Welcome to Sociology at Pierce College!

 

FAQs

 

Why study sociology?

Sociology is a scientific study of society, of how society both, shapes us and is shaped by us. There are many different ways of making sense of the world around us. As we live our lives, we all try to make sense of our social environment. However, our individual perception is limited, and therefore our conclusions are not always accurate.

Sociology enhances our ability to understand how our society works, how we are products of our social environment but not passive pawns – we can think critically, take action, and shape our social environment as well.

Sociology gives us tools that we can use throughout our lives to navigate obstacles and maximize opportunities we encounter. It gives us the ability to connect what we and others experience in life to social patterns in the larger society. This kind of skill and perspective is liberating and empowering. See for yourself, by taking our classes!

At Pierce College we offer a wide range of sociology courses in various modalities. No matter what sociology class you take, you will be able to relate its contents to your own life and you will be able to contribute.

We are looking forward to seeing you in class!

What can you do with a degree in Sociology?

(Hint: Anything!)

Because sociology covers many areas and offers many transferrable skills, sociology students have a wide range of options for jobs which include…  

  • Social Services/Social work/Government services – examples: case management, addiction and rehabilitation, child welfare, housing insecurity, transportation, labor, medical case workers 
  • Community work/Non-profit Organizations - examples: social service, community organizing, advocacy, environmental groups 
  • Criminal Justice - examples: probation, parole 
  • Business – examples: human relations, marketing, sales, research 
  • Education: examples: teaching, admissions, alumni relations, institutional research, college professor 

For more information on what you can do with a sociology major, check out this website

Do sociology majors transfer to the UC and CSU systems?

  • The Sociology Department offers CSU and UC Transfer general education course requirements, and general education college transfer courses to most public and private four-year colleges and universities.
  • Pierce College Sociology majors typically transfer to UC Berkeley, UCLA, and CSUN. We also have graduates who transfer to UC Santa Cruz, Columbia University, and USC, among other institutions.

How do you obtain a degree in sociology?

Check out our Associates in Arts for Transfer pathway in this webpage.

Contact

Chairperson
Cara Gillis

Phone
(818) 710-2256
Email
@email
Location
FO 2603
Office Hours
N/A

Department
Philosophy & Sociology

Pathway
Social & Behavioral Sciences


Full-Time Faculty

Dr. Mitra Hoshiar

Dr. James McKeever

Dr. Anna Nicholas

Dr. Julio Tsuha

Part-Time Faculty

Carlos Batres

Corina Diaz

Charlotte Encinares

Steve Kudler

Arman Mgeryan

Michael Nitzani

Karen Sabbah

Michelle Scaife

J Wilson

Sociology Courses

Students are introduced to the discipline of sociology through examining its main theoretical and research approaches, and applying them to a variety of social phenomena. Students analyze issues including social interaction, culture, social structure, deviance, social inequality, and social institutions.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours • C-ID: SOCI 110)

Students analyze contemporary social problems in the United States and issues of power, inequality, privilege and oppression. Topics include racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, the environment, crime, war, and terrorism. This course also offers possible solutions.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

Students examine the nature and extent of crime and delinquency, theories of causation, types of juvenile and adult offenses, and efforts by society to cope with law violations. Includes programs for prevention, correction, and rehabilitation.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours • C-ID: SOCI 160)

Students examine the fundamental principles and methods of sociological research design and implementation. Students analyze the key types of evidence— including qualitative and quantitative data, data gathering and sampling methods, logic of comparison, and causal reasoning. The work of several scholars is evaluated and students create their own research design related to a sociological issue.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours • C-ID: SOCI 120)

Students examine the definitions, history, and experiences of ethnic and racial groups in the United States from a sociological perspective. Attention is given to Black, Latino, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and White Americans from an intersectional perspective. Possible topics to explore may include: social, economic, and political factors that affect race relations, sources of discrimination and prejudice, and the achievement of social equality among different groups.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours C-ID: SOCI 150)

Students explore social psychology, focusing on the contributions of sociology to this field. This course considers individual human behavior in relation to the sociocultural environment. Topics analyzed include socialization, self, identity, symbolic communication, altruism, aggression, prejudice and stereotypes, deviant behavior, interpersonal attraction, attitudes and attitude change, conformity, group processes, gender roles, cultural norms, multiculturalism.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours • C-ID: PSY 170)

Students engage in the sociological analysis of religion. The distinctions between the sociological perspective and the alternative approaches to religion are explored. Issues analyzed include the connections between religion and other aspects of social life, such as gender, sexual identity, class, race and ethnicity. Students also examine the relationship between religion and social continuity and change, particularly the impact of globalization on religion and religious identity.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

Students analyze the social, cultural, historical, and religious influences that shape contemporary sexual values and normative beliefs in the United States. Major and diverse paradigms of sociology regarding sexual practices and behavior, including cross-cultural traditions, sexual attraction and response, sexual deviance, sexual orientations and the commercialization of love, sex, and eroticism are examined.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

This course is designed to introduce the students to the sociological analysis of the family. Examines the family as a social institution. Issues analyzed include family diversity, dating, cohabitation, marriage, parenting, socialization, violence, divorce.

(CSU GE Area D or E • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours • C-ID: SOCI 130)

Students examine the evolution of the U.S. presence in the Middle East and Central Asia, and explore the development of terrorism and the U.S. response.

(CSU GE Area D • Lecture 3 Hours • IGETC Area 4)

Students examine the social significance of gender in contemporary U.S. society and analyze the social construction of gender ideology and how people’s experiences are affected by social institutions such as work, education, the family, and the criminal justice system. People’s differential experiences are analyzed within the context of race, class, and sexual orientation. Students learn how the experiences of people are created through social institutions and can, therefore, be transformed through social and institutional change.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours C-ID: SOCI 140)

The course presents a sociological and historical analysis of labor movements in the United States and their effects upon American society. The course introduces students to distinctions among different forms of labor (forced and free), the role of markets and the State in regulating labor, and the effects of external factors (Industrial Revolution, abolition of chattel slavery, the Great Depression, war, globalization) and internal (to the laboring class) factors (competition among workers, ideologies, social and political organization) affecting the development of labor movements.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

This course is the sociological study of power, politics, and the state. In political sociology, students will examine the interrelation of politics and society by combining sociological analysis with analyses of political structure and political processes. Emphasis is placed on political sociological theories, elites and masses, the state, globalization, nationalism and social movements, media and interest groups, social and political institutions, capitalism, corporatism, and status.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

This course introduces students to the analysis of the historical and current development and emergence of American popular culture and its relationship to social institutions, collective behavior, and roles in people's lives. Social, technological, political, and economic aspects of society are examined with regard to the adoption, maintenance, and changes in popular culture, including the consumption of mass media, fashion, music, consumerism and food. Distinction between popular culture and culture, mass culture, folk culture and its contribution to society's contemporary outlook is analyzed.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

This course examines the structural and individual causes of deviant behavior in American society. Students will conduct both absolutist and relativist analysis describe the very nature of why people engage in “undesirable” and socially “unacceptable” behavior. This course differs from criminology, in that sociology observes other behaviors that are not sanctioned by a legal body. This course examines the causes, consequences, practical data and ameliorative methods that are offered in the field.

(CSU GE Area D • IGETC Area 4 • Lecture 3 Hours)

This course covers the application of statistical methods to interpret, analyze, and describe quantitative data in social sciences. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics usually include levels and types of measurement; measures of central tendency and dispersion; normal, t, and chi-square distributions; probability and hypothesis testing; correlation and regression. Applications of statistical software (SPSS) to sociology and/or other social science data is required to analyze data and report results using American Sociological Association (ASA) style.

*UC Credit Limit: Mathematics 227, 228B, Sociology 125 and Statistics 101 combined: maximum credit, one course.

(CSU GE Area B4 • IGETC Area 2A • Lecture 3 Hours • C-ID: SOCI 125)