mission

The Department of Sociology helps to prepare students to become thoughtful and engaged citizens in a complex and interdependent world. Students are provided with a firm understanding of the complex social structures and processes which connect their private lives and experiences to their present society as well as to the multi-varied customs of what is becoming a global society. More specifically, the mission of the department is to foster logical and analytical reasoning; the development of a socio/historical consciousness; an understanding of values and needs and their relationship to a variety of life situations; and the understanding of social scientific inquiry.

The integrating principle underlying the curriculum is the linkage between theory, methods, and specific areas of sociological inquiry. This process involves developing the capacities for conceptualizing problems, locating them within a general sociological paradigm, and pursuing answers based upon the application of rigorous methodological procedures.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE B.A. PROGRAM

1) To help students acquire the sociological perspective with its three central aspects: the link between private troubles and public issues (i.e., the individual experience and larger social processes); the preeminence of social structures and their influence; and the value of empirical analysis.

2) To contribute to students' liberal education characterized by: literacy; numeracy; skills in abstract logical thinking; historical consciousness; understanding science and scientific inquiry; values and their relationship to a variety of life situations; international and multicultural experience.

3) To help students develop knowledge and analytical skills necessary for successful careers in community agencies, government, private employment, and not-for-profit organizations.

4) To provide a foundation for graduate and professional education.