Course

Families & Social Change

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Sociology
Course code
SOCI 2250
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course introduces students to sociological theories and research related to families in society, with emphasis on the dynamic and diverse nature of family forms. The course examines the relationship of families to other social, economic and political institutions, and considers the impact of societal ideologies and social policies on family life.
Course content
  1. Introduction to the sociological study of families
  2. Sociological theories and the study of families
  3. Historical influences on contemporary Canadian family structures and family policies
  4. Cross-cultural variations in family structure and practices: Impacts on immigrant families in Canadian society
  5. Colonial policies and their impact on indigenous families: Oppression and resilience
  6. Partnering/marriage
  7. Paid and unpaid labour in families, including the influence of gendered ideologies and impact on work-life balance
  8. Childrearing/parenting
  9. Issues for families in mid-life
  10. Issues for families in later life
  11. Family poverty
  12. Family violence
  13. The impact of state policy on family life
Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:  lectures, small group discussions, audio-visual presentations, essay research discussions and specialist guest speakers.

Means of assessment

Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.

The specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Course evaluation will include some of the following: examinations requiring paragraph and short essay answers, participation in class discussions, and essay research or other written assignments. 

Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.

An example of one such evaluation scheme might be:

First in-class examination  15%
Second in-class examination  15%
Essay assignment  30%
Class Participation  15%
Final Examination  25%
Total  100%

Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans.

 

Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, the successful student will be able to:

 

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of theoretical and methodological approaches to studying diverse families from a sociological perspective;

  2. Distinguish perspectives on families that are based on sociological theory and research from those based on personal experiences and ideologies;

  3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the diversity of families in Canadian society throughout history and across cultures;

  4. Critically analyze the impact of social structures on individuals’ family experiences;

  5. Critically analyze how gender, class, sexuality, race, and ethnicity influence family forms and practices;

  6. Demonstrate a critical awareness of current issues for Canadian families.

 

Textbook materials

Texts will be updated periodically. The following is an example of a typical text for this course:

Mitchell, Barbara A. (2017). Family Matters: An Introduction to Family Sociology in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Scholars.

 

 

Requisites

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for SOCI 2250
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX SOSC 2XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU SOC 2XX (3)
Coquitlam College (COQU) COQU SOCI 204 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG SOCI 2250 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU SA 231 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU SOCI 2160 (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU SOCI 221 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO SOCI_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV SOCI_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC SOSC 2XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV SOC 2XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC SOCI 2XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU SOCI 2nd (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025