School
Liberal Arts
Division
Social Sciences
Department
Sociology
Academic Level
Undergraduate
Course Subject
Social Science
Course Number
131
Course Title
Survey of the Social Sciences
Credit Hours
3.00
Instructor Contact Hours Per Semester
47.00 (for 15-week classes)
Student Contact Hours Per Semester
47.00 (for 15-week classes)
Grading Method
A-E
Catalog Course Description
Surveys the several disciplines found under the general heading of social sciences: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Ecology and Demography, Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science. Also presents the development of each discipline and its important concepts.
Goals, Topics, and Objectives
Core Course Topics
- The scientific method
- Human origins
- Culture
- Ecology, geography and demography
- The family as a social institution
- Educational systems as social institutions
- Religion as a social institution
- U.S. government and political system
- Social class and racial stratification
Core Course Learning Objectives (Separated)
- Discuss the basic principles and assumptions that guide social scientists in the scientific analysis of social life.
- Identify the purpose of social science and identify the similarities and differences between social science, natural science, biological science and the humanities.
- Identify the basic elements of a scientific perspective, including curiosity, skepticism, objectivity, a cause-and-effect orientation, and the use and limits of experimental methods.
- Describe the steps in the scientific method and explain the role of theories, hypotheses and data collection.
- Describe the use of statistics and correlations in the effort to identify the causes and solutions to problems.
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific theories of human origins.
- Summarize Darwin’s theory of evolution.
- Explain the role of mutation in the theory of evolution.
- Describe the relation of DNA to genes and genetic engineering.
- Describe the differences between primates, hominids and humans.
- Describe what culture includes, in both the material and non-material realms, and how it influences human behavior and thinking.
- Explain why culture is necessary to hold society together.
- Define the key characteristics of culture.
- Explain several factors that bring about cultural change.
- Explain several factors that promote cultural stability.
- Explain the doctrine of cultural relativism.
- Describe the ways that geography, ecology, and demography affect human social life.
- Describe the differences between disciplines of geography, ecology, and demography.
- Describe some of the ways geography influences human social life.
- Describe demographic determinants of population growth in relation to different parts of the world today.
- Describe some of the major threats to the ecological balance in today’s world.
- Discuss the main characteristics of family life used by social scientists to classify the family institution in different societies.
- Describe the variations in forms of family life with regard to the number of mates, selection of mates, family control, and reckoning of descent.
- Explain what it means to refer to the functions of the family and describe at least three key functions of families in human societies.
- Describe characteristics of family life in the contemporary United States with regard to child-rearing, mate selection and marriage, divorce and alternative family forms.
- Choose three of the characteristics of family life in 5.3 and explain how they affect the functions of families in the U.S. today.
- Discuss the similarities and differences in educational institutions in different societies.
- Explain why the U.S. school system is referred to as a “unitary school system” and how this system is different from those in other countries.
- Explain how K-12 education is financed and the social consequences of this method of financing.
- Explain how schools serve as agents of social control.
- Describe the main problems facing the American school system and recent developments in American education.
- Discuss how religious traditions function in societies and in the lives of individuals.
- Describe how systems of religious beliefs, practices, and values affect culture and society.
- Explain how religions and their institutions promote both social stability and change.
- Describe how religions affect the lives of individuals in a society.
- Identify and describe in general terms the characteristics of the major world religious traditions.
- Explain the U.S. Constitutional principles and the characteristics of the American political system.
- Discuss the differences between presidential and parliamentary forms of democracy.
- Explain the concept of judicial review.
- Describe federalism and tell how a federal form of government differs from unitary and confederal systems.
- Discuss the major concepts used by social scientists in the analysis of social class and racial stratification.
- Explain the differences between stratification based on castes and stratification based on social classes.
- Explain the difference between social stratification and social mobility.
- Define the concept of class consciousness and discuss some reasons why class consciousness in the U.S. has historically been low.
- Compare and contrast the use of race and ethnic group as ways of classifying people and discuss problems with using these categories.
- Compare and contrast prejudice and discrimination.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the foundations and operations of American social/political institutions and culture in the context of a diverse global community.*
- Identify and describe the foundations of American social/political institutions.
- Analyze the operations of American social/political institutions and culture in the context of a diverse global community.
Assessment and Requirements
Assessment of Academic Achievement
Each instructor will identify and implement appropriate methods to assess the achievement of the Learning Objectives for the course. All instructors teaching the course will participate in two common forms of assessment:
- A comprehensive final examination which includes a course assessment consisting of 35 multiple-choice questions. These 35 questions will be answered on a separate ScanTron form, and will constitute at least 10% of the final exam grade.
- A written assignment to be completed outside of class and given an appropriate period of time for completion. This assignment will focus on one of the topics identified in the Topical Course Outline, and will involve comparisons with, or connections between, the United States and another society, nation or culture. This may involve international comparisons or multicultural issues within the United States (i.e., immigrant communities). This assignment will constitute 20% of the final course grade.
- The assignment must take one of the following forms.
- A journal project in which students summarize and analyze 5 or more articles on (a) a country, (b) a region (e.g., Latin America or the Pacific Rim), or (c) a social or policy issue with global implications (e.g., immigration policy, global warming, or child labor).
- A research paper that contrasts the United States with one or more countries, addressing one of the institutional domains of the course: culture, family, educational systems, religion as a social institution, government/political systems, social class/racial stratification.
- A critical review of an article from a professional journal which has global implications, in which the student summarizes the article, relates the topic to class materials, and properly cites the source.
Texts
The following text is recommended for this course: Elgin F. Hunt and David C. Colander, Social Science: An Introduction to the Study of Society, 11th edition (Boston: Allyn and Bacon)
Credit for Prior College-Level Learning
Other Details
Determined by department
Effective Term
Fall 2014