About sociology at St. Norbert College
At St. Norbert College, four sociologists, an anthropologist and a social worker unite to form a single discipline which expands the usual offerings of a department of sociology. Both sociology and anthropology take as their goals the understanding of human social and cultural life and its development over time.
Sociology has focused especially on social and cultural institutions as they evolved in the technologically advanced societies of the world. Anthropology has been particularly concerned with societies of smaller scale, and has developed sophisticated methods for cross-cultural studies. Both sociology and anthropology endeavor to increase our understanding of the connections between culture, social institutions and individual personality. The field is necessarily very broad, taking account of the studies in many other fields, including economics, political science, history and social philosophy.
Why study sociology?
The St. Norbert College program in sociology provides students with the methods and knowledge needed to come to grips with the challenges and problems of rapid social and cultural change. Students will gain an understanding of the emergence of modern society, detailed knowledge of particular social problems (poverty, homelessness, crime or inequalities of opportunity) and research methods (statistics and computer-based data analysis).
Sociology has focused particularly on the development of the most developed societies of the world, and anthropology has been particularly concerned with societies of smaller scale. Both sociology and anthropology endeavor to increase our knowledge of the connection between individual personality, social interaction, culture and social institutions. Amateur understanding of the causes and effects of human beliefs, customs and institutions is essential to the achievement of moral wisdom.
Sociology mission statement
The discipline's mission is to contribute to students' opportunities to become cultivated women and men in the broadest sense, and particularly to their opportunities to gain amateur understanding of the beliefs, customs, arts and institutions of humanity, of the ways that order and change proceed in society and culture, and of the contradictions which fragment communities, societies and cultures and impact the development of humanity. |
News and announcements
The sociology discipline is proud to offer studies in Human Services. Students may choose a
major in sociology with a human services concentration or a
human services minor. |
