Sociology
Lindy McBride '04 with Vietnamese children during her study-tour to Vietnam. Lindy now is a Peace Corp volunteer serving in Burkina Faso, Africa.
"The St. Mary's Project was crucial for getting accepted to one of the top five Ph.D. programs in the nation. Completing a research project showed that I had experience in designing and carrying out a research project, which is something that graduate schools look for."
-- Ph.D. candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill
Put simply, sociology focuses on social structures, the processes that guide them, and the dynamics of change. Sociology covers social life from both the "macro" perspective of entire societies and the "micro" perspective of an individual or small groups. Many of the courses offered in sociology incorporate issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and inequality.
Students often choose a secondary focus to sociology, including psychology, math and computer science, history, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, international languages and cultures, Asian Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, religion, and economics.
St. Mary's Project (SMP)
The St. Mary's Project allows students study, in-depth, an aspect of sociology most important to them. Recent SMP topics include:
- From the plant of joy to the walking dead: The history of opiate use in America
- Cultural awareness in foreign language education
- Cultural definitions of violence
- Ecotourism in Sénégal
- Southern Maryland legends interpreted as forms of social control
- Repatriation in the U.S.
- Now what? Obstacles faced by first-generation college students
- What’s so f****** funny?!? A sociological theory of humor
Travel Abroad
It's hard to imagine understanding another culture (or your own), without immersing yourself in it. Following a six-week study tour in The Gambia a sociology major wrote:
"[My woman informant] was shocked to discover that many Americans have contempt for parents who have more children than they can support. A Gambian would never condemn parents for having too many children to feed. …Parents expect their children to take care of them in their old age, and in a country with no state-run social security programs for the elderly, family support is crucial. "
Life After St. Mary's
What can you do with a degree in sociology? Anything. Prepare yourself for graduate work, or embark on a career in government, educational institutions, or private industry. Go to law or graduate school, as do many St. Mary's graduates. Discover the possibilities by visiting the American Sociological Association at http://www.asanet.org.
Special Opportunities
For more information, visit the Sociology Department Web site at
http://www.smcm.edu/soan