Sociology is concerned
primarily with the scientific study of social groups and social
relations. Sociologists seek to understand how societies,
institutions, organizations and other social forces shape and
are shaped by individuals. One of the department's primary aims
is to provide students with the analytical critical skills
needed to understand and evaluate social institutions and social
change more effectively.
The Sociology faculty
complement one another in a way that allows them to offer a
varied range of courses. Topics covered include social values
and legal conflict, power relations, racial and ethnic
discrimination, social class and inequality, and a variety of
gender-related issues. Courses reflect a growing interest and
focus in the discipline on politically and economically
disadvantaged groups and classes of people and the ways in which
social institutions respond to them. Occidental's proximity to
Los Angeles, one of the most ethnically and economically diverse
cities in the world, makes this focus all the more appropriate
and provides students with the opportunity to observe many of
these social phenomena firsthand.
Sociology majors will receive
excellent preparation for graduate and professional study in
sociology, law, social work, journalism, public health, business
management, teaching, public administration, and other fields
that require the ability to think critically, analytically, and
ethically about a wide range of social issues in the search for
viable solutions. While the department is committed to providing
majors with the best possible preparation for careers in
sociology and related fields, it is equally committed to
providing non-majors with knowledge of social life as well as
evaluative and analytical skills from which they will benefit in
their chosen field of study and their careers in an increasingly
diverse and complex world.