Courses

Courses in Sociology (SOC)

Unless otherwise indicated, courses are three semester hours credit, three hours lecture per week.

137. Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 1301) - General examination of culture, socialization, roles, values, social inequalities, population, social institutions, and social change.

138. Contemporary Social Issues (SOCI 1306) - Study of societal problems stemming from conflicts in values and beliefs, as well as emerging issues. Topics range from family instability to aging, environment, health, war, crime, minorities, poverty and drug abuse. Conflicting views are presented.

139. Minority Relations (SOCI 2319) - How minorities are created, their objectives, current status, the development of racism and how discrimination and prejudice may be diminished.

253. Social Psychology (SOCI 2326) - The individual as affected by other people: self-identity, interpersonal relationships, interpersonal attraction, reference group, attitudes, values, leadership, aggression, conflict, and love.

305. Sociology of Death and Dying - Sociological approach exploring how the American culture as a society deals with illness, dying, and death.

330. Sociology of Gender - Impact of gender stratification and gender roles on attitudes and behavior of women and men in everyday life.

331. Medical Sociology - Study of the sociological aspects of the delivery of health services.

335. Marriage and Family Life - Dating, mate selection, sexual adjustment, communication, in-laws, parenthood, divorce, and remarriage. Suggested background: SOC 137.

341. Sociology of Religion - Social meaning, mysticism, and morality in American Society. Suggested background: SOC 137.

351. Social Class in America - National and international stratification, the distribution of wealth, power, and privilege. Suggested background: SOC 137.

353. Juvenile Delinquency - Extent and causes of juvenile delinquency and how the juvenile justice process works. Suggested background: SOC 137.

354. Criminology - Definition of crime, types of crimes, crime statistics, crime causation, crime policy. Suggested background: SOC 137.

357. Population and Society - Patterns of population size, distribution, and growth; their social and economic consequences; use of local, state, national and international census materials.

362. Sociology of Work - Historical change in the organization of work; description of current U.S. labor force; income, prestige, and satisfaction from work; discrimination; occupational change.

363. Sociology of Sport, Recreation, and Leisure - Cultural and social basis of leisure and recreation.

370. Social Gerontology - Analysis of age and aging as a social phenomenon. Suggested background: SOC 137.

378. Methods in Social Research - Basic principles of social research: formulation of research problem, design, sampling, measurement, and data collection. Prerequisite: Advanced standing.

379. Data Analysis - Collection, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of social data. Prerequisites: Three hours of math (MTH 220 is strongly suggested) and SOC 378. Writing enhanced.

400. Internship in Gerontology or Sociology - Three to six semester hours of credit, nine to18 required hours of field instruction per week. Prerequisites: SOC 370 or senior Sociology major. Instructor’s permission required.

430. Aging and Social Problems - Survey of demography, economics, and policy of aging.

432. Sociology of Art - Connections between art and society as a reciprocal process. The social nature of art production and art objects as special kinds of products emerging within historical and social spaces. Prerequisites: SOC 137 or ART 281 or ART 282.

470. Sociology of Everyday Life - Sociological analysis of everyday life and the social construction of reality. Exploration of the social phenomenology of Alfred Schutz. Prerequisite: SOC 137 or permission of instructor.

471. The Development of Sociological Theory - Historical overview of classical sociological theorists. Prerequisite: SOC 137 or permission of instructor. Reading and writing enhanced.

472. Modern Social Thought - Foundations of social life in a rapidly changing society. Discussion of the relationship between society and people from different theoretical perspectives. Prerequisite: SOC 137. Writing enhanced.

475. Independent Studies in Sociology - Individual instruction, conference and research for advanced students. (One, two, or three semester hours). Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.

477. Topics in Sociology - In-depth sociological study of selected topics. May be repeated for credit. (One, two, or three semester hours).

Courses in Geography (GEO)

130. Physical Geography (GEOG 1301) - Provides systematic examination of the physical environment with primary emphasis upon the nature, location and general patterns of landforms, climate, vegetation and soils. Describes processes that shape Earth surfaces at global, regional and local scales.

131. World Regional Geography (GEOG 1303) - Broad investigation of the world’s culture regions. Basic cultural, economic, political and physical patterns, with current events highlighted.

132. Human Geography (GEOG 1302) - Systematic introduction to the humanized earth, including human landscape features, cultural elements such as populations, migration patterns, languages, religions, political structures, economic systems and settlement patterns.

220. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - Overview of computer-based GIS concepts and components. Topics include spatial (location) and attributes (descriptions of features), base maps, spatial data manipulation and analysis. Course fee $40.

230. Cultural Geography - The study of how culturally diverse societies adapted to and modified the earth’s surfaces creating “cultural landscapes” which contrast with pristine “natural landscapes.”

234. Conservation Geography - Examines human modification of landscapes and the impact of cultural processes on land use and conservation. Topics include current issues in conservation and preservation.

305. Biogeography - Introduction to the distribution patterns of wild plants and animals and the factors that determine these patterns.

310. Economic Geography - Surveys human influences on patterns of contemporary global economic activities. Economic patterns examined at local to global scales. Themes include spatial dimensions of resource use, energy consumption, trade, transportation, communication, population, agriculture/industrial patterns and trends of post-modern landscapes.

315. Cartography - Principles and theory of basic map design, layout, and communication. Course fee $30. Prerequisites: GEO 220 or permission of instructor.

320. Geographic Systems Applications - Develops GIS topics such as geodata-base construction, thematic map analysis, spatial modeling, data classification and verification, and GIS application design. Class meets two hours lecture and one hour lab. Prerequisite: GEO 220. Course fee $30.

330. Texas Geography - Physical and cultural geography of Texas, including physical regions, distribution of natural resources, environmental issues, patterns of historical and contemporary population, economic activities, political trends and impacts of urbanization on landscapes.

332. Geography of the United States and Canada - Surveys the human and physical geography of North America, including physical regions, economic activities, political trends and environmental issues.

344. Historical Geography of the United States - Historical spatial interpretation of growth and development of the United States, human activities that shaped landscapes, and environmental and cultural landscape changes and patterns.

365. Political Geography - Surveys geopolitical patterns, conflicts and disputes over time, including concepts of nation-states, geopolitical strategies, colonialism and neo-colonialism, territoriality, boundaries, spheres of influence and the impact of globalization.

375. Topics in Geography - In-depth geographical study and analysis of selected topics, states and/or regions. May be repeated once with change in topic. Suggested background: Six semester hours of geography or related fields.

410. Remote Sensing - Two hours lecture and three hours laboratory per week. Analysis and interpretation of remote sensing images with emphasis upon the cultural, and physical features and patterns found on all imagery. Suggested background: Nine semester hours of geography or related fields.

439. Urban Geography - Examines patterns found in cities, suburbs, exurbs and metropolitan regions. Emphasis on housing, land use, urban politics, urban models, impact on surrounding landscapes. Identifies form, function and classification systems for urban areas.

443. Meteorology - Fundamental physical processes producing the short-term patterns of temperature, moisture, atmospheric circulation, and storms of the atmosphere. Suggested background: Nine semester hours of geography, including GEO 130. Same as FOR 443. Required field trips.

398 Stephen F. Austin State University

450. Area Studies - Physical, cultural, political, and economic characteristics of specified states and regions. Area may vary from continental scale to city scale.

475. Advanced Independent Studies in Geography - One to three semester hours. Credit determined by the amount and difficulty of the project undertaken. Individual instruction, conference and research for advanced students. Prerequisite: Junior standing and 12 semester hours of geography.

Courses in Anthropology (ANT)

231. Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 2351) - Introduction to the study of culture and its function in societies.

248. Physical Anthropology (ANTH 2301) - Survey of the physical aspects of humans and their closest relatives; introduction to osteology, primatology, primate and human evolution, and physical variation in contemporary human populations.

251. Introduction to Archaeology - Four semester hours. Introduction to Americanist archaeology, particularly origins, history, theory and methodology. Corequisite: ANT 251L (two hrs/wk) - archaeological field work, description, analysis, and reporting; computer simulation.

277. Special Topics in Anthropology - In-depth study of selected topics. Prerequisite: ANT 231 or permission of instructor.

396 Stephen F. Austin State University

350. Human Physical Variation - A survey of the contemporary biological variation in humans, environmental factors affecting variation and an historical assessment of the nature and categorization of human variation.

352. Prehistory of North America - A survey of archaeological sites relating to the origins and development of the prehistoric aboriginal cultures of North America north of Mexico.

382. Area Studies in Anthropology - Variable topics have included: Aztec and the Maya, (Study Abroad) Maymester in Mexico. 

440. Field Methods in Archaeology - Six semester hours (three w/instructor’s approval) - Intensive field and laboratory instruction in archaeological field excavation and recording techniques. Summer only. Lab fee $10. Transportation fee. Prerequisite: ANT 251 or permission of instructor.

441. Ethnographic Field Methods - Qualitative research methods common to anthropology and other social sciences, including participant observation, life histories, and photography. Ethical concerns in regard to research with human populations. Prerequisites: ANT 231 or SOC 137 or permission of instructor.

477. Special Topics in Anthropology - In-depth anthropological study of selected topics. Prerequisite: ANT 231 or permission of instructor.

493. Special Studies of Latin America - Latin American cultural heritages. Explores the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures, the impact of the conquest, and current cultural diversity.