Catalog Course Search Details

 Department:    SOC

 Course #:    206

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    451101

 EPC:    n/a

 REV:    2018

 Course Description  

This course will study the nature of the family as a social, cultural, political, and economic institution. It will include perspectives on the changing structure of the family, socialization, sexual expressions, marital communication patterns, divorce patterns, employment, and family relationships, violence in the family, and family health related issues.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Completed ENGL& 101 with a grade of 2.0 or higher.

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0

Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Academic Social Sciences  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. The primary objective of this course is to trace and understand the historical roots of the American family and its present condition today. In order to achieve this goal, we will examine the origin of family and the basic elements of the human family. To understand the American family as an institution, we will use a comparitive and critical perspective and examine the politics of kinship and the patriarchal household, the economic foundation of modern families, and the impact of violence, the changing nature of work roles, feminism, ethnic and racial composition, and novel biomedical technology on family structure

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

2. Critical Thinking

Definition: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
2.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and facts related to a specific discipline.
2.2 Analyze issues and develop questions within a discipline.

3. Communication

Definition: Understanding and producing effective written, spoken, visual, and non-verbal communication.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
3.1 Recognize, read, and comprehend academic and/or professional writing.
3.4 Produce academic and/or professional writing and integrate it into written and spoken projects.

4. Community & Cultural Diversity

Definition: Recognizing the value of human communities and cultures from multiple perspectives through a critical understanding of their similarities and differences.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
4.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and issues associated with the diverse perspectives of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and culture.
4.2 Understand, value and respect human differences and commonalities as they relate to issues of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and culture.
4.3 Understand the historically and socially constructed nature of—and the meanings attributed to—human differences.

Course Contents

1. Describe basic approaches of sociology to marriage and family studies
2. Describe various methods and outcomes of family research
3. Study the impact of family ethnic diversity of family structure
4. Describe and define effects of cooperation, competition, and individualism as motives in family behavior and how they contribute to social problems
5. Apply critical thinking to the analysis of change undergone by the family institution, both historically as well as currently
6. Explore the future of patriarchal authoritarianism in our society and some possible alternatives
7. Review what hs been learned about the process and effects of interpersonal attraction, mate selection, and its impact on marriage and divorce
8. List personal and social facts influencing perception and definitions of what is considered to be a problem in a family and what isn't considered a problem
9. Describe and define roots of marital power, conflicts, divorce and remarriage
10. Elaborate on interpersonal dynamics of step and blended families