American University Catalog 2017-2018 [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 Emerita B.J. Dickerson
Associate Professor 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 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 Sociology (BA) is unique in its emphasis on race, gender, social justice, global social change and applied sociology/social policy. Sociology (BA) and Sociology (Minor) students take core course sequences in sociological theory and research methods, and courses from various substantive areas. 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 Sociology Research and Practice (MA) is built on a foundation in theory and research in the discipline and centered around a core curriculum in the practice of sociological research. The latter is composed of courses that build on each other to develop research skills by immersing students in research that leverages the strengths of the Sociology Department’s Center on Health, Risk and Society (CHRS). Focusing on central issues in sociological analysis, particularly related to social inequalities of race/ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality, in the context of other sociological subfields, such as urban development, migration, education and social movements, the 30 credit program culminates in a project consistent with students’ aspirations and career goals.
Honors in Sociology
The Honors in Sociology program enhances the undergraduate research experience in the discipline as students engage in core activities of the field under the guidance of department faculty.
ProgramsMajor Program (UG)Minor (UG)Master’s Program (GR)Certificate (GR)
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