Sociology Program
Why Study Sociology?
The purpose of sociology is to gain a scientific understanding of how the social world works. Sociologists research everything from how people form identities (micro sociology) to how social structures change over time (macro sociology) and confer opportunities and/or constraints on social activity (meso sociology). As a social science, sociologists rely on systematic quantitative and qualitative methods for collecting and analyzing data.
Sociology is made up of various subfields: social inequality; race and ethnicity; sex, gender, and sexuality; health and illness; politics and social movements; migration and refugees; religion; family; work and the economy; organizations; technology, sociological theory, etc.
If you are interested in learning how to design, conduct, and understand social scientific research, sociology may be for you.
The Saint Mary’s approach
Our sociology programme focuses on providing students with a foundation in social scientific research methods. Students learn how to design, conduct, and consume quantitative and qualitative research, while also learning what sociologists have discovered about the social world.
Sample Courses Offered
- Social Inequality: You will apply a life course perspective to explore the extent, causes, and consequences of social inequality in Canada using the intersectional approach tounderstand how various social dimensions are intertwined to exacerbate disadvantages and reproduce further disparities across the life course (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and class).
- Social Movements: You will examine some of North America’s most socially transformative social movements. Drawing on social movement theories, you will explore not only how and why people organize and mobilize to address perceived grievances, but also when such mobilizations are likely to occur, succeed, or fail.
- Women and Development: Examine the role of women in development including the changing structure of the division of labour by gender in different international, regional and community contexts, and the interaction between the economics and politics of class and gender in different societies at different levels of development. Students address issues such as: the incorporation of subsistence economies into modern market economies; the establishment of labour-intensive multinational industries, particularly those drawing on female labour; the relationship between the household and the formal and informal economies and patterns of female migration; and the role of women in the transition from rural to urban/industrial worlds.
Future career opportunities:
- Social scientist (government, corporate, NGO)
- Policy analyst
- Urban planner
- Journalist/Writer
- Social worker
- Entrepreneur
- World changer