EdX

Introduction to Sociology (edX)

Introduction to Sociology (edX)

Learn how sociology applies to your everyday life and helps you better communicate and understand people and your environment.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Sociology is about people. Each individual is unique and idiosyncratic. Yet, when we come together for a common purpose, we try to conduct ourselves in a manner that will achieve mutually desired outcomes. Sometimes we manage to achieve this; sometimes we don’t. Sociology is about that process. By understanding sociology and how we interact with each other, you can yield more personal and professional success.

In this sociology course, you will learn about the social processes groups of all sizes follow to form, function and evolve over time. You will also learn about the ongoing dynamic individuals actively create in their social environment and how they are shaped by it. This course provides an understanding of how the formation and longevity of a society is possible when its members are diverse in their values, beliefs, preferences and agendas.
You will learn about group dynamics, skills for effective interaction in groups and organizations, and obtain a deeper understanding of how sociology applies to everyday life and current events.
Topics include:

  • Society
  • Culture
  • Socialization
  • Stratification and Inequality
  • Gender Roles
  • Major Social Institutions in the U.S. Including the Family, Government and Education System
  • Deviance and Social Control
  • Social Problems and Social Change

What you'll learn

  • Basic sociological theories and concepts
  • How sociology applies to everyday life and current events
  • Enhance your critical thinking and writing skills
  • Become more knowledgeable about and accepting of people who look different than you and have differing beliefs, opinions and perspectives
  • Improve your professional and personal communication skills
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Global Sociology (edX) EdX
Wellesley College,WellesleyX

Global Sociology (edX)

Connect your personal biography to global history as you develop your sociological imagination. Ever wondered why some countries are rich and others poor? Or why some people believe hard work results in upward mobility and others don’t? To answer these questions, you need to “see” the world sociologically.

No sessions available
4 Weeks
Teaching Migration Through Data and Storytelling (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
SOAS University of London,PositiveNegatives,MIDEQ

Teaching Migration Through Data and Storytelling (FutureLearn)

Explore how migration can be taught using both visual storytelling and big data sets. Help learners understand where, why, and how migration happens. There have been urgent recent calls for curricula to address issues of migration. Yet 78% of British teachers asked by the Runnymede Trust said they needed more support “to equip them to teach migration more sensitively and effectively.” On this course, teachers can develop their skills to explain where and why migration happens.

Dec 5th 2022
3 Weeks
Doing Gender and Why it Matters (edX) EdX
University of Hong Kong,HKUx

Doing Gender and Why it Matters (edX)

Understand gendered realities through an in-depth consideration of "sex" and "gender" as cultural, social and legal phenomena impacting society and how they interact with structures of power and violence using an interdisciplinary lens. The course is a comparative, interdisciplinary and cross-sector conversation which encourages reflective thinking about practices of gender. It courts and questions the fixity of language, traditions, laws, and practices as well as the resilience of stereotypes, biases, and structures which perpetuate myths, hierarchies and discrimination.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
The Economics of AI (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

The Economics of AI (Coursera)

The course introduces you to cutting-edge research in the economics of AI and the implications for economic growth and labor markets. We start by analyzing the nature of intelligence and information theory. Then we connect our analysis to modeling production and technological change in economics, and how these processes are affected by AI. Next we turn to how technological change drives aggregate economic growth, covering a range of scenarios including a potential growth singularity.

Nov 3rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development (Coursera)

We’re excited you’re here! This course, “Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development,” is the first course in the upcoming Sustainability and Development MasterTrack Certificate program (Fall 2020), but you can also take this course as a stand-alone learning opportunity.

Jul 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Concepts in Sustainable Development: An Introduction to the Key Issues (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leicester

Concepts in Sustainable Development: An Introduction to the Key Issues (FutureLearn)

Explore some of the key issues in sustainability, tackling the big questions with examples from around the world. Get an introduction to the key issues in sustainability. In this course you will study the conceptual foundations of sustainable development, and discuss the issues around sustainability as a complex problem.

Jan 25th 2021
5-12 Weeks
Global Inequality (edX) EdX
Wellesley College

Global Inequality (edX)

Explore how class, gender, and racial inequalities shape our personal and social worlds. When you notice inequality in your everyday life, do you ever wonder where it comes from, and what keeps it going? This sociology course introduces you to core concepts of class, gender, and racial inequality, and an approach to studying complex forms of inequality called intersectionality.

No sessions available
4 Weeks
Crafting Realities: Work, Happiness, and Meaning (edX) EdX
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore,IIMBx

Crafting Realities: Work, Happiness, and Meaning (edX)

Learn to create and experience your work as a joyful and meaningful activity - for yourself and others. This course draws upon positive psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and philosophy to guide participants in proactively crafting their own work experience. It weaves inputs from these various fields into a series of lectures and experiential exercises.

Self Paced
Self-Paced