The emphasis of sociology is on urban-industrial society. In sociology courses students can learn how to conduct research by developing questionnaires or through firsthand participant observation. Sociologists on the Mills faculty introduce students to an understanding of issues relating to social life, human behavior, and society. Courses explore social problems such as racism, poverty, and criminality. Students may also study utopian literature and communities.
Community service is emphasized.
Students intending to pursue graduate study in anthropology or sociology should note that proficiency in statistics, computer skills, and one or more foreign languages is highly desirable. Prehistoric styles of life reconstructed by workers in archaeology. Includes family and social organization, language, ecology and economics, political structure, life cycle, personality, art, and symbolic and religious systems. Examples will be drawn from native societies in Africa, South and North America, Australia, Asia, and the Pacific. The latter part of the course will focus on culture change and modernization.