Welcome to the Department of Sociology

The B.A. degree in either Sociology or Criminology provides students with broad exposure to disciplinary subject matter so they may analyze issues affecting their lives and society from a critical and informed perspective. This rigorous training prepares students for a variety of jobs or graduate education.

The Ph.D. degree provides student with the intellectual and professional expertise necessary to teach Sociology at the university level and conduct sociological research. In order to pursue the Ph.D. degree, students must first complete the MA degree. The department offers three substantive areas of concentration at the doctoral levels: (1) Criminology; (2) Race and Ethnic Relations; and (3) Medical Sociology. At the beginning of the 2006/2007 academic year there are 34 students enrolled in the graduate program.

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Featured Faculty Publication

John Murphy   View Profile

The Symbolism of Globalization, Development, and Aging sets out a provocative case for more socially conscious approaches to aging. Rather than merely critiquing the emerging youth-oriented global culture, the book reveals and refutes the assumptions that fuel global market ideals and stereotype the experience of aging to a specific set of developments. Its contributors argue that the social imagery of globalization normalizes longstanding inequities, particularly between generations, and marginalizes those who don't conform to its narrow confines. Running throughout these chapters is the strong assertion that reality is diverse, and that understanding the power of global forces will promote alternative contexts for more authentic aging. Thus the challenge is to professionals working with elders to look beyond the biomedical model that characterizes much of their fields. Featured topics include: Body image symbolism and global concepts of aging; The life-course perspective: defeating its purpose?; The human body and the corporate template of identity; Technology: the dark side of the new and now; Globalization ethics and the domination of youthfulness; and, Reconceptualizing aging: toward a post-market future.

Co-edited by Steven L. Arxer, a former graduate of the Sociology department