SOCY-292 Social Problems

1. Identify the social forces that shape social problems
2. Analyze social problems from the three main sociological perspectives
3. Evaluate competing points of view regarding social problems
4. Link sociological social problems from class with current events
5. Appraise the factors that have shaped one’s view of social problems
6. Distinguish the factors that contribute to a population’s health, including those within a country and at the international level, and describe how these factors are measured
7. Examine patterns of drug usage and drug laws from a sociological perspective.
8. Explore the definition of crime in the United States, incorporating how the criminal justice system controls crime and deals with its effects.
9. Summarize problems related to the family, including child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, and divorce, as well as prevention and mediation strategies.
10. Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty using global examples.
11. Explain problems related to education in the United States, including how education contributes to social inequality and efforts being made to improve education.
12. Appreciate historical patterns of interactions between various race and ethnic groups, applying this knowledge to current racial inequalities today.
13. Appreciate sexual orientation diversity in the United States, including laws and prejudices that have lead to a heterosexist dominant culture.
14. Summarize the changing role of the economic institution.
15. Examine population patterns and processes, including the context of urbanization, movements toward Smart Growth and planned shrinkage of communities, and the impact of population growth on the environment.
16. Synthesize population growth and environmental problems with the benefits and problems of science and technology.