Sociology - SOC 210

Course Description

This course is an analysis of racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. in relation to evolving social, economic and cultural factors. Various American minority cultures are studied with an emphasis on education, politics, religion and the resulting cultural effects. Sociological and psychological concepts and theories will be explored. The impact of the current wave of immigrants to the U.S. will be discussed and the incidents of hate crimes will be explored.

Prerequisites

(A requirement that must be completed before taking this course.)

Course Competencies

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Enhance social and cultural awareness.
• Examine the historical creation of cultural diversity in the United States due to global migration.
• Apply sociological concepts and theories to the study of race and ethnic relations.
• Analyze empirical examples of the dynamics of prejudice and discrimination.
• Outline patterns of intergroup relations from the functionalist, conflict and interactionist perspectives.
• Compare and contrast the societal integration processes of racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
• Explore the unifying values of diverse groups.
• Assess the richness and diversity of a pluralistic society.
• Identify ethnocentrism and the influence of biases, motivations and limitations on thought processes.

Course Schedule