Foundations of social stratification are shifting rapidly in the United States and the world. The sociology discipline introduces new college students to a social awareness not easily found in other areas of study. This course opens the door to students in their understanding of how to research and engage with the field of sociology. A wealth of performance assessments and writing assignments qualify students’ understanding of the material. Key concepts include the sociological imagination and perspectives, scientific research methods, culture and society, socialization and interaction, deviance, crime and social control, inequality, race and ethnicity, gender, sex and sexuality, marriage and family, religion and education, health and aging, urbanization, the environment, government, work and the economy, and media. Faculty members may also readily adapt the course’s OER content to include new developments and research to equip students with what that they need to have success in their sociological journey.

This course, based on the OpenStax Sociology text, was developed by Lumen Learning, with contributing work from Cathy Matresse from Columbia Basin College.

A few of the modules have been reorganized and/or combined. Nothing from OpenStax is excluded (except introductions, summaries, and outdated content in certain places), but instead, sections have been broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks for students and aligned with learning outcomes. The content has been enhanced with examples, tons of videos, and more application. Each module also includes a “Why It Matters” introductory page that introduces students to the importance of the concepts in that section as well as a “Putting It Together” page that reviews many of the concepts from the module.

As a Waymaker course, this is customizable and delivered with user-friendly personalized learning tools to strengthen engagement and student success. There are formative self-check assessments ​and​ summative quiz questions that can be imported directly into the LMS.

About Lumen

Lumen Learning’s mission is to make great learning opportunities available to all students, regardless of socioeconomic background.

We do this by using open educational resources (OER) to create well-designed and low-cost course materials that replace expensive textbooks. Because learning is about more than affordability and access, we also apply learning science insights and efficacy research to develop learning activities that are engineered to improve subject mastery, course completion and retention.

If you’d like to connect with us to learn more about adopting this course, please Contact Us.

You can also make an appointment for OER Office Hours to connect virtually with a live Lumen expert about any question you may have. Available 2-5 pm ET / 11-2 pm PT Monday through Friday.