American University Catalog 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Sociology
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Chair Gay Young
Full-Time Faculty
Professor Emeritus/a E. Chow, J.C. Scott, J.K. Siegenthaler, R. Stone
Professor K. Blankenship, C.M. Pascale, G.A. Young
Associate Professor B. J. Dickerson, S. Vidal-Ortiz, C. Xiao
Assistant Professor N. Angotti, M. Bader, A. Brenner, E. Castaneda, M. Dondero, S. McDonic, M. Newton-Francis, R. Serhan
Scholars-in-Residence M. Biradavolu, J. Drysdale, R. Jalali
Sociology explores how individuals, through their collective actions, create and change patterns of social relations and how, in turn, these social relations influence people’s lives. Sociologists focus on three major levels of analysis, from whole societies as component parts of wider systems, to institutions as component sectors of society, to individuals as participants in two-person groups. They also study varied processes of social change, from migration to social mobility, from urbanization to mass communication. Finally, sociologists study a wide variety of themes, from racial and ethnic relations to social problems and political change. This quest for knowledge is both an end in itself and a pathway for informed social change.
The Department of Sociology of the College of Arts and Sciences shares a common purpose of education and research for social justice in an increasingly global social system. Faculty and students are empowered to participate in building equitable, humane, and sustainable social institutions by creating sociological knowledge and applying professional research skills to produce effective policies and programs for social change. One source of its strength is the department’s multicultural diversity, which its members take every opportunity to expand.
The Sociology Department serves the university, including students from throughout the world, as a center for the study of societal change, social institutions, and social processes, with an emphasis on inequality and social justice. Degree programs focus on forms of inequality, their origins and patterns or reproduction, related to issues of social justice, and how these issues vary within and between societies. They are intended to produce and apply knowledge for the benefit of society, not only to teach academic skills, but also to develop knowledge of value to those involved in working for the promotion of social equality. The programs prepare students for a variety of careers in social advocacy, research, teaching, human services, and both public and private sector policy-making institutions. Successful placements of the department’s graduates in academic, research, and policy-making institutions attest to the high standards our graduates meet.
The department’s focus on international and comparative sociology, the social dimensions of health, urban processes and structures, and public sociology are especially well suited to Washington, DC, an international capital and center for policy making. American University’s location provides unparalleled access to government, research institutions, data and archival sources, advocacy organizations, and leaders involved in social change.
The undergraduate program is unique in its emphasis on race, gender, social justice, global social change and applied sociology/social policy. Majors and minors take core course sequences in sociological theory and research methods, and courses from several areas of concentration. Membership in the American University chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international honor society in Sociology, is open to qualifying majors. The society sponsors lectures and other activities that involve undergraduates in the professional workings of the discipline.
The Department of Sociology’s graduate program consists of core training in sociological theory and research methods, plus areas of concentration in race, gender, and social justice; the social dimensions of health; urban communities and processes; global sociology; and social inequality. The program not only teaches academic skills, but also develops knowledge of benefit to those working for the promotion of social equality. Courses are designed to enable students to deepen their knowledge of a specialty area, to develop advanced and systematic theoretical understanding, and to develop methodological areas for vocational and professional competence.
Honors in Sociology
Honors in Sociology enhances the undergraduate research experience in the discipline as students engage in core activities of the field under the guidance of department faculty. In order to sharpen their research skills and deepen their theoretical understanding of topics relevant to their research, Honors students supplement three existing Sociology courses: either two methods courses and an advanced (400-level or above) elective or one methods course and two advanced (400-level or above) electives. These supplements put Honors students on the “path” for the senior Honors capstone which involves original social research mentored by a Sociology faculty member and presented to the faculty upon completion with the aim of submitting the final paper to an undergraduate research journal.
Students may apply to the program in the sophomore year (April 1) and no later than the junior year (October 15). In addition to having a 3.50 cumulative GPA and a 3.67 cumulative GPA in Sociology, applicants must complete a 100-level Sociology course with a grade of A- or better and a 200-level or 300-level course with a grade of A- or better. Applicants must also meet with two or more members of the FT faculty to discuss their ideas for their capstone research and prepare a short essay that indicates: their capacity for thinking sociologically and applying sociological principles; understanding of a motivation to investigate major concerns / questions in the discipline; and a demonstrable fit between student research interests and ongoing faculty research.
ProgramsMajorMinorMaster’s ProgramGraduate Certificate
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