Sociology, Urban Studies & Anthropology

Learning Goals & Mission

Mission

The Majors and Minors in Sociology and Urban Studies Department, with minors in Anthropology and International/Intercultural Studies, are dedicated to the Jesuit Mission of Saint Peter’s College. We embrace our multicultural, ever evolving, urban, national and global settings as a focal point, inside and outside of the classroom, to develop the whole person in preparation for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and service in a diverse and global society. This dedication is reflected in our curriculum, our research, our graduates, our scholarship and our grants. We hope to provide our students with an awareness of, and a sense of obligation to, their fellow citizens.

Learning Goals

Program Objectives for the Department Majors and Minors in Accordance with Its Goals

Goal A
Offer majors in Sociology, Urban Studies and minors and courses in Sociology, Urban Studies, Intercultural/International Studies and Anthropology at the core and elective levels.

Objective
Students will achieve competency at the college level in sociology, urban studies, intercultural/international studies and anthropology with an emphasis on ethnicity/race, social class, globalization, intercultural and gender sensitivity.

Goal B
Develop in students an awareness of social life and social dynamics.

Objectives
Students will:

  1. Demonstrate an ability to indentify the social aspects of human existence as distinguished from the biological and psychological.
  2. Demonstrate an ability to connect social science insights and research to everyday life.
  3. Demonstrate an ability to expose errors of ordinary common sense understandings of social life.
  4. Demonstrate an ability to understand the dynamics of urban change.
  5. Demonstrate an ability to identify the social foundations of culture.
  6. Demonstrate an ability to identify social problems and social solutions to them.

Goal C
Develop in students an understanding, appreciation and ability to function in a diverse, multicultural society.

Objectives
Students will:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of culture and its influence in creating differences.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of race and ethnicity and relate each to intercultural diversity.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of social stratification, both in the United States and globally.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of multicultural societies, both in the United States and globally.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of the need to communicate across multicultural dimensions both in the United States and globally.

Goal D
Help students comprehend multiple methodologies as was of thought.

Objectives
Students will:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of methods of data description (quantitative and qualitative), including the normal curve, ethnographies, hypothesis testing, statistical tests of significance, correlation and regression.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of sampling.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of demographic data collections and trends.
  6. Demonstrate an understanding of the methodology relevant to all courses taken within the department.

Goal E
Prepare students for occupations where the knowledge provided by the department is required.

Objectives:
Students will:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevancy of understanding the foundations of social behavior to the job market.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevancy of understanding diversity to the job market.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevancy of understanding symbolic interaction and meaning to the job market.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevancy of understanding cultural relativity and cultural universals to the job market.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevancy of analyzing to the nature and functioning of organizations.
  6. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevancy of Sociology, Urban Studies, Anthropology and Intercultural/International Studies to various professions.
  7. Demonstrate potential careers through field placements, internships and course modules as well as guest speakers and talks from department graduates.

Goal F
Prepare students for graduate/professional study in Sociology/Urban Studies and related disciplines such as Anthropology, Social Work and Urban Planning.

Objectives
Students will:

  1. Demonstrate competences in courses required for graduate school in Sociology, Urban Planning, Sustainability, Social Services, Social Work and Anthropology.
  2. Demonstrate clear and critical thinking in analyzing social life.
  3. Demonstrate clear and persuasive writing, including strong research papers.
  4. Demonstrate in depth research techniques.
  5. Demonstrate an ability to perform field studies.
  6. Demonstrate an ability to complete community-based research projects.
  7. Demonstrate an ability to work within community based organizations

Goal G
Provide an understanding of the urban environment through traditional classes and classes based on urban experiences including internships, community based research and building partnership with community organizations.

Objectives:
Students will:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding the historical roots of today’s urban environment.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of comparative urban environments in today’s global society.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of classical and contemporary theories of urban life.
  4. Demonstrate an ability to analyze urban behavior.
  5. Demonstrate the ability to comprehend the impact of the urban environment of the individual
  6. Demonstrate an ability to assess the impact of public policies on the urban environment.