"The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures. No other national story holds such tremendous lessons, for the American people themselves and for the rest of mankind."

-Paul Johnson
English Historian
A History of the American People

"I would rather have a nod from an American, than a snuff-box from an emperor."

-Lord Byron (1788-1824)
British poet

"God bless the USA, so large, so friendly, and so rich."

-W.H. Auden (1907-1973)
English-born poet and man of letters

"Next to religion, let your care be to promote justice."

-Fracis Bacon (1561-1626)
British statesman and philosopher

"There is no such thing as justice, in or out of court."

-Clarence S. Darrow (1857-1938)
American Lawyer

"Democracy arose from men's thinking that if they are equal in any respect,
they are equal absolutely."

-Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)
Greek Philosopher

"It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time"

-Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
British Politician

Course Overview

Sociology is an elective course that studies human society and social behavior. Positive human relationships are an essential part of a civilized society. How we interact with each other is important so that we can find answers to questions and solve problems in our world. “Sociology teaches us to look at life in a scientific, systematic way.” The way that we view the world comes from what we learn in our everyday activities. “The values, beliefs, lifestyles of those around us, as well as historic events help to mold us into unique individuals who have varied outlooks on social reality.” This course deals with the social atmosphere that helps to make us who we are and how we behave. Sociology will cover topics such as culture, violence, deviance, social control, socialization and personality, group behavior, social class, and social institutions. The key component of this course is to study ourselves and the society that influences our behavior.

For some people, sociology is the key to understanding the world in which they live and how individuals in that world interact with each other. For others, sociology is a means of highlighting injustices in our capitalistic or patriarchal society. Government policy on issues such as poverty, education, health, policing and equality has been influenced by sociological research. That research can be statistical, collected perhaps by survey, or more personal, collected through observation. But just how valid are these surveys and documented observations, anyway? And do surveys arrive at any universal truths, or are they merely snapshots of events/situations which people rationalized about and promote as consistent facts? We’ll take a look at these and other issues as we work our way through this semester course.