Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The basic challenge in sociology and anthropology is to understand ourselves and others more fully. Both disciplines ask us to probe beneath the surface and to question why people behave as they do, especially in group situations. The sociological perspective asks us to question the taken-for-granted, to ask why our society operates as it does and how our social arrangements could be different. Similarly, anthropologists hope that by understanding other cultures, we can come to a better understanding of our own culture and, eventually, of ourselves.
The Sociology/Anthropology program at Wooster stresses, above all, the value of learning how to deal with contemporary social issues and how to develop problem-solving and research skills, including the use of computers.
Following completion of the major, Sociology and Anthropology majors should be able to:
Be able to indicate the kinds of questions that would be asked by someone in the discipline when trying to understand a social issue, arrangement or behavior.
Exhibit an awareness of major social and cultural variations within society and the interrelationships between structures, cultures and individuals within and between societies.
Be familiar with the discipline’s methods, when each can be used appropriately, and be able to demonstrate appropriate usage in practice.
Be familiar with the discipline’s major theories, for anthropology majors this includes an awareness of primary subfields. Students should also be able to express how the theories and subfields would be similar and/or different in their understanding of a topic and be able to demonstrate appropriate application in practice.
Be able to understand and critique the content of scholarly articles employing a range of disciplinary methods and perspectives.
Be able to develop, organize, and complete a research project and present it systematically in a paper that includes a critical review of past research on the subject, an effective application of theories to the issue, appropriate collection of data, clear and accurate presentation of results, and discussion of the disciplinary and practical implications of the research findings.