Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Academic Programs

Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences (Open for Admission)

Hybrid
Progamme Accreditation
126 credits
For students entering the program at the Freshman level
(Please click here for more info on the Freshman program)
96 credits
For students entering the program at the Sophomore level
(holders of a recognized Baccalaureate or Freshman diploma - equivalent to 30 credits)

Courses

General Education Common Core
SOC325Psycho-Sociology of Communication
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PSY201
This course is divided into two parts. The first part includes a base of theoretical and conceptual skills of communication. This is how the communication will be detailed as a psycho-sociological object with its theories and ideologies, analyses of mass communication, psycho-sociological perspective, critique of contemporary currents analysis of communication and information, psycho­sociological reading of communication and professions. Analytical progress will be made on the study of public discourse in the media, and the media itself, through its policies, its positioning and audience. The second part focuses on practical skills. It includes listening, reformulation, argumentation, face to face communication, in groups or general public, as well as the mastery of oral intervention techniques to different types of audience and familiarization with media practices.
SOC360Social Sciences Methods
3 credits
This course familiarizes students with the various methods of research and analysis in the social sciences, and more specifically in sociology. Different methods will be illustrated with examples of sociological research. The course consists of three parts: a general introduction to social science research process; a presentation of the approach and systemic analysis; a deepening of quantitative and qualitative methods in sociology, such as structured interview, the survey (sample survey, etc.), observation, content analysis and focus group.
SOC218Statistics Applied to Human Sciences I
3 credits
Most of the analysis within human and social sciences and decision­making is founded on statistical data. Students work individually on data collected either in their research or in their professional lives. This course provides students with the tools and knowledge required to present, in tables and graphs, the data they have to handle, to analyze the characteristics of a statistical distribution to a character and to study the correlations between two variables. Particular attention is devoted to the choice of statistical methods and interpretation of results.
SOC318Statistics Applied to Human Sciences II
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: STA201 or SOC218
This course introduces students to the concepts of statistical inference essential to research in the humanities and social sciences. Students are often required to collect information on samples of individuals and not on the entire population. They learn to draw conclusions about the population they are interested in, from the data collected on samples with prudence and necessary rigor. For this purpose, this course introduces the students to the laws of probability, the estimation of population parameters by an interval of confidence and benchmark testing of two, as well as many mediums, by analysis of variance.
MTR222University Working Methodology
3 credits
This course will provide first year students in humanities with essential methods for the preparation of their work during the years of study at the University. These methods are common to all material and address different levels, ranging from exercises promoting correct educational attitudes in the introduction to the methods of work, the investigation of a text, and finally, to the mastery of speech essential to establish exchange with others, orally and in writing, and to assert with confidence and autonomy. In addition, the objectives of this course will address data essential for the design, drafting and the realization of research work.
Common Core Electives
PSY318Personality and Self-Development
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PSY201
The aim of this course is to explain the processes of personality construction through a progressive self­discovery. This is a multi­axial approach to the different dimensions of personality; its evolution and the interaction with the environment, will be addressed. This will provide a general overview of the concept of personality and its dynamic aspect from birth until old age. Also covered will be affective and social aspects in the relationship of the self to the world and, finally, “normal” vs. “pathological” personality development.
PSY330Social Psychology
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PSY201 Or SOC201
Firstly, this course explains the basic concepts in the various fields of social psychology, namely values, norms, opinions, attitudes and roles, social interactions, communication and information. The course then develops the group notion and covers its theoretical perspectives (cohesion, interaction process, conflicts and resistances, etc.) and group animation (methods, techniques and applications). The practice of social interactions is inherent to this teaching (role play, information clips, case simulations, etc.).
Specialization
SOC438Demographic Analysis
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC318
This course presents an overview of the techniques of demography, focuses on specific current issues of the demographic phenomena and analyzes their interdependence within social, economic and cultural characteristics of the observed society. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to collect the necessary demographic data to establish the main parameters (rates, ratios, tables, sex ratio, etc.), to build and analyze an age pyramid, to know the different sources of demographic data, to perform a population census, and to analyze the causes and consequences (social, economic, political) of demographic development.
SOC411Financial Economics
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC 402
This course introduces students in social sciences to the world of business and management. The main themes are: forms of enterprise, business management, general and analytical accounting financial profitability, the choice of investments, financial ratios and the banking sector. The course also aims to acquaint the students with the economic, financial, legal and social world and address business valuation, financial distress, the company's management and private accounting. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to implement the choices of financing.
SOC210Introduction to Anthropology
3 credits
This course focuses on the complex question of humans and the place of anthropology within the science of humanity. It addresses the key conceptual notions of anthropological reflection (society, myth, ritual, tradition, symbol, etc.). Similarly, the course presents the components of the research framework, both practical and theoretical, of anthropological study. It develops the basic foundation of the entire social system and proposes the discovery of trends of current anthropological topicality and openness to contemporary anthropology. Upon completion of this course students will be able to understand the concepts of anthropology and its fundamental concern that allows it to guard against social, cultural, sexist and racial prejudice.
SOC201Introduction to Sociology
3 credits
This course provides a basic knowledge of general sociology: a) it presents an overview of the context of the event­emergence of sociology on the basis of the main founders and focuses on methodological perspectives and applied sociological methods and techniques; b) it focuses on the key principles of social themes, which description and definition have fueled and fed the many debates that are changing the discipline in the vast corpus of scientific knowledge. This course provides students with general sociology elements, sensitizes their "sociological perspective" and develops their critical reflection on various social issues.
SOC423Organizational Sociology and Labor
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC201
This course provides a synthesis of different theories that explain structure, functioning and organizational transformation. In the first part, the course defines the field of analysis of the sociology of organizations as well as its main theoretical currents. In the second phase, it helps students comprehend the sociology of work in its various aspects and according to new trends (technology acceleration, globalization, current management of human resources, modern social stratification, activities of women, rising unemployment), i.e. according the professional development of trades. In a third part, students are required to perform an observation of a specific field, through the use of certain analytical models and key concepts, allowing them to sociologically analyze concrete organization and institutional environments.
SOC422Political Sociology
3 credits
The course focuses on a central theme: power. This topic is treated in two parts with sub­themes which graft onto the central issue of the course. Indeed, the notion of power is undeniably linked to politics in its relation to the state and the social actor, as explained in the first part of this course. It is also an object of reflection and questioning, as shown by the study of different thinkers and sociologists of the twentieth century, in the second part of the course. Students learn not only to handle the theoretical concepts but also to build their own reflection in a methodical way. Ongoing exchange is operated between ideas of sociological conceptualization and the political reality.
SOC435Social Protection Policy
3 credits
This course focuses on the various socio­economic issues of the policy of social protection. It processes the elements of information (actors, concepts, devices, tools) and susceptible analysis of students to enable them to participate effectively in the development of proposals for change in strategies and public policy environment, housing, and unemployment. Furthermore, it helps students to understand the components of community life and its challenges in the development of awareness necessary for a civil society. It thus explains the theoretical and practical elements necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the social security system, in order to locate public intervention in social protection. Upon completion of this course, the students will have acquired a capacity to analyze the existing associative dynamics in Lebanon.
SOC432Sociology of Conflict
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC201
The overall objective of the course is to enable students to acquire the skills needed to analyze the many inter­ and intra­societal conflicts. The course offers the challenge of a multidimensional approach: philosophical, sociological, psychological, political and otherwise. As a result, the four parts of the course present the root of the conflict phenomenon, the reasons of conflict, the conduct of conflict and conflict resolution. At the end of this course, students will be able to differentiate between the profound and circumstantial factors of conflict, to conceptualize the main theories of conflict, to identify elements of permanence and change in conflicts and carry out a critical analysis of this phenomenon and its future prospects.
SOC430Sociology of Religion
3 credits
The course aims to provide the students with an understanding of the social components of religion through the trends of thought and relevant sociological concepts. It also includes an analysis of contemporary social phenomena related to religion and an analytical positioning of the socio-cultural influences of religion in Lebanon.
SOC431Sociology of the Family
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC201
This course deals with the family in its various forms, which, while being universal, presents spatiotemporal peculiarities that the sociological analysis reveal, both structurally and functionally. The course offers a reflection on the circumstances and the contemporary transformations of the family institution (diversity of models, fragility of the marital bond, family recomposition), and draws a picture of sociological theories of the family, focusing on contemporary sociology specific to this area. Thus, the family, in new forms, appears as an element of sustainability among social turbulence, and as one of the pillars of postmodernism to study. It is therefore necessary to highlight the multiple varied relationships that link the family to the whole of society, with particular emphasis on the current situation of the family in Lebanon.
SOC310Sociology; Fundamental Concepts
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC201
This course is based on an analysis of the basic notions and concepts necessary for any approach or field of study and sociological research. It notes, therefore, differences between concepts "encompassed" and concepts of "inclusivity", in order to cover external phenomena/internal to corporations. It addresses notions and concepts such as: culture, civilization, collective belief, modernity, habitus, norm, compliance, status and role, value, socialization, classes and social elite, etc. It develops in students a critical perspective in its comprehension of all social reality. After the course, the students will have gained an inductive construction of the concepts discussed and a mode of sociological thinking.
SOC460Survey Techniques
3 credits
This course provides students with the basic knowledge essential to perform a survey in the service of a search. For this purpose, a knowledge of all stages of an investigation, of the preparation (setting objectives, questionnaire design, and choice of sampling method) is required to collect data and prepare students for the analysis and presentation of results. Students will also learn to use SPSS for compiling the data and the analysis of results.
SOC421The Sociology of Deviance
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: SOC201
The course focuses on causal theories and comprehensive theories of deviance. It includes, firstly, a sociological analysis of deviance and social control to capture the relationship between individual freedoms and collective constraints, and also a sociological analysis of integration and social exclusion, in order to explore the question of social ties within contemporary societies.
SOC426Theories and Practices of Development
3 credits
In the first part, the course deals with the development that emphasizes the human’s central place as a social being, as well as the state and political structures in the organization of collective action for development. It also addresses the development of the entire population, its human potential, and both physical and intellectual progress through education. In the second part, the course introduces the unidimensional theories, evolutionists and structuralists of development, as well as planning techniques and development of agrarian and industrial policies. In the third part, the theoretical, methodological and strategic foundations of community development will be addressed.
Capstone
SOC466Internship/Laboratory/Workshop
6 credits
The goal is to put into practice the theoretical and practical knowledge of the students in social sciences, and social intervention. This is the opportunity for immersing the students in the world of labor and this occurs through the following components: a) validating theoretical and practical knowledge and sharing experiences in an internship environment; b) designing the final report of internship that allows students to bring together their pre­professional practice with their achievements, in terms of knowing how to explain, how to write, how to design and how to negotiate.

Accreditation

This accreditation commission of evalag, Evalag-Baden-Württemberg http ://www.evalag.de, accredited this program and awarded the evalag international label for program accreditation.

Mission

The mission of the Social Science degree program is to train undergraduate students with skills to enable them to be teachers and future social actors who drive their companies toward a socially equitable development - civically, economically and politically. The students learns to deal with social issues and examine all forms of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean policy.
The Bachelor’s training prepares the students for research, particularly that concentrating on the exploration of their society; to engage in it as a promoters of progress, peace and development.
These skills empower students to integrate into the labor market, access higher education and excel in research.

Program Educational Objectives

1. Graduates will become teachers or trainers in the fields of social sciences in schools and public and private institutional spaces.
2. Graduates will become coordinators of research projects.
3. Graduates will become administrators responsible in the areas of planning and evaluation pertaining to action and social, socio­ economic and cultural politics.

Student Learning Outcomes

a. Students will identify the various social science disciplines through their history and their theoretical and conceptual orientations.
b. Define the flows and sociological concepts that form the basis of the Bachelor’s degree and introduce the Master’s program in Social Sciences.
c. Apply the concepts and theoretical approaches in the areas of specialization in social sciences.
d. Interpret theories of communication perceived as psycho-sociological objects and apply specific communication practices to the group or the general public.
e. Recognize the construction process of personality through the gradual conquest of self and in interaction with the social environment.
f. Adopt the methods, approaches and techniques of social sciences research within an epistemological and ethical perspective.
g. Implement statistical techniques of data collection and interpretation of results.
h. Conduct a survey and analyze the demographic data.
i. Implement the coordination of components of a research project.
j. Sociologically analyze a concrete organization and its institutional environment and distinguish the existing associative dynamics in Lebanon.
k. Correlate socio­economic theories and financial development and conflict with the components of business and community settings.
l. Validate training with a view to teaching or a social function.
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Tel.: (+961) 9 600 000
Fax : (+961) 9 600 100
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