Sociology
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Why do I feel compelled to conform, yet want to “be myself?” What is going on in society? Where is it all going? What can be done to cope — to live a fuller life?
These kinds of questions focus on the moral and social implications of life and are addressed in the discipline of sociology at many levels and from many perspectives.
Sociology is the study of human interaction with respect to its social causes and consequences. Its subject matter ranges from intimate, personal, and family relationships to globalization issues; from marginality, deviance, and crime to communities and their environment; from the inequities due to race, social class, and sex to the shared beliefs of a common culture. Few disciplines have such broad scope and relevance. Indeed, sociology seems to offer something for everyone who is anxious to understand the web and rhythm of human behavior.
A career in sociology does not mean simply another academic career, although there will always be a need for good teachers and researchers in Sociology. Society is increasingly in need of people able to make sound moral judgments and to offer possible social solutions to the multiple and major social issues confronting us. As such, sociologists increasingly are involved in policy research, personnel work, and administration.
To live as a growing individual in our rapidly changing society requires a deeper and more integrated consciousness of self as a social being as well as an understanding of the social networks which affect life directly and indirectly.
Degrees Offered
MA, BA, Minor
Sociology (PDF)