Sociology DAP
Welcome to the Sociology webpage. On this page you'll find the mission of the department, departmental student learning goals, a curricular map and assessment schedule, and progress made from the most recent Program Review Action Plan (2013-2014). If you have questions about the assessment findings or questions about the department, please contact the Sociology Department Chair.
MISSION
Sociology and Anthropology attempt to chart the interconnections between the various realms of thought and conduct, to find the balance between the social and individual components of personal identity and to locate the social origins of both harmony and strife in every area of experience. In pursuing an understanding of how and why society functions, these disciplines contribute significantly to students' global and intercultural competence, and prepare them for active engagement as responsible, committed global citizens. The department contributes significantly to the institutions' strategic direction of providing our students with an integrated liberal arts experience.
STUDENT LEARNING GOALS
Specifically, the CSB/SJU Sociology Department seeks to educate students with the understanding that:
Goal 1. Sociology and Anthropology train students to think contextually, students will be able to apply their understanding of the complex nature of society.
Assessment 1A. Students will be able to explain why interpretations of culture are the necessary complement of causal models in the social sciences.
Assessment 1B. Students will be able to articulate how and why all causal models are probabilistic approximations and all cultural interpretations are more or less idealized. Students will be able to critique ways of knowing, including comparison and contrast of various methods of research in the social sciences
Assessment 1C. Students will be able to step imaginatively outside of their own place on the social landscape to see how the social system looks from the standpoint of a different class, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious or political commitment
Goal 2. Sociology and Anthropology provide students with the tools to know how they know, and to evaluate the validity and reliability of ideas.
Assessment 2A. Students will be able to differentiate between political or philosophical rhetoric and evidence-based social research.
Assessment 2B. Students will be able to recognize and communicate the symbiotic relationship between theory and research.
Assessment 2C. Students will be able to critique a research study to see both strengths and weaknesses of any given research strategy.
Assessment 2D. Students will be able to use theory to generate propositions that can be tested and propose appropriate methods for testing them.
Assessment 2E. Students will be able to analyze a social/cultural example from the perspectives of at least two theoretical positions.
Goal 3. Sociology and Anthropology emphasize global relationships and cultural diversity.
Assessment 3A. Students will be able to describe multiple sociocultural groups and practices, nationally and internationally.
Assessment 3B. Students will be able to critically assess the ways in which cultural and social diversity helps to make (or is hindered by) our world systems
Assessment 3C. Students will be able to use their knowledge of sociocultural diversity in analyzing particular global relationships
Goal 4. Sociology and Anthropology inspire a particular lens for understanding the world’s problems and contributing to solutions to these problems.
Assessment 4A. Students will be able to take the perspectives of others, employing a social scientific outlook to analyze how positions develop and the forces that influence people’s views of reality.
Assessment 4B. Given a particular social phenomenon, students will be able to identify the variables that influence or create the phenomenon
Assessment 4C. Students will be able to analyze how a particular cultural or social paradigm changes over time and/or space
Assessment 4D. Students will be able to apply knowledge of the discipline to real-world practical problems.
CURRICULAR MAP and ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE
Curricular Map - |
SOCI 111 |
SOCI 121 |
SOCI 205 |
SOCI 250 |
SOCI 304 |
SOCI 319 |
SOCI 322 |
SOCI 329 |
SOCI 337B |
SOCI 337C |
SOCI 337H |
SOCI 337I |
SOCI 340 |
SOCI 341 |
SOCI 351 |
SOCI 396 |
Goal 1 | ||||||||||||||||
ASSESSING 2018-2019 | ||||||||||||||||
Assessment 1A | X | X | X | X | X | X I | X | X | ||||||||
Assessment 1B | X | X | X | |||||||||||||
Assessment 1C | X | X | X | X | X I | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
Goal 2 | ||||||||||||||||
ASSESSING 2016-2017 & 2020-2021 |
||||||||||||||||
Assessment 2A | X B | X B | X | X | X I | X | X I | X I | X | |||||||
Assessment 2B | X | X | X I | X | X I | X | ||||||||||
Assessment 2C | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Assessment 2D | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Assessment 2E | X B | X B | X | X A | X | X A | X | X | ||||||||
Goal 3 | ||||||||||||||||
ASSESSING 2019-2020 | ||||||||||||||||
Assessment 3A | X | X | X I | X A | X | |||||||||||
Assessment 3B | X B | X B | X | X I | X A | X | ||||||||||
Assessment 3C | X | X A | X A | |||||||||||||
Goal 4 | ||||||||||||||||
ASSESSING 2017-2018 | ||||||||||||||||
Assessment 4A | X B | X B | X B | X A | X I | X A | ||||||||||
Assessment 4B | X B | X | X | X A | X | X | ||||||||||
Assessment 4C | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||
Assessment 4D | X B | X | X A | X I | X A | X | X | X | X A |
Key:
B: Beginning
I: Intermediate
A: Advanced
Goal 1. Sociology and Anthropology train students to think contextually, students will be able to apply their understanding of the complex nature of society.
Assessment 1A. Students will be able to explain why interpretations of culture are the necessary complement of causal models in the social sciences.
Assessment 1B. Students will be able to articulate how and why all causal models are probabilistic approximations and all cultural interpretations are more or less idealized. Students will be able to critique ways of knowing, including comparison and contrast of various methods of research in the social sciences
Assessment 1C. Students will be able to step imaginatively outside of their own place on the social landscape to see how the social system looks from the standpoint of a different class, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious or political commitment
Goal 2. Sociology and Anthropology provide students with the tools to know how they know, and to evaluate the validity and reliability of ideas.
Assessment 2A. Students will be able to differentiate between political or philosophical rhetoric and evidence-based social research.
Assessment 2B. Students will be able to recognize and communicate the symbiotic relationship between theory and research.
Assessment 2C. Students will be able to critique a research study to see both strengths and weaknesses of any given research strategy.
Assessment 2D. Students will be able to use theory to generate propositions that can be tested and propose appropriate methods for testing them.
Assessment 2E. Students will be able to analyze a social/cultural example from the perspectives of at least two theoretical positions.
Goal 3. Sociology and Anthropology emphasize global relationships and cultural diversity.
Assessment 3A. Students will be able to describe multiple sociocultural groups and practices, nationally and internationally.
Assessment 3B. Students will be able to critically assess the ways in which cultural and social diversity helps to make (or is hindered by) our world systems
Assessment 3C. Students will be able to use their knowledge of sociocultural diversity in analyzing particular global relationships
Goal 4. Sociology and Anthropology inspire a particular lens for understanding the world’s problems and contributing to solutions to these problems.
Assessment 4A. Students will be able to take the perspectives of others, employing a social scientific outlook to analyze how positions develop and the forces that influence people’s views of reality.
Assessment 4B. Given a particular social phenomenon, students will be able to identify the variables that influence or create the phenomenon
Assessment 4C. Students will be able to analyze how a particular cultural or social paradigm changes over time and/or space
Assessment 4D. Students will be able to apply knowledge of the discipline to real-world practical problems.
SOCI 111: Intro to Sociology
SOCI 121: Intro to Anthropology
SOCI 205: Quantitative Methods
SOCI 250: Social Problems
SOCI 304: Sociological Theory
SOCI 319: Sex and Gender
SOCI 322: Transnational Anthropology
SOCI 329: Family and Society
SOCI 337B: Wealth and Poverty
SOCI 337C: Anthropology of Africa
SOCI 337H: Cultural Thought & Meaning
SOCI 337I: Global Health, Culture and Inequality
SOCI 340: Criminology and Corrections
SOCI 341: Urban Studies
SOCI 351: Race & Ethnic Groups in the United States
SOCI 396: Senior Capstone