Lynn Fisher, Sharon Graf, Jonathan Isler, Jennifer Manthei, Hinda Seif, Julia Zhang
Associated Faculty Heather Dell, Ryan Williams
Emeritus Faculty Proshanta K. Nandi, Michael D. Quam, Regan Smith, James W. Stuart
Associated Emeritus Faculty Rosamond Robbert
Adjunct Faculty Terrance Martin
The Sociology/Anthropology Department is designed to foster intellectual understanding and insight into the issues and problems of today's world, with special emphasis on the experiences and perspectives of women and people from other cultures. Students develop skills and knowledge in critical reading and writing, research methodology, evaluation of competing theories, prehistory and human evolution, actual and potential uses of work in sociology and anthropology, and ethics of professional inquiry and reporting.
Students entering the department take a core of courses that offers a perspective common to the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. In addition, they are given the opportunity to pursue individual interests in either sociology or anthropology.
Entrance Requirements
The Sociology/Anthropology Department has no specific entrance requirements beyond admission to UIS.
Advising
Campus policy requires each student to have an adviser. Students are strongly urged to choose their advisers at the time they declare their major in the Sociology/Anthropology Department. Students are encouraged to consult with their advisers concerning department requirements and individual goals. Department faculty assist students in designing strong, individualized academic programs.
Communication Skills and Assessment
Sociology/anthropology majors must complete a discipline-based writing assessment in either SOA 302 Understanding Other Cultures or SOA 304 Human Evolution: Biological and Cultural during their first semester of study. The results will be forwarded to the student's adviser, who will confer with the student during his/her second semester of study and develop a positive program to enhance each individual's abilities and academic development.
The department faculty will assess a student's acquisition of discipline knowledge during the course of study through review of a paper written for SOA 410 Senior Seminar, taken during the student's final year.
Because the department values communication skills so highly and views them as necessary components of a college education, the department works diligently with its students to ensure that each effectively possesses these skills at graduation.
Major Requirements
Both sociological and anthropological perspectives contribute significantly, yet differently, to the study of human behavior. While individual students may choose to concentrate electives in either discipline, all SOA majors are required to be familiar with the basic approaches and insights of both disciplines. Further, all students become familiar with the basic theoretical issues surrounding the study of social life and acquire the skills necessary to carry out small-scale research.
SOA 302 Understanding Other Cultures 4 Hrs.
SOA 304 Human Evolution: Biological and Cultural 4 Hrs.
SOA 405 Sociocultural Theories 4 Hrs.
SOA 410 Senior Seminar 2 Hrs.
SOA 411 Social Research Methods 4 Hrs.
SOA 461 Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives 4 Hrs.
Sociology/Anthropology Electives 8 Hrs.
Total 30 Hrs.
SOA 461 Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives may be replaced by another approved upper-level sociological content course with permission of the advisor.
Students should consult with advisers in the major for specific guidance regarding completion of general education requirements.
There are no prerequisites for this minor, but the department faculty recommend that students have completed at least one course in anthropology and one in biology at the lower-division level.
Core courses
SOA 302 Understanding Other Cultures 4 Hrs.
SOA 304 Human Evolution: Biological and Cultural 4 Hrs.
Anthropology content courses 8 Hrs.
Total 16 Hrs.
Lower-division course work may be used in lieu of SOA 302 and/or SOA 304, but the hours must be replaced with upper-division elective courses.
No prerequisites are required, but faculty recommend that students have completed an introductory sociology course at the lower-division level.
Core courses
SOA 405 Sociocultural Theories 4 Hrs.
SOA 411 Social Research Methods 4 Hrs.
Sociology content courses 8 Hrs.
Total 16 Hrs.
Classes used to complete the minor in sociology cannot also be used to satisfy degree requirements in the student's major.