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Sociology & Anthropology
Welcome to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. As an interdisciplinary department, we offer students a unique opportunity to explore the social world through distinct but related branches of knowledge in the social sciences.
We seek to understand society and culture through a comparative and historical perspective. The curriculum is designed to foster students’ understanding of the social construction of difference; entrenched systems of inequality and oppression; and the dynamics of local and global power asymmetries.
Our wide range of courses focus on understanding contemporary social issues, both in the U.S. and around the world. Majors learn how to apply theoretical debates in sociology and anthropology to the investigation of social life and develop critical insights into possibilities for social change.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and explain systems of inequality and the dynamics of local and global relations of power and resistance.
- Articulate the constructed nature of race, gender, ethnicity, and class and their reproduction across time and place.
- Demonstrate knowledge of major theoretical perspectives and their impact on empirical inquiry.
- Develop competence in the use of research methods and tools of knowledge production.
- Analyze and critically assess information about the social, cultural, and natural world to envision constructive social change.
- Apply discipline specific knowledge to students' lived experiences online and in their local and global communities.
The Department’s curriculum features multiple opportunities for connecting classroom learning with community engagement. Students are encouraged to pursue study abroad, community-based research, internships, as well as independent study and thesis options.