Changes to Sociology and Anthropology Minor         

PSF 19-08/09

October 28, 2008

 

To:         Susan Takata, Chair, Committee on Academic Planning

From:     Robert F. Sasso, Co-Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

              Mary Kay Schleiter, Co-Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Re:         Changes to Sociology and Anthropology Minor (Corrected) 

Dear ­­­­­Susan: 

              We are proposing significant changes to the nature of the Minor in Sociology and Anthropology. Specifically, we wish to divide this combined minor into two separate minors, one for students interested in Anthropology and the other for students interested in Sociology.

              We are proposing these changes based upon a two-year -long study within our department, with significant input from undergraduate students and based upon requests from faculty members in other departments, including Biological Sciences, Geography, Art, Communications, History, and Business. All have revealed that the current Minor is outdated and no longer serves the students in as effective a fashion as it would with the proposed restructuring. Our current Minor program was developed at a different time in our department’s history. The Anthropology program has grown in areas such as Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, both of which hardly show up in the list of possible courses counting toward the Minor.

One significant problem we repeatedly have faced has been transitioning students who started in our Minor program and eventually wanted to transition to the full Major. Our current Minor includes potentially unnecessary coursework that can mean students having to take numerous additional credits to graduate, should they transition after working on the Minor for even a year or two. We realized that, overall, the best option was to restructure the Minor as two separate Minors, each with great flexibility to allow students to focus on their true areas of interest, and each structured in such a way to facilitate students transitioning from the Minor into a Major field of study.

The current catalog (2007-2009) lists our Minor as follows:

 

“Requirements for a Minor in Sociology and Anthropology

The minor in sociology and anthropology consists of a minimum of 21 credits, distributed as follows:

 

Required Courses (9 credits)

SOCA 100 Introduction to Anthropology 3 cr

or

SOCA 101 Introduction to Sociology 3 cr

SOCA 202 Cultural Anthropology 3 cr

SOCA 295 Social Science Research Methods 2 cr

SOCA 300 Data Collection and Analysis 1 cr

 

United States Cultures and Society (6 credits)

SOCA 206 Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S. 3 cr

SOCA 207 Marriage and the Family 3 cr

SOCA 213 Gender and Society 3 cr

SOCA 216 Social Issues in Substance Use and Abuse 3 cr

SOCA 234 Sociology of Crime and Delinquency 3 cr

SOCA 243 Latinas/os in the U.S. 3 cr

SOCA 323 Institutional Racism 3 cr

SOCA 324 African American Studies 3 cr

SOCA 328 Asians in American Society 3 cr

SOCA 331 Deviant Behavior 3 cr

SOCA 354 Class, Status, and Power 3 cr

SOCA 371 Occupations and Professions 3 cr

SOCA 375 Sociology of Education  3 cr

 

Comparative Non-Western Cultures (6 credits)

SOCA 226 Peoples of Africa 3 cr

SOCA 227 North American Indians 3 cr

SOCA 240 Cross-Cultural Encounters 3 cr

SOCA 321 Religion and Society 3 cr

SOCA 322 Sociology of Language and Knowledge 3 cr

SOCA 325 Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations 3 cr

SOCA 327 Archeology of North America 3 cr

SOCA 355 Urbanism and Urbanization 3 cr

SOCA 357 Livelihoods and Exchange 3 cr

SOCA 362 Migration and Immigration 3 cr

SOCA 455 Development and Change 3 cr

SOCA 482 Human Ecology  3 cr

Of the total 21 credits required for the minor, at least 6 must be at the 300 or 400 level.” 

 

What we propose is to have the above read as follows:

 

Requirements for a Minor in Anthropology

The minor in anthropology   consists of a minimum of 21 credits, distributed as follows:

Required Course (3 credits)

 

SOCA 100 Introduction to Anthropology 

 

Overview Courses (9 credits)

SOCA 202 Cultural Anthropology  3 cr

SOCA 204 Human Evolution 3 cr

SOCA 208 Introduction to Archaeology 3 cr

 

Electives (9 credits, with at least 6 credits at the 300 or 400 level)

SOCA 226 Peoples of Africa 3 cr

SOCA 227 North American Indians 3 cr

              SOCA 240 Cross-Cultural Encounters 3 cr

SOCA 290 Special Topics in Sociology and/or Anthropology 1-3 cr

SOCA 295 Social Science Research Methods 2 cr

SOCA 300 Data Collection and Analysis 1 cr

SOCA 302 Anthropological Theory 3 cr

SOCA 310 Forensic Anthropology 3 cr

              SOCA 327 Archaeology of North America3 cr

              SOCA 355 Urbanism and Urbanization3 cr

              SOCA 357 Livelihoods and Exchange3 cr

              SOCA 362 Migration and Immigration3 cr

              SOCA 455 Development and Change3 cr

              SOCA 482 Human Ecology3 cr

SOCA 491 Anthropological Fieldwork 1-3 cr 

 

Requirements for a Minor in Sociology

The minor in Sociology consists of a minimum of 21 credits, distributed as follows:

Required Courses (6 credits)

SOCA 101 Introduction to Sociology . . . . . . . . . . . .3 cr

and either

SOCA 295 Social Science Research Methods . . . . . 2 cr

SOCA 300 Data Collection and Analysis. …... … ....1 cr

OR

SOCA 301 Introduction to Sociological Theory. . . . 3 cr

 

Electives  (15 credits, with at least 9 credits at the 300 or 400 level)

              SOCA 102 Contemporary Social Problems3 cr

              SOCA 206 Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S. 3 cr

              SOCA 207 Marriage and Family 3 cr

              SOCA 213 Gender and Society 3 cr

              SOCA 216 Social Issues in Substance Use and Abuse 3 cr

              SOCA 233 Criminology 3 cr

              SOCA 234 Juvenile Delinquency/Juvenile Justice 3 cr

              SOCA 235 Police & Society 3 cr

              SOCA 243 Latinas/os in the United States 3 cr

              SOCA 250 Statistics for the Social Sciences 4 cr

              SOCA 290 Special Topics in Sociology and/or Anthropology 1-3 cr

              SOCA 304 Skill Development in Leadership 1 cr

              SOCA 306 Research in Community Needs 3 cr

              SOCA 319 Death and Dying 3 cr

              SOCA 320 Sociological Social Psychology 3 cr

              SOCA 321 Religion and Society 3 cr

SOCA 322 Sociology of Language and Knowledge 3 cr

SOCA 323 Institutional Racism in America 3 cr

SOCA 324 African American Studies 3 cr

              SOCA 325 Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations 3 cr

              SOCA 326 Social Gerontology 3 cr

              SOCA 328 Asians in American Society 3 cr

              SOCA 330 Sport in Society 3 cr

              SOCA 331 Deviant Behavior 3 cr

              SOCA 332 Sociology of Mental Illness 3 cr

              SOCA 336 Childhood and Society 3 cr

              SOCA 352 Law and Social Change 3 cr

              SOCA 354 Class, Status, and Power 3 cr

              SOCA 355 Urbanism and Urbanization3 cr

              SOCA 356 Political Sociology 3 cr

              SOCA 358 Introduction to Population Studies 3 cr

              SOCA 359 Law and Society 3 cr

              SOCA 362 Migration and Immigration 3 cr

              SOCA 363 Corrections 3 cr

              SOCA 365 Race, Crime and Law 3 cr

              SOCA 368 Victimology 3 cr

              SOCA 371 Occupations and Professions 3 cr

              SOCA 372 Technology and Society 3 cr

              SOCA 373 Bureaucracy in Modern Society 3 cr

              SOCA 374 Women and Work 3 cr

              SOCA 375 Sociology of Education 3 cr

              SOCA 379 Society and Environment 3 cr

              SOCA 380 Social Welfare as a Social Institution 3 cr

              SOCA 385 Media, Crime and Criminal Justice 3 cr

              SOCA 390 Special Topics in Sociology and/or Anthropology 1-3 cr

              SOCA 406 Advanced Program Evaluation 3 cr

              SOCA 430 Medical Sociology 3 cr

              SOCA 490 Special Topics in Sociology and/or Anthropology 3 cr

              SOCA 492 Internship in Sociology/Anthropology 3 cr 

              Please contact us should you have any questions or concerns with the proposed changes to the minor. Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely, 

Robert F. Sasso, Ph.D.                                                        Mary Kay Schleiter, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Anthropology                                Associate Professor of Sociology

Co-Chair                                                                                 Co-Chair