2016-2017 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
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Dr. Beth A. Eck, Department Head
Phone: (540) 568-7391
Email: eckba@jmu.edu
Location: Sheldon Hall, Room 212
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/socanth
Sociology Program
Dr. Benjamin Brewer, Coordinator
Phone: (540) 568-7391
Email: brewerbd@jmu.edu
Location: Sheldon Hall, Room 212
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/socanth
Anthropology Program
Dr. Liam Buckley, Coordinator
Phone: (540) 568-6171
Email: bucklelm@jmu.edu
Location: Sheldon Hall, Room 117
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/socanth
Sociology Program
Mission Statement
The mission of the sociology program is to develop students’ ability to analyze the social world by using diverse sociological theories and research methods that stress the importance of social, cultural and historical contexts for understanding relationships between social actors and structures.
Goals and Objectives
To fulfill its mission, the sociology program cultivates the sociological imagination, providing students the following sets of skills and experience. Upon completion of the B.A. or B.S. degree in sociology, students will be able to:
- Recognize and understand the social dimension of the human experience and the diverse social arrangements and practices found within and across societies and cultures.
- Recognize how developing a sociological lens is a practical skill for living a productive and meaningful life.
- Identify and understand sociology’s major theories, schools of thoughts and analytical paradigms.
- Identify and understand sociology’s origin, development and practice within its social and historical contexts.
- Demonstrate the use of skills in investigating the social world utilizing methodological components such as concept formation, measurement strategies, data analysis, summary and presentation of findings.
- Demonstrate the use of the scholarly tools needed to practice sociology, including rigor, perceptiveness, creativity, logical consistency, tenacity and discipline.
- Recognize the norms of the scholarly community and of a participatory society, including collegiality, openness to public scrutiny, testing reinterpretation and refutation.
Career Opportunities and Marketable Skills
Working as a professional sociologist most often requires a graduate degree, but the following careers, some supplemented with collateral training, are representative of our previous graduates.
- Teacher, professor, social worker, researcher, case manager, biostatistician
- Admissions officer, demographer, data analyst, personnel interviewer
- Nursing home director, hospice coordinator, day care provider/director, epidemiologist
- Mediator, congressional aide, writer/author, advocacy worker, job analyst
- Population specialist, management trainee, sociologist, market research analyst
- Secret service agent, customs/immigration officer, labor relations specialist
- Personnel administrator, public relations specialist, public health statistician
- Urban/regional planner, race relations specialist, underwriter, fundraiser
- Education specialist, community services director
- Criminologist, probation/parole officer, police officer, corrections officer
A major in sociology provides skills and perspectives that enhance all careers. Students who study sociology gain:
- Increased general knowledge.
- Broadened viewpoints informed by sociological perspectives.
- Sensitivity to organizational issues and social change.
- Abilities in critical thinking, analysis, writing and communication, examination of attitudes and values and enhancement of computer skills.
- Further information about careers in sociology is available from the American Sociological Association website under Careers and Jobs.
Co-curricular Activities and Organizations
Anthropology Program
Mission Statement
Anthropology is unique among the social sciences in that it celebrates humans as biological organisms and as innovative, creative, culture-bearing beings. Through course work, field schools, study abroad, independent studies and internships, students learn about cultural, linguistic, and biological diversity, human biological characteristics, and the human past as revealed by archaeology. The anthropology program provides globally-oriented courses that stress critical thinking, method and theory, gathering and interpreting data, intensive reading and writing, hands-on learning and the research methods and techniques used by anthropologists to understand contemporary human problems.
Goals
The Anthropology program has the following goals:
- To introduce students to the nature of culture and of diverse cultural systems, their social organization and how anthropologists interpret cultural differences and similarities.
- To introduce students to the relevance of human biology for understanding contemporary human populations and biological variation and disease and to provide them with the fundamentals of evolutionary theory and the fossil and genetic evidence that supports it.
- To develop student understanding of cultural origins and the development of human societies through the analysis of material remains (artifacts) left by prehistoric and historic cultures.
- To encourage an integrative approach to understanding the human condition that incorporates the contributions of all sub-disciplines of anthropology.
Career Opportunities and Marketable Skills
An undergraduate degree in Anthropology provides a solid foundation for a wide range of rewarding careers. Students with a B.A. or B.S. degree in anthropology have gone on to become:
- Graduate students in archaeology, cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistics and area studies programs.
- Professors of anthropology in each of the sub-disciplines
- Professional students in law, medicine, education, international affairs, public policy and public health
- Americorps and Peace Corps volunteers
- Archivists
- Business executives
- City planners and government officials
- College librarians
- Field archaeologists
- Cultural affairs directors
- Historical preservationists
- Museum and zoo curators and staff
- International aid workers and development consultants
- Management trainees
- Nurses, medical technicians and physicians assistants
- Forensic analysts
- Coroners
- Technical writers
- Conservation scientists and practitioners
The anthropology major is a liberal arts program that stresses such marketable skills as:
- Data analysis
- Computer skills
- Critical thinking
- Global knowledge
- Research skills
- Rigorous writing and presentation skills
Co-curricular Activities and Organizations
- Lambda Alpha, Anthropology Honors Society
- Student Anthropology Club
Programs- Anthropology Minor
- Anthropology, Archaeology Concentration, B.A.
- Anthropology, Archaeology Concentration, B.S.
- Anthropology, B.A.
- Anthropology, B.S.
- Anthropology, Biological Anthropology Concentration, B.A.
- Anthropology, Biological Anthropology Concentration, B.S.
- Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology Concentration, B.A.
- Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology Concentration, B.S.
- Sociology, B.A.
- Sociology, B.S.
- Sociology, Community Action and Evaluation Concentration, B.A.
- Sociology, Community Action and Evaluation Concentration, B.S.
- Sociology, Environment, Technologies and Innovations Concentration, B.A.
- Sociology, Environment, Technologies and Innovations Concentration, B.S.
- Sociology, Markets and Cultures Concentration, B.A.
- Sociology, Markets and Cultures Concentration, B.S.
- Sociology, Political and Global Analysis Concentration, B.A.
- Sociology, Political and Global Analysis Concentration, B.S.
- Sociology, Social Inequalities and Public Policy Concentration, B.A.
- Sociology, Social Inequalities and Public Policy Concentration, B.S.
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