Sociology

Sociologists study the development, structure and functioning of human society and social problems. Sociology is concerned with the social and cultural factors which influence human behavior. The sociology program at Muskingum University prepares students for a variety of fields, through an orientation focusing on domestic and international issues.

The faculty members in the department emphasize active involvement in the classroom. Department specialties include gender, sexuality, race, religion, social movements, social justice and public health.

Mission

The mission of the academic program in Sociology is to offer quality sociological curricula, in a caring community that nurtures individual fulfillment and human dignity. Through the scientific study of social order and social change, the program provides students with perspectives on the interactions of human beings and their impact on the development of culture, society and social institutions. The program contributes to the overall development of students intellectually, spiritually, and socially by fostering critical thinking, positive action, ethical sensitivity, and spiritual growth, so that they may lead vocationally productive, personally satisfying and socially responsible lives.

Vision

The Department of Sociology holds that human beings are born curious, creative, and connected to family and community. We are born into and then reproduce or socially construct an evolving planet-wide social order. Departmental faculty choose to take a consciously active role in comprehending that social order and in turn contributing to its improvement. Embodying such a role entails deeply examining but also thoughtfully innovating socially responsible ways of being. The vision of the Department of Sociology is to model for our students a well-rounded, actively engaged citizenship in the classroom and in scholarly activity. We aim to model a way of inhabiting the social order which shapes and is shaped by all of us.

Program Learning Goals

• Successful students apply theoretical sophistication to their work. This means they understand and can apply social theory as they do their work.
• Successful students understand and can apply research methodology and principles to their work.
• Successful students apply the sociological imagination this means that they understand how micro or everyday events of their lives fit into macro contexts, including historical and cross-cultural understandings where relevant.