Department of History, Sociology, and Anthropology

Department Information

Department Chair: Mark E. Miller
Centrum 225D ~ (435) 586-7860
miller@suu.edu

Administrative Assistant: Rudia Heddings
Centrum 225 ~ (435) 586-7860
rudiaheddings@suu.edu

Academic Advisor: Andrea Donovan
Academic and Career Development Center ~ (435) 865-8427
andreadonovan@suu.edu

Faculty
Professors: Curtis Bostick, Bradley J. Cook, James H. McDonald, Earl F. Mulderink III, Larry L. Ping, James A. Vlasich;
Associate Professor: Mark E. Miller;
Assistant Professors: Kholoud Al-Qubbaj, Emily Dean, Shobha Gurung, Randle Hart, Michelle Orihel, Michael Ostrowsky.

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Science

History Major, B.A.
History Major, B.S.
History Teaching, B.S.
History Teaching, B.S.
Sociology Major, B.A.
Sociology Major, B.S.
Social Science Composite, B.A.
Social Science Composite, B.S.

Minors

History
History Teaching
Sociology
Anthropology
Sustainability Studies
Shakespeare Studies
Women and Gender Studies

Overview of Programs

The Department of History, Sociology, and Anthropology provides a curriculum that educates students about the history of past peoples and the role of social organization on human interaction. Its faculty equip students with analytical and communicative skills that enable them to investigate past and present human cultures and societies and to communicate their findings logically, scientifically and effectively. The Department offers major and minor programs for the disciplines of History and Sociology, a minor for Anthropology, and interdisciplinary minors in Shakespeare Studies, Sustainability Studies, and Women and Gender Studies; it also supports a Social Science Composite Degree for secondary teaching certification.

Mission

History

The history program is committed to preparing undergraduate students to understand their historical and cultural heritage. It supports the university’s mission by emphasizing excellence in teaching with courses grounded in the liberal arts and sciences tradition, a curriculum designed to foster knowledge of human cultures and instill intellectual and practical skills involving inquiry and analysis, critical thinking, written and oral communication, teamwork and problem solving. The history discipline supports the general education program at the university. In cooperation with the College of Education, the department prepares students for teaching careers in elementary and secondary schools, and it works to qualify majors for graduate study and advanced administrative specialization. The program also includes the interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies, Shakespeare Studies, and Women and Gender Studies Minors. In keeping with the university’s mission, the program emphasizes personal and social responsibility by requiring students to complete projects involving civic engagement, experiential learning, and service learning that elevate students’ civic knowledge, intercultural competence, and ethical reasoning, experience that together provide foundations for engaged citizens and lifelong learning.

Sociology

The Sociology program’s mission is to prepare students for life in diverse, global societies by introducing them to applied and conceptual tools that enhance critical understandings of the social world. With a curriculum rooted in the liberal arts and sciences tradition, the Sociology program supports the university’s academic mission (and general education requirements), fosters an understanding of sociological theories, principles, and methodologies, integrates service- and experiential-learning with other pedagogies, and prepares students for advanced education in addition to careers in teaching, social work, and a variety of administrative and research occupations.

Anthropology

The Anthropology program has two principle goals: 1) to prepare students interested in pursuing graduate work in anthropology or professional degrees in the related fields of international business, criminology, education, medicine, and law; 2) to provide an interesting and rigorous course of study for students seeking to understand the human cultural and biological experience through time and space. Students pursuing the Anthropology minor at SUU will be exposed to a three field approach that emphasizes Anthropology’s dominant sub-disciplines: archaeology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology. They will master a broad range of research, critical reasoning, and oral and written communication skills designed to prepare them for life and work in an increasingly multi-cultural world. Through courses dealing with human evolution, prehistoric culture change, and the cultural and biological diversity of contemporary humans, students will be taught to question and examine the significance of ethnocentric beliefs, attitudes, and prejudices and to understand the incredible biological and cultural diversity that characterizes the human species. A minor in Anthropology will supplement existing SUU major programs in Biology, Criminal justice, Foreign Languages, History, Geography, Outdoor Recreation, Psychology, and Sociology.

Department/Program Learning Outcomes

History

Students will possess factual and critical knowledge about past historical events, institutions, movements, figures, and societies and have the ability to identify key events that express change over time in a particular place or region, identify how change occurs over time, and explain historical continuity and change
Students will understand, describe, and critically assess historical theories, principals, and concepts and possess the ability to apply historical theories, principals, and concepts
Students will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills
Students will demonstrate the ability to apply historical methods and research protocols to formulate historical questions, obtain data from primary and secondary sources, critically assess primary and secondary sources, and follow scholarly conventions of the discipline
Students will possess and demonstrate critical and analytical thinking and reasoning skills and demonstrate the ability to construct well-organized historical arguments that utilize historic data in support of a thesis
Students will analyze personal experiences, including experiential learning projects and/or service learning projects, using historical methodology, principals, and concepts
Students will demonstrate preparedness for careers through employment in the historic profession, related fields, and acceptance into graduate programs of study

Sociology

Understand, describe, and critically assess sociological theories, principles, and concepts.
Understand, describe, and critically assess the role of culture and social structures in shaping individual lives.
Understand, describe, and critically assess inequalities based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexualities, immigration status, etc.
Understand, describe, and critically assess quantitative and qualitative methods used in sociological research.
Apply sociological concepts and methods to the analysis of social issues and social conflicts.
Design ethical sociological research.
Analyze personal experiences (inclusive of educational experiences) using the sociological imagination.

Anthropology

Understand, describe, and critically assess anthropological/archaeological theories, principles, and concepts.
Understand, describe, and critically assess the role of culture and social structures in shaping individual lives.
Understand, describe, and critically assess inequalities based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexualities, immigration status, etc.
Understand, describe, and critically assess methods used in anthropological and/or archaeological research.
Apply anthropological/archaeological concepts and methods.
Design ethical anthropological/archaeological research.
Analyze personal experiences (inclusive of educational experiences) using the anthropological/archaeological imagination.

Other Information

Our department sponsors two honors societies (Phi Alpha Theta in History and Alpha Kappa Delta in Sociology) that reward high academic achievement and foster campus and community involvement. We also sponsor the Anthropology Club, the Earth Club and the Arabic Club.