Spring 2026 Advising Guide

IMPORTANT LINKS

Academic Advisement Information & Tips to prepare for registration

Spring 2026 Course Descriptions

General Sociology Major Overview and Requirements

General Anthropology Major Overview and Requirements

For more information on Learning Assistant Responsibilities and to apply for the SOC 302 Learning Assistant position with Dr. Gazley, please fill out the form at the link  here.

ANT 397 Learning Assistant in Anthropology for ANT/WLC/WGS 271 Gender and Language

Dr. Didi-Ogren is seeking a learning assistant for ANT/WLC/WGS 271 Gender and Language for Spring 2026. To be eligible, you should have a 3.25 gpa or higher and have an interest in linguistic anthropology.

For more information on Learning Assistant Responsibilities and to apply for the ANT 271/WLC 271/WGS 271 Learning Assistant position, please fill out the form at the link  here.

Each semester the department offers at least one mentored research course with a faculty member. Working in small groups, students gain valuable research experience while assisting a faculty member with their ongoing research projects. For Spring 2026, Dr. Tim Clydesdale is recruiting a student research team:

SOC 390 Research Course in Sociology with Dr. Clydesdale (clydesda@tcnj.edu)

If you are interested in college sports, student well-being, and hands-on research experience, this seminar is for you! Dr. Clydesdale has a grant to fund research on student athlete support and development, and he is conducting research interviews and observations on college campuses across the US. In this seminar, you’ll get to work with this qualitative data directly, listening to interviews and checking transcription accuracy, writing up interview summaries, coding for themes, and developing skills in using Atlas.ti for qualitative analysis. In addition, you’ll learn about and get to do interviews yourself with student athletes at TCNJ and in the local area. Along the way, you’ll discover a bit about emerging adulthood, the sociology of sport, and the social scientific study of well-being. This is a good opportunity to develop your organizational, analytical, and communication skills, and to explore if graduate study or a research career might be a good fit. This seminar will meet weekly for two hours (tentatively on Wednesday mornings), plus biweekly 1:1 meetings with Dr. C, and will count as a one unit 300-level sociology or anthropology elective or anthropology methods option.

To apply for consideration for this research course, please fill out this google application form  here.

Spring 2026 Course Descriptions

ANT 110 / Intro to Cultural Anthropology

A survey of the major concepts of social-cultural anthropology.  Cross-cultural comparison will be a central concern of the course, as will the process of cultural change.

ANT 112 / Intro to Archaeology

How do anthropologists learn about people and the worlds in which they live when they can’t talk with those people or observe their day-to-day activities?  Archaeology is the sub-discipline of anthropology that explores what it means to be human by examining the material things that people made, modified, and left behind.  Students in this course will learn to explain how archaeologists use the material remains of human activities to understand past human relationships, behaviors, and beliefs.  Simultaneously, they will grow to appreciate how interpretations and presentations of the past affect people living today.

ANT 271 / Gender and Language (crosslisted with WLC 271 and WGS 271)

Since its inception in the 1970’s, the field of gender and language has grown to encompass a broad range of disciplines (sociolinguistics, anthropology, psychology, communication studies, literature, women’s studies, etc.) and theoretical interests. This course will provide an overview of key themes in gender and language research. From this overview we will see that there is ongoing discussion about both the most effective approach to the study of gender and language, and about the theoretical underpinnings which are evoked by, for example, various definitions of key concepts such as “gender.” Particular attention will be given in the course to approaches to language and gender that have developed within sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology and which focus on the way in which both

ANT 305 / Human Evolution

The study of human evolutionary past, using various methods, including archaeology and the interpretation of skeletal morphology. Evolutionary principles and processes of change are used as a theoretical background to examine our non-human primate relatives, the human fossil record, and biological variation in modern human populations. It is recommended, but not required, that students complete ANT111 prior to enrolling in this course.

ANT 340 / Social Change in Latin America (crosslisted with SOC 342)

Latin America has been the subject for much debate about development in social theory.  This course examines the theoretical debates about development and provides empirical case studies to highlight how social change occurs in Latin America.  These themes include:  economic globalization, gender, migration, resistance to social change, urbanization, environmental degradation, corruption, social movements, structural adjustment, and race relations.

ANT 361 / Human Osteology & Forensic Anthropology

The study of the human skeleton can reveal human origins as well as support the recovery, analysis, and identification of human skeletal remains in a medicolegal context. Students in this course will be introduced to the macro- and micro-anatomy of bone, techniques for identifying and siding individual bones, and methods used to develop a biological profile from human skeletal remains. The course also examines the role of forensic anthropologists in aspects of medicolegal death investigation that include personal identification, analysis of skeletal trauma, mass disasters, and human rights violations.

ANT 398 / 499 Senior Capstone Experience in Anthropology (crosslisted with SOC 398/499) – see description below. Enrollment with department consent

SOC 101 / Intro to Sociology

Sociology explores the intersection of biography and history.  Students learn the basic foundations of sociology, including its development as a field of inquiry, early sociological theory, and methodology.  The course also analyzes social organization, addressing culture, structure, socialization, and social control. Students investigate how culture, class, race, sex, family, medicine, business, religion, education, and government affect our lives.  Special attention is paid to the impact of society on self.

SOC 205 / Social Work & Human Service Professions

Are you drawn to collaborating with others to improve their lives in a meaningful way? This dynamic course is designed especially for students interested in any human services profession, particularly social work, but also fields such as public health, medical social services, counseling & therapy, rehabilitation, educational support, government, and non-profit management. Together we examine the theory and practice of social work and human services within the larger social welfare system in America. Our exploration probes: a) the complex array of problems that challenge the social functioning of individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities, (b) the various approaches, policies, and interventions employed to enhance or restore social functioning, (c) the unique values, knowledge, and skills required for effective professional practice, and (d) the multiple, varied, and rewarding career opportunities. Critical investigation of America’s structural and systemic social problems is a primary focus, including poverty and socio-economic inequality, health disparities, racism, sexism, and other forms of social injustice. The instructor emphasizes interactive and experiential learning, including small group discussions, career exploration with visiting social work professionals, and completion of a 30-hour, community-based, field experience at a site selected by the student.

SOC 281 / Sociology of Race in the US (crosslisted with AAS 281)

This course provides a sociological perspective on race and ethnicity in the United States. A sociological approach to this topic begins with the understanding that racial and ethnic categories including white are not objective measures of biological difference. Rather, these are socially created categories and are the result of historical struggles over economic resources, political access, and cultural identity. Indeed, categories of race and ethnicity are socially created to establish distinctions among human beings and to justify the unequal distribution of wealth, resources, power, privilege and prestige among members of society. The meanings assigned to categories of race, however, change over time and space. Crosslisted with AAS 281.

SOC 301 / Development of Socio-Cultural Theory

SOC 101 or ANT 110 is a pre-requisite (with a B- or better required of Sociology majors/minor)

The response of social theorists to the consequences of the industrial revolution and the issues of capitalism, secularism, modern consciousness, and the socio-critical enterprise, as seen through the work of such theorists as Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.  Contemporary development of these theories will also be discussed.

SOC 302 / Quantitative Research Methods

SOC 101 (B- or better), & STA 115 (B- or better) or STA 215 (C+ or better) are prerequisites. SOC302 and a required 80-minute lab class are co-requisites.

The course is designed to familiarize students with quantitative research methodology, methods of quantitative data collection, and analysis of quantitative data used in sociology.  In addition, students will learn one of the most widely used statistical software packages in the social sciences (SPSS) and conduct independent research using one of the most widely used sources of quantitative social data, the General Social Survey (GSS).  One additional 80-minute lab session is required as a co-component to this course.

SOC 303 / Gender and Activism in Global Perspective 

Social movements about gender issues and identities are significant sources of social change in societies around the world. This course explores the cultural constructions and implications of gender in different global contexts by analyzing the political demands and experiences of gender-based movements.

SOC 311 / Working with Urban Communities (crosslisted with EFN 311)

The purpose of this course is for students to learn the importance of relationships between the community and school; how to engage with community members as partners, and strategies for becoming integrated within the community. The framework for this course combines Understanding by Design and The Five Stages of Service Learning (investigation, preparation, action, reflection, and demonstration). Teacher candidates with engage in each stage as they work toward supporting the whole child and building lasting relationships among schools, families, and communities.

SOC 342 / Social Change in Latin America (crosslisted with ANT 340)

Latin America has been the subject for much debate about development in social theory.  This course examines the theoretical debates about development and provides empirical case studies to highlight how social change occurs in Latin America.  These themes include:  economic globalization, gender, migration, resistance to social change, urbanization, environmental degradation, corruption, social movements, structural adjustment, and race relations. Crosslists with ANT 340.

SOC 345 / Environmental Sociology: Inequality, Pollution, & Environment

Environmental sociology applies the sociological imagination to human interactions with the non-human environment.  This course introduces the environmental sociological perspective to examine  the social origins of environmental problems (such as ozone depletion, deforestation, and water pollution), environmental inequality, environmental racism/environmental justice, and the social history of land use, in New Jersey and around the world.  Students will learn how different social and technological systems lead to detrimental environmental impacts that tend to create healthier environments for some and more hazardous environments for others.

SOC 357 / Investigating Systemic Inequalities Impacting Urban Education (crosslisted with EFN 357)

The purpose of this course is to investigate systemic inequalities impacting urban education utilizing ethnographic research. Systemic inequalities impacting urban education, as conceptualized in this course, includes the social, political, and economic structures that shape schools as institutions. We will explore texts from each of these domains as well as ways that urban education researchers are addressing these challenges in hopeful and radical ways. Using ethnographic research allows for deeply contextualized and nuanced explorations into the lives of the youth, teachers, parents, and communities living and working in urban environments. Additionally, the course will introduce students to the theoretical perspectives that inform ethnography as a methodological approach and of the techniques for and issues in gathering, analyzing, writing-up, and using ethnographic data. More specifically, the course will draw on critical ethnography as “this kind of methodology emerges collaboratively from the lives of the researcher and the researched and is centrally about praxis and a political commitment to the struggle for liberation and in defense of human rights.” (Calabrese-Barton, 2000).

SOC 390 / Research Course in Sociology

A small group of students work closely with a faculty member on their ongoing research.  Students will learn to use the data collection and analysis methods used for the project and be offered opportunities to present the findings on campus or at a regional sociology meeting. See above for Spring 2026 description with Dr. Clydesdale.

SOC 397 / Learning Assistantship in Sociology

Learning Assistants learn about the teaching of Sociology.  Students gain a deeper understanding of the particular course content area, gain insight into curriculum goals and methods of achieving them, and develop instructional skills in the areas of: providing written feedback, creating and/or delivering learning activities, and constructing learning tools.  Specific duties for the Learning Assistant are detailed in a contract that is developed and signed by both the student and faculty sponsor.

SOC 398 / Sociology Capstone Internship

Capstone internship constituting a culminating experience for sociology majors. Course draws on skills and knowledge of sociology courses as well as knowledge gained from the liberal arts broadly construed to be applied to reflect deeply and examine experiences and the social world at the internship site. Must be taken as a bundle with SOC 499 Senior Seminar in Sociology (of the same section number) to fulfill the capstone requirements of the sociology major.  (0.5 course unit; Corequisite: SOC 499; Prerequisites: SOC 301 and 302)

SOC 499 / Senior Capstone Seminar

SOC 301 and SOC 302 are prerequisites with a grade of C or better.

Senior seminar constituting a culminating experience for sociology majors. Course draws on skills and knowledge of sociology courses as well as knowledge gained from the liberal arts broadly construed. Must be taken as a bundle with SOC 398 Sociology Capstone Internship (of the same section number) to fulfill the capstone requirements of the sociology major. (0.5 course unit; Prerequisites: SOC 301 and 302; Corequisite: SOC 398)