Sociology and Anthropology

Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
Department Sociology and Anthropology
Academic Division The College
Offerings Major

Student with a group of children

Sociology and Anthropology students are curious about how society and culture work and care deeply about solving social problems to make the world better.

Home Academics Areas of Study Sociology and Anthropology

Sociology and Anthropology

W&L提供一个主修人类学或社会学的专业跨学科考古学辅修课程.

Our courses cover the following themes: archaeology and historical social science; gender, sexuality and human development; global cultures; health and society; identity and inequality; and politics, economics and culture.

Our classes feature a free-form style of learning where students apply readings to real-life situations and explore their own topics of interest. 当与与自己不同的人和文化一起工作时, 学生们学习如何从其他角度看世界. Students engage with theoretical perspectives and practical skills that are applicable to their lives. This mixture of topical and practical training prepares our graduates for entering a variety of graduate schools and careers.

Typically, 学生选择最符合他们兴趣的研究方法, work closely with professors in the classroom and through independent research projects, 并通过学习突破知识的界限, travel and community engagement. 学生们在阿巴拉契亚等地进行了研究, New York City, Western Europe, India, French Polynesia, Nepal, South Africa, Madagascar, Romania and Peru.

Jon Eastwood

Department Head

E: eastwoodj@takechargesummit.com

Melissa Gualtieri

Administrative Assistant

P: 540-458-8798
E: mgualtieri@takechargesummit.com

News

All News

Masako Konishi to Deliver Lecture as Part of the Class of 1963 Scholars in Residence Program

小西是Forever 21的首席营销官，她将于9月11日发表演讲. 25.

Cultivating a Community of Care

通过戴维斯和平项目基金和富布赖特ETA基金, Allie Stankewich ’23 is building relationships with the communities she serves in East Africa.

W&L Outcomes: Shanna Kim ’24

金女士正在杜克大学攻读公共政策硕士学位.

Five W&L学生获得吉尔曼奖学金出国留学

吉尔曼奖学金计划为美国学生提供高达5000美元的奖学金.S. 获得佩尔助学金的本科生.

太阳城集团和李学生被选为国会饥饿中心实习

Sai Chebrolu ’26 and Valentina Giraldo Lozano ’25 are among 13 students chosen for the Zero Hunger Internship program.

A Broader Perspective

W&L students in the Spring Term course Global Urban Sociology are examining the social consequences of an increasingly urbanized world.

W&L的Tanajia Moye-Green成为2024届Knight-Hennessy学者

23岁的Moye-Green是该校第一位奈特-轩尼诗奖学金获得者.

W&L校友本吉·赫斯23岁获得美国奖学金.S. 奥地利助教奖学金

赫斯将在奥地利教英语，并为成为一名教育工作者做准备.

W&L ' s Michelle Morgan ' 24 ' earn Fulbright到北马其顿

Morgan was selected for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in North Macedonia.

Caroline Matthews, 约翰和内尔·麦克丹尼尔的女儿, 拿着即将出版的詹姆斯G. Leyburn Papers in Anthropology.

Unearthing History

Students, faculty and alumni gathered April 12-13 to recognize the archaeological evolution of W&L’s back campus.

夕阳西下，自由大厅废墟巍然屹立. Photo by Ryan Doty ’26

W&L学生举办考古纪念活动

The April 6 gathering marks the restoration of “The Foundation” on the university’s campus, 原本是历史悠久的自由大厅学院财产的一部分.

Record Number of W&L学生获重要语言奖学金

The Critical Language Scholarship Program funds a summer of overseas language and cultural immersion.

Sample Courses

What classes will you take?

SOAN 278

健康与不平等:医学社会学导论

本课程介绍健康与疾病的社会学观点. Students examine topics such as social organization of medicine; the social construction of illness; class, race and gender inequalities in health; and health care reform. 我们解决的一些问题是:医疗行业是如何变化的? 以市场为导向的医疗有什么利弊? 阶级对健康结果有持久的影响吗? 朋友吃什么，我们就是什么，这是真的吗? Can unconscious racial bias affect the quality of care for people of different ethnicities? 哪些陷阱影响了循证医学的实施方式?

SOAN 266

Neighborhoods and Inequality

This course examines the ways in which residential context relates to social and economic inequalities. 借鉴社会学及相关领域的实证文献, we consider both (a) how residential contexts may shape individuals’ opportunities and (b) the factors that may shape the persistence or change of concentrated advantage and disadvantage across those residential settings. Half of the course is a traditional seminar and half is a data analysis lab in which we learn tools of spatial data analysis and then apply them in individual student projects on contemporary cities.

SOAN 210

Field Methods in Archaeology

Students study the cultural and natural processes that lead to the patterns we see in the archaeological record. Using the scientific method and current theoretical motivations in anthropological archaeology, students learn how to develop a research design and to implement it with actual field excavation. We visit several field excavation sites in order to experience firsthand the range of archaeological field methods and research interests currently undertaken by leading archaeologists. Students use the archaeological data to test hypotheses about the sites under consideration and produce a report of their research.

SOAN 208

Qualitative Methods

Qualitative research methods are widely used to provide rich and detailed understandings of people’s experiences, interactions, 在更广泛的社会政治和经济背景下的叙述和实践. 典型的方法包括口述历史, interviews, participant observation, 以及视觉文化和文本文化的分析. 学生将从事与社区利益一致的研究. 项目的各个阶段将包括主题确定, research design, ethical and legal considerations, 选择合适的方法, data collection, analysis and write-up, and presentation and critique.

SOAN 228

Race & Ethnic Relations

An examination of why and how society creates and maintains racial and ethnic boundaries in the US. 我们讨论了一些关键问题, which include: What conditions constitute a privileged group and an oppressed group? 太阳城集团官网和如何种族/少数民族群体, 穷人和妇女受到歧视, 社会生活中的压迫和排斥? 是否存在针对特权种族/民族的种族歧视? How can ordinary people, policymakers and social scientists contribute to improving race and ethnic relations among different social groups in the U.S.?

SOAN 240

Food, Culture & Society

本课程探讨食物、文化和社会之间的联系. 食物一直是个人和社会定义自己的重要方式, 尤其是在我们这个日益全球化的世界里, as cultural anthropology continues to be a central discipline guiding this field of study. Students review some of the classic symbolic and structural analyses of gastro-politics. 我们探索快餐/全球化口味与. 慢食运动/本土化口味, and delve into socioeconomic and political practices behind the production and consumption of coffee, 奶制品和酒精饮料. 学生调查烹饪/饮食和种族之间的关系, gender and sexuality, 讨论社区食物公平. Opportunities to experience the Rockbridge area food scene are integrated into the syllabus.

Meet the Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.

Jonathan Eastwood

Department Head, Sociology and Anthropology; Professor of Sociology

P: 540-458-8777
E: eastwoodj@takechargesummit.com

Professor Eastwood is a social theorist who also has a strong interest in quantitative methods. He teaches seminars on classical and contemporary theory as well as a series of courses that train students how to use quantitative and computational tools to answer sociological questions.