Belmont Abbey College

The goals of the Sociology department are an expression of, and are fully consistent with, the liberal arts tradition of Belmont Abbey College. We understand liberal arts education to be characterized by the following:

inquiry skills in abstract logical thinking; literacy; numeracy; historical consciousness; understanding science and scientific inquiry; understanding values and their relationships to a variety of life situations; appreciation of symbolic expression; international and multicultural experiences and diversity; experience with study in depth; and involvement in a community of learning.

Goals

1. To understand the discipline of sociology and its role in contributing to our understanding of social reality.
2. To understand the role of theory in sociology.
3. To develop research skills and understand the role of evidence qualitative and quantitative methods in sociology.
4. To understand basic concepts in sociology and and their interrelations.
5. To understand how social structure operates.
6. To understand reciprocal relationships between individual and society.
7. To understand global trends and a multicultural/cross cultural perspective.
8. To understand in depth at least one area within sociology.
9. To think critically.
10. To develop an awareness of values and the critical role they have in social behavior.
11. To provide opportunities for practical research experiences and career exploration.

The department offers a both a major and a minor in Sociology (the minor consisting of 15 hours of sociology credits at the 200 level or above). Majors may pursue either a B.A. or a B.S. degree; the B.S. option is distinguished by a greater focus on quantitative skills and analysis. In addition, the Department offers a concentration in Criminology consisting of 24 credit hours in a prescribed combination of sociology, psychology and political science courses. Please consult the Program link to the left for further details.

We believe that students learn best when exposed to diverse styles of teaching including lecture discussion, discussion, and through practical experiences and exercises. Discussions may be based on assigned readings or on the content of a short video tape.

The department emphasizes "hands on" research experiences through two main avenues. First, through the Senior Thesis requirement, students are encouraged to engage in empirical research either by replicating a prior piece of research conducted by another sociologist, or by conducting some original research on a topic of their choosing. Secondly, the department has undertaken a number of projects for community organizations. (In fact, the department's close links to community organizations are a reflection of the commitment to community service which we hold.) Students have in the past been involved in a study of the sexual abuse of children (conducted for the Interagency Committee on Child Abuse), a seven year study of infant mortality in Gaston County (for the Gaston County Public Health Department), a study of BAC's economic impact on area business (a class project), an evaluation study of community based alternatives to incarceration (for the Interagency Committee on Community Based Alternatives), and evaluations of programs for the Gaston County Department of Social Services. Recently students have been involved in a study for Hospice of Gaston County regarding African American under utilization of available AIDS services.

Additional practical and hands on experiences are gained through internships. Students are required to take at least one internship and encouraged to do more. In past years these placements have been in a wide variety of settings, including group homes, DHSS, child care, banking, homeless shelter, shelter for battered women, Gaston County Police Department, and government agencies.

Sociology – Program of Study
Requirements for B.A. Degree
To be accepted as a major in the sociology program students must have taken six credit hours of sociology and have earned not less than a “C” grade in each of the two courses. Students may not declare a major in sociology until this criterion is met.

Within the general requirements of the College for graduation, the following are particular requirements for a Sociology major:

• Core 59
• CS 100 3
• SO 201 (if not taken as part of the Core) 3
• Major (courses in Sociology) 27
• Required Courses in Social Science 6
• Courses in Political Science and/or Psychology 9
• Electives (if SO201 taken/not taken as part of the Core) 15/12
• TOTAL FOR GRADUATION 120

Required courses in Social Science consist of Statistics for Social Science (SS 300), and Philosophical and Historical Foundations of Social Science (SS 400). Required courses for the major in Sociology are SO201, SO305, SO310, SO351, SO352, SO408 and SO 453, plus 9 credit hours of sociology electives. Additionally, students must take 9 credit hours outside of the department but within the Division of Social Science (i.e., a total of 9 credit hours in psychology and or political science).

To be accepted as a major in the sociology program students must have taken six credit hours of sociology and have earned not less than a “C” grade in each of the two courses. Students may not declare a major in sociology until this criterion is met.

Within the general requirements of the College for graduation, the following are particular requirements for a Sociology major:

• Core 59
• CS 100 3
• SO 201 (if not taken as part of the Core) 3
• Major (courses in Sociology) 27
• Required Courses in Social Science 6
• Courses in Political Science and/or Psychology 9
• Electives (if SO201 taken/not taken as part of the Core) 15/12
• TOTAL FOR GRADUATION 120

Required courses in Social Science consist of Statistics for Social Science (SS 300), and Philosophical and Historical Foundations of Social Science (SS 400). Required courses for the major in Sociology are SO201, SO305, SO310, SO351, SO390, SO405, SO408 and SO 453, plus 6 credit hours of sociology electives. Additionally, students must take 9 credit hours outside of the department but within the Division of Social Science (i.e., a total of 9 credit hours in psychology and or political science).

For the B.S. degree there is an emphasis on quantitative skills to a much greater extent than is the case with the B.A. degree. Algebra for the Sciences and Finance (MA 151) is a core requirement for the B.S. rather than Mathematics for the Liberal Arts (MA 135) which is required for the B.A.. In addition to the general degree requirements (Statistics for the Social Sciences (SS300) and Research Methods (SO305)) four additional quantitatively oriented courses are required: a course in data analysis/data utilization (SO390), a course in demography (SO405) and the required internship would also entail working in an environment dealing with the collection and/or compilation, and interpretation of data. (Examples of such internships might be found in marketing, human resource departments, college office of admissions, institutional research, police departments, etc. etc.) The Senior Thesis requirement for the B.S. degree will a project entailing the quantitative analysis of secondary data. The analysis (findings and recommendations based on the analysis) must be presented in a written professional quality report.

Within the major, students may take a concentration in Criminology. In addition to the requirements above, the concentration in Criminology consists of a number of required sociology courses (replacing the 9 hours of sociology electives) and relevant courses in psychology and political science. These courses are: PC 306, PC403, PO309, SO380, SO413, SO414, SO420 (or SO 313 or 314), and SO 453.

Students who are majoring in either Political Science or Psychology may also take the concentration in Criminology by taking the following cluster of courses: PC 306, 308 (or 360), 403, PO 309, SO 201 (or PC 201), 351, 413, 414, 420 (or SO 313 or 314), and SO 452/453.

A minor consists of fifteen credits of in sociology at the 200 level or above. For details please consult department chairperson.

Lodge, Peter - Chair and Professor of Sociology, Coordinator of Criminal Justice and Security Studies
B.A. Metropolitan University of Manchester, Ph.D. University of Keele

Williams, Gary - Associate Professor of Sociology
B.S.Ed. Kent State University, M.Ed. Kent State University, M.A. Kent State University, Ph.D. Ohio State University