Fall 2026 Advising Guide

IMPORTANT LINKS

Academic Advisement Information & Tips to prepare for registration

Fall 2026 Course Descriptions

General Sociology Major Overview and Requirements

General Anthropology Major Overview and Requirements

SOC 397 Learning Assistant for STA 145

Course description: Many students have been taught from a young age that little or no slavery took place north of the Mason-Dixon line, or that it was enforced in a more benevolent manner. Archaeological excavations paired with historical documents are providing a new and more accurate picture of slavery in the Northern States. Large plantations and urban industry yielded a variety of products using enslaved labor throughout the Northern States and leave physical traces of this activity. New Jersey had one of the largest populations of enslaved labor in the north with the practice persisting well into the 1860s. We will begin with a brief history of slavery and work develop an understanding of the practices, forms and extent of slavery specific to the north through the analysis of material culture. We will examine the processes of archaeology and archaeological evidence which can shed light on the lives of enslaved people. As a class we will spend time on location at the William Green colonial house, demonstrated to have had indentured servants, and use artifacts to reflect on black laborers¿ contributions to the economy of 18th and 19th century throughout New Jersey. We will discuss the reasons that the archaeological signature of enslaved people appears to be minimal and apply that knowledge to deliberate on modern-day issues of inequality, anti-black racism, and social justice.

Fall 2026 Partner Courses*:

Sociology students may substitute one elective from another program, with permission from the Department Chair. These courses have been pre-approved:

• CRI 363 (School to Prison Pipeline) – Tuesdays 5:30-8:20pm with Dr. Michael Mitchell; crosslisted with AAS 363-01. May in enroll in either section.
• AAS 370-01 (Black Women Prisoners) – Monday/Thursday 11:00am-12:20pm with Dr. Leigh-Anne Francis; crosslisted with CRI 370-05 and WGS 370-01. May enroll in any section.
• AAS 370-02 (Racism, Crime and Prisons) –  Monday/Thursday 12:30pm-1:50pm with Dr. Leigh-Anne Francis; crosslisted with CRI 370-04 and WGS 370-02. May enroll in any section.

*waivers will not happen automatically. Please let the department know if you are seeking Sociology credit for a partner course.

Also, if you still need a statistics course we strongly recommend you take STA 145 Statistics for Social Sciences with Dr. Kline, Tues-Fri 2pm or 3:30pm. Reach out to Karen for pre-registration.

The following course has been pre-approved as an Anthropology partner course:

• AAH 315 & WGS 315/Decolonizing and Diversifying the Museum –  Mondays 5:30-8:20pm with Dr. Deborah Hutton. May in enroll in either section. College Core: LVPA and Global and Gender

Course description:  Are museums neutral caretakers of our shared cultural inheritance, or problematic institutions that replicate racist, colonial ways of viewing the world, or something in between? Currently activists are calling on museums to decolonize and diversify: to return objects taken during colonization, to expand the perspectives they portray beyond those of the dominant cultural group, and to interrogate the power structures, biases, and inequities on which they are built. This course examines the ways in which museums are connected to histories of colonialism and nationalism as well as how activists, scholars, and artists are working to rethink museums.

*waivers will not happen automatically. Please let the department know if you are seeking Anthropology credit for this course.

 Fall 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 111 / Intro to Biological Anthropology

What makes us human?  Is it the use of language, the ability to manipulate material culture or the fact that we are bipedal?  This course will focus on evolutionary theory and the theory of natural selection, the behavior and anatomy of non-human primates, and the evolution of modern humans.  Students will also learn how anthropology is directly related to other disciplines including sociology, biology, ecology and geology. (Note:  this course has no lab, and while it satisfies the liberal learning requirement for a natural science course, it does NOT satisfy the requirement for a natural science with lab).

ANT 370 / Topics in Anthropology

Current or specialized topics proposed by faculty or students and approved by the department. Offered primarily for juniors and seniors. It may not be appropriate for freshmen and sophomores. The class may be taken for credit several times if content differs each time. See above for Fall 2026 course descriptions for Archaeology of Slavery (ANT 370-01) and Anthropology, Design, and User Experience (ANT 370-02)

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 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 310 Urban Youth Deviance > to be renamed The Sociology of Deviance     

New Course Description: Why do individuals and groups conform to social norms, and why do some individuals violate them? What are the consequences of rule breaking? Who gets to decide what is ‘normal’ and ‘deviant’? What are the effects of those decisions on human beings? How do institutions exert control on human behaviors? This course examines the sociological construction of deviance. Drawing from diverse sociological theories we will examine critically how particular attributes and/or behaviors are defined as deviant, the social consequences of formal and informal deviant designations, and how the meanings attached to deviance can change over time and place. We will be challenged to re-examine our own understandings of what is ‘deviant’ and what is ‘normal,’ and pay special attention to the relationship between deviance, power and social inequality.

SOC 335 / Love, Relationships, and Family
Families represent one of the building blocks of social organization, but their structure and function has become increasingly dynamic. How do young adults select romantic partners to form durable unions? Are durable unions that involve marriage different from those that don’t? What is the relationship between marriage and parenting? How do all of these issues vary in a society with increasing diversity in race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality, and religion? This course examines these issues and many more to develop a stronger understanding of how intimate relationships shape and reproduce society.

SOC 365 / Poverty and Welfare in the US

History, nature, extent, levels, causes of poverty. Effect of industrialization, urbanization, and technology. Impact upon major institutions. Ethnic and racial group problems and reactions. Governmental and private organizational programs.

SOC 370 / Topics in Sociology

Selected topics which may vary from year to year. Topic to be announced. May be repeated for credit. Topic varies depending on instructor. See above for Fall 2026 Topic: Anthropology, Design, and User Experience, crosslisted with ANT 370-02.

SOC 375 / Religion and American Culture

To correctly understand U.S. culture, one must understand the religions that influenced, and continue to influence, its citizens.  Religion oriented the entire lives of early colonists, impacting the institutions they created, the interactions they had, and the cultural norms they established.  Today, religion is no less influential in American culture.  It shapes the personal realms of its citizens, as well as every institution within it.  This course will be of value to any interested citizen, and especially to those who seek to better understand the dynamic interplay of religion and American culture in the making of American individuals.

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. [See above for Fall 2026 opportunity with ]

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)