Curriculum (in English)

<Curriculum, Department of Information Sociology in 2009-2012>

 

 

Yr	Sem	No.	Course Title	Credit	Lec	Prac
1	1	GEN334	CREATIVE ENGLISH READING	2	3	0
		GEN491	PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY	2	2	0
		SOC229	INVITATION TO SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0
	2	CUL005	KOREAN SPEAKING AND WRITING	3	4	0
		SOC153	INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0
2	1	DEE204	ENGLISH COMMUNICATION 1	2	3	0
		SOC106	INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY	3	3	0
		SOC107	SOCIOLOGY IN FILMS	3	1	2
		SOC108	ENGLISH READING IN INFORMATION SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0
		SOC202	SOCIAL STATISTICS	3	3	0
		SOC204	HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0
		SOC327	PRACTICES IN CREATING MULTIMEDIA DATA	3	1	2
		SOC416	ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0
	2	DEE205	ENGLISH COMMUNICATION 2	2	3	0
		SOC222	SOCIAL CHANGE	3	1	2
		SOC224	SOCIAL STATISTICS ANALYSIS	3	3	0
		SOC227	THE INTERNET COMMUNICATION	3	1	2
		SOC325	SOCIOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION	3	3	0
		SOC337	INTERACTIVE CONTENTS DESIGN	3	1	2
		URE253	URBAN SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0
3	1	SOC302	SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS	3	1	2
		SOC323	MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY	3	3	0
		SOC339	PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF DATABASES	3	2	1
		SOC403	SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES	3	3	0
		SOC405	SOCIAL STRATIFICATION	3	1	2
		SOC408	MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY	3	3	0
	2	SOC105	INTRODUCTION TO FUTURES STUDIES	3	1	2
		SOC201	SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY	3	3	0
		SOC340	OCCUPATIONS IN INFORMATION SOCIETY	3	3	0
		SOC344	SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL INFORMATION	3	3	0
		SOC345	POPULATION AND AGING SOCIETY	3	3	0
		SOC357	SOCIOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION	3	3	0
		SOC402	STUDIES IN KOREAN SOCIEY	3	3	0
4	1	PSD102	POLITICS AND SOCIETY	3	3	0
		SOC423	MODERN SOCIETY AND POPULAR CULTURE	3	1	2
		SOC434	INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS	3	3	0
		SOC435	SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE	3	3	0
	2	SOC315	SOCIAL WELFARE	3	3	0
		SOC432	SPECIAL SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGY	3	3	0

<Courses Descriptions>

 

♦ THE FIRST SEMESTER OF FRESHMAN YEAR

– CREATIVE ENGLISH READING
This course will give the chance students to imporve their reading skill needed before taking their own major classes. This course is designed to focus on reading, but it’ll deal with general knowlege of English such as listening, speaking and writing. Therefore with this course, students can improve their English communication skill.

– PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

– INVITATION TO SOCIOLOGY
This course introduces students to sociology, the interpretive study of the structures and patterns of collective human existence. Students are provided with a survey of the leading theoretical frameworks and main analytic tools of the discipline; they are furnished with a basic sense of what questions sociologists typically address and the trademark manner in which sociologists do so.

♦ THE SECOND SEMESTER OF FRESHMAN YEAR

– KOREAN SPEAKING AND WRITING

– INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SOCIOLOGY
The purpose of this course is to introduce theories, methods, and fields of information sociology.

♦ THE FIRST SEMESTER OF SOPHOMORE YEAR

– ENGLISH COMMUNICATION 1
This course will focus on developing students’ English communication ability through interaction with interesting and engaging topics. With an emphasis on speaking and listening, all four language skills are covered: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Lectures include grammar review, drills, and interactive exercises that will expand and sharpen student’s English ability.  – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
What kind of change will the information technology such as Internet and mobile phone bring to human society? Although we experience it in everyday life, it is challenging to decode its cultural and historical meaning. This course is designed to help students to interpret their own experiences of information technology, and understand, prepare, and even lead the emerging age of information.

– SOCIOLOGY IN FILMS
A picture, a piece of cartoon, or a well-made film worths more than a thousand words in explaining complex web of human interaction and of social phenomena. This course tries to understand highly abstract and complex sociological concepts and theories through student-friendly medias, such as films, TV dramas, videos, and documentaries. Through live discussions on visual texts in on-or-off-line classrooms, students will get in terms with an array of sociological concepts and theories. It is, therefore, an introduction to down-to-earth sociology.

– ENGLISH READING IN INFORMATION SOCIOLOGY
This course is designed to help students improve their interest as well as capability in reading and understanding information  society in the written English. The emphasis of the course will be placed on special topics in information society. Included in the topics will be:1)the theories of social change based on the concept of information society;2) special topics in information society such as CMC, new representation of gender, generation and popular culture;3) the revolutionary impact of the Internet on human thinking and learning.

– SOCIAL STATISTICS
The purpose of this course is to study the method of data analysis. Especially, we focus on frequency distribution, central tendency, variance, normal distribution curve, and correlation. Students are required to participate in data analysis by utilizing SPSS.

– HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY
The purpose of the course is to reconstruct the history of sociological theory focusing on the classical social thinkers and the divergent schools derived from them and to train the students herethrough in theoretical thinking. The main classical social thinkers that will be discussed are Comte, Spencer, Mark, Weber, Durkeim, Cooly, Veblen and so on.

– PRACTICES IN CREATING MULTIMEDIA DATA
Introduction to the methodology on digital contents. Topics include information architecture, and usability and image language. This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to participate in a variety of multimedia project by a project manager.

– ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
What with skyrocketing prices for food and energy and the ever more grim consensus about climate change, it is now ordinary to claim that we live in an era of mounting environmental crisis. More controversial, however, are the following questions: What are the root causes of these (and other) environmental problems? What are their social impacts? Why and how are they unevenly distributed and perceived? And what are their possible solutions? This course surveys what the discipline of sociology has had to say in reply to these questions. It also addresses what sociologists have not had to say in reply, recognizing that the environmental sociology literature features some blind spots.

♦ THE SECOND SEMESTER OF SOPHOMORE YEAR

– ENGLISH COMMUNICATION 2
The main goal of this course is to provide a strong knowledge base of English which you can build on in the future. We will focus on vocabulary, expressions, pronounciation and grammar. You will be asked to converse and write on different topics each class, and also there will be chances for free talking and writing within the framework of the given lesson.

– SOCIAL CHANGE
Why and how do societies change? How can we understand social change? The main aim of this course is to get used to the way of understanding social change. First, we will review theories of social change. Then we choose group topics to investigate, seminate and discuss.

– SOCIAL STATISTICS ANALYSIS
This course is a continuation of Social Statistics. Topics include inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, partial correlation, regression, and factor analysis. Students are required to do exercises using statistical packages.

– THE INTERNET COMMUNICATION
The Internet, as a revolutionary medium of communication, has been changing social structure. The Internet Communication is a course designed for students to prepare better for the real world challenges when they step into job or business.
Subjects concentrate on : 1) new concept of the Internet ; 2) the distinct communications features and skills on the Internet ; and 3) how to choose the most effective communications tools an individual, a business, and an international organization on forward.

– SOCIOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION
The information technology, which continuously evolves from relatively simple platforms such as e-mail, electronic board, and SMS to more sophisticated ones such as blog, UCC, and visual phone, has been radically transforming human communications. This course attempts to measure depth and width of the change focusing on its socio-political aspects. Students will analyze first-hand data and recent cases in the real world. Thereby they will understand social issues related to technology such as encryption, protocol, and DRM, and also learn conceptual tools such as public sphere, collective intelligence, and e-democracy.

– INTERACTIVE CONTENTS DESIGN
An introduction, analysis and critique of interactive content on the internet. Topics include information architecture, navigation system design and screen design. This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to participate in a variety of interactive content development projects.

– URBAN SOCIOLOGY
The course will trace the general urbanization process in the modern world and try to understand the characteristics of the urban society in distinction to the rural society. Special attention will be paid to the urbanization in modern korean society in comparative context of the urbanizztion of the Third World.

♦ THE FIRST SEMESTER OF JUNIOR YEAR

– SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS
It becomes an essential skill in current knowledge society the ability to collect, process, analyze, and evaluate a variety of information. The goal of this course is to get students the method to raise research questions and to collect data. Through the course students learn construction of hypotheses, operationalization, construction of measures, sampling, research design, construction of questionnaire, methods of data collection, and so on.

– MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
This course examines the meaning of marriage and the family in modern society. Topics include theoretical perspectives on marriage and the family, family structure, development of the modern family, marriage, gender role division, remodelling of the family, and alternatives to the family.

– PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF DATABASES
Operation of the present society heavily relies upon computer databases. Large organizations such as government agencies, private firms, banks, and schools provide without exception services and products using databases. In this course, students learn not only principles and structures of different databases but also practical skills of designing D/B, writing SQL queries, and managing DBMS. Such knowledge and skills will help understand technical aspects of the information society and further find solutions to social issues and problems of the technology-based society.

– SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
This course will examine the conditions under which some societies have enjoyed socio-economic progress and others have not.  The first part of the course addresses the numerous, sometimes complementary, and sometimes conflicting ways in which “development”is defined, measured, and valued.  The second part explores different theories that purport to explain patterns of international socio-economic inequality.  The third part examines the most important processes and outcomes of global socio-economic change over the last few centuries, especially the last few decades.  The final part of the course surveys the comparative developmental experience of Northeast Asian countries since World War II.

– SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Social stratification and social class are the central concepts to understand social inequality. We will review classical and contemporary theories of social stratification and class. Then we try to understand various aspects of social inequality in Korean society through individual or group project. Future prospect of stratification in information society will be explored.

– MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
This course of contemporary sociological theory deals with theories ranging from structural-functionalism, new conflict theory, exchange theory, role theory through symbolic interactionism. phenomenological sociology, ethnomethodology, and historical sociology to conflict, critical, and post-structuralist theory

♦ THE SECOND SEMESTER OF JUNIOR YEAR

– INTRODUCTION TO FUTURES STUDIES
These days radical social change ensues from rapid development of science and technology. We live in the world of the future that is more uncertain than any period in human history. It, therefore, becomes essential for management of government and private firms as well as individual life to understand and anticipate futures.
This course introduces trends in futures research, principles and methods of futuring, and exemplary works in the field. Students are required to write their own scenarios of a selected subject.

– SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
This course studies how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others. Topics include theories of social psychology, socialization, social structure and personality, attitudes, behavior and social movement.

– OCCUPATIONS IN INFORMATION SOCIETY

– SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL INFORMATION

– POPULATION AND AGING SOCIETY

– SOCIOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION
As the 1990’s unfolded, in academic, policy, and media circles it became increasingly common to assert that we live in the age of “globalization.”  This claim gained such widespread circulation that it eventually took on the status of conventional wisdom, its various possible meanings rarely explored, much less its basic assumptions ever challenged.  This course will investigate the socio-political origins and socio-political effects of the notion that globalization is an inevitable state of affairs, or simply “the way the world works.” Other questions addressed include: Is globalization historically unprecedented?  What mixture of technological, economic, political, cultural, and other forces are driving it forward?  Is globalization a US-based program masquerading as something more universal?  Does the recent development of horizontal ties between “emerging market countries” (led by China and India) represent a challenge to globalization as previously conceived, or is it a new kind of globalization?  What collective movements have emerged to contest globalization, what are their respective critiques, and what respective alternatives do they propose for organizing socio-political life?  How will the present world economic crisis and myriad environmental challenges alter the path of globalization?

– STUDIES IN KOREAN SOCIEY
Introduction of sociological perspectives to understand Korean society. Discussion on student’s perspectives on Korean society comparing advanced countries through reading a book. Social survey on a particular subject. Final discussion on Korean society.
♦ THE FIRST SEMESTER OF SENIOR YEAR

– POLITICS AND SOCIETY
The main theme of the course is the tension and conflict between the democratic system and the complex structures of the modern society. Therefore, the theoretical issues and institutional settings that are concerned the realisation of the democratic principles will be sytematically discussed and analysed.

– MODERN SOCIETY AND POPULAR CULTURE
Popular culture in the transition from modern to post-modern society has brought about social structual changes, resulting in inequality in income and consumption. This course is about the rise of popular culture and the issues surrounding it in recent decades. The class will examine: (1) the rise of popular culture in modern and post-modern society in historical perspective; (2) popular cultural modes such as film, TV, fine arts, music and architecture, which are transcoding the social metaphors into images of identification and aiding the enactment of economic and political norms and values; (3) conflict and contradistinction in popular culture between generations and social classes; (4) science and technology affecting the production of popular culture; (5) globalization and the problems of popular culture.

– INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
Information and communication technology engenders deep and wide  change to social organizations. This course focuses on organizational transformations in the public sector. Students will analyze many real cases of organizational innovations applying information systems and discuss critical issues related to them. They will analyze how factors such as ministerial conflict, leadership, information sharing, privacy, security, policy effects, and goverance affected innovation initiatives. Students are expected to improve their problem-solving capability that is required in the technology-based society.

– SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
This course will identify and analyze a range of contemporary social problems that China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States all (to a greater or lesser degree) share in common.  These problems include the increasing polarization of wealth and income, right-wing backlash against “globalization”(for lack of a better term), popular enthusiasm for consumer and media spectacle, the environmental contradictions of economic growth, and political systems and cultures ill-equipped to deal withall of these issues.  There will be a sustained focus on similarities and distinctions between nations, as well as macro-level causes and effects that transcend individual countries.

♦ THE SECOND SEMESTER OF SENIOR YEAR

– SOCIAL WELFARE
The course traces the theoretical, historical and philosophical background of the welfare systems and campares the divergent instituional settings of social welfare in the modern societies. On the ground of such reflexions about the basic problems the course will try to construct a welfare system model which fits the specific korean conditions in terms of political, social and cultural structures.

– SPECIAL SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGY
One of the strengths of the sociological perspective is its capacity to identify and make sense of the invisible yet powerful large-scale and deeply structural forces that condition our everyday existence; we may be vaguely aware of these forces but more often than not do not thoroughly grasp them. Arguably, the two following macro-trends encapsulate the leading forces that will impact people’s lives the world over in the 21st Century: 1) the relative decline of the US as a global power, the rapid rise of China as such, and the interrelationship between the two and 2) incipient catastrophic global warming and its uneven social causes and consequences. This course offers a comprehensive treatment of these topics and the links between them. Through a variety of means discussed below, students will improve their general understanding of these connected issues, and will develop more precise expertise on a pertinent issue of their own choosing (subject to the instructor’s approval).