The Introduction to Sociology course focuses on social relationships in a scientific manner. Themes of inequality, poverty, sexuality, and cultural patterns are explored. Areas studied include research; culture; socialization and the life course; social interaction, groups, and social structure; mass media and social media; deviance, crime, and social control; stratification and social mobility in the United States; Global inequality; racial and ethnic inequality; stratification by gender and sexuality; the family and household diversity; education and religion; health, population, and the environment; and social change in the global community. Theoretical approaches surrounding significant topics in the field of sociology are provided; research methods in Sociology are introduced. Basic concepts are defined; examples of abstract ideas are offered.