Page 199 - SYU Prospectus

Sociology

politicization, individualization and migration, and how these processes might have opened up
opportunities and threats for cultural industries. A special emphasis is placed on how the
communist party has challenged traditional social structure and cultural values, and how the
socialist transformation in the Mainland shapes Chinese society with development, innovation
and environmental change. Topics to be discussed include: Confucianism and familism;
religion and superstition; food and migration; cosmology and health; consumerism and Chinese
women’s liberation; education and inequality; urban development; and civil society.

SOC 401-2 Honours Project
2 Terms; 6 Credits
The Honours Project is designed to enable Final Year students to synthesize their
knowledge and understanding of sociology and social research methods that they have
acquired over the preceding three years of study. Staff supervisors provide direction and
guidance in defining the project, writing a proposal, collecting material, analysing evidence,
and producing a final project report. Student performance in the Honours Project is assessed
at the end the First and Second Semesters: First Semester performance is assessed on the
basis of a project proposal which should include among others things a clear statement of the
topic under study, research design and methods, sources of information, and a literature
review. Second Semester performance is based entirely upon submission of the Honours
Project by a specified date. Supervisors and students should work closely to ensure that their
work meets University standards.

SOC 403 Globalization and Inequality
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course aims to critically examine the relationship between globalization and global
inequality. By “global inequality” we mean not only economic inequality (e.g. income
distribution) but also social inequality (e.g. access to educational resources). In order to
accomplish the task of analysing the ways globalization affects economic and social inequality,
this course will discuss the conceptual, descriptive, normative, and ideological issues arising
from contemporary globalization.

SOC 405 Social Control
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course aims to identify the various mechanisms of social control, both formal and
informal, in our daily lives and to evaluate the effectiveness of these mechanisms. The entry
point of this course is that as we live in a society, we must to some degree conform to the
expectations of others and accept some limitations on our behaviour. Rules, regulations and
legal norms obviously play a role in maintaining an orderly society but they do not tell the whole
story. We gain our notions of right and wrong, good and bad, as well as manage many of our
disputes through informal groups and institutions and “taken-for-granted” assumptions. Based
on these considerations, this course starts with identifying the sociological theories of social
control and will examine the role of law and regulations as formal control mechanisms. It will

p. 195