Sociology is the study of human groups: their composition, organization, culture, and development. It combines scientific and humanistic perspectives and methods to investigate a broad and relevant subject matter. At UCSD, the Department of Sociology has developed an innovative curriculum which offers courses covering the full breadth of the discipline, opportunities for you to specialize in the areas of your choice within the major and to participate in research projects as well as an Honors Program.
What subjects or areas does the department cover? The courses are diverse, but at the same time interrelated. Courses are offered in political sociology, social change, social psychology, family patterns and gender relations, urban and rural life, crime and deviance, religion, work, education and socialization, social classes, law and politics, social protest and social movements, health and illness, race and ethnic relations, science and technology, business, and problems of development and modernization. In addition, we teach courses found in few other sociology departments across the country, such as sociolinguistics, mass media, revolutions, international social problems, women in world development, and sex stratification. The faculty teaches courses on different contemporary societies and world regions, including Africa, the Middle East, Japan, Eastern Europe, China, Latin America, Russia and the United States.
Most undergraduate majors have the rare opportunity to engage in field research under the guidance of faculty members--a chance to explore on their own what they have learned in the classroom. Training is available in survey research and demographic methods, as well as in newer approaches such as visual sociology. The department encourages its majors to conduct independent research in order to examine thoroughly a topic of their own choosing, and to take courses in other humanities and social science departments in order to broaden their perspectives on sociological topics.
Sociology is a valuable major for students who want to enter law, medicine, architecture, business, or politics. It also provides a solid liberal arts education for students who plan careers in such fields as education, criminal justice, public health, urban planning, social welfare, counseling, public administration, international relations, or market research. For students who wish to pursue graduate study in the social sciences for careers in teaching or scholarly research, and undergraduate degree from the Department of Sociology will provide a thorough grounding in recent theoretical and methodological advances in the discipline. Whatever the career choice, the study of sociology can help you cultivate a critical awareness of society.
Writing skills, which include the ability to define precise questions, marshal evidence, and present clear arguments, are indispensable for all students, whatever their academic and career interests. To help students develop these skills, the department requires all majors (declared fall 1991 or later) to fulfill a writing requirement. Before graduating, students must show the undergraduate coordinator (in the main office) two substantial research papers written for courses in their major for which they receive a grade of C- or better. To give students ample opportunity to complete this requirement, most upper-division sociology classes will either assign a research paper of offer students the option of writing such a paper for course credit.
Transfer students should see the staff undergraduate coordinator or the faculty undergraduate adviser in the Department of Sociology at UCSD to petition to have their sociology courses from other colleges accepted and applied toward their major. (The previous college transcripts, catalogs, and course syllabi should be brought to the appointment.) Students are required to fill out one student petition per transfer course as well as an additional "information sheet" available in the department. If you have taken courses at a local community college you may not need to petition these courses. You must, however, come into the department and bring your transcript to the undergraduate coordinator in the main office. The department will accept courses that are compatible with the departmental program. Petitions take approximately one to two weeks to process within the department, and should be turned in to the staff undergraduate coordinator or the faculty undergraduate adviser during office hours. Please check at the reception desk for current office hours.
Lower Division
Soc/L 1A, 1B, and 20 are required for the major. Any lower-division course serves as a prerequisite for most upper-division courses, unless otherwise specified. It is advisable that students complete these required lower-division courses (which should be taken during the freshman or sophomore year) before continuing with their upper-division work. Social Science 60, Elementary Statistics for the Social Sciences, is also required.
Upper Division
Twelve upper-division courses are necessary for the major--five of these are required courses, and the other seven are upper-division electives. The upper-division sociology curriculum is divided into four areas of concentration or 'clusters' as follows:
A. Theory and Method (CLUSTER A or Soc/A)
(All courses listed as Soc/A in the UCSD catalog and the Schedule of Classes)
In this group, Soc/A 100 is required for all sociology majors. You are also required to take at least one method course. Method courses are numbered
Soc/A 103M-109S.
B. Culture, Language and Social Interaction (CLUSTER B or Soc/B)
(All courses listed as Soc/B in the UCSD catalog and the Schedule of Classes)
C. Organizations and Institutions (CLUSTER C or Soc/C)
(All courses listed as Soc/C in the UCSD catalog and the Schedule of Classes)
D. Comparative and Historical (CLUSTER D or Soc/D)
(All courses listed as Soc/D in the UCSD catalog and the Schedule of Classes)
(Only one course is required from each CLUSTER above, with the exception of CLUSTER A. In Cluster A you will need Soc/A 100 and a method course. Once you have satisfied the four CLUSTERS of the program, you may choose your remaining seven electives from any of the CLUSTERS or you may wish to specialize in one CLUSTER or 'area' of the program.) All courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade.
In fulfilling the major, it is possible to take up to two upper-division courses, with approval from the undergraduate adviser, from the regular offerings in the departments of Anthropology, Communication, Economics, History, Ethnic Studies, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Teacher Education Program, and Urban Studies and Planning. Courses from these departments of programs must be related to sociology and be approved by the undergraduate adviser by petition before using them towards your major. Courses from departments other than these may be taken if the student submits a petition to and obtains approval from the Department of Sociology. Course descriptions and syllabi for any courses from other departments other than these may be taken if the student submits a petition t and obtains approval from the Department of Sociology. Course descriptions and syllabi for any courses from other departments to be used toward the major must be brought to the faculty undergraduate adviser for approval.
Honors classes may be used as two of the seven electives toward the sociology major. (See the undergraduate coordinator for more information on the Department of Sociology's Honor Program.)
A 2.0 GPA is required for all sociology courses (D and F grades are not applicable towards the major). No courses taken to apply toward the major may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis at the present time except Sociology 197, 198, or 199. Only one such special studies course (including an internship) may be applied toward the major. Applications can be picked up in the main office in the Department of Sociology.
BIERNACKI, RICHARD G. (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1988; Associate Professor) Culture, Theory, Historical and Comparative Sociology
BLUMBERG, RAE LESSER (Ph.D., Northwestern, 1970; Professor) Socioeconomic and Sexual Stratification, Societal Development, Family, Comparative Sociology
CATANZARITE, LISA (Ph.D., Stanford, 1990; Assistant Professor) Stratification, Work and Labor Markets, Race and Gender, Education, Comparative Development, Poverty, Urban, Quantitative Methods
CHARLES, MARIA (Ph.D., Stanford, 1990; Assistant Professor) Stratification, Comparative-Historical Sociology, Gender, Culture, Family, Formal Organizations, Quantitative Methods
CORNELL, STEPHEN E. (Ph.D., Chicago, 1980; Associate Professor) Economic Development, Race and Ethnic Relations, Native Americans, Culture, Social Movements
DIEZ MEDRANO, JUAN (Ph.D., Michigan, 1989; Assistant Professor) Ethnic Conflict and Nationalism, European Integration, Political Sociology, Methodology
EPSTEIN, STEVEN (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1993; Assistant Professor) Social Theory, Sociology of Medicine, Sociology of Science, Social Movements, Sexuality, Lesbian/Gay Studies
ESPIRITU, YEN (Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, 1990; Adjunct Assistant Professor) Race and Ethnic Relations, Asian Americans
EVANS, IVAN (Ph.D., Wisconsin, 1986; Assistant Professor) African Studies, Political Sociology, Sociology of Development
GHEISSARI, ALI (D. Phil., Oxford, 1989; Assistant Professor) Sociology of Knowledge, Historical Sociology of the Middle East
GOLDMAN, HARVEY (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1978; Professor) Theory, Sociology of Intellectuals and of Knowledge, Sociology of Culture
HAYDU, JEFFREY M. (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1984; Associate Professor) Labor, Social Movements, Comparative-Historical, American Society
JULES-ROSETTE, BENNETTA (Ph.D., Harvard, 1973; Professor) Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Knowledge, Sociology of Culture, Ethnomethodology, Social Change, Ethnographic Film, African Studies
KLATCH, REBECCA (Ph.D., Harvard, 1984; Associate Professor) Sociology of Gender, Sociology of Family, Social Movements, American Society, Sociology of Culture, Field Research Methods, Political Sociology
LAMPLAND, MARTHA (Ph.D., Anthropology, Chicago, 1987; Assistant Professor) Eastern Europe (Hungary), Social Change, Sociology of Work, History, Feminist Theory
MADSEN, RICHARD (Ph.D., Harvard, 1977; Professor) Sociology of Ideas/Culture, Theory, Political Sociology, Chinese Society, Sociology of Religion, "Moral Anthropology"
McDANIEL, TIMOTHY L. (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1979; Professor and Chair) Political Sociology, Comparative-Historical Sociology, Revolutions, Russian Society
MEHAN, HUGH B. (Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara, 1971; Professor) Discourse/Power, Ethnomethodology, Sociology of Education
MUKERJI, CHANDRA (Ph.D., Northwestern, 1971; Professor) Communications, Sociology of Science, Popular Culture, Sociology of Art
PHILLIPS, DAVID P. (Ph.D., Princeton, 1970; Professor) Demography, Epidemiology, Research Methods, Suicide, Accidents, Homicide, Mass Media
RONA-TAS, AKOS (Ph.D., Michigan, 1990; Assistant Professor) Methodology, Survey Research, Eastern Europe
SCHUDSON, MICHAEL (Ph.D., Harvard, 1976; Professor) Mass Media, Sociology of Culture, Popular Culture, Political Communication and Political Culture
SCULL, ANDREW T. (Ph.D., Princeton, 1974; Professor) Historical, Psychiatry, Social Control, Professions, Theory
SHAFIR, GERSHON (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1980; Associate Professor) Culture, Comparative-Historical Sociology, Nationalism and World System, Theory
SHAPIN, STEVEN (Ph.D., History & Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania, 1971; Professor) History and Sociology of Science
STANTON-SALAZAR, RICARDO D. (Ph.D., Stanford, 1990; Assistant Professor) Sociology of Education, Stratification/Mobility, Social Networks, Ethnic Minority Families and Youth
TURNER, CHRISTENA (Ph.D., Anthropology, Stanford, 1987; Associate Professor) Japanese Society, Culture, Everyday Life, Organizations
WAISMAN, CARLOS H. (Ph.D., Harvard, 1977; Professor) Political Sociology, Development, Theory
WALSHOK, MARY L. (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1969; Adjunct Associate Professor) Occupations and Professions, Organizations, Women
WOOLARD, KATHRYN A. (Ph.D., Anthropology, UC Berkeley, 1983; Associate Professor) Sociolinguistics, Ethnicity, Language Politics, Education
ZAMOSC, LEON (Ph.D., University of Manchester-England, 1983; Associate Professor) Latin American Societies, Political Economy, Development, Social Movements, Research Methods, Ethnicity
EMERITUS FACULTY
BERGER, BENNETT M. (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1958; Professor Emeritus) Theory, Youth and Age-Grading, Sociology of Culture
CICOUREL, AARON V. (Ph.D., Cornell, 1957; Professor) Socialization, Sociolinguistics, Medical Discourse and Diagnostic Reasoning
DOUGLAS, JACK D. (Ph.D., Princeton, 1969; Professor Emeritus) Deviance, Theory, Social Economics, History of Social Thought, Field Methods
GUSFIELD, JOSEPH R. (Ph.D., Chicago, 1954; Professor Emeritus) Social Movements, Sociology of Law, Deviance and Social Control, Social Construction of Knowledge
WISEMAN, JACQUELINE P. (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1968; Professor Emeritus) Social Psychology, Socialization, Marriage and Family, Research Methods, Deviance, Alcoholism, Sex Roles, Emotions
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