Department of Sociology
Introduction
The Department of Sociology is the primary home for two majors (sociology major and management and society major) and two minors (health and society minor and social and economic justice minor).
The undergraduate major in sociology provides students with theoretical and methodological tools, and substantive insights for understanding human social life and institutions. The department’s faculty is particularly strong in the areas of social inequality, marriage and family, health and medical sociology, work and the economy, religion, formal organizations, sex and gender, social movements, population and human ecology, social networks, education, and political sociology. Course themes range widely from the theoretical to the applied and incorporate a broad array of methodological approaches including comparative/historical, participant observation and interviewing, survey data collection, and statistical analysis.
The undergraduate major in management and society is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the institutional context and inner workings of organizations and the economic system, with both a historical and contemporary perspective. Students take relevant topical courses from a diverse range of departments (including Sociology, Communication Studies, Economics, Psychology, Business Management, and History), in addition to some statistics courses. It prepares students for a variety of positions in private or public-sector organizations. Additionally, many students find the curriculum to be excellent preparation for a variety of business-oriented graduate and professional degree programs.
The undergraduate minor in health and society provides students with an opportunity to examine contemporary health patterns and trends characterizing U.S. society and societies around the world, as well as sociologically based explanations for those patterns and trends. It also provides students with an understanding of the social construction of health and illness in modern societies. The minor brings together courses focused specifically on linkages between health and society, along with courses focused on social organization and stratification, to provide students with insights into the ways that societies define health and illness and how social organization and stratification influence population health.
The undergraduate minor in social and economic justice is designed for students who want to understand how to think analytically about issues of justice and how perspectives on justice can be joined with the pursuit of it. An overarching objective is fostering attitudes and knowledge about human rights; racial, ethnic, and gender equality; economic justice; democratic participation; sustainable development; diversity; and peace. It is especially appropriate for students who anticipate working in advocacy roles in nonprofit organizations, in local communities, or in governmental organizations. In these inquiries about justice, students engage scholarship in a variety of disciplines and traditions of practice.
Advising
All majors and minors have a primary academic advisor assigned in ConnectCarolina. Students are strongly encouraged to meet regularly with their advisor and review their Tar Heel Tracker each semester. The department’s director of undergraduate studies and assistant director engage with current, transfer, and prospective majors/minors by email or appointment (see contact information on the program page of the catalog). Departmental academic advising is particularly important for those students who are double majors and those who may be considering going on to graduate school. Further information on courses, undergraduate research opportunities, writing an honors thesis, careers, and graduate schools is available on the department’s website.
Opportunities for Career and Further Education
Graduates from our department's programs are employed by research institutes, public health and welfare organizations, social work agencies, private businesses, law firms, international agencies, medical centers, educational institutions, advertising firms, survey and polling organizations, and the criminal justice system. Others work in politics and government and in community and social justice organizing.
A major in sociology also prepares students for law, medical, or business school and for graduate degree programs in social work, education, public policy, religious ministry, mass communications, public health, nonprofit administration, and international affairs. The sociology major also prepares interested undergraduates for graduate studies in sociology, should they choose to continue in the field to become researchers or teachers in educational or research institutions. Students interested in pursuing graduate studies after college may, with the instructor’s permission, enroll in graduate-level courses at UNC–Chapel Hill.
A major in management and society prepares students for virtually any aspect of a business or management career that does not involve highly specialized training and certification (such as finance and accounting). Employers are interested in students who can think on their feet, communicate effectively, write well, and make sense of the social and economic changes occurring in their industry. Management and society majors are educated in each of these skills, and are especially suited for entry-level positions in any aspect of human resource management, industry, or public-sector organizations. Among recent graduates who responded to a placement office survey, the largest number were employed in sales; management or management training positions with at least some supervisory or personnel-related responsibilities ranked second. Other graduates are working in customer service, purchasing, and marketing research, and several hold positions in the public sector.
Professors
Kenneth A. Bollen, Neal Caren, David Cook-Martín, Barbara Entwisle, Elizabeth Frankenberg, Guang Guo, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert Hummer, Arne Kalleberg, Charles Kurzman, Ted Mouw, Lisa Pearce, Yang Claire Yang.
Associate Professors
Regina Baker, Yong Cai, Scott Duxbury, Lauren Gaydosh, Taylor Hargrove, Tania Jenkins,Alexandrea Ravenelle, Jessica Su.
Assistant Professors
Shannon Malone Gonzalez, Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, Rui Jie Peng, Kerilyn Schewel, Justin Sola, Lauren Valentino.
Teaching Associate Professor
Kathleen Fitzgerald.
Teaching Assistant Professor
Matthew Lammers.
Research Professors
Kathleen Mullan Harris, Paul Voss.
Affiliated Faculty
John D. Kasarda (Kenan–Flagler Business School).
Adjunct Professors
Thurston Domina (School of Education), Gail Henderson (Social Medicine), James H. Johnson Jr. (Kenan–Flagler Business School), Douglas L. Lauen (Public Policy), John D. Stephens (Political Science).
Adjunct Associate Professor
Tressie McMillan Cottom (School of Information and Library Science).
Adjunct Assistant Professors
Fenaba Addo (Public Policy), Malissa Alinor (Public Policy), Nathan Dollar (Carolina Demography), Carmen Gutierrez (Public Policy), Christian Lentz (History), Antonia Randolph (American Studies), Francesca Tripodi (School of Information and Library Science).
Professors Emeriti
Howard E. Aldrich, Kenneth (Andy) Andrews, Judith R. Blau, M. Richard Cramer, Glen H. Elder Jr., Jacqueline Hagan, Sherryl Kleinman, S. Philip Morgan, Anthony R. Oberschall, John Shelton Reed, Ronald R. Rindfuss, Karolyn Tyson, Peter R. Uhlenberg, Catherine Zimmer.
