Sociology, BA

Department of Anthropology and Sociology
Mark Cohan, PhD, Chair

Objectives

Sociologists are fascinated by the fundamental question: why do people do what they do? Sociologists describe and explain the ecological foundations of society, major institutions and the ways in which people interact, organize their lives together and bestow meaning on the world. In so doing we seek a wider cross-cultural and multi-cultural understanding, striving to make people’s lives intelligible across the boundaries of culture, class, race, and gender.

Students are invited to develop their abilities to apply the sociological perspective to the study of social life. We seek to build a learning environment which will bring each student to a level of understanding and skill needed to apply that knowledge to furthering one’s career and bettering one’s life and society. We help prepare students for careers in human services, for graduate study in sociology, education and law. Internships match theory with practice by providing opportunities for on-the-job training.

We strive to help students make sense of their own lives and the world in which they live. We also want to empower them to see the possibilities and limits of social change and of service to others.