Sociology and Anthropology Department

The Sociology and Anthropology Department offers a major in sociology with two concentrations (medical sociology and social justice) and a minor in sociology. It also offers a major in anthropology/sociology and a minor in anthropology.

The department’s curriculum provides students with analytical skills and research techniques for understanding the cultural diversity of human behavior and social organization. Sociologists and anthropologists study the ways in which individuals, through their collective actions, create and change patterns of social relations. Both disciplines emphasize a critical, historical, and comparative perspective in their study of the way of life in contemporary societies. In their search for understanding, sociologists and anthropologists examine a variety of substantive areas, from family life to globalization and political change.

Course offerings are designed to provide: (1) a central component in a general liberal arts education; (2) a sound foundation for graduate study in sociology, anthropology, law, social work, criminal justice, public health, management, or any other profession requiring a sophisticated understanding of social processes and structures; (3) the development of writing, speaking, thinking, and research skills; and (4) courses for students who seek a concentration in such interdisciplinary programs as international and intercultural studies, women’s studies, cognitive studies, and peace studies.

A student may elect a sociology major or an anthropology/sociology major. Within the sociology major, a medical concentration or a social justice concentration may be specified. Specific programs tailored to the student’s interest and career goals are worked out with departmental advisers. Independent study at an advanced level and/or selected courses in another department may be elected for major credit if such courses are appropriate to the student’s program and approved by the chair of the department. Several sociology and anthropology courses are cross-listed under American studies, international and intercultural studies, international relations, Latin American studies, prelaw studies, and women’s studies.

Department Faculty

Professors

Janet H. Shope (sociology of medicine, women and development, inequality, and gender)

Associate Professors

Joan K. Burton, (social psychology, race and ethnicity, women and work, sociological theory, social movements), Mark Ingram (cultural anthropology, Europe, France, cultural policy), Jamie Mullaney, chair (cognitive, identity, family, qualitative methods)

Assistant Professors

Susan Frekko (cultural and linguistic anthropology, nations and publics, language ideologies, Catalonia), Rory Turner (cultural anthropology, anthropology of performance, ethnographic methods, folklore)

Lecturers

Stephen Berry (social work, child welfare), Patricia Greenberg (sociology of medicine), Mark Scully (law, juvenile justice, mental health)