Graduate courses

SOCI 503 - Foundations of Sociological Explanations

Instructor: Katelin Albert

Schedule: Mondays 1:00 - 3:50pm

Delivery: In Person

Course description

This course focuses in on the foundations of sociological thought – from foundational thinkers and the history of sociology to more contemporary thinkers and knowledge politics.

We will study a group of theorists whose work provided key intellectual resources for the foundation and development of social theory and sociology. It will include the canonical ‘founding’ figures of Karl Marx and Max Weber, but will also cover other founding scholars whose work has been erased or forgotten, such as Jane Addams, Martineau, Du Bois, Cooper, and Wells-Barnett. We also cover some contemporary foundational thinkers such as Harding, Mohanty, and Patricia Hill Collins.

There will be large emphasis on (i) knowledge politics and the different ways theory informs both the study of society and our explanations of the social world, and (ii) the history of sociology.

The course will also attempt to follow through on some of the key sociological themes (e.g. class, capitalism, power, the state) developed by these thinkers, and trace how they have been transformed and still influence contemporary theoretical issues and debates within sociology and social theory more broadly.

Of particular interest, there is a focus on how contemporary sociological explanation considers the intersection of class, race and gender in understanding current structural patterns of inequality, and how these complex, interrelated dimensions of social power form the basis for ongoing political and social struggles. We will also look closely at the intersectional theory – its origins, uses and politics.

Key questions for the course are: what have been the various sociological explanations of the past, and how did each theorist arrive at that explanation? What does this mean for our contemporary explanations of political, economic, social and cultural phenomena?

Course outcomes/objectives

Theory is about learning what has been said, but it is also about learning a unique vocabulary and history that is tied to knowledge politics that continue to shape the work we do today as contemporary sociologists and theorists.

To that end, the objectives of this course are:

1. To understand and learn these thinkers on their own terms. You will learn to read them, think critically about them, and to see their usefulness.
2. You will come to see how their biography and social location shaped their method, theory, and explanations. The methods we use are rooted in theoretical traditions and assumptions, which fundamentally shape what we can and cannot know, our causal arguments, and what we observe and see.
3. You will learn about the politics of theory, theorizing and the history of sociology itself and how this shapes theory building and our empirical work.
4. You will learn to expand your idea of classical theory.
5. You will also learn to theorize in a creative way.
6. As a student, you will also learn how to be a class leader and facilitate a healthy peer learning environment.

Mode of delivery

This class is a seminar style class and is very hands on for students. Students will be class leaders wherein they facilitate the class. This is not a presentation but is early practice in learning to design and organize class time. Students play a big part in facilitating discussion and learning.

This is a face-to-face course and will not be recorded. Students are expected to come to class. There may be several in-class workshops. There may be a few classes held over Zoom to accommodate guest speakers. This course will make use of many of the online tools on Brightspace.

This course description is provided in advance of the course to help with planning and to help students make decisions about their studies. The course focus and direction may change by the time the course is offered.

SOCI 515: Qualitative Research

Instructor: Anelyse Weiler

Schedule: Thursdays 2:00 - 4:50 pm

Delivery: In Person

Course description

What are the unique insights offered by qualitative research methods? How can these insights better inform academic debates, policymaking, and social change?

In this course, we will take a hands-on approach to understanding qualitative methods. The class will provide you with the opportunity to conduct an original research project on a topic of your choice. You will gain practical skills in designing a rigorous proposal, sampling protocols, a theoretical foundation, research ethics, data collection, analysis, and sharing your findings.

Throughout the class, we will examine several qualitative research methods, which may include interviewing, observation, participatory approaches, Indigenous methods, social media analysis, journalling, and Freedom of Information requests.

Developing strong skills and practical experience in qualitative methods is useful for a wide range of careers, including academia, social work, law, counselling, market research, government, and non-profits.

Course objectives

1. Describe some of the key debates and theories in qualitative research, along with approaches including Indigenous and participatory research methods.
2. Conduct an original research project on a topic of your choice, including a plan for ethical conduct, sampling, data analysis, and sharing results in a final written paper and oral presentation.
3. Apply skills in select qualitative research techniques taught in the course, such as interviewing, writing memos and coding.
4. Demonstrate self-awareness and reflexivity.
5. Collaborate with team members by actively engaging in course material.

SOCI 598 - Major Research Paper

Delivery: on-campus

SOCI 598 - Major Research Paper

Delivery: off-campus

599 A01 - Thesis

Delivery: on-campus

599 A02 - Thesis

Delivery: off-campus

SOCI 693 A01 - PhD Candidacy Examinations

Delivery: on-campus

SOCI 693 A02 - PhD Candidacy Examinations

Delivery: off-campus

SOCI 699 A01 - PhD Dissertation

Delivery: on-campus

SOCI 699 A01 - PhD Dissertation

Delivery: off-campus

SOCI 504 - Current Issues in Social Theory

Instructor: Steve Garlick

Schedule: Thursdays 1:00 - 3:50pm

Delivery: In Person

Course description

Social theorizing has always been informed by different materialisms, and this course examines how materialist theories have persisted and re-emerged in different forms through the linguistic and cultural turns of the late 20th century, with particular concern for how these shifts inform our understandings of key sociological concepts such as power, order, freedom, and social change.

The course is divided into 2 parts. The first part focuses on key 20th-century theorists whose >work has implications for materialist theorizing.

The second part takes up recent developments in new materialist social theorizing, with particular attention to their relationships to forms of Indigenous theorizing.

The course offers students the opportunity to engage with some of the most important and influential social theories and theorists of recent decades.

Course objectives

The course has 3 main objectives:

1. To ensure that students have a solid understanding of important theorists whose work informs much contemporary social theorizing.
2. To ensure that students have familiarity with contemporary issues and debates in social theory.
3. To develop students’ abilities to theorize in relation to their own areas of research interest.

Topics covered

We will begin with the Frankfurt School of critical theory, which in certain respects anticipates aspects of recent new materialist theories. We then work our way through the writings of a number of key late-twentieth-century thinkers (Fanon, Bourdieu, Foucault, Butler, & Collins) whose work is both influential today and of consequence for materialist theorizing.

In the second half of the term, we move on to examine some of the most influential trends in recent social theorizing associated with posthumanism, complexity, biopolitical capitalism, affect, Indigenous theorizing, and feminist new materialisms.

Course organization and coursework

This is a seminar-style course. Students will each present and lead the discussion of the readings in at least one class session.

Students will write weekly response papers and a final research paper. All coursework is designed to assist students in developing their abilities to engage in theorizing.

SOCI 507 - Intermediate Social Statistics

Instructor: Ruth Kampen

Schedule: Lecture: Wednesdays 10 - 12:50pm.  Lab: Thurdays 10 - 10:50am

Delivery: In Person

Course description

The purpose of this course is to introduce useful statistical methods (especially multivariate regression models) for social scientists, including various extensions of linear models, logistic models, and count models.

In each class, we will both study the statistical model and its empirical application in substantive fields. For sociology students, the most helpful way to study a statistical model is to look at how it can be employed to address sociological questions in practice.

The course provides an overview of useful techniques, rather than going into great technical details. We will discuss some pertinent statistical theories in class sessions, but the emphasis will be on applications.

You will learn to conduct data analysis with the aid of a software package Stata. The computing facilities on campus have Stata on their computers. If you would like to work with Stata on your own computer, you may want to purchase a student copy of the Strata software. As an important part of this course, the lab will provide instruction on how to use Stata.

Attendance at labs is mandatory. The labs reinforce the material introduced during lecture and provide an opportunity to practice running models and interpreting the output. Students will be evaluated through lab homework assignments, an in-class exam and a quantitative research paper which will require synthesizing the course and lab material using the analysis tools learned.

Course objectives

At the end of this course, you should have sufficient familiarity with regression techniques to (1) feel more confident reading literature that uses advanced regression techniques, and (2) apply these procedures properly in your own research.

This course will also lay the foundation for more advanced studies in statistical models. It is hoped that some of you will use the methods learned in this course in your own thesis/dissertation research.

Prerequisites

This course is intended to build upon the statistical knowledge students have acquired in Sociology 271. That is, I assume that students have had Sociology 271 or equivalent.

For students who completed their undergraduate training elsewhere, this implies one semester course in statistics, covering basic descriptive and inferential statistics, ideally including bivariate regression analysis.

SOCI 525 - Current Issues in the Sociology of Gender, Racialization and Ethnicity

Instructor: Katelin Albert

Schedule: Mondays 10 - 12:50pm.

Delivery: In Person

Course description

This course is a seminar that is designed to explore some of the major theoretical and empirical approaches that feature gender as a focal point of analysis and study.

The topic of gender has had a complex treatment, and it is continually being treated differently as disciplines grow and interdisciplinary projects evolve. Gender sits in a nexus with other social relations and power structures, it mingles with capitalism, it has many meanings as a concept and is often sent to the margins of sociological thought.

This seminar will follow some of the different developments in gender and related interdisciplinary theories, and it is designed to help cultivate your own thinking and theorizing in this area. It is meant to be a somewhat comprehensive and dynamic overview or survey of the field. It will include work from various perspectives and social and global locations.

In general, readings will include both theoretical or conceptual works and empirical works, and my hope is to introduce you to topics and readings that work with your own interests, but also move you outside of what you might typically read and think about as well.

Students are encouraged to come to this seminar with their own research projects, whatever stage they may be at. This might be a term paper or a thesis chapter they’d like to develop or try to publish in a peer-reviewed journal, a dissertation or master’s proposal, or an idea for a review article or book review they’d like to develop and try to publish.

Ideally, through this seminar, you’ll have the opportunity to move forward with a project that’s important to you. There will be many peer-workshops, student-led talks/presentations/discussions, and a spirit of support and collaboration with each other.

Mode of delivery

This class is a seminar style class and is very hands-on for students. Students will be class leaders wherein they facilitate class. This is a face-to-face course and will not be recorded. Students are expected to come to class.

There may be several in-class workshops. There may be a few classes held over Zoom to accommodate guest speakers. This course will make use of many of the online tools on Brightspace.

SOCI 598 - Major Research Paper

Delivery: on-campus

SOCI 598 - Major Research Paper

Delivery: off-campus

599 A01 - Thesis

Delivery: on-campus

599 A02 - Thesis

Delivery: off-campus

SOCI 616 - Advanced Strategies in Qualitative Research

Instructor: Garry Gray

Schedule: Tuesdays 1 - 3:50pm.

Delivery: In Person

Course description

This is an applied course in qualitative research methods. Students will learn how to collect, code, and systematically analyze qualitative data both manually and with the assistance of computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS).

Skills development

In addition to learning how to systematically analyze qualitative data, students will learn how to write an academic journal article. Students will also receive training in making an academic conference presentation (based on the qualitative research journal article they produce in this course).

Course pre/co-requisites

SOCI 515; or permission of department

* Given the applied nature of this course, students must have already taken a prior graduate course in qualitative research methods (equivalent to SOCI 515) that will have exposed them to the various ontological and epistemological underpinnings of qualitative methodology.

SOCI 693 A01 - PhD Candidacy Examinations

Delivery: on-campus

SOCI 693 A02 - PhD Candidacy Examinations

Delivery: off-campus

SOCI 699 A01 - PhD Dissertation

Delivery: on-campus

SOCI 699 A02 - PhD Dissertation

Delivery: on-campus