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SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY

Why Choose Sociology & Anthropology?

Every graduate of EC's program completes independent social science research. Classes include hands-on experience in gathering and analyzing data about society and culture.

Since EC's courses focus on the relationship between individual choices and social contexts, students are introduced to cultures other than their own. Study abroad is highly encouraged. The department offers Term III travel classes to Latin America, South Africa, India, Iceland, and Southeast Asia.

What Sociology & Anthropology Will Teach You!

Sociologists study the social structures people create together, called social institutions. These include family, education, the economy, medicine, and the media. Anthropology is the broad and inclusive study of human beings. At Elmira College, we focus especially on cultural anthropology, with offerings also in biological anthropology, archaeology and linguistics. Both fields prepare students to understand the ways our individual choices are influenced by larger social forces.

Elmira College offers a required research and methodology course in the sociology/anthropology major. In this class, each student carries out an original research project that includes interviews, observations, ethnographic field work, or content analysis. These projects become research papers that students present to the public and sometimes go on to publish in national journals.

Where Sociology & Anthropology Can Take You!

Sociology and anthropology majors are prepared for a wide range of careers dealing with people, cultures, and communities. Students go into careers in law, law enforcement, social justice work, education, social services, political organizing, international development, management, research, community development, museum and archival work. Many bring their social scientific training to health fields, including public health and public administration, or become educators

Why Choose Sociology & Anthropology?

Every graduate of EC's program completes independent social science research. Classes include hands-on experience in gathering and analyzing data about society and culture.

Since EC's courses focus on the relationship between individual choices and social contexts, students are introduced to cultures other than their own. Study abroad is highly encouraged. The department offers Term III travel classes to Latin America, South Africa, India, Iceland, and Southeast Asia.

What Sociology & Anthropology Will Teach You!

Sociologists study the social structures people create together, called social institutions. These include family, education, the economy, medicine, and the media. Anthropology is the broad and inclusive study of human beings. At Elmira College, we focus especially on cultural anthropology, with offerings also in biological anthropology, archaeology and linguistics. Both fields prepare students to understand the ways our individual choices are influenced by larger social forces.

Elmira College offers a required research and methodology course in the sociology/anthropology major. In this class, each student carries out an original research project that includes interviews, observations, ethnographic field work, or content analysis. These projects become research papers that students present to the public and sometimes go on to publish in national journals.

Where Sociology & Anthropology Can Take You!

Sociology and anthropology majors are prepared for a wide range of careers dealing with people, cultures, and communities. Students go into careers in law, law enforcement, social justice work, education, social services, political organizing, international development, management, research, community development, museum and archival work. Many bring their social scientific training to health fields, including public health and public administration, or become educators

The below links provide a helpful guide to the most current major/minor core courses and electives. Full program requirements and course descriptions are located in the Elmira College Bulletin.

Sociology & Anthropology Major

Learning Outcomes

Contacts:

Sociology

Anthropology

Full-time Faculty:

Part-time Faculty:

India, Iceland, South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, Thailand, Cambodia: The Sociology and Anthropology Department offers a wonderful variety of international immersion classes. Students travel across the world to study environmentalism in Ecuador, globalization in Thailand, or race in South Africa. From eating fried tarantulas in Cambodia, to tracking Huldufolk in Iceland, to going on safari in South Africa, each of EC's travel classes offers a deep and exciting educational experience in another culture.

Honor Society:

  • Lambda Alpha

Clubs:

  • Anthropology Club
  • Students Against Sexism and Stereotypes
  • Multicultural Center

Prizes/Scholarships:

  • The Provost's Prize in Sociology
  • The Provost's Prize in Anthropology

Internships:

Each Elmira College student is required to complete an internship before graduation. It is possible to accomplish this through an internal research internship. For example, one recent student intern completed an archival project, gathering interview data from members of the EC community during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another recent intern prepared an extensively researched proposal to improve campus accessibility for transgender students and those with a range of disabilities.

Career Opportunities:

Elmira College students have the chance to travel to regional and national conferences. Several students have been accepted to the competitive Undergraduate Honors Program at the American Sociological Association national annual meeting. Students in this program present their research, participate in conference sessions with graduate student guides. They also talk about admissions and the application process with graduate school representatives. This is a highly competitive program, and EC students have done well.

Kristina Noelani Kalolo '12

Kristina Noelani Kalolo '12

Markets Manager, Somali Bantu Community Association
Sociology and Anthropology
International Studies
Master of Arts in International Development & Social Change, Clark University

I am grateful for the formative time I spent at Elmira College. The opportunities for travel and the care that I received from the EC community directly shaped my life and career. Dr. Martha Easton's encouragement and support is the reason that I pursued my master's degree. EC helped open many doors for me to pursue my passions around justice, healing, and food systems as my career.