Merged sociology and anthropology departments offering new courses

Effective Fall 2025, the Sociology and Anthropology departments have merged into one unified department, called SOAN. According to the chair of the department, the change is intended to more accurately support and represent the education of students in the Sociology and Anthropology Majors.

Ellen Block, Associate Professor and Chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department, explained that over the past few years, students in either major had gained exposure to aspects of the other. During the program’s review last year, the departments decided that now is an ideal time to redesign the program to reflect the interdisciplinary learning students were already experiencing.

The staff said they wanted students’ transcripts to reflect their learning, meaning both anthropology and sociology.

“What the students are getting is more exposure to both disciplines, sociology and anthropology. Both studies have a lot in common. We [sociologists and anthropologists] are really interested in people and how they interact, we’re interested in culture, and we’re interested in understanding people’s contexts,” Block said.

This change introduces several new courses which include Social Theory (SOAN 204), a unified theory class, and a new 300-level methods sequence (SOAN 379 and SOAN 306) that enables students to collaborate with a campus client and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. The methods classes align with the department’s goal to emphasize practical career skills.

“Instead of just learning methods for method’s sake, you’re actually doing a project and having something deliverable to someone,” Block said. “You would interview students to understand their choices as you’re learning how to analyze qualitative [and quantitative] data. You’re doing a real-world project for a client at the university.”

The department is also expanding research and internship options to give students experiences they feel necessary. To enhance flexibility, the department made the new Sociology and Anthropology Minor more adaptable, allowing students to complete the minor with any five SOAN courses.

“We think a Sociology Anthropology Minor is a really good accompaniment to all sorts of things, because sociology and anthropology are interested in how people live and work in the world, what their understanding is, and their context for why they might act the way they’re acting,” Block said. “If you’re a business major, working in accounting, an educator, a nurse, etc., that minor can help you think about and talk about how you understand people in context, in the world, and in any career you choose.”

Students looking to complete a SOAN Major must complete SOAN 111 (Intro to Sociology) or SOAN 121 (Intro to Anthropology), MATH 124 or PSYC 221 (prerequisite for Quantitative Methods), the methods series courses: SOAN 306 and SOAN 379, SOAN 204: Social Theory, and SOAN 396: Capstone. Many SOAN students are double majors and minors due to the number of credits required for the major. SOAN courses can also be completed abroad, making it more flexible for students interested in studying abroad.

Overall, Block said the new department and its modifications were created to benefit students, highlight the merit of the subjects, and accurately showcase what students are learning.

“We think these changes both mean that our minor is becoming something that is really valuable and attractive to lots of students, and that for our major, students are already getting sociology and anthropology from the classes they’ve been taking, and now their degree will reflect that difference,” Block said.

Students enrolled in or before Fall 2024 have the option to switch to the SOAN major or continue with the previous curriculum.