sociology
Hocbigg - Sociology
Path to a free self-taught education in Sociology!
Contents
Summary
The Sociology curriculum is a complete education in Sociology using online materials.
This curriculum offers a comprehensive, self-paced, globally accessible sociology education equivalent to a 4-year undergraduate major (minus general-education courses). It uses high-quality open courses from MIT OCW, edX, Coursera, Harvard Open Learning, Open Yale Courses, Stanford Online, and authoritative textbooks where necessary.
The program emphasizes theory, research methods, data analysis, and substantive domains of sociological inquiry. It is designed for independent learners developing strong academic habits, critical reasoning, and the ability to interpret and conduct sociological research.
Note: When there are courses or books that don’t fit into the curriculum but are otherwise of high quality, they belong in extras/courses, extras/readings or extras/other_curricula.
Organization
- Intro Sociology: Orientation, foundational knowledge, and basic academic habits.
- Core Sociology: Canonical theories, research methods, statistics, and major subfields.
- Advanced Sociology: Elective specializations to build expertise.
- Final Project: A capstone research project suitable for sharing, peer review, or portfolio inclusion.
Duration. 1–2 years at ~20 hours/week, depending on pace and experience with research and writing.
Process. Students can work through the curriculum alone or in groups, in order or out of order.
- We recommend doing all courses in Core, only skipping a course when you are certain that you’ve already learned the material previously.
- For simplicity, we recommend working through courses (especially Core) in order from top to bottom. Some students choose to study multiple courses at a time in order to vary the material they are working on in a day/week.
- The courses in the Advanced section are electives. Choose one track to specialize in and complete all the courses listed under it.
Communities
- Forums:
- Subreddits:
- Other:
- You can also interact through GitHub issues. If there is a problem with a course, or a change needs to be made to the curriculum, this is the place to start the conversation. Read more here.
Curriculum
Intro Sociology
Essential orientation and foundational understanding of the discipline.
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Sociology – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 6–10 hrs/wk | none | MIT’s course titled “Anthropology” functions as an intro socio-cultural foundations. For classic sociology framing, pair with Yale below. |
| Introduction to Sociology – Yale OYC (Giddens/Collins tradition) | 24 lectures | ~8 hrs/wk | none | High-quality, canonical intro to sociology. |
| Learning How to Learn – Coursera | 4 weeks | 2–3 hrs/wk | none | Academic habits, spaced repetition, note-taking. |
Core Sociology
This corresponds to roughly years 1–3 of an undergraduate major.
Theory & Foundations
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical Sociological Theory (Textbook-based) | — | 5–8 hrs/wk | Intro | Primary text: Classical Sociological Theory by Calhoun et al. (best authoritative). Free alternative: Sociological Theory by George Ritzer (older editions often freely accessible via libraries). |
| Contemporary Sociological Theory (Textbook-based) | — | 5–8 hrs/wk | Classical Theory | Primary text: Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots by Ritzer & Stepnisky. Free alternative: older OER readers via Saylor Academy. |
Research Methods
(Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods)
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Science Research – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 8–10 hrs/wk | none | Strong intro to research design. |
| Qualitative Research Methods — Harvard (Free) | 12 weeks | 5–8 hrs/wk | none | Interviews, ethnography, coding. |
| Quantitative Methods for Social Sciences — edX (Harvard) | 10 weeks | 8–10 hrs/wk | High-school algebra | Strong applied quantitative thinking; though designed for biology, the methods generalize to social research. |
Statistics & Data Skills
Essential for modern sociological work.
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics and R – Harvard edX | 4–8 weeks | 4–6 hrs/wk | none | Practical stats for social sciences. |
| Data Analysis for Social Scientists – MITx | 14 weeks | 10–14 hrs/wk | intro stats | MIT-level, rigorous. |
| [Sociology of Data: Computational Literacy (Textbook-based)] | — | 3–6 hrs/wk | some R | Suggested text: Data Feminism (MIT Press, free open access). |
Substantive Core Areas
Canonically required in most undergraduate programs.
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Stratification – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 6–10 hrs/wk | Intro, Theory | Inequality, class, occupation. |
| Race and Ethnicity – Stanford Online (YouTube/Stanford) | ~10 weeks | 4–6 hrs/wk | none | Lectures from a top set of scholars; no formal assignments. |
| Gender & Society – MIT OCW | 12 weeks | 5–8 hrs/wk | none | Feminist theory and gender dynamics. |
| Urban Sociology – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 6–10 hrs/wk | none | Global urbanization, cities. |
| Global/Social Change – Coursera | 7 weeks | 3–5 hrs/wk | none | Globalization, development, transnational processes. |
Advanced Sociology
Choose one specialization and complete all its courses. These mirror final-year undergraduate concentration tracks.
Culture, Identity & Social Theory
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Anthropology of Politics – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 6–10 hrs/wk | Core theory | Identity, power, symbolic systems. |
| Social Psychology – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 8–10 hrs/wk | none | Sociological social psychology complement. |
| Textbook: Cultural Sociology by Jeffrey Alexander et al. | — | — | Theory sequence | Authoritative text for cultural-sociology frameworks. |
Inequality, Organizations, & Labor
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work, Employment & Society – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 6–10 hrs/wk | none | Sociological approaches to labor. |
| Social Movements – Coursera | 6 weeks | 4–6 hrs/wk | Intro | Collective action, mobilization. |
| Textbook: Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems (Scott & Davis) | — | — | none | Leading organizational sociology text. |
Globalization, Development, & Environment
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Development – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 6–10 hrs/wk | none | Development theory and policy. |
| [Environmental Sociology (Textbook-based)] | — | 5–8 hrs/wk | Core theory | Primary text: The Environment and Society by Dunlap & Catton. |
| Global Inequality – LSE on EdX | 8 weeks | 6–8 hrs/wk | none | Cutting-edge global sociology. |
Digital Society & Technology
| Courses | Duration | Effort | Prerequisites | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Network Science – MIT OCW | 14 weeks | 8–12 hrs/wk | quant methods | Foundations of social networks. |
| Computational Social Science – Coursera (choose 1–2 courses) | variable | 4–6 hrs/wk | some stats | Practical computational approaches. |
| Textbook: Society Online (Robinson et al.) or Digital Sociology (Lupton) | — | — | none | Key conceptual frameworks. |
Final Project
Working in progress
Congratulations
After completing the requirements of the curriculum above, you will have completed the equivalent of a full bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Congratulations!