The Department of Sociology
The sociology program at Westfield State University (WSU) is organized around a broad range of courses that offer majors and non-majors an opportunity to learn how the discipline illuminates both the social world and individual biography within a context that stimulates critical thinking and logical analysis. Sociology at WSU reflects the University mission of providing students with the intellectual breath of a liberal arts education, combined with an orientation towards service to the wider community achieved through the application of sociological knowledge and analytical tools in internships and/and individual research projects.
Sociology faculty are committed to accomplishing these broad goals within an environment that promotes the fair and equitable treatment of all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or national origin. We share a commitment to educational practices that value diversity within the United States as well as globally. Where inconsistencies are uncovered, we encourage students to think about, and devise ways of engaging in praxis or action in order to bring about positive social change.
The faculty is also dedicated to improving students’ abilities to express themselves orally and in writing by emphasizing these skills in class assignments and performance evaluations. In addition, requiring all majors to complete at least one course of research methods signals our intent to improve students’ grasp and use of qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection and analysis.
Finally, sociology faculty respond to the needs of both the University and the larger community by developing interdisciplinary courses and programs, participating in committees, and engaging in service activities
