Page 203 - SYU Prospectus

Sociology

ism. To what extent are we free? Is freedom a sufficient condition for our pursuit of a good life?
If not, then what else do we need? A legitimate and limited government? Equal access to
social resources? A society recognizing and respecting differences of ethnicity, gender, and
religion? This course aims at re-examining our political institutions as well as their underlying
ideals.

SOC 343 Business Anthropology
1 Term; 3 Credits
Twenty-first-century society is diverse under the context linking the globe and the local,
and today’s citizens should be able to understand other cultures and communicate effectively
between and among them. Similar to the different facets in our lives, business behaviour is
now commonly acknowledged as culturally constructed. In fact, many influential and popular
business companies or corporations are the product of a political economy battle with
profound social and cultural implications. This course is designed to take holistic, comparative,
and ethnographic perspectives to reveal the social and cultural aspects of running businesses
and the cultural logics of business practices. It focuses mainly on examining the application of
anthropological theories, method and knowledge to solving practical problems in today’s
highly competitive business environment. The course will also take a cross-cultural perspec-
tive to analyse the dominant economic rationality in order to compare business practices in
various societies and different cultures. Students will learn how anthropological concepts,
methods and insights can be applied to identifying and solving important business problems
by reviewing the major areas of business anthropology, combining theoretical issues with
concrete ethnographic examples.

SOC 344 Philosophy of Social Science
1 Term; 3 Credits
Social sciences seek for explanations of social phenomena. However, are explanations
in social sciences the same as explanations in natural sciences? In order to answer this
question, we have to examine a whole range of concepts, which are the building blocks of the
social sciences, such as fact, meaning, action, rationality, and objectivity. This course aims at
examining these basic concepts of the social sciences.

SOC 356 Gender Relations
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course introduces a series of gender issues through feminist critiques, history, cul-
tural studies, political science and, above all, sociological analysis. The first half of the course
concentrates upon the gender structures, ideologies and practices from cultural, social,
economic, daily and political dimensions. The second half of the course explores the nature of
patriarchal system, the roots of women’s subordination, the gender negotiation process and
feminist movements. Upon completion of this course, students could do feminist observation
and critical research of the gender circumstance in the Chinese society they live.

p. 199