any that the world has seen before or since. Using a combination of readings, lecture, and class discussion, the class will study the evolution of Egyptian culture with a multidisciplinary approach including archaeology, ecology, history, cultural anthropology, art history, economics, and the philosophy of science. As well as providing an understanding of a past civilization, studying ancient Egyptian culture creates a new perspective on how the present is the end product of a global process of cultural evolution and transformation that began thousands of years ago.
3220 Class, Gender, Race: Social Stratification (4 sem. hours). A sociological examination of the theoretical and empirical literature on the impact of social class, gender, and race on the life course and life chances of people in selected societies. Prerequisite: SOAN 1000, SOAN 1100, or SOAN 1110, junior standing or permission of the instructor.
4760 Deviance (4 sem. hours). This class addresses how a society handles those who act in unconventional ways—outside the socially constructed norms, values, and beliefs of society. While "deviant” behavior often overlaps with "abnormal,” "immoral,” and "criminal” behaviors, deviance, itself is a much broader concept with strong sociological implications. We will accomplish the tasks of understanding deviance and deviant behavior by examining the social structures that produce and sustain groups defined as deviant in American society. The material covered in this course is tailored to examine theories of deviant behavior, constructions of deviance, and types of norms and deviance.
4900 Senior Seminar in Anthropology (4 sem. hours). This is the capstone course for majors with an anthropology focus. The course examines the scope of anthropological theory, starting with the earliest anthropologists like Franz Boas and ending with contemporary thinkers at the forefront of the discipline. This class is taught in a seminar style, where students are expected to pose penetrating questions about anthropological theory and to take a leadership role in class discussions.
4910 Senior Seminar in Sociology (4 sem. hours). This class will review the major schools of contemporary sociology by reading from the primary works of the scholars who represent these schools and writing responses to them. The main objectives include demonstrating and evaluating the importance of contemporary sociological theories, developing analytical and evaluative skills through regular writing assignments, and creating a major research project using empirical data and quantitative analysis.
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