Sociology Courses

The prerequisite to all 2000-level courses is 6h from SOCI 1013/1033/1113 or WGST 1413 or equivalent unless otherwise noted.

A grade of C- or better is required in SOCI 2003, 2013, 2033 and 2103 to register for other courses that have these courses as pre-requisites. Students are encouraged to take SOCI 2003 and 2013 in their second year.

NOTE: SOCI 2343, 2633 (previously 3263), and 3363 are open to those registered in the Health Sciences Option without the usual prerequisites.

For 3000-level courses: 12h SOCI completed including 6h from 1013/1033/1113 or WGST 1413.

For 4000-level courses:  21h SOCI completed including 6h from 1013/1033/1113, or WGST 1413, 2003, 2013, 2033, and 2103; 4000-level courses are restricted to Sociology majors; additional prerequisites noted below.

Major credit is also given for:
COMP 2903
CLAS 2823
CREL 2443, 2533, 3123, 3693 
IDST  2253, 3123 
POLS 4793 
PSYC  2103
WGST 1413, 2403, 2913, 2923/2933, 3023, 3123, 3403, 3503, and 4913.

Here is the link to important calendar dates.

Cross-listed courses for Sociology credit:

COMP 2903 COMPUTERS & SOCIETY 
Topics include the technical, economic, legal, political, social, ethical, and professional issues related to the widespread use of computers. Prereq: 3h Comp with C- or better.

CLAS 2823 Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean 
Students explore ancient views of race, ethnicity, and the 'other' (foreigners, 'barbarians', enslaved people) through an examination of art, literature, and archaeological remains. By analyzing primary sources and material culture, we engage with evidence for ancient perspectives on ethnicity, investigate current scholarship on ancient perceptions of identity, and connect the study of classical antiquity to modern notions of race. Prerequisite(s): 30h of university courses or permission of the instructor.

CREL 2443 HEALTH, ILLNESS & RELIGION 
An examination of the different ways health and illness are related to religion. Ideas of sickness and techniques of healing will be studied in a variety of traditional and modern contexts. We will explore how differing religious and medical systems sustain a variety of understandings of the human person, culture/society relationships, and cosmological views. Prereq: one-year university.

CREL 2533 "CULTS" NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS 
An examination of practices and self-understandings of New Religious Movements (NRMs) i.e. Scientology, Neo-paganism (Wicca), Satanism, Falun Gong, Branch Davidians) in North America. Topics include the social scientific study of NRMs; historical roots and teachings; issues of popularity and interpretation; and special consideration of gender in the emergence and form of NRMs.

CREL 3123 WRITING LIFE: WORLDVIEWS/EXPERIENCE 
Students will conduct field-based research documenting life stories and engage in an on-the-ground introduction to interviewing, and analysis of worldviews and experience. Students will learn culturally appropriate protocols involved in ethnographic research, including life history and feminist methodologies, approaches to interviewing and participant-observation. These skills and methodologies apply to similar work in other disciplines.

CREL 3693 SPEC TOPICS:RITUAL STUDIES
An examination of various theoretical and methodological issues arising in the interdisciplinary approach to the study of ritual. Special attention will be given to the study of lived ritual practice and to ritual as a conceptual lens for cultural analysis.

IDST 2253  ORGANIZED LABOUR IN CANADA
A social history approach to the origins and development of the Canadian labour movement emphasizing the involvement of labour in social and political transformation. A primary focus is on the social history or organized labour in Nova Scotia. This course may be offered for major credit in Sociology. Prereq: second-year standing.

IDST 3123  FAMILY LAW
A study of the family in Canadian society from the legal perspective. Topics covered include children and the law, custodial issues, divorce and separation, family property, family violence, protection for the elderly, reproduction and the law, and an examination of the family court system and current trends in family law. May be offered for major credit in political science and sociology. Prereq: third-year standing.

POLS 4793 STATE/POWER/ECONOMY/SOCIETY
A survey of theories and models which have sought to explain the interrelationships among the state, the society, and the economy of a nation, among political power and economic and social development and underdevelopment. Prereq: Pols 2096 with a grade of B or higher or permission of the instructor.

PSYC 2103 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 
An introduction to the methods, theories, and applications of social psychology. The study of how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. Topics include persuasion, conformity, prejudice, aggression, altruism, and attraction. Prereq: Psyc 1013 and 1023. 

WGST 1413 INTRODUCTION: WOMEN’S/GENDER STUDIES 
As a general introduction to women's studies, this course will provide a multi-disciplinary focus on feminist principles and approaches to scholarship. Topics to be presented include, but are not limited to women's sexuality, the body and health, aging, socialization, economic and political roles, spirituality and women throughout history.

WGST 2403 Gender and Sexuality 1
This course focuses on the social norms, institutions, and structures that reproduce oppressive gender and sexual relationships at the intimate, everyday, legal, national, and transnational levels. Topics may include feminist approaches to masculinity and femininity, sex positivity, gender-based violence, consent, and sex education, with attention to how race, class, age, and/or ability influence how people experience gender and sexual hierarchies.? Antirequisite(s): Credit can be obtained for only one of WGST 2403 or SOCI 2403.

WGST 2913 Global Women's Movements
The course focuses on women's movements around the globe, with an emphasis on the Global South. Using historical and contemporary case studies, students examine what leads women to mobilize, the resources helping or hindering them, the conditions of women's lives sparking action for social change, and the impact of their activism. Topics may include peace, religion, violence, health, and labour.

WGST 2923 Women & Gender in Today's World 1
This course is the first of two consecutive and paired courses that add up to one full-year course. It analyzes the nature, status, image and changing roles of women and men in the world today, placing gender at the forefront of analysis from a cross-cultural perspective, with comparisons to Canada. May be taken for major or minor credit in Canadian Studies and Sociology.

WGST 2933 Women & Gender in Today's World 2
This course is the second of two consecutive and paired courses that add up to one full-year course. It analyzes the nature, status, image and changing roles of women and men in the world today, placing gender at the forefront of analysis from a cross-cultural perspective, with comparisons to Canada. May be taken for major or minor credit in Canadian Studies and Sociology.

WGST 3023 FEMINIST THEORY
The course examines feminist theory through the analysis of feminist texts across academic disciplines. Topics of discussion vary but include key concepts such as identity and class, race, and gender; identity politics; sexuality and heteronormativity; intersectionality; and language and subjectivity. May be offered for major credit in English, political science, and sociology.

WGST 3123 FEMINISM AND POPULAR CULTURE
This course examines through a feminist lens ways women and gender are constructed and represented in popular culture. Close attention is paid to how women and men are differentially represented (and represent themselves) along lines of race, class, sexuality, ability, etc., and reviews contemporary cultural theories of representation, tools for creating critical cultural analysis, and debates in feminist media studies. Prereq: third-year standing or permission of the instructor. 

WGST 3403 Gender and Sexuality 2
This advanced course focuses on the intersections of sex, gender, and power. Students will study the structural forces of patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism that uphold unequal gendered and heteronormative relations as well as diverse forms of collective resistance that imagine and enact progressive sexual and feminist citizenship.? Antirequisite(s): Credit can be obtained for only one of WGST 3403 or SOCI 3403.

WGST 3503 MAKING MEN/WOMEN: GENDER THROUGH AGES
Major writings which contributed to or were about the construction of gender throughout history. Students may read excerpts from classical texts to modern treatises and their significance for men's and women's lives will be considered. May be offered for major credit in English, history, and sociology.

WGST 4913 WOMEN OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
A conceptual and thematic exploration of the ways in which race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic status have influenced the experiences of African-descended women. Focus is on individual and group experiences of women of the African Diaspora in the Americas and beyond. How have societies shaped and been shaped by the African Diaspora? What impact(s) has the African Diaspora had globally? Prereq: third-year standing or permission of the instructor.