Faculty: Khan, Chair; Bissler, Cribbs, Freelin, London, and Forbes.
(Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology)
Sociology and anthropology involve the systematic study of social life and culture in order to understand the causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists and anthropologists study the structure and processes of nonindustrialized and industrialized societies in the United States and around the world. They examine how culture, social structures (groups, organizations, and communities) and social institutions (family, education, religion, etc.) affect human attitudes, actions, and life-chances. Sociology and anthropology combine scientific and humanistic perspectives.
Drawing upon various theoretical perspectives, sociologists and anthropologists study such areas as culture, socialization, crime, deviance, inequality, health and illness, family patterns, law, social change and race, and ethnic relations. Combining theoretical perspectives with empirical research allows students an opportunity to develop new insights into their own lives as well as the forces that shape everyday life in society.
The sociology/anthropology curriculum prepares the student for both academic and applied research careers. It offers an essential liberal arts background for many careers and professions, including public service and administration, communications and public relations, law, business, medicine, journalism, arts management, environmental science, and other professions. The department offers both a major and minor in sociology and anthropology. Our faculty are also centrally involved in the Colleges programs in Black Studies, Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, and Environmental Studies. Most courses count for one or more of the C21 requirements.
The theoretical and methodological courses in the curriculum provide intensive instruction in the application of sociological and anthropological theory and methodology. The theoretical courses provide an intensive examination of the various sociological and anthropological perspectives on human social behavior and on the social systems we create. They evaluate the different ways these perspectives gather and use evidence to make inference about the world in which we live. The department also offers extensive instruction and experience in research design and methodology including courses in quantitative research methods, qualitative and survey methodologies, social statistics, and computer approaches in social research.
The department offers many other opportunities for interested students to engage in research and practice outside of the classroom. The field study and internship programs provide opportunities for application of the theoretical and methodological principles learned in the classroom. These programs encourage students to explore careers that may interest them and gain valuable experience toward employment after college.
The grade point average for coursework comprising the major or minor, must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade below C-.
SOCI 200 - Foundations of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology (3 Hours)
A rigorous team-taught survey course designed to provide prospective majors or minors with appropriate preparation for further study in sociology and anthropology. This course provides an introduction to sociological and anthropological theory, methodology, and research findings. Topics covered may include: methods of social research, cultural anthropology, structure and inequality, criminology and social control, and medical sociology/anthropology. This course is required for many courses in the department above the 200 level. C21:DI,HC,SS.
Curriculum: DI,HC,SS
SOCI 201 - Success Strategies in Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology (1 Hour)
Success Strategies in Sociology and Anthropology is intended for sociology/anthropology and criminology majors. The course introduces students to significant concepts and issues in the disciplines, and assists students with identifying practical applications and careers for graduates with a sociology/anthropology major. The course exposes students to skills and strategies necessary for successful entry into internships, the work force, and graduate schools.
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 200 and limited to Junior and Senior sociology/anthropology and criminology majors and minors
SOCI 202 - Sex and Culture (3 Hours)
This course is meant to be an introduction to the fundamentals of human sexuality while accentuating a cross-cultural perspective on human sex as well as the categories of gender in various cultures worldwide. This course reviews important themes in human sexuality and covers interdisciplinary materials in order to introduce essential subjects for the college student, such as the anatomical, physiological, and emotional aspects of sexuality; also sexually transmitted diseases, sex on campus, variations in sexual behavior, and sexual health. Also through additional readings and ethnographic material, the course will critically situate North American ideas of sexuality by emphasizing a culturally relative perspective on sex and gender. C21:GE,NW,SS.
Cross-list: GSWS 202
Curriculum: GE,NW,SS
SOCI 212 - Sociology of the Family (3 Hours)
This course analyzes the structure and functions of the family, with emphasis on the changing nature of the family in our society. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of family structures and to analyze values underlying family dynamics and change. C21:CL,DI,SS.
Curriculum: CL,DI,SS
SOCI 215 - Cultural Anthropology (4 Hours)
This course is an introduction to cultural anthropology, with an emphasis on the diversity of cultures. The cultures studied range from preliterate to industrialized. C21:GE,NW,SS.
Curriculum: GE,NW,SS
SOCI 217 - Social Problems (3 Hours)
This course surveys, from a number of theoretical perspectives, the nature and range of social problems, the conditions that give rise to them, and the methods by which society attempts to cope with them. C21:CL,DI,SS.
Curriculum: CL,DI,SS
SOCI 220 - Linguistic Anthropology (3 Hours)
The study of the role of language in culture is one of the most exciting inquiries in the social sciences because it touches on a variety of human behaviors – from the evolutionary basis of social behavior and childhood language acquisition, to communication across differences of social status, gender, race and age, and the human capacity to speak multiple languages, including gestural languages that don't require speech at all. The study of language has two interwoven elements: the social – how we learn and use language with parents, peers and within social structures; and the biological – how evolution equips us not only with the "body stuff" to produce language – our vocal and gestural anatomy - but the "brain stuff" as well. It follows that the central pair of questions guiding this course are: how did we get to be the only creatures on Earth who use such sophisticated communication, and how has language enabled us to build and maintain civilizations in light of language's capacity to facilitate both collaboration and conflict? Topics will include the origin and evolution of language, language acquisition in children, the differences and universals in languages across the globe, the potential for non-human animals to learn language, the connection between a particular language and how the social and natural worlds are perceived, language's potent role in politics, how cultural identity and prejudice are manifest through language, and the integral part language plays in human interaction, status, and power. C21:HC,SS.
Curriculum: HC,SS
SOCI 221 - Childhood and Society (3 Hours)
This course explores childhood through a sociological perspective; it examines the concepts, theories, and empirical research within the sociological study of childhood. The course examines theoretical approaches to understanding childhood, how and why the meaning of childhood changes over time, space, and social context, and the social inequalities that shape the lives of children in the United States. Building on the theme of social inequality, the course then considers special topics such as socialization, social media and popular culture, play, physical and social health, immigration, education, and social policy. C21:CL,DI,SS.
Curriculum: CL,DI,SS
SOCI 222 - Popular Culture (3 Hours)
This course is an introduction to critical issues in the study of recent popular culture. Popular culture is a reflection of society, portraying and/or distorting reality in multifaceted ways. This course will utilize major sociological theoretical perspectives, empirical work, and methods to study popular culture. This class will analyze the impact of structure and culture on popular culture (and vice versa) to try to understand the social significance of popular culture. Popular culture will be examined as a social construction and will be critically assessed by analyzing definitions, contextual importance, and the creation of popular culture through interaction. How social inequalities may be created, reinforced or perpetuated by popular culture will be a main focus as well as its role in social resistance and change. C21:DI.
SOCI 225 - Introduction to African-American Studies (3 Hours)
This course is an interdisciplinary examination of theorizing, cultures, ideas, and significant events connecting African-descended people in roughly the last 500 years. Given Black Studies’ historical roots as an intellectual development out of African American political protest, this version of the course will analyze material from and about the Black Atlantic world, but especially that from the United States. The goal of this course is to offer a primer of major ideas and themes of Black experiences, histories, politics, and cultures created out of the experience of encounter with the White “West”. It is not a comprehensive study of any element of Black politics, sociology, history, etc. or groups of Black people, rather it is an entry point to deeply consider the world in various spaces and times from diverse Black perspectives. The method of this course will be to observe and critically examine ideas across time and geographies via themes in writing, cultural products, and events, primarily. In this course, we will explore the questions: How did Blackness become an identity? How have Black peoples seen themselves? How have Black peoples expressed themselves and from whence? How has gender shaped Black experiences, histories, and politics? What is the meaning of “freedom” and why such persistent talk about it? What continues to connect African descended peoples of the world? C21:DI,HC,HU.
Cross-list: BLST 201
SOCI 240 - Indigenous Peoples and the Environm (3 Hours)
Indigenous Peoples and the Environment will take a cross-continental and culturally comparative approach to explore the unique environmental perspectives Indigenous communities and traditions offer through land-based practices rooted in social, cultural, and spiritual relationships to geography and place. Within the historical and social context of modernity and colonialism, students in this class will deepen their understanding of cultural ecology by becoming familiar with how traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous biocultural heritage intersect with environmental restoration, food sovereignty, stewardship of ancestral lands and sacred sites, and environmental justice and activism. C21: GE,SS,NW,WA
Curriculum: GE,SS,NW,WA
SOCI 247 - Social Inequality (3 Hours)
Sociology is the study of the social world: how we create patterns through our individual behaviors, how we interact with one another, how society influences people, and how we influence the larger social structure. Sociology is a broad discipline, that examines questions related to various social locations and cultural phenomena. This course is designed to help you start to see the world sociologically, think through social problems sociologically, and see patterns in human social behavior. This course will introduce students to the diversity of human cultural experiences in the contemporary world. The goals of the course include gaining an appreciation for the common humanity and uniqueness of cultures; gaining sensitivity toward stereotypes and ethnocentrism; and understanding how privilege and oppression intersect in our daily lives. C21:CL,DI,EL,SS.
Curriculum: CL,DI,EL,SS
SOCI 281 - T:Special Topics (3 Hours)
These courses focus on areas of Sociology and Anthropology not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students. Counts on the Sociology major in the Anthropology group.
SOCI 282 - T:Special Topics (3 Hours)
These courses focus on areas of Sociology and Anthropology not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students. Counts on the Sociology major in the social dynamics group.
SOCI 293 - Human Rights:Culture and Conflict (3 Hours)
This travel course to the Netherlands addresses the topic of human rights from an anthropological perspective. Students will learn about efforts to use human rights law and institutions to address pressing issues such as gender-based violence, war crimes, genocide, and human trafficking. The Netherlands is home to the International Criminal Court, the Anne Frank House, and many non-governmental organizations devoted to promoting human rights and social justice. Through site visits and meetings with Dutch experts and activists, students will study Dutch perspectives on human rights and how they compare with views in the United States. Through structured activities and informal contact, students will engage with Dutch culture and get to know this beautiful and welcoming country. Students will grapple with the following questions: Are universal human rights really possible in a culturally diverse world? Do human rights (and the institutions that formulate and enforce them) help protect all people from violence and abuse, or do they privilege some people and cultural values over others? Can we understand through research why human rights violations persist in the modern world, and find ways to protect people more effectively? Relying on the anthropological concepts of cultural relativism, comparativism, and holism, students will learn how to conduct original research in the Netherlands as they seek to answer these questions. We will spend most of our time in Amsterdam and The Hague, with opportunities to visit smaller towns as well. C21:EL,GE,SS.
Curriculum: EL,GE,SS
SOCI 300 - Methods of Social Research (4 Hours)
This course analyzes the aims, scope, and methods of scientific inquiry into the nature of society and social behavior. The course includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: the logic of empirical social inquiry; methods used to collect qualitative and quantitative data; techniques of analyzing qualitative and quantitative data; and the principles of interpreting data for purposes of description and hypothesis-testing. Student projects in participant observation, construction of survey questionnaires, interviewing, and computer analysis are an integral part of the laboratory portion of the course. Three lectures and a one-hour laboratory session per week. Not open to freshmen. C21:EL.
Prerequisite(s): any 200-level course in sociology or criminology
Curriculum: EL
SOCI 301 - Sociological Theory (4 Hours)
This course surveys social theory from its beginning up to modern social inquiry. Students will be expected to discover the relationships among theorists' assumptions and their macrosociological theories and case studies, and those between empirical research and theory.
Prerequisite(s): any 200-level course in sociology or criminology
SOCI 317 - Social Stratification (3 Hours)
Social Stratification" is a core sociological concept and reveals the idea that, as social beings, we have historically hierarchically arranged ourselves unequally. This course explores modern and classical explanations of the causes of inequality; focuses on how valued resources are distributed; and examines how class, race, gender, and other axes of stratification influence inequality. This course will challenge preconceived understandings of social locations and push you to think analytically about how social identities intersect and influence opportunities and outcomes.
Prerequisite(s): Any BLST, SOCI, or CRIM course
SOCI 324 - Social Perspectives on Motherhood (3 Hours)
This course explores U.S. motherhood as a socially constructed institution and set of practices. Students will examine the social context that shapes contemporary social expectations and experiences surrounding motherhood. Students will become familiar with diverse social and cultural perspectives on birthing, breastfeeding, and mothering. Intersecting systems of power such as gender, sexuality, social class, race-ethnicity, ability, and age will be considered as we discuss topics such as fertility rates and infertility, poverty and welfare, incarceration, postpartum maternal health, work-family balance, state policy, and single-mothering. C21:DI,HC,SS.
Prerequisite(s): Any BLST, SOCI, GSWS, or CRIM course
Curriculum: DI,HC,SS
SOCI 325 - Intersectionality:Theory/Practice (3 Hours)
This course examines intersectionality, a theoretical and methodological paradigm that explores the ways in which interlocking systems of power are constitutive of identities, experiences, and inequalities. The course focuses on the foundational writings of women of color, exploring the historical and theoretical underpinnings of intersectionality as a concept and body of interdisciplinary scholarship. It also provides an introduction into research foregrounding how multiple dimensions of inequality interact to organize both everyday experiences and social institutions. It explores intersectionality as an analytical and activist tool for identifying and dismantling social oppression, especially the systemic oppression(s) experienced by women of color in the United States.
Prerequisite(s): Any BLST, SOCI, GSWS, or CRIM course
SOCI 328 - Environmental Anthropology (3 Hours)
Environmental Anthropology is a sub-field of anthropology whose central focus is the social study of relationships between humans and their environment. Using the analytical tools of Anthropology, Environmental Anthropology seeks to understand how people’s relationships with the ecology of their environments shape cultures and the role culture plays in shaping human connections to geographies and ecosystems. In this course, students will gain insight into the history of this field, its evolving theories and practices, and its application and relevance to contemporary environmental and social justice questions and challenges. By questioning what we think we know about nature vs culture, students will investigate the diversity of meaning societies give to nature, biodiversity, and conservation alongside exploring the impact of human societies on planetary systems. C21:GE,SS,WA.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level course in SOCI, CRIM, EVST
SOCI 330 - Peoples of Africa (3 Hours)
This course serves as an introduction to African society and culture from an historical, anthropological, and sociological perspective. Relying on fiction and ethnography as well as research literature from several disciplines, it takes four complementary approaches to understanding Africa. The first, "mythbusting" approach, challenges the misconceptions many Americans hold about Africa. The second, historical approach, identifies the transformations and influences from the past that shape contemporary life in Africa. The third, case study approach, highlights the great range of diversity on the African continent socially, culturally, and politically. Finally, the course takes a critical and analytical approach to understanding social problems in Africa and identifying potential solutions. Counts on the major in international studies/Africa and the African Diaspora emphasis. Offered alternate years. C21:CC,NW.
Prerequisite(s): Any BLST, SOCI, or CRIM course
Curriculum: CC,NW
SOCI 331 - Peoples of Latin America (3 Hours)
This course offers an overview of contemporary Latin American cultures through readings, visual documentaries, and group projects. After briefly examining the history of the region, we will turn to contemporary issues such as ecological sustainability, the changing nature of peasant societies, issues of ethnicity and identity, popular forms of religion, the changing role of women, life in the region's growing megalopolises, and the resistance and struggle of Latin American peoples for a democratic and just society. Counts on the major in international studies/Latin America emphasis. Offered alternate years. C21:GE,NW,SS.
Prerequisite(s): Any Sociology or Criminology course
Curriculum: GE,NW,SS
SOCI 340 - Gender, Sex and Society (3 Hours)
This course offers a sociological and anthropological analysis of the status of women in the U.S. and cross-culturally. Special emphasis is placed on the role culture and socialization play in determining women's interaction patterns and society's response to them. The course will use an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the social sciences and the humanities to determine how women develop cultural, sociological, and historical realities. Offered alternate years. C21:CL,DI,OC,SS.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level SOCI or CRIM course
SOCI 342 - Race and Ethnic Relations (3 Hours)
This course presents the major concepts and methods developed for gaining insight into dominant-minority relations. It considers the past and present positions of ethnic and racial minorities in historical and cross-cultural perspective. C21:CL,OC,SS.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level SOCI or CRIM course
SOCI 380 - T:Special Topics (3 Hours)
These courses focus on areas of sociology not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students.
SOCI 381 - T:Special Topic (3 Hours)
These courses focus on areas of Sociology and Anthropology not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students. Counts on the Sociology major in the anthropology group.
SOCI 382 - Special Topics (3 Hours)
These courses focus on areas of Sociology and Anthropology not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students. Counts on the Sociology major in the social dynamics group.
SOCI 383 - Special Topics (3 Hours)
These courses focus on areas of Sociology and Anthropology not specifically covered in the general curriculum and are designed to meet the needs of advanced students. Counts on the Sociology major in the crime and justice group.
SOCI 400 - Power, Politics and Ideology (4 Hours)
This is an upper-level reading and research-intensive course designed to help students understand and analyze the political world from an informed and critical position, to give students an overview of some of the ways sociologists think about power and politics, and to provide students with the tools for understanding their relationship to the political world. In particular, this course considers the many processes that influence the political system and political outcomes, such as: the power and resources of groups (e.g., corporations, interest groups), individual voting and civic participation, the activities of protestors and social movements, the advice of policy experts and scientists, the expansion of a global economy and cultural system, and others. By drawing on the insights of sociology, we are better able to understand these processes, and thus gain a better understanding of how the political system works. Much of the focus of the course is on the United States and the global socio-political system, but we also explore developments in other countries. Offered infrequently. Four hours. C21:CS,EL.
Curriculum: CS,EL
SOCI 420 - Law and Society (4 Hours)
This course examines the reciprocal relationship between culture and the law. It focuses on both the United States and a number of cross-cultural case studies. Topics include: comparative legal systems, conflict resolution and mediation, race and gender, and human rights. This is an anthropology course that also includes interdisciplinary perspectives from sociology and related disciplines. Offered alternate years. C21:CS,EL.
Curriculum: CS,EL
SOCI 430 - Health, Illness and Healing (4 Hours)
This course is an upper-level reading and research-intensive survey of sociological and anthropological ideas and theories about health and illness. In particular, the course looks at medicine from a cross-cultural perspective, focusing on the human, as opposed to biological, side of things. Students learn how to analyze various kinds of medical practice as cultural systems. Particular emphasis is placed on Western (bio-medicine); students examine how biomedicine constructs disease, health, body, and mind, and how it articulates with other institutions, national and international. Topics of study will include, but are not limited to, nature of disease, the doctor-patient relationship, the structure and dynamics of health care facilities, the structure and role of medical occupations and their occupational ideologies, the growth of medical technology and its challenge to medicine's moral stability, the medical research process (including ethical issues), problems of discrimination and inequality, as well as health care policy. It is likely to be of interest to sociology majors and students intending to pursue a career in the health professions. Offered alternate years. Four hours. C21:CS.
SOCI 440 - Environmental Justice (4 Hours)
In 1962 the publication of Rachel Carson's SILENT SPRING rekindled the American public's concern about our environment. It is considered to be the catalyst for the contemporary environmental movement. More recently Wendell Berry wrote in "The Body and the Earth" that the way we are living creates serious, fundamental problems–the breakdown of families and marriage, communities, our spiritual, emotional and physical health, and of the earth's ecosystems. Implicit in his holistic critique is C. Wright Mills' "sociological imagination" that can link personal troubles, environmental problems and the way society is organized. The three main goals of this course are as follows: 1) acquaint the student with sociological perspectives on the relationship between society and the environment; 2) use these perspectives and concepts to analyze issues or problems like global warming and population growth; and 3) encourage critical thinking in considering alternatives in values/ethics, social practices/behavior, and policy. Offered alternate years. C21:CS,EL.
Curriculum: CS, EL
SOCI 450 - Field Studies in Sociology and Anthropology (3 Hours)
This course provides an opportunity for interested students to gain practical experience with the application of sociological theories, methodologies, principles, and techniques to actual research situations in the field. Does not count towards the SOCI 400 level course requirement or the departmental capstone requirement. One term only. Junior and senior sociology majors. C21:EL.
Curriculum: EL
SOCI 451 - Field Study Sociology (3 Hours)
This course provides an opportunity for interested students to gain practical experience with the application of sociological theories, methodologies, principles and techniques to actual research situations in the field. One term only. Junior and senior sociology majors. C21:EL.
Curriculum: EL
SOCI 455 - Internship in Sociology and Anthropology (3 Hours)
Students in this course are placed in a social agency or business and follow an arranged set of readings relevant to their internship experience with their instructor and site supervisor. Open to junior and senior sociology majors. Application required; see Internship Program. Does not count toward the 400-level course requirement or the departmental capstone requirement. C21:EL.
Curriculum: EL
SOCI 457 - Internship Soc/Anthro (Paid) (3 Hours)
With prior approval, students may earn Experiential Cross Area Requirement (CAR) credit and transcript notation for one credit hour for a paid internship. To qualify for experiential credit a student must have completed 48 semester hours of work prior to the beginning of the internship and be in good academic standing (not on academic probation) at the time of application and at the start of the internship. Registration and application procedures are similar to those for academic internship courses. Satisfactory completion of a paid internship requires a minimum of 130 hours (160 recommended) working at the host site, a reflective daily journal, a final written report, and a satisfactory evaluation from the site supervisor. C21:EL
Curriculum: EL
SOCI 460 - Sociological and Anthropological Practice (3 Hours)
This course asks students to build on their previous coursework in sociology and anthropology, including the study of methods and theory. The course is designed around an original research project that the student will select in consultation with the instructor. The course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to synthesize, integrate, and assess what they have learned in sociology and anthropology while critically reflecting on the role and contributions of the disciplines. Students are required to use 1) the tools of a liberal arts education (i.e. reading comprehension and critique; oral and written communication ; analytical reasoning; and critical thinking ) and 2) the specific content, methodologies, and theoretical perspectives of sociology and anthropology. Interested students must meet with the instructor to discuss potential topics before the beginning of the semester. A research proposal must then be submitted and approved prior to registration. SOCI 460 may meet the major requirement of a course at the 300-level or above. Offered every semester. C21:EL.
Curriculum: EL
SOCI 496 - Senior Project (3 Hours)
This two-semester sequence allows qualified senior majors in the department to research a topic intensively and independently. A formal paper and an oral examination are required. Majors who intend to attempt a senior project are urged to notify the department of their intention during the spring term of their junior year at the latest. Senior sociology majors. Student earns a total of six hours for the full senior project experience (496, 497, and 498). C21:CS,EL.
Curriculum: CS,EL
SOCI 497 - Senior Project (3 Hours)
This two-semester sequence allows qualified senior majors in the department to research a topic intensively and independently. A formal paper and an oral examination are required. Majors who intend to attempt a senior project are urged to notify the department of their intention during the spring term of their junior year at the latest. Senior sociology majors. Student earns a total of six hours for the full senior project experience (496, 497, and 498). C21:CS,EL.
Curriculum: CS,EL
SOCI 498 - Senior Project (3 Hours)
This two-semester sequence allows qualified senior majors in the department to research a topic intensively and independently. A formal paper and an oral examination are required. Majors who intend to attempt a senior project are urged to notify the department of their intention during the spring term of their junior year at the latest. Senior sociology majors. Student earns a total of six hours for the full senior project experience (496, 497, and 498). C21:CS,EL.
Curriculum: CS,EL