Nonetheless the disciplines have diverged over the years, so our department houses two separate disciplines. We offer a major and a minor in both fields, stressing the relevance of both disciplinary perspectives to an understanding of community and conflict in today s world. Because we are a small department, a student has the opportunity to work closely with her professors. This individualized attention is balanced by access to a wide variety of courses available through the Five College Exchange. Sociology boasts a distinguished faculty of three, with specializations in a wide range of subjects including criminology, American society, the sociology of medicine, self and society, complex organizations, research methods, mass communications, social construction of gender, social inequality, political sociology, and social theory.
Anthropology has four faculty members who specialize in cultural anthropology.
In addition, students often take courses in archaeology, physical anthropology and anthropological linguistics at the other colleges. Beyond the popular introductory anthropology course, students may take geographic area courses on the peoples of Latin America, Europe and the Pacific, and in medical anthropology, non-Western art and aesthetics, ritual and symbolism, gender and sexuality, international development, Asian and Asian American culture, visual anthropology and constructing identities across cultures. Majors in both fields hone their critical thinking and debating skills by taking courses in classical sociological theory and contemporary theory. In addition, we encourage majors to undertake closely supervised independent research projects. Graduates of our department have gone on to graduate school in anthropology, sociology, law, medicine, public policy, public health, and social work.