Spring 2024 Advising Guide

Registration for the Spring 2024 semester will begin on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 and runs through Friday, November 17, 2023. Please be sure to check your PAWS account to determine when you are eligible to register.

*NOTES FROM THE CHAIR*:

IMPORTANT LINKS

Summer Archaeology Field School

In Summer 2024, Dr. George Leader will offer the following course as a summer field school on campus. Taking place over two weeks in early-to-mid August, a residential option will be available.

ANT 364 / Archaeological Field School

Course Description: This field school will be an intensive two-week, hands-on methods and techniques learning experience. It is designed to provide excavation instruction and practice for archaeology students. The first two days will be in the classroom learning the background of the William Green Plantation Project, historical archaeology, and ceramics and artifact analysis. The remainder of the course will be learning and applying methods
at the excavations site, and analyzing the recovered artifacts. Students will be trained in survey, mapping, gridding, excavations, analysis, and public archaeology.

Spring 2024 Course List

Spring 2024 Research Opportunities in Sociology and Anthropology

SOC 397 Learning Assistants in Sociology for SOC 301
Dr. Borland is seeking one learning assistant for SOC 301 for Spring 2024. To be eligible, you must have taken the course (preferably with Dr. Borland) and earned a B+ or better. You must also have at least a 3.25 GPA.

SOC 397 Learning Assistant in Sociology for SOC 302 and SOC 397 Learning Assistant for STA 215

SOC 390 Research Course in Sociology with Dr. Li

To apply for consideration for this research course, please fill out the form at the link here:

   https://forms.gle/2m6DK4EB29hs2hW77

Lastly, please consider applying for Summer 2024 MUSE (Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience). For details on the MUSE 2024 program and instructions to apply please see the MUSE 2024  Request for Proposals. Requests for MUSE applications must be received by January 29, 2024. Students will train full-time (35 hours per week) with their faculty mentors for the 8-week period from June 3 – July 26, 2024. Students should work with their faculty mentor to determine the appropriate work schedule. Students will receive a research stipend of $4,200 plus eight weeks of on-campus housing if requested (worth $1464.00 per student for the eight weeks). MUSE students will be housed together and will have the opportunity to participate in community-building social activities and trips in the evenings and on weekends, coordinated by a student committee. Meals are not included (students may purchase meals in the Student Center and use kitchen facilities available in the residence hall and approved appliances in their rooms). The coordinated activities associated with housing are an important aspect of the MUSE community and program, so students are strongly encouraged to live on campus. However, some students may have reasons to opt out of the on-campus housing, in which case the student receives only the $4,200 stipend. Because housing is a significant expense for the MUSE program, students who request the on-campus housing must fully intend to live on campus all week for the duration of the program. Students participating in MUSE will be required to 1) train full-time on their MUSE project during the 8-week period as agreed with their faculty mentor prior to the end of the spring semester, 2) participate in MUSE community activities when possible, 3) prepare a final abstract and deliver a presentation at TCNJ’s annual MUSE Poster Session in the Fall of 2024, 4) deliver other department-based, school-based, and off-campus conference presentations as determined in consultation with their mentors, and 5) complete evaluations of their summer experience. Ask your advisor about MUSE possibilities for Summer 2024 if interested.

Spring 2024 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 language and gender are embedded in structures of power, authority, and social inequality, and with conflicts over these social structures.

ANT 346* / Climate Justice & Social Action (*new course number)

This course provides the opportunity for students to develop skills to take collective action on climate change and other social issues.   Students will learn how to bring about social change by carrying out a policy change campaign over the course of the semester.  The course is based on the framework of climate justice: the acknowledgment that the people affected most by climate change are the least responsible for causing it and that addressing climate change requires addressing the societal inequalities–racial, economic, gender, among others–that force vulnerable people to bear the brunt of the effects of climate change.

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 / Senior Capstone Internship          

Capstone internship constituting a culminating experience for anthropology majors. Course draws on skills and knowledge of anthropology 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 ANT  499 Senior Seminar in Anthropology (of the same section number) to fulfill the capstone requirements of the anthropology major.  (0.5 course unit; Corequisite: ANT 499; Prerequisites:  SOC301 (C or above) & SOC 302 (C or above) or 200-level language (B- or above) or study abroad & ANT 361 or ANT 390 or ANT 401 (B- or above).

ANT 499 / Senior Capstone Seminar

Senior seminar constituting a culminating experience for anthropology majors. Course draws on skills and knowledge of anthropology courses as well as knowledge gained from the liberal arts broadly construed. Must be taken as a bundle with ANT 398 Anthropology Capstone Internship (of the same section number) to fulfill the capstone requirements of the anthropology major. (0.5 course unit; Corequisite: ANT 499; Prerequisites:  SOC301 (C or above) & SOC 302 (C or above) or 200-level language (B- or above) or study abroad & ANT 361 or ANT 390 or ANT 401 (B- or above).

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SOC 101 / Intro to Sociology

Sociology explores the intersection between our personal lives, history, and the social world around us. Students learn the basic foundations of sociology, including its development as a field of inquiry, sociological theory, and methodology. Students investigate how race, class, gender, and other social identities are constructed, performed, and affect our social lives and perpetuate existing structures of inequality, with an emphasis on institutional and structural racism.  The course also explores how culture and social institutions shape individuals and their life trajectories.

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 301 / Development of Socio-Cultural Theory

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

What is the relationship of the individual to the social world? Classical social theorists responded to the consequences of the industrial revolution, the rise of capitalism, shifts toward secularism and modern consciousness with answers to this question. This course examines the work of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber, whose ideas are still salient in shaping perspectives and framing terms of argument among many major contemporary social and political thinkers. It compares classical theory with later extensions and contemporary approaches to provide students in sociology and anthropology with a solid conceptual foundation. The course will emphasize comparative application of theory to make sense of one’s experience living in contemporary society.

SOC 302 / Quantitative Research Methods

SOC 101 (C or better), & STA 115 (C 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, as well as the differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods.  In addition, students will learn statistical software packages in the social sciences 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 317 / Organizations in Modern Society

Every day, we encounter an array of organizations, and they shape the way we live our lives: how we learn, play, work, worship, and shop. Without organizations, it would be impossible to coordinate human activity in contemporary society. Even so, we often take them for granted. By studying different types of organizations, we can better understand how they operate and how to use them effectively. This course examines different kinds of organizations, public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, voluntary and involuntary, small and large. Students will apply their knowledge to organizations in the community and will gain a greater understanding of how modern organizations have an impact on our society and themselves.

SOC 320 / Urban Sociology: Community, Cities and Suburbs

People often think about “the city” as separate from “the suburbs,” but the two are inextricably linked. Drawing from urban sociology, this course examines the sociological concept of community and then applies it in two modern contexts:  the city and the suburb. Studies of the city attend to current urban problems, such as de-industrialization, poverty, crime, globalization, migration, and urban environmental problems.  The suburbs are addressed in terms of growing racial and ethnic diversity as well as cultural homogenization, isolation, segregation, and sprawl. The study of cities and suburbs emphasizes race and ethnicity as prominent features in shaping culture and landscapes in the United States.

SOC 362 / Global Perspectives in Social Gerontology       

The purpose of this course is to explore the field of gerontology and the impact of expanded lifespans on our global society. Increasing longevity has changed the basic structure of society around the globe, with several countries now experiencing a population comprised of equal numbers of young and old and declining birth rates. This course explores the state of the science in longevity and aging and its impact on families and societies around the globe exploring intersections with gender, race, class and culture. Topics include healthcare, intergenerational relationships, caregiving, legal policy and ageism from an international and sociologic lens. Students will explore readings, lectures, field trips and current media to inform discussion about the challenges and opportunities for global societies with an increasing percentage of older adults. Impact on family, healthcare, social structure, social policy, business, and intersections with technology will be discussed. This course will challenge students to confront their own views of aging and consider the ethical dilemmas surrounding societal care of the aged as a vulnerable population.

SOC 373 / Public Health & Social Policy

This course focuses on the structure and practice of U.S. public health and healthcare. Students will assess public health policy within a historical and institutional framework, and deal with major areas of contemporary debate, including health inequalities, the organization of medical insurance, and the social organization of healthcare.

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.

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)