350 Agricultural Hall, 1450 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706; 608/262-1510; www.drs.wisc.edu/
Professors Tigges (chair), Bell, Collins, Gilbert, Green, Kleinman, Kloppenburg, Nowak; Associate Professor Stoecker; Assistant Professors Alatout, Harrison
Sociologists are scientists who study human social behavior and how societies are organized. Rural sociologists are particularly concerned with people who live outside of urban areas, the conditions in which they live and work, and in how non-metropolitan and metropolitan areas interact.
A major in rural sociology is good preparation for jobs that involve an understanding of social issues, require knowledge of the relationship between communities and natural resources, and involve data collection or data analysis. Rural Sociology graduates may be employed in community development or advocacy organizations, governmental planning or social service agencies, agricultural or environmental organizations, and cooperative or agribusiness enterprises. A major in rural sociology also provides excellent preparation for careers in international development, law, and further academic work in sociology or other social sciences.
The rural sociology department offers a wide range of courses for both beginning and advanced students. The department's introductory course, Rural Sociology 140, Introduction to Rural Sociology and Development, is designed to explore the changing nature of rural development in the global economy. In addition, a set of 200-level courses offers students an introduction to sociological concepts through the exploration of particular subject areas such as food, the environment, population, gender, and work. Rural sociology majors may select from program concentrations in social science, natural resources, and international agriculture and natural resources. These concentrations allow students to choose a curriculum best suited to their needs and interests.
UW-Madison rural sociologists teach about a wide range of issues that are of critical importance to people and communities from Wisconsin to the low-income countries of the developing world. For example, Rural sociology students in the Natural Resources degree concentration study such matters as the growing controversies around energy, the implementation of environmental laws, and the special problems and unique concerns of people in resource-dependent communities. Rural sociology majors in the Social Science degree program focus on issues such the effect of new agricultural technologies on family farms, the ways gender and race affect educational and occupational opportunities, and how community leaders and citizens address problems such as urban sprawl or rural poverty. Rural Sociology students in the International Agriculture and Natural Resources degree program examine issues such as population growth, the causes of world hunger, tropical rainforest destruction, and the prospects for achieving sustainable development in poor countries.
Many rural sociology students build on their major by selecting one of the certificate programs available from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences or from other UW-Madison schools or colleges. Certificate programs enable students to expand their skills and study particular topics or issues in more depth. Rural sociology majors often choose certificate programs in analysis and research, women's studies, criminology, and environmental studies. Many rural sociology students also choose to double-major, combining rural sociology with fields such as education, nursing, or wildlife ecology.
140 Introduction to Rural Sociology and Development. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-E). Contemporary issues in rural society throughout the world, with special attention to the U.S. and developing countries. Sociological concepts are introduced and applied to agriculture, natural resources, rural institutions and communities, population growth and change, globalization, and environment and development. P: Open to All Undergrads.
210 Survey of Sociology. (Crosslisted with Soc) I, II; 3-4 cr (b-S-I). Interrelations of personality, society and culture; social processes, structures, institutions and functions as they affect the building up and tearing down of society. P: So st. Open to Fr eligible to take Com B crses. Stdts may receive cr for only one of these crses: Soc 181, Soc/Rur Soc 210, 211.
211 The Sociological Enterprise. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-I). Basic principles and definitions of sociology. Readings and discussion of the perspectives of sociology, the individual and society, groups and social process, stratification, organizations and power, demography, and social change. P: So st. Jrs & Srs must be declared Sociol majors. Stdts may receive cr for only one of these crses: Soc 181, Soc/Rur Soc 210, 211.
215 Gender and Work in Rural America. (Crosslisted with Soc, Women St) I or II; 3 cr (S-I). Sociological dimensions of men's and women's work in nonmetropolitan areas of the United States. Examines gender divisions of "work" in its fullest sense: paid work in formal and informal economies, self-employment, and nonmarket work such as housework. P: Open to Fr.
222 Food, Culture, and Society. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-E). Social and cultural dimensions of the production, preparation, and consumption of food. Uses historical and cross-cultural analytical frameworks. Treats a wide variety of topics including pre-capitalist food systems, hunger, vegetarianism, sustainable agriculture, food and gender, genetic engineering. P: Open to Fr.
230 Agriculture and Social Change in Western History. (Crosslisted with Hist Sci) I or II; 3 cr (Z-E). Agricultural practices and social history from prehistoric times to the present. Topics include origins of agriculture, feudalism, agriculture in the Industrial Revolution, farming in America, and the consequences of the Green Revolution. P: Open to Fr.
245 Technology and Society. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (E). Students are introduced to a wide range of work on technology, the social forces shaping its development, and social impacts of its adoption. Students are encouraged to examine their assumptions about technology and its relationship to society. P: Open to Fr.
248 Environment, Natural Resources, and Society. (Crosslisted with Forest, Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-E). Introduces the concerns and principles of sociology through examination of human interaction with the natural environment. Places environmental issues such as resource depletion, population growth, food production, environmental regulation, and sustainability in national and global perspectives. P: Open to Fr.
260 Latin America: An Introduction. (Crosslisted with Spanish, Anthro, Geog, History, Poli Sci, Afroamer, Soc) I or II or SS; 3-4 cr (S-E). Latin American culture and society from an interdisciplinary perspective; historical developments from pre-Columbian times to the present; political movements; economic problems; social change; ecology in tropical Latin America; legal systems; literature and the arts; cultural contrasts involving the US and Latin America; land reform; labor movements; capitalism, socialism, imperialism; mass media.
266 People and Places: The Demography of Rural America. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-E). Examines some of the most pressing issues and trends relating to how the U.S. population is changing and redistributing itself across the rural American landscape. P: Open to Fr.
289 Honors Independent Study. I, II, SS; 1-2 cr (I). P: Enrolled in the Cals Honors Prgm & So or Jr st. Inter-Ag 288.
299 Independent Study. I, II, SS; 1-3 cr (I). P: Open to Fr, So or Jr st & written cons inst.
311 Biotechnology and Society: The Socio-Cultural Study of Biotechnology. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-I). Examines socio-cultural issue surrounding contemporary biotechnology. Will study the production of biotechnologies using socio-cultural lenses and the ways in which the new biologies and biotechnologies become integral to the re-production of society and culture. P: So st.
357 Methods of Sociological Inquiry. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II or SS; 3-4 cr (I). Scientific methods and their application in the analysis of society; procedures in testing sociological theory: problem definition, hypothesis construction, collection and evaluation of data. P: So st; not open to stdts who have taken Soc 358.
358 Design and Analysis of Social Research. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (I). Logic of social inquiry, operationalization of social theory, procedures for gathering and organizing data, hypothesis testing, analysis of data, techniques for generalizing from samples to populations. P: Con reg with Soc 359. So st; not open to stdts who have taken Soc 357, Soc 360, or an equiv crse in statistical anal.
359 Statistical Analysis of Social Research. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 4 cr (r-I). Statistics integrated with the methods of sociological inquiry. Probability theory and statistical inference, and other statistical analytical techniques. P: Con reg with Soc 358. So st; not open to stdts who have taken Soc 357, Soc 360, or an equiv crse in statistical anal.
360 Statistics for Sociologists I. (Crosslisted with Soc) I, II; 4 cr (r-I). Presentation of sociological data; descriptive statistics; probability theory and statistical inference; estimation and tests of hypotheses; regression and correlation and the analysis of contingency tables; lectures and lab. P: So st. Stdts may receive cr for only one of the following crses: Soc/Rur Soc 359, 360.
361 Statistics for Sociologists II. (Crosslisted with Soc) I, II; 3 cr (A). Review of statistical inference; analysis of variance and covariance; multiple regression and correlation; discrete attributes; lectures and lab. P: Soc/Rural Soc 360 or equiv and Jr st.
365 Computing in Sociological Research. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II or SS; 3-4 cr (I). The SAS System for statistical analysis and data processing. Also, the Unix operating system, the Emacs editor, filtering data in Unix, the SQL database language, and the graphical presentation of data. P: A first crse in stats.
375 Special Topics. Irr.; 1-4 cr. P: Cons inst.
380 Contemporary Population Problems for Honors. (Crosslisted with Soc, Pop Hlth) I or II; 3 cr (Z-I). This course is designed to identify, examine the nature and evaluate the evidence regarding key population problems affecting modern societies in the developed and developing world. The course emphasizes the development of demographic models as a tool to frame, define and investigate these problems. Examples of problems studied include: relations between population growth and environment, population growth and socioeconomic development, population and emergence of new diseases. P: Crse in coll level math; crse in coll level biology; or cons inst. Open to Fr.
399 Coordinative Internship/Cooperative Education. I, II, SS; 1-8 cr (A). P: So, Jr or Sr st and cons supervising inst, advisor and internship program coordinator.
434 People, Wildlife and Landscapes. (Crosslisted with Geog, Envir St) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). This course explores the relationship between humans and wildlife amidst diverse landscapes, both historic and contemporary, tropical and temperate. We study how humans shape wild animal populations by modifying physical environments, and by hunting, domesticating and introducing species. P: Geog/Envir St 339.
515 Gender Roles and Society. (Crosslisted with Soc, HDFS) Irr.; 3 cr (S-I). An investigation into the social, historical, psychological, and biological context of the construction of gender in families and other social institutions. P: Jr st or cons inst; intro course in psych or sociol.
525 Sociology of Mental Health and Mental Disorders. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-A). Concepts of mental health and mental disorders; social epidemiology and etiology of psychological disorder and impairment; organization and delivery of preventive and treatment services; relationships between psychiatric and other social institutions. P: Jr st & intro course in soc, or cons inst.
532 Health Care Issues for Individuals, Families and Society. (Crosslisted with Cnsr Sci, Soc) II; 3 cr (S-I). This course covers issues related to health and health care delivery in our society. Topics include social, cultural and ethical influences on consumer definitions of health and use of medical care, and on the health care system's responses. P: Jr st.
533 Sociology of Health in Rural Areas. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-A). Sociological perspective on health or rural residents and delivery of rural health care. Demographic organization, rural social and community organization, farm and nonfarm environmental influences, and technological advances. P: Jr st.
541 Social Behavior and Natural Resources. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-A). Theory and application of social psychological processes, including personality, attitudes, values, and elements of social structure as they influence individual and collective use of natural resources. P: Soc/Psych 530 or cons inst.
551 Wildlife and Society. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-D). Application of sociological theory and research for wildlife policy and management, including the social psychology of human attitudes and behaviors toward wildlife, social problems created by wildlife, social issues in wildlife management, and institutions which shape wildlife policy. P: One prior crse in the soc sci.
565 The Ethics of Modern Biotechnology. (Crosslisted with Med Hist, Agronomy, Philos) I or II; 3-4 cr (H-I). Study of ethical issues arising from the application of modern biotechnology to microorganisms, crops, and non-human animals. Readings cover moral theory, technology studies, political philosophy, the science used in biotechnology, and current regulations governing its use. P: Jr st & cons inst.
573 Community Organization and Change. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-A). Examines theories of community change and different models of community organizing. P: Intro soc or cons inst.
578 Rural Minority Groups and Poverty in the United States. (Crosslisted with Soc, Amer Ind) I or II; 3 cr (e-S-A). The allocation of economic and social rewards in the United States; emphasis on the rural and agricultural sectors; analysis of selected minority groups and their poverty statuses; poverty programs and their consequences for structural and cultural changes. P: Jr st & intro course in sociol or cons inst.
601 Sociology of Work, Family, and Gender. (Crosslisted with Soc, Women St) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Examines the social issues and forces involved in the intersection of work, family, and gender. Considers how and why men's and women's experiences at work and at home differ, and how experiences in one realm affect experiences in the other. P: Jr st & successful completion of intro soc/rur soc crse.
610 Knowledge and Society. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). This course examines topics related to what has been called the "knowledge society." Science and technology have come to be dominant influences on our societies, our social lives, and our economies. This course explores various aspects of the sciences and technologies as they shape and are shaped by post-industrial societies. P: Upper class standing and two semester course in Sociology or Rural Sociology.
612 Agriculture, Technology, and Society. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3-4 cr (S-D). Interaction between agricultural technologies and the social, political, economic, and environmental contexts in which production takes place. Issues such as agricultural sustainability, the social impacts of biotechnology, and technology development in both advanced industrial nations and developing countries. P: Cons inst.
613 Social Ecology of the Amazon Basin. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Integrates ecological, economic, and historical perspectives within world-system and other sociological approaches to regional development. Shows how political and economic dynamics have affected human occupation and use of the Amazon from 1600 to the present; analyzes how alterations of the environment have conditioned subsequent development. P: Jr st & previous crse in soc sci.
617 Community Development. (Crosslisted with Soc, Urb R Pl) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Social, cultural and personality factors influencing community development, with reference to developing countries as well as contemporary rural communities; consideration of theoretical and operational issues. P: Jr st, intro course in sociology or cons inst.
618 Comparative Rural Societies. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-A). Structure and characteristics of rural societies in different countries, problems of change and adjustment to an industrial economy. P: Jr st & intro course in soc or anthro.
619 Rural Social Trends and Issues. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Modern attitudes and controversies; the role of the community, groups and agencies in social action and in social change. P: Jr st or cons inst.
622 Advanced Topics in Critical Sociology. (Crosslisted with Soc) Irr.; 3 cr (S-A). Topics include: Marxism and feminism; race and class; alternative theories of history; methodological issues in contemporary Marxism. P: Soc 621 or cons inst.
623 Gender, Society, and Politics. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Examines the relationship between the social structures of gender (e.g., the domestic division of labor, sex-segregated occupational structures, gender ideologies, the social organization of sexuality) and political institutions, political activities, and state policies. P: Jr st.
630 Sociology of Developing Societies/Third World. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-D). Review of problems and prospects of so-called "developing societies." Includes theory of economic/social development, political economic organizations of "developing" societies, history of colonialism/imperialism, attempts to industrialize and results of those attempts. P: Jr st.
639 American Indians in Contemporary Society. (Crosslisted with Soc, Amer Ind) Irr.; 3 cr (e-S-D). Analysis of the social, economic, political, and legal status of American Indians in modern U.S. society, with emphasis on the emergence of tribal sovereignty, American Indian ethnic identity, pan-Indianism, and the special social/and economic problems faced by American Indians. P: Jr st, intro crse in sociology or cons inst.
645 Modern American Communities. (Crosslisted with Soc, Urb R Pl) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Intensive study of selected aspects of American society viewed from the sociological perspective in a community context. P: Jr st or cons inst.
650 Sociology of Agriculture. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-D). Introduction to sociology of agriculture in advanced industrial-capitalist societies, including theoretical, historical, and empirical issues of agriculture in the United States. P: Jr st, intro course in sociology, or cons inst.
651 Foundations of Economic Sociology. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). The course explores the core problem of economic sociology: The way in which instrumental economic action is embedded in, destructive of, and facilitated, conditioned, modified, and impeded by social structures, commitments, and values. P: Sr st & cons inst.
652 Sociology of Economic Institutions. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Sociological perspectives on the organization of the firm, financial markets, and work, intermediate associations (unions, ethnic economies), the state, and the international economy. Contrast between neoclassical, traditional institutionalist, post-fordist, and neo-fordist perspectives on the nature and evolution of these institutions. P: Sr st & cons inst.
666 Rural Population Trends and Problems. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-I). Trends with their consequences for rural and urban areas. P: Jr st or cons inst.
676 Applied Demography: Planning and Policy. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3 cr (S-A). Introduction to demographic concepts, methods, data, and trends for application in business, government, planning and other applied areas. Emphasis on U.S. census data and their uses. P: Intro crse in stats or cons inst.
681 Senior Honors Thesis. I, II; 2-4 cr. P: Honors program candidacy.
682 Senior Honors Thesis. I, II, SS; 2-4 cr. Continuation of 681. P: Honors program candidacy & Rur Soc 681.
691 Senior Thesis. I, II; 2 cr. .
692 Senior Thesis. I, II; 2 cr. .
693 Practicum in Analysis and Research. (Crosslisted with Soc) II; 3 cr (A). Practical experience in techniques of social research through assignment to a research project for the semester. Lectures, readings, and discussions of the art and practice of research and the writing of research reports. For undergraduate and graduate students participating in the department's Concentration in Analysis and Research. P: Jr st & cons inst. Open only to stdts currently enrolled as interns in CAR.
699 Special Problems. 1-4 cr (A). P: Sr st and cons inst.