About the Department
The Department of Sociology provides students with an opportunity to develop sociological knowledge and skills in theory, data collection, methods, service learning, and analysis, and to apply these skills to a wide range of social phenomena.
Undergraduate students can take a variety of courses including:
- Deviant Behavior
- Sociology of Sex and Gender
- Urban Sociology
- Contemporary Sociological Theory
- Program Planning and Development
- Criminology
- Techniques of Data Analysis
- Sociology of Race and Ethnic Relations
- Empowerment for Social Change
- Qualitative Methods
- Special Topics courses that focus on related issues
Graduate students gain a distinctive set of experiences, skills, and opportunities. The department has focused its graduate program on three substantive areas:
- Criminology
- Social Inequality
- Urban Sociology
Faculty members are actively engaged with other units on campus and many organizations in Washington, D.C. and around the nation, addressing issues related to these topics. The sound training provided by a talented and experienced faculty serves as excellent preparation for further graduate work or immediate employment in social research, community service, and related types of jobs.
The Department of Sociology occupies Suite 409 in Phillips Hall, which is at the core of the GW campus and right across the street from Gelman Library. This space includes faculty offices, administrative and student services offices, and office space for graduate students and teaching and research assistants. A large University Computing Center is also located in Phillips Hall and offers access to computing services, including consultation on computing problems. Sociology classes are not concentrated entirely in Phillips Hall but spread into nearby buildings. This has been necessary because of the great number of students registered in Sociology, Human Services, and Criminal Justice classes each year.
The Department of Sociology is directly affiliated with the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, the Women's Studies Program, the Africana Studies Program, and the Department of Forensic Sciences.
Social Commentary
Professor Gregory Squires has published widely on racial inequality and urban development. In a recent HuffingtonPost blog, "Occupy Wall Street: A New Wave of Fair Housing Activism?" written with Chester Hartman, Squires explores the implications of recent Occupy protest activities for fair housing advocacy, the subject of a conference they are organizing next fall (with a book to follow) at the Fair Housing Legal Support Center of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago which will be co-sponsored by GW's Department of Sociology. Squires has served as a consultant and expert witness for fair housing groups and civil rights organizations around the country including HUD, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
What's For Lunch?
Ivy Ken's Dean's Seminar on the Sociology of Food was featured in the Columbian College E-Magazine recently. Students in her class completed a semester-long service-learning project at a local elementary school where they spent lunchtime, recess, and aftercare time with the students.