Our courses address a wide range of topics from gender & sexualities to migration, cultural identities to race & racism, social movements to global labour, health care, social media and much more. Our teaching is grounded in social theory and research methods, skills that will serve you well in several professions.
Browse through the database below to explore courses that will fulfill certain degree requirements in the Sociology program.
When registering for classes on the Course Timetable website, be sure to carefully read through the “Notes/Additional Fees” section of each course you select.
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AP/SOCI 1000 6.00
Skills for Success in Sociology
This course develops generic skills for student success in sociology. It is designed to ensure students understand university academic skills and expectations in the discipline. It uses a framework emphasizing: critical thinking and the development …
AP/SOCI 1010 6.00
Introduction to Sociology
An introduction to basic sociological concepts and theoretical frameworks, and research methods used to understand the social structures that transcend and shape personal experience in a Canadian context by taking account power, differentiation, socialization, and …
AP/SOCI 1020 6.00
Pleasure and Trouble
This introductory course explores how pleasure and trouble are created, interconnected and experienced in everyday life. For sociologists, pleasure and trouble are more than the outcome of individual psychology, biology, and biography; they arise from …
AP/SOCI 1030 6.00
Mediated Life: Structure and Agency in a Digital World
This introductory course provides a sociological perspective for understanding life in a digital world. With a focus on structure-agency dynamics, we will explore the complex interactions between individuals, media, and society. It helps students develop …
AP/SOCI 2030 6.00
Sociological Research Methods
This course provides an introduction to sociological research methods. It gives an overview of both qualitative and quantitative approaches used in sociological inquiry. Students will learn key principles of research design, critical thinking and interpretation …
AP/SOCI 2040 6.00
Sociological Theory
An introduction to major sociological themes and theorists, in the historical context of their times and places. The course deals with classical, modern and contemporary trends in sociological theory.
AP/SOCI 2050 6.00
Social Structure and Social Change
This foundation course deals with comparative and historical aspects of social life, political organization and the state, and modern industrial society. Special attention is given to the analysis of class, inequality and social change.
AP/SOCI 2060 6.00
Social Interaction and Community
This foundation course deals with processes of social interaction, socialization and self, and the relationship of the individual to society as exemplified in several substantive areas. Emphasis is given to understanding personal action and free …
AP/SOCI 2080 6.00
Power and Everyday Life
This foundation course introduces students to the multiple dimensions through which power permeates our everyday social worlds and shapes the organization and regulation of social life, both locally and globally. It investigates the formation of …
AP/SOCI 3020 6.00
Classics in Sociology
The aim of the course is to acquaint the student with the development of sociological theory from its origins to the present. Selected major theorists will be considered, and readings will be chosen from original …
AP/SOCI 3030 3.00
Social Statistics I
This course introduces students to the basic concepts of statistical thinking and statistical computing that are commonly used in social science research and are increasingly relevant in policy decisions and public life. Key topics include …
AP/SOCI 3031 6.00
Statistics for Sociology
Every area of sociology has questions whose answers are inherently statistical. This course provides the concepts and skills needed to analyze social data from surveys, social experiments and administrative records. These skills will give students …
AP/SOCI 3035 6.00
Research Design in Qualitative Methods
This course teaches research design in qualitative sociological methods through a combination of conceptual work and empirical research. It covers a range of qualitative methods and their applicability in social and political practice. In addition …
AP/SOCI 3040 3.00
Advanced Sociological Theory
This course provides an in-depth study of one or more major sociological theoretical paradigms, building on the overview of sociological theory that students have gained from AP/SOCI 2040 6.00. Both classical and contemporary theories may …
AP/SOCI 3060 6.00
Sociological Perspective on Social Psychology
Explores classic and current approaches to social psychology. Topics include self, social process, social interaction, interpersonal influences and group processes. Student participation in experimentation, participant observation, group discussion, research or discourse analysis is expected.
AP/SOCI 3110 3.00
Collective Behaviour
This course will analyze forms of collective behaviour (crowd, mob, panic, fashion, cult) with a view to understanding their function in society. Factors conducive to the formation of such behaviour, characteristics of members, leadership and …
AP/SOCI 3220 6.00
Cultural Sociology
An examination of recent developments in the study of culture as they affect sociological thinking about contemporary society, drawing on sociological as well as other theories and approaches. Includes case studies on gender, popular culture, …
AP/SOCI 3340 6.00
Globalization and Resistance
This course explores meanings of globalization as the master trend reshaping social life through global and local dynamics of both contemporary social change and resistance to it, exemplifying the increasing and contested influence of social …
AP/SOCI 3355 3.00
Social Movements
Topics studied will include the causes, characteristics, processes and consequences of social movements; the appeal, ideology, organizational structure, strategies and tactics of social movements; and the process of becoming committed to a social movement.
AP/SOCI 3410 6.00
Social Inequality
Theories about social equality and inequality are analyzed, in industrial and non-industrial, democratic and non-democratic societies. The course considers the influence of differential privilege on social behaviour and institutions, and problems of upward and downward …
AP/SOCI 3420 6.00
Population and Society
Students will study Canadian population trends and policy debates in comparison to global population issues. Topics may include Canadian and global patterns of population growth; urbanization and urban reversal; fertility, family planning and abortion; famine, …
AP/SOCI 3430 6.00
Ethnicity, Power, and Identity
This course introduces students to contemporary issues in ethnicity, power and identity in international perspective. Sociological and anthropological theories on ethnicity, race, culture and identity form the conceptual basis for this course.
AP/SOCI 3450 6.00
The Sociology of Race and Racism
This course offers a sociolgical critique of race and racism by examining both the concepts and practices in terms of social organization, discourse and history. Biogenetic and cultural racism are investigated in terms of knowledge …
AP/SOCI 3480 6.00
Organizations, Work and Society
Formal organizations such as social groups, such as businesses, governments, educational institutions and trade unions are established in a more or less deliberate manner for the attainment of specific goals. Focuses on topics such as …
AP/SOCI 3500 6.00
Publics and Privates
Examines the concept of the public and private spheres; their emergence within differing time periods and/or regions; normative effects of the public sphere; and transformations and proliferations of public and private. In addition to discussing …
AP/SOCI 3550 3.00
Sociology of Aging
This course examines interpersonal, cultural, demographic and political aspects of aging and retirement. Gender, class and other major factors are discussed, along with familial, government and self-help responses to seniors’ needs.
AP/SOCI 3600 3.00
Sociology of Work and Labour
In this course, work will be viewed as a social problem. Topics include the meaning of work, the theory of alienation, evolving patterns of industrialization and labour relations, occupational cultures, the deskilling of work and …
AP/SOCI 3630 6.00
Sociology of Education
The relationship of the educational system to the social structure is examined. Among topics to be considered are the role of education in social change, the school as a social system, and the school as …
AP/SOCI 3640 6.00
Political Sociology
The social bases of political order and conflict in modern societies will be analyzed. Data will be drawn from studies of policy formation, voting behaviour, civic participation, collective protest, and political aspects of social change …
AP/SOCI 3650 3.00
Sociology of Religion
Introduces sociological approaches to religion in a contemporary social and global cultural context. Traces the changes from the sociological classics to contemporary theories of religion and secularism that reflect the intertwined nature of these categories …
AP/SOCI 3650 6.00
Sociology of Religion
Introduces sociological approaches to religion in a contemporary social and global cultural context. Traces the changes from the sociological classics to contemporary theories of religion and secularism that reflect the intertwined nature of these categories …
AP/SOCI 3653 3.00
Corrections and Alternative Forms of Justice
This course explores the historical roots of corrections and alternative forms of justice. Topics include various philosophies of punishment and social control, as well as the influences that have helped to determine penal policies and …
AP/SOCI 3660 6.00
Families and Social Change
The course provides a wide-ranging and provocative analysis of the social forces and individual responses contributing to diversity in family life, emphasizing how social, economic and political changes in Canadian society have reshaped family forms …
AP/SOCI 3670 3.00
Sociology of Sport
Sport is used in this course as a medium for testing sociological theory. Topics will be organized around the effects of involvement in sport on those who “play,” consume and produce it.
AP/SOCI 3690 6.00
Sociology of Gender
This course analyzes economic, social, cultural and political aspects of gender formation in a comparative context and in Canada. Emphasis is on the different ways in which femininity and masculinity are constituted in interaction with …
AP/SOCI 3710 6.00
Environmental Sociology
This course explores sociological approaches to the interaction between humans and their bio-physical environment; the history of ecology and contemporary social ecologies; contending explanations for environmental problems; and the history of environmental movements and organizations.
AP/SOCI 3780 6.00
Sociology of Information
A discussion of human communication and social life, including the role of ideology in clarifying, distorting or masking reality. Emphasis is given to the mass media, including construction of the news, entertainment and advertising as …
AP/SOCI 3810 6.00
Criminalization and Racialization
Criminalization and racialization are examined through a range of sociological theories to address the relationship between processes of criminalization and racialization in Canada and globally.
AP/SOCI 3820 6.00
Sociology of Health and Health Care
Social factors related to health and physical and mental illness will be discussed, including comparative examinations of the healing process. The social organization of systems of health care will be explored, including recruitment and socialization …
AP/SOCI 3830 6.00
Sociology of Urban Life
An examination of the process of urbanization and its implications for regional rural-urban systems, the city as an information-processing system, and the experience of living in cities. Sub-groups within the city (e.g. neighbourhoods and social …
AP/SOCI 3850 6.00
Gender, Violence & Social Policy
Violence against women, children, and the elderly, examined in historical and cross-cultural perspective. Areas to be discussed include: emotional impact of abuse; racist and patriarchal ideology; sex industry and the media; treatment of abusers; legal …
AP/SOCI 3860 6.00
Women, Work & Family
Women’s challenges in the home and in waged work, including historical and cross-cultural analyses. Areas of discussion may include: household, the labour market, racism and the state; barriers to women’s career success; single-parent families and …
AP/SOCI 3940 3.00
The Social Life of Science
Contemporary, controversies such as cloning, genetics and race, climate change, AIDS treatment and DNA fingerprinting are used to foreground the social and cultural processes which shape knowledge.
AP/SOCI 3940 6.00
The Social Life of Science
Contemporary, controversies such as cloning, genetics and race, climate change, AIDS treatment and DNA fingerprinting are used to foreground the social and cultural processes which shape knowledge.
AP/SOCI 3950 3.00
Exploring Disability
Drawing on traditional and contemporary theoretical frameworks for understanding disability, this course introduces students to the field of disability studies. Within a comparative perspective, the course explores legal frameworks, social policy, advocacy and rights movements, …
AP/SOCI 4000 6.00
Sociology Research Capstone
This capstone course provides an opportunity for students to carry out a piece of independent research and to write a thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. Students work together in class to select …
AP/SOCI 4010 6.00
Strategies of Social Research
This course continues the exploration of various modes of empirical research. It studies the relationship between theory and research, and the applicability of the results of empirical research in social and political practice.
AP/SOCI 4030 3.00
Independent Study/Directed Reading
A detailed independent study course involving intensive reading and writing in one or two selected areas may be taken under direction of a faculty member. Students must be accepted by a faculty supervisor before they …
AP/SOCI 4030 6.00
Independent Study/Directed Reading
A detailed independent study course involving intensive reading and writing in one or two selected areas may be taken under direction of a faculty member. Students must be accepted by a faculty supervisor before they …
AP/SOCI 4045 3.00
Observing the Social World
An in-depth examination of selected qualitative methods in social research. Theoretical implications and practical applications of the methods are also considered. The course will examine historical methods, field and observational methods, ethno-methodology, focused interviewing, ethnographic …
AP/SOCI 4055 6.00
Everyday Life in the Metropolis: Fieldwork Studies in Toronto
This ethnographic course explores various features of urban life in Toronto which characterize the metropolis as it appears to diverse categories of its users (multicultural residents, tourists, practitioners of urban occupations, politicians and planners). Students …
AP/SOCI 4060 3.00
The Sociology of Parent/Child Relationships
This course examines the parent-child relationship as interactive process within social structure. This relationship is explored in terms of reciprocity, multiple levels, the dynamic lifespan model, and the mediation role of social and cultural factors …
AP/SOCI 4070 6.00
Sociology of the Body
The course examines a variety of sign systems which code the body’s behaviour (e.g. dressing, eating, dieting, fitness) as the vehicle for larger institutions (political, economic, religious) which require the body’s inscription and conscription.
AP/SOCI 4072 3.00
Sociology of Human Reproduction
This course seeks to describe and analyze contemporary rapid social change occurring in the knowledge, conduct and regulation of human reproduction, investigating this change across multiple institutional sites such as techno-science, kinship, the health system …
AP/SOCI 4075 3.00
Sexuality, Social Practices and Modernity
This course places sexuality in the context of societal processes and practices, and critically examines a number of major contemporary social theories concerning sexuality.
AP/SOCI 4100 6.00
Field Placement
This course places sociology students in not-for-profit, government, and community organizations in order to gain experience and skills in workplaces that respond to social inequalities. In addition, the students will meet regularly in a seminar …
AP/SOCI 4110 3.00
Gift and Sacrifice
This course examines gift and sacrifice as symbolic practices through close reading of key social themes as such Mauss, Bataille, Derrida and Strathem. Our goal is to understand the significance of gift and sacrifice in …
AP/SOCI 4120 6.00
Social Organization and Urban Culture
This course examines how urban residents experience and utilize urban environments so as to generate social choices. The ways in which urban planning, architecture and ownership status combine to influence the mix of public and …
AP/SOCI 4200 6.00
The Sociology of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
This course considers the relationship between conflict and cooperation and explores the causes, characteristics and consequences of both processes at the local, national, and global arenas. It identifies modern and the latest modes of conflicts …
AP/SOCI 4210 3.00
Economic Sociology
This course examines the impact of market forces on society and the efforts by society to tame the market. Topics include the origins of capitalism; social resistance to market forces; and changes in social class, …
AP/SOCI 4215 3.00
Capitalism, Ideology and Social Theory
The course explores the applicability of sociological theory – classical ad contemporary – to the social issues of modernity particularly, in relation to inequality, exploitation, and democratic rights of subaltern groups and their relationship to …
AP/SOCI 4220 3.00
Social Movements: Theory and Practice
Social movements are intrinsic to societies characterized by unequal access to property, political power, and cultural resources. In this course, the relevance of political economy to the study of social movements will be critically reviewed …
AP/SOCI 4230 6.00
Cultural Identities
Examines the processes through which cultural identities have formed in Canada, encompassing local to transnational forms of cultural belonging. Building on cultural sociology and related theories of culture, power and agency as well as diaspora …
AP/SOCI 4300 3.00
Sociology of Health Care Systems
The course examines the theoretical models sociologists employ in analyzing relationships within the health-care system. It shows how the medical and other health professions have developed in Canada within the context of the growth and …
AP/SOCI 4310 3.00
Culture, Health and Power
Analyses health as a distinctively modern political value and examines its social and cultural effects.Investigates relations between health and social power by examining cultural representations of health and the social effects of local, national and …
AP/SOCI 4345 3.00
Family and Intimate Relations
Discussion of major issues in family composition, functioning and relationships such as: authority and decision making; migration and kin support; alternatives to contemporary marriage; separation and divorce; family life education.
AP/SOCI 4345 6.00
Family and Intimate Relations
Discussion of major issues in family composition, functioning and relationships such as: authority and decision making; migration and kin support; alternatives to contemporary marriage; separation and divorce; family life education.
AP/SOCI 4350 3.00
Immigration and Citizenship
This course examines emerging patterns of international migration and refugee flows. Particular attention is given to the recent rise of emigration from Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America to North America. These flows are studied …
AP/SOCI 4360 6.00
Migration Experiences: Theory and Practice
This course examines the relationship between globalization and international migration. Themes include: why migrants leave home countries; immigration policies and practices in receiving countries; trafficking in migrants; migrants in global cities; migrant networks; transnationalism, and; …
AP/SOCI 4370 3.00
Integration of Immigrant Youth in Canada
Analyses transitions from adolescence to emerging adulthood of immigrant youth. Employs a life course perspective to examine selected experiences and concerns encountered by newcomer youth when settling and integrating into life in Canada. Possible topics …
AP/SOCI 4390 3.00
Transnationalism and Diaspora
This course introduces theoretical perspectives on transnational migration, focusing on immigrant incorporation, citizenship, the host state, relations with the home state/community and transnationalism. Comparative material from various regions may be used.
AP/SOCI 4400 3.00
Historical Sociology
This course examines a variety of recent studies that cross the boundary of history and sociology, including such topics as historical changes in family, education, women’s lives, ethnicity and social class. Both theoretical and empirical …
AP/SOCI 4410 3.00
Sociology of Poverty
The societal and personal causes of poverty are explored. The focus is on the consequences of poverty for society, areas and individuals. Life opportunities, health and stress are considered. Key demographic variables are gender, age, …
AP/SOCI 4420 6.00
Sociology of Indigeneity and Decolonization in a North American Context
This course explores themes, methods and concepts in Indigenous studies and knowledges in relation to ideas in sociology. Reflecting on social, legal, and historical processes, the course examines the relationships between Indigenous Peoples, the settler …
AP/SOCI 4430 3.00
Human Displacement & Refugees: Global
This course offers a comprehensive sociological assessment of some current issues and research in refugee migration. Primary emphasis is on Canada’s refugee policy and responses to it. The unique experiences and adaptation problems of refugee …
AP/SOCI 4440 6.00
Racialization and the Law
This course critically examines the relationship between law and social inequality, treating law and justice as contradictory. The focus is on the place of law in forming racialized groups, but also deals with gender, sexual …
AP/SOCI 4450 6.00
Women in Development
The course explores the theme of women in development in its different meanings. The issue of development is analyzed in terms of global economy, national states, popular movements and discourse with emphasis on women, gender …
AP/SOCI 4465 3.00
Animal-Human Relations
Focuses on the role of non-human animals in society. Explores the following question: What happens to our understandings of what it is to be “human,” and of how “society” is organized when we begin to …
AP/SOCI 4470 3.00
Bodies, Genders and Sexualities
This course considers a variety of theories concerning the relation between sex, sexuality and gender identity. Theories to be covered are those of Freud, Michel Foucault on the history of sexuality, and those of a …
AP/SOCI 4480 3.00
Social Regulation in Canada
This course examines how social regulation is produced through state activity and civil society. Utilizing historical sociology and contemporary theory, it explores processes of state formation, socio-legal development, moral regulation, normalization, and social reform/social movement …
AP/SOCI 4490 3.00
Studies in Sexual Regulation
Sexual regulation is produced through soci-legal relations, truth regimes, and normalizing discourses. The effects of sexual regulation extend throughout social processes. This course examines how sexual regulation is constituted through state activity, the production of …
AP/SOCI 4500 6.00
Social Theory and Cultural Expression
This course examines the interplay between social theory and culturally expressive works, including novels, theatre and film. It looks at how theoretical ideas can be exposed in narrative accounts, and aims to help students develop …
AP/SOCI 4510 6.00
Popular Culture and Social Practice in Canada
This course examines different forms of popular culture and how they inform personal politics, consumption, and common-sense ideas about the world. We explore the development and social significance of popular culture in Canada. Representations of …
AP/SOCI 4520 6.00
Sociology of the Middle East and North African Societies
This course examines major sociological issues in the Middle East and North Africa. It privileges comparative analysis framework to allow students to develop an informed and multilayered knowledge of the region. It discusses these issues …
AP/SOCI 4610 6.00
Women, the Welfare State and Social Policy
This course uses gender analysis to examine the ideologies and practices underlying social-welfare policies. Concepts, theories and debates that have informed scholarly discourse and research on the relations between women and the state are critically …
AP/SOCI 4615 6.00
Feminist Theories and Methodologies
This course provides a critical analysis of varieties of feminist theories and methodologies as they have been derived from women’s examination of social relations and practices. Theories arise from and organize perspectives of the world …
AP/SOCI 4620 6.00
Work and Workers in a Globalized Economy
This course examines changes in the labour process and the relationship between labour and management. We study labour segmentation, marginalization, techniques of control, the impact of new technologies on the labour process, and unions’ responses …
AP/SOCI 4630 6.00
Schools, Employment and Transitions: Canadian and Global Perspectives
This course examines transitions through school and transitions from schooling to employment within a life course context and is organized around Canadian materials with comparisons made to other countries. Students are shown how to analyze …
AP/SOCI 4670 3.00
The Social Self
This course examines classical and contemporary sociological theories of self – the development of the self concept, its effects in interaction, and its stability or change over time. Implications of the self in relation to …
AP/SOCI 4680 3.00
Women and Aging
This course examines the intersection of aging and gender. The course emphasizes a social psychological and feminist perspective and thus gives primary attention to the symbolic and social construction of aging.
AP/SOCI 4685 6.00
Feminist Perspectives on Families
This course focuses on four major theoretical feminist perspectives on families, gender and the state. Exploring issues such as regulation of sexuality, division of labour and income, violence, childcare, and reproduction of race and class.
AP/SOCI 4700 6.00
Green Theory, Culture & Capitalization
The course introduces a political ecology method which situates environmental problems in ecological and political economic contexts. Students use political ecology to analyze local and third world environmental controversies. The course assumes familiarity with social …
AP/SOCI 4810 6.00
Women and the Criminal Justice System
This course analyzes theory and research on the incidence and treatment of child, adolescent and adult women who are offenders (e.g. theft, homicide), victims (e.g. sexual and physical assault), and professionals (e.g. police, judges) in …
AP/SOCI 4820 6.00
Crime and Deviance
The formation of marginal or deviant communities in modern society, including such issues as underworld identities, networks and markets; legislative and judicial adaptation to current realities; unconventional lifestyles and their stability factors.
AP/SOCI 4830 3.00
Childhood and Violence
This course explores violence experienced by children and violence committed by children. The course explores the ways that children and adults learn, use and experience violence (physical and sexual) in societal settings such as schools, …
AP/SOCI 4840 3.00
Sociology of Policing
This course explores the institution of policing from an organizational, operational and legal perspective, including issues concerning police conduct and misconduct as a means of illuminating questions about the relationships between the public, the law, …
AP/SOCI 4840 6.00
Advanced Issues in Policing
The formation of marginal or deviant communities in modern society, including such issues as underworld identities, networks and markets; legislative and judicial adaptation to current realities; unconventional lifestyles and their stability factors.
AP/SOCI 4850 3.00
Organized Crime
This course examines national and international organized crime issues and focuses on links between organized crime and the global economy; the relationship between organized crime and social/political environments; theoretical explanations and the evolution of commodities …
AP/SOCI 4910 6.00
The Sociology of Knowledge
An analysis of the role of ideas in the development of social institutions and the impact of society on belief systems. The social organization of knowledge will be examined with reference to selected institutional areas …
AP/SOCI 4930 6.00
Sociology of Science and Technology
This course focuses on the role of science and technology in social life, especially examining the contributions of human agency to creating and sustaining a social-cultural world that is infused with scientific knowledge and technological …