Curriculum Tracks for the Sociology Major

The sociology department offers three tracks or concentrations within the major for students who wish to specialize in one of the discipline's core subfields:

• Crime, Law, and  Social Control
• Global Sociology
• Social Stratification and Inequality

This innovation responds both to job market demands for professionals with a recognized area of expertise and student demands for an undergraduate education with a clear professional identity that will increase their competitiveness in applying for jobs and graduate school.   Majors can now use 12-15 hours of their sociology electives to pursue one of the following tracks:

 

Crime, Law, and Social Control

These subfields of sociology are rooted in the discipline's core theoretical traditions. This track also responds to the expressed interest of a significant number of our students who want to pursue careers in areas such as law, criminal justice, counseling, and conflict management.  

This track would also provide a solid grounding for those students interested in entering professional schools, such as law or social work, and those planning to pursue graduate studies in sociology or criminology. In conjunction with the Loyola University Law School, our department offers students an early admissions program for law school, and this track would serve well the goals of those students.  

Courses in this track include:

Law and Social Control (anchor course option 1)

Criminal Behavior ( anchor course option 2)

Violence in Society

Delinquency and Justice

Gender, Law, and Social Control

Correctional Institutions  

We are also planning new courses on Conflict Management, and Corporate and Government Crime and Deviance.

Contact: Dr. Marcus Kondkar or Dr. George Capowich. 

Global Sociology

The study of world society, an increasingly relevant subfield of the discipline, reflects the accelerated globalization of all social processes. The track responds to the demands of the job market for professionals who understand and can function competently in an international context.  

A concentration in global sociology will provide a solid foundation for students interested in pursuing graduate work in anthropology, international and area studies, sociology, and/or careers such as international business, international relations, human resources, tourism and cultural exchange, etc.  

Courses in this track include:

Global Sociology (required anchor course)

Global Environmental Crisis

Peoples of Latin America

Women in Latin America

Cultural Anthropology

Third World Repression and Revolution

Encountering the Caribbean

Ethnographic Methods: Fieldwork in the Bahamas

Contact: Dr. Anthony Ladd or Dr. Angel Adams Parham.

Social Stratification and Inequality

Stratification and social inequality are central concerns of empirical and theoretical work within sociology and are at the heart of the sociology curriculum. The importance of this specialization has increased as the racial, ethnic, gender, and economic diversity of our society have increased, and as social inequality in many instances has increased. It is ever more necessary to understand how these forces shape society as well as to prepare students to work and live as constructive citizens in such a society.  

Employers throughout the private and public sector increasingly demand professionals who are sensitized to the diversity of our complex society, and students considering careers in fields such as social services, health care, law, or politics will benefit from a deeper understanding of the structures and dynamics of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and age.

Courses in this track include:

Social and Political Inequality (required anchor course)

Race and Ethnic Conflict

Sociology of Gender

Sociology of the Family

Social Problems

Social Protest Movements

Women in Latin America

Contact: Dr. Anthony Ladd or Dr. Angel Adams Parham.