Sociology Department

This course introduces students to the origins and development of sociological thinking and research, beginning with the foundations of the discipline in the 19th century. Students are then introduced to the concepts and methods within sociology. The objective is to explore the extent and limits of our capacity to change the social world by reference to sociological research in both a Canadian and global context. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 101 or SOCI 100. Three credits.

This course builds on the foundations of sociological theory, methods and historic considerations established in SOCI 101. Students will explore a range of topics dealing with various aspects of social inequality, culture, integration, and ideological conflict in both a Canadian and global context. Together with SOCI 101, this course provides the prerequisite for all other sociology courses. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 102 or SOCI 100. Prerequisite: SOCI 101. Three credits.

This course addresses how various philosophic assumptions shape the aims and practices of research in sociology. It provides students with empirical research design principles and an introduction to methods of collecting and recording data, assessing reliability and validity, and conducting data analysis. Different research strategies are introduced. The ethical implications of research will be discussed. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

The “tragedy of the commons” has been a reoccurring concept when discussing ocean resources. In this course students will encounter how social scientists study and understand the use of the resources in the oceans’ commons. The course will explore theoretical paradigms, governance, social class, gender, race, fishing, aquaculture, and oil and gas. Students will gain a foundational understanding in social science approaches to issues relating to the aquatic resources. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 205, AQUA 202, AQUA 200, 297(2017-2022) or 298. Cross-listed as AQUA 202. Prerequisites: AQUA 101/102 or 100, completed or concurrent or permission of the instructor. Three credits.

Students will approach the study of human health from an intersectional, critical sociological perspective that emphasizes the links between social, economic, political, environmental and climate justice. The class will engage in an ongoing analysis examining how equality along the lines of race, class, gender, ability and sexuality are relevant to accomplishing health justice. Beginning with an understanding of the distinction between biomedicine and the social determinants of health, the class will explore some of the dominant sociological debates and approaches to the study of health and illness and how these can best be used as instruments for achieving health justice. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course presents an analysis of Canadian Society and its development from a sociological perspective. Particular attention is given to political/economic institutions, ideology, class structure, regionalism, cultural forms and national identities. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course discusses the interconnected realities of race, class, gender and sex from various sociological perspectives. Substantive topics will include the socially constructed nature of these concepts in places like media, and the experiences of classism, sexism and racism in the workplace, schools, and everyday life. Cross-listed as WMGS 217. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course analyzes the marriage and family life from a sociological perspective. It provides an overview of social changes over the past century, such as the falling birth rate, the rise in cohabitation and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Topics include marriage and fertility trends, the rise of intensive parenting and the dual earner family, the normalization of separation and divorce, the social cost of family violence, and how technology is influencing parenting. Cross-listed as WMGS 221. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026. .

This course provides students with a sociological interpretation of education in Canada. Students will investigate the relationship between education opportunity and conditions of inequality, socialization, social participation in education, and the contextualized within the historical development of Canadian educational institutions. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 231 or SOCI 230. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course is designed to introduce students to core sociological issues and debates pertaining to technology. Topics covered include the nature of technological artifacts and systems, technology and social change, the relationship between technological innovation and scientific knowledge, technology and inequality, the social shaping of technology, and the role of digital media in relation to new forms of cultural identity and social control. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course offers students a theoretical foundation for understanding social processes of deviance and social control. Using various theoretical devices, students will critically examine the social category of deviance and its use in social institutions and daily social practices. Topics could include mental illness, drug and alcohol use, alternative sexualities, social violence and disability. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course draws upon the theoretical preparation provided in SOCI 251 to critically assess various topics in deviance and social control, and their power relations. Students will for instance, consider the complex relations of power and control associated with sex and sexuality, contemporary notions of fitness and health, white versus blue collar crime, as well as ‘natural’ disasters. Prerequisite: SOCI 251. Three credits.

Explores the development and diversity of sociology’s foundational perspectives through the study of selected original works by such authors as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This seminar course on contemporary theory varies from year to year. While a survey approach to contemporary theory may be part of the course, it is probable that the professor will choose specific interests for in-depth analysis. Potential perspectives include feminist theory, anti-racist theory, postmodernism, and neo-Marxist theory. Prerequisite: SOCI 101, 102, 301. Three credits.

The course introduces students to the qualitative research methods used by sociologists. The course introduces the philosophical, theoretical, and ethical aspects of qualitative research as well as qualitative approaches to data collection, data analysis, presentation of results, and methods of evaluating qualitative research. The various aspects of qualitative research are illustrated with classical and contemporary studies. Prerequisite: SOCI 202. Three credits.

This course will invite students to explore "elites" – powerful small groups that profoundly shape our everyday lives. Students will explore how elites gain and maintain power, the impacts of elites on our economy, politics, and culture, and how elite power may be questioned and resisted. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

The state is a central concept within the social sciences and one of the most significant sources of power in the modern world. Despite this, states today appear increasingly in crisis, with their very legitimacy questioned. In this course, we will explore the development of the modern state in order to better understand our present. Topics include: the power of disinformation; surveillance; Trump; and Black Lives Matter. The course concludes with a reflection on democracy. Cross-listed as PSCI 318. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 309 or SOCI 297 offered in 2020-2021. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

A critical review of the science of masculinity and recent theoretical developments on the social construction of men’s lives and masculinities. Topics include male gender role socialization; the role social institutions play in shaping masculinities; masculinity politics, men’s movement, and social change. Cross-listed as WMGS 311. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

An introduction to the field of disability studies, this course examines the ways in which disabled people and disability issues are defined and treated in contemporary society. Social and political conceptions of disability are contrasted with medical and individualistic definitions of disability with the aim of developing a critique of taken-for-granted conceptions of normal bodies, minds, and senses. Community-based contributions and responses to disability knowledge are emphasized and common ideas and assumptions about disability are situated historically to illustrate changing relations to disability over time, and to the role of disability knowledge in social change. The experience of disability will be stressed. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

Beginning with the understanding that disability is a social phenomenon, this course provides students with the tools to analyze such cultural conceptions as normalcy-abnormalcy, ability-inability, independence-dependence. Students will examine cultural representations of disability that marginalize and oppress disabled people, and explore the ways in which cultural representations of disability differ from experiential accounts. These representations are analyzed from an international perspective, with a focus on how disability has been represented in Canadian social policy, the media, helping professions, and the education system. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

In this course we investigate drug and alcohol addiction as an epidemic social problem from several key perspectives. Social theories are used to explore subcultures of addiction, race and racism, addiction’s impact on women, and how addiction is understood and experienced in Canada. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 315 or SOCI 395 (2018, 2019). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course examines the Canadian history of drug prohibition and moral/social control, including racism and moral panics around drugs, and the various debates around decriminalization/legalization. Issues include the legalization of cannabis, the fentanyl crisis, and regulated drugs like tobacco and alcohol. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 317 or SOCI 398 (2022-2023). Cross listed as PSCI 317. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course explores social change and economic development through the history, philosophy, and practice of co-operative movements across Canada, with a focus on the Antigonish Movement. The movements are used to examine political systems, labour relations, class conflict, co-operative strategies, education, religion, and ethnicity in the context of social transformation. Cross-listed as DEVS 322. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102 or DEVS 201, 202. Three credits.

This course is grounded in a decolonial framework and is guided by Indigenous teachings from the Global South as well as local Mi’kmaq concepts such as, etuaptumumk (two-eyed seeing), netukulimk (laws of conservation) and m’sit no’kmaq (all our relations) to understand the social, ecological, political and economic intersections of the climate crisis. The course invites students to consider multiple ways of knowing, as well as the limits of what can be known about climate change and our uncertain future. We will explore structural dimensions of climate change including settler colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy and modernity. There is a land-based learning component, as well as other group work included as part of the course requirements. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 329 or SOCI 397(2022-2022). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course considers a broad array of issues and controversies pertaining to the study of media effects. Topics covered include the development of propaganda theory, the social significance of advertising, and debates concerning the influence of media content on behaviour and popular understandings of social reality. Attention is given to both traditional and holistic approaches to media effects in terms of the strengths and limitations of each. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 331 or SOCI 325. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

This course examines the structure and operation of the Canadian criminal justice system, including policing, court systems, correctional institutions, philosophies, and practices. This includes exploring the relationship between law and social order; the justice system as a means of social control; and the experiences of Indigenous and visible minorities in the Canadian justice system. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 351, SOCI 350 or SOCI 374(2019-2021). Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

Students gain an understanding of the diversity of Islam and Muslims in Canada. The course examines how Muslims negotiate their religious identities in Canadian civic society. Students engage critically with different theoretical models shaping conceptions of identity and consider their relevance to public policy debates. They course uses Muslim and non-Muslim authors representing diverse points of view that have an impact on questions of immigration, multiculturalism, and religious pluralism. Offered online. Cross-listed as RELS 375. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This seminar will assist honours students in their third year and their thesis planning and provide an environment in which to learn with senior students working on their thesis. Students will choose an advisor with whom they will develop a proposal, collect materials, and consider methodological and ethical issues relevant to their research. Students are expected to attend colloquia, guest lectures and public talks relevant to the discipline. Highly recommended for students considering honours. Contact sociology@stfx.ca. Three credits. Note: 400-level courses require at least 12 credits in sociology below the 400 level as a prerequisite, or the permission of the instructor. SOCI 101, 102 counts as six of these credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Spaces and Places of Mental Health Care. This course critically examines how mental health care is practiced and contested across institutional and community settings, focusing on the spaces and places where care occurs. Through critical social theory and ethnographic research, students will explore how social stratification along axes of class, race, gender, sexual identity, disability, and migration shapes care realities, relationships, and experiences. The course also considers the historical, economic, and cultural contexts that influence mental health care. Students will investigate how mental health is constructed and governed, and how individuals and communities use agency and resistance to challenge dominant structures and advocate for more inclusive care. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102. Three credits.

A required course for all senior honours students. Six credits.

Explores current theories of social difference and the personal, social, economic, and political effects of these differences in Canadian and international contexts. Topics include oppression, agency, resistance, identity politics, and discourse theory. Starting with the question, “What differences do some differences make?” students will examine how issues of difference become relations of dominance. Cross-listed as WMGS 417. Prerequisite: 12 credits SOCI. Three credits.

Is friendship only personal and private, or does it have broader public, social, and political significance? This seminar addresses contemporary scholarship on the sociology of friendship as well as classic accounts of friendship by philosophers and social theorists. Through studying beliefs and practices of friendship we will address themes such as the self and personhood, gifts and exchange, trust and intimacy, sexuality and gender, social capital and networks, and the relation of friends to strangers and enemies. Prerequisite: 12 credits SOCI. Three credits.

This course considers such matters as the distinction between science and other ways of knowing, the relationship between technological innovation and scientific knowledge, the role played by technology in relation to social change and cultural identity, the social shaping of technology, forms of governance in contemporary ‘information societies’, and questions of human and non-human agency. Prerequisite: 12 credits SOCI. Three credits.

A forum in which Sociology honours students gain scholarly experience by presenting and discussing their research; and taking part in colloquia, guest lectures, and public talks relevant to sociology. Required for honours students in their senior year. Contact sociology@stfx.ca. No credit.