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The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is a diverse department that combines two distinct academic disciplines, as well as different programs within each major. We have a long distinguished record as one of the oldest departments of sociology in the U.S., dating back to the early years of the twentieth century. Anthropology joined us in 1970, giving the department three undergraduate majors–Anthropology, Sociology, and Sociology-Criminology–as well as an M.A. program in Sociology.

Both sociology and anthropology study human behavior, social interaction, and social organization. Both are concerned with how societies are organized and why people act as they do, but they approach these issues from different perspectives and traditions. Anthropology takes a holistic and comparative approach that focuses on humanity as both biological and cultural beings. Courses explore the similarities and differences in the ways through which humans organize their lives. Anthropologists in the Department examine human origins and evolution, the prehistoric past, recent and contemporary forms of human culture and society, patterns of communication, and forensics in a variety of places spanning the globe.

Sociology focuses on the social causes and consequences of individual and group behavior and interaction. It takes its cue from C. Wright Mills’ famous work on “the sociological imagination” as the “intersection of biography and history within society.” Sociologists at Ohio University apply this insight to study how social behavior becomes organized, institutionalized, and changed at the macro level of societal change, the micro level of individual belief and action, and everything in between. Specific topics include crime and deviance, social inequalities, poverty and social welfare, and the intersections of race, class, and gender with particular attention to policy impacts and implications.

Both sociology and anthropology are deeply embedded in interdisciplinary and international programs around campus, including Women’s and Gender Studies, African American Studies, Environmental Studies, and programs affiliated with the Center for International Studies.

Our students go on to have highly successful and distinguished careers in both public and private sectors, ranging from the criminal justice system to business, law, medicine, and higher education. They pursue these opportunities in Ohio and across the country and the world. We are very proud of the contributions our graduates make to their local, national, and international communities.

Please visit our Web site (http://www.cas.ohiou.edu/socanth/) to find out more about our department and programs. If you have any questions, send an e-mail to socanth@ohio.edu.

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