Department of Anthropology, Geography and Sociology

Return to: College of Liberal and Applied Arts

Faculty

Professors
Leslie G. Cecil, Ray Darville, Darrel McDonald, Jerry Williams

Associate Professors
Karol Chandler-Ezell, Dianne Dentice, William Forbes, Jeffery Roth

Assistant Professor
John Pruit

Coordinator of Anthropology
Karol Chandler-Ezell

Coordinator of Geography
Darrel McDonald

Coordinator of Sustainability
William Forbes

Cultural Heritage Research Coordinator/Archaeology Laboratory Director
George Avery

Professor Emeritus
Tom Segady, Robert Szafran

Objectives

The department offers courses in anthropology, archaeology, geography, gerontology, sociology and sustainable community development. The department is well known for its effective teaching and for the learning opportunities it makes available to students. We offer internships in community settings to give students real-world experience, and our student clubs engage students in important professional and academic activities.

The curriculum is designed to produce graduates who can gather information, reason, communicate, solve problems and adapt easily to change. These qualities are crucial to success, not only in future academic endeavors, but also in professional careers.

The importance of a liberal arts education is central to our teaching philosophy. We believe that the college teaching experience should be intellectually challenging and transforming. Exposing students to new ideas and ways of thinking allows them to see the world, not as a set of obligations, but as a world of possibilities and opportunity.

Students graduating from one of the department’s programs will have unique experiences tailored to their interests and career plans. Additionally, they will have an educational experience based on a set of priorities that the department believes should be part of all areas of study in the department. These priorities are:

• Core knowledge - students will have a wide range of knowledge about their discipline. This knowledge will include familiarity with key concepts, terms and theories. Students will have read and be able to discuss a list of readings appropriate for their program of study.
• Field-based learning - students will have an opportunity to learn in a real-world setting either by enrolling in a service learning course, by taking an internship, by taking a field school, by conducting community research, or by participating in a study-abroad trip.
• Skill acquisition - students will acquire the concrete, real-world skills necessary to be successful in their careers. These skills include computer-based technologies, and the ability to write professional documents and reports required by their respective fields.
• Career orientation - students will develop a plan for acquiring a career and for future career development. Students also will complete a résumé and portfolio.
• Lifelong learning - students will develop a plan for learning throughout the rest of their lives with emphasis on adapting to the changing modern world.
• Civic engagement - students will understand the importance of civic engagement and will complete a civic engagement plan for their lives after graduation. For example, students will be able to contribute to local, national and international conversations about sustainability by applying the knowledge and skills from their respective disciplines.

Sociology Honor Society

Sociology majors and minors with at least 10 semester hours of sociology who rank in the upper 35 percent of their class and who have a GPA of 3.0 in Sociology are eligible for membership in Alpha Kappa Delta National Honor Society.

Geography Honor Society

Geography students who have completed at least three courses in geography, who have completed at least three semesters of university courses, and who have a GPA of 3.3 in geography and overall are eligible for membership in Gamma Theta Upsilon, the international geographic honor society.

Programs

• Geography, BA
• Geography, BS
• Sociology, BA
• Sociology, BS
• Sustainability, BA

• Sociology, Anthropology, BA
• Sociology, Anthropology, BS

• Anthropology Minor
• Geography Minor
• Sociology, Minor
• Sustainability Minor

• Certificate in Sustainability

Return to: College of Liberal and Applied Arts