BS in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology

Sociology provides students with the conceptual tools to understand how various features of society affect its members as well as how people create and maintain those same features. The undergraduate sociology program at Northeastern University prepares students to rigorously analyze the social, political, and economic spheres of society at the local and global levels. Our undergraduate offerings cover everything from gender and family violence, to law and criminality, human services, race and ethnicity, social movements, and urban social problems. Sociology - Learning Goals and Objectives: The sociology major should demonstrate understanding of the following: The discipline of sociology and its role in contributing to our understanding of social reality, such that the student will be able to: know what sociology is as a discipline and a practice; apply the sociological imagination and concepts to her/his own life. Understand and apply basic concepts in sociology and their theoretical interrelations. The role of research methods in sociology, such that the student will be able to: know basic methodological approaches and describe the general role of methods in building sociological knowledge; compare and contrast the basic methodological approaches for gathering data, identifying the virtues and limitations of each method; explain basic concepts of social statistics and compute both descriptive and inferential statistics using both calculators and SPSS; understand the connection between theory and methods of investigation; evaluate a published research report. The characteristics of contemporary societies and their international contexts sufficiently to be able to: describe the structure and culture of the United States and its distinctive features, relative to other advanced industrial societies; discuss the differences between Western and non-Western societies, and between the developed and less developed world; understand some of the challenges that globalization poses to contemporary societies and ways of life. Anthropology at Northeastern University specializes in cultural anthropology - the relationship of culture to the institutions, interpersonal relations, and practices that make up their social structure. Our program specifically focuses on how culture interacts with structures of inequality such as race, class, gender, and ethnicity, as well as with contemporary global issues such as poverty, illness, environmental degradation, and economic development. Our courses complement a wide range of interdisciplinary programs at Northeastern including, environmental studies, international affairs, African American studies, and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. A major in anthropology prepares students for occupations in government, business, and community organizations, in fields as wide ranging as international affairs, medicine, environmental protection, social services, education, historic preservation, law, and business. In addition, the major serves as excellent preparation for advanced academic and professional study in the social sciences. Anthropology: Learning Goals and Objectives - The anthropology major should demonstrate understanding of and facility with the following: The discipline of socio-cultural anthropology and its role in contributing to our understanding of societies and cultures worldwide, such that the student will have knowledge of: what anthropology is as a discipline; what anthropology is as practice. Embedding contemporary cultures within their international, transnational, or global contexts to: describe and analyze how cultures have responded to the challenges of globalization in various times and places; demonstrate an understanding of the connections and differences between regions coded as west/non-west, developed/developing, colonial/postcolonial, north/global south.