The
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
The Department of Sociology & Anthropology, as
a department of social sciences, is within the College
of Sciences. The Department offers a major in Sociology,
a minor in Sociology, an interdisciplinary minor in Criminology, and an interdisciplinary minor in Anthropology.
Fourteen faculty members (12 sociologists and 2 anthropologists) provide
a wide range of courses within a sociology program that offers more
than 200 majors personal attention and frequent opportunities for faculty-student
interaction. Many of the faculty also have active research agendas that
afford interested and qualified students the opportunity to gain research
experience. Sociology students have opportunity to participate in a
number of departmental, extra-curricular activities. The Sociology Club is open to all sociology students, and the departmental chapter of Alpha
Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society, is open to all
qualified majors.
Departmental
Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
is to provide a comprehensive, undergraduate major in sociology while
also constituting a substantial presence in the university’s general
education curriculum, thus preparing students to contribute to the benefit
of community and society and to continue life-long learning in a changing
and diverse world. The Department places priority on excellence in teaching,
enhanced by student mentoring, and furthered by the intellectual inquiry
of research and service to the university, the community and the profession.
Departmental
Objectives
• Provide students with an understanding of the
organization, structure and change of society and the dynamic interplay
of these phenomena and human behavior.
• Teach students the analytical skills (theories, research methods,
critical thought) necessary to comprehend human relationships and the
influences of social forces on them.
• Inform students of opportunities in graduate school and in the
employment market.
What Is Sociology?
Sociology, a social science concerned with the systematic
study of human society and based on the scientific method of the natural
sciences, emerged in the nineteenth century. Sociology has since become
a respected disciplinary presence in the academy and one of humankind’s
major sources of self-awareness in the twenty-first century.
As Sociology developed, specialized subdisciplines
emerged, and there are now sociologies of science, crime and deviance,
politics, education, aging, sport, family, work and occupations, medicine,
organizations, collective behavior, environment and numerous other subfields.
Beyond the academy, Sociology finds application in areas such as minority
relations, city planning, policy development, industrial relations,
personnel relations, client/customer relations and advocacy.
What is Anthropology?
Anthropology, as a sister discipline to sociology, is also
a social science concerned with the systematic study of human society
and it, too, emerged in the nineteenth century. Historically, Anthropology’s
focus was on non-Western or traditional society (sometimes erroneously
referred to as exotic or primitive society). Like sociology, Anthropology
is a major source of humankind’s self-awareness in the twenty-first
century.
As Anthropology developed, the discipline became segmented
into four major areas: Cultural Anthropology (most similar to sociology);
Archaeology; Physical Anthropology; Linguistics. Each subfield may constitute
a distinct and discrete area of study.
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