What you will learn in Sociology

Explore the major ideas and insights of the founders of sociology, as well as contemporary thinkers who examine present-day social life. Master the essentials of social research – how to design questionnaires and carry out meaningful surveys, collect and analyze quantitative, qualitative, and historical data, and conduct participant-observation and interviews. Apply these skills to study and better understand numerous topics and issues in social life that interest you. Lakehead’s faculty are engaged in research in areas as diverse as health and illness, gerontology, gender and work, media and popular culture, the sociology of knowledge, sociological theory, sociology of the North, and global social change.

Streams of Focus in our Sociology Programs

While our BA and HBA programs are meant to be broad and flexible, we have three major streams of focus we are building that may be useful to students who wish to concentrate on particular topics or specific career-related trajectories. For example, students interested in policing, community planning, social services, grass-roots organizations, legal studies, government research and policy, social work, or careers in law, may be interested in our Social Justice in Northern and Rural Communities stream. Students interested in social planning, policy or services in the area of health and medicine will find our Health, Food and the Lifecourse stream useful preparation for professional programs and careers in these fields. We also offer a Media, Culture, and Technology stream for students with interests in sociology of knowledge, science and technology studies, education, environmental issues, and media communications. Please read below for more information on these exciting areas of focus offered in our undergraduate programs:

Social Justice in Northern and Rural Communities

Students taking the Social Justice in Northern and Rural Communities stream will examine questions of social justice relevant to communities located in peripheral regions and outside of large urban areas.   What are the main challenges, why do they exist, and what can be done about them? Students can explore, for example, the conditions that face Indigenous and resource dependent communities in Northern and rural areas.  They might also explore the consequences of fast-paced technological and environmental change as these affect agricultural communities, single-industry towns and those in remote regions.  This stream will prepare students for employment working in social and economic development in northern and or rural communities, including police and social services, and government policy and planning.

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Media, Culture and Technology

In this stream, students analyze social aspects of science, technology, media, and material culture more broadly. What is the relationship of society to nature and the environment? For example, how is food a lens through which to understand our relationships to people and the environment? How are our cultural stocks of knowledge shaped by techno-science and the logic of contemporary media? Throughout this stream, we consider how material culture shapes, but is also shaped by, social life.  Students in this stream are well suited to careers in communication, journalism, advertising and marketing, and education, among many other choices.

Recommended Courses:

Health, Food, and the Lifecourse

In this stream, students examine the relationship between social institutions and health inequities, aging, and the body. Students in this stream will explore new frontiers in health sociology and learn about the history of medicine, popular health movements and healthcare, sociology of the body, social determinants and health disparities, critical nutrition and the politics of diet, food security, rural and Northern health, theories of risk and health promotion, and contemporary theoretical and methodological approaches used in health sociology. Upon graduation, students who specialize in this stream will find employment in health care and health-related services or in a research or policy-related field. This stream also prepares students for further study in sociology, social justice, public health, medicine, nursing, midwifery, policy work, and health care.

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Careers in Sociology

Sociology is an ideal major for students planning to enter professions such as: social work, law, journalism and even medicine. Many graduates will decide to go into teaching or career counselling, while others enter careers in government, correctional services, community services and business. Since we teach excellent research skills, sociologists are often sought after to collect and analyze data for a wide range of organizations.