You are in the official 1997-98 General Catalog for California State University, Fresno. All full-time faculty hold Ph.D. degrees and share a commitment to excellence in teaching. Their areas of special interest are diverse, including social change, deviance, women in society, social stratification, social psychology, social theory, and research methods. Most of the faculty are actively involved in research. Recent faculty research has included studies of opinions on women's issues, willingness to pay additional taxes, prayer, stereotypes and ethnic prejudice, and the social organization of sport.
Sociology is the study of social life and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
Sociology's subject matter ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob, from crime to religion, from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, from the sociology of work to the sociology of sport. In fact, few fields have such broad scope and relevance. Training in sociology provides students with a special perspective on human development and social life which is an especially important part of a liberal education. Theory and research methods provide the foundation for study in sociology. On this foundation, different programs of electives can be built to meet the needs of students with different goals and interests.