Sociology and Anthropology

Acceptance to the SOAN department requires completion of at least two courses, with a B average, in the department.

In order to graduate, majors housed in the Sociology and Anthropology Department are required to complete at least the following core courses:

1. ANTH 001. Foundations: Culture, Power, and Meaning
2. SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture, and Society
3. At least one designated methods course
4. A 2-credit senior research project SOAN 096/097 or senior honors thesis SOAN 180F/180S

The “Foundations” courses offer key introductions to the department’s two fields; anthropology and sociology. Each highlights the distinct but complementary theories and methods of the two disciplines and provides a solid background to ongoing debates in each discipline. The courses examine concepts fundamental to both sociology and cultural anthropology and how these disciplines have changed over time.

The 2-credit senior research project requirement, in which the student works closely with a faculty advisor, is normally completed in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year.
The requirement includes:

1. SOAN 098/099. Senior Research Project Masters Class 
2. SOAN 096/097(course) or 180F/180S (Honors)

The senior research project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through working directly with a faculty member. Students enhance their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting a substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript. 

ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 001-019: Introductory courses serve as points of entry for students wishing to begin work in the department and are normally recommended before taking higher-level work in the department. 
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 020-090: Regular courses
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 095-099: Directed Reading, Independent Study, Senior Research Project
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 100 to 180: Honors Seminars and Thesis

Note: Course labeling within each of the three tiers of offerings reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas. 

For current course and seminar listings, consult the website at https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology/current-courses

ANTH 001. Foundations: Culture, Power and Meaning offers students a foundation in the theories, methods, and history of the discipline of cultural anthropology. Anthropology is a comparative study of culture, practice, and human diversity. This course will introduce students to some of the discipline’s key conceptual innovations, theoretical approaches, and past and present debates. Anthropologists study various societies to understand how meaning is constituted and circulated, how daily practices are structured by social norms and power systems, and how people resist, subvert, and transform inequalities and common modes of identification. Drawing on deep engagement with specific groups, communities, and processes, anthropology offers unique insights into pressing questions of our time, such as the effects of the global circulation of capital and people and how social structures, cultural-political ideologies, and everyday life interact. Topics to be covered include ritual and religion, kinship and family, gift and exchange, citizenship and nationalism, gender and sexuality, medicine and healing, media and circulation, and food and consumption. Students will gain familiarity with ethnography, anthropology’s flagship genre. We will also explore the discipline’s key field research methods and the ethical issues related to its goals to understand, interpret, and represent the lived experiences of people in diverse contexts.

SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture and Society a foundational introduction to the discipline of sociology. Throughout the course, we will examine key theories and concepts sociologists use, reading authors like W.E.B. DuBois, Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Bourdieu. We will also explore some of the key issues sociology tackles, including race and racism, gender and sexism, class and inequality, and the role of states and other power structures in shaping these and other facets of our social world. 

Acceptance to the SOAN course major requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at least a C average overall.

The applicant’s performance in department courses is discussed during the application review process; we also consider carefully an applicant’s potential for carrying out the department’s senior research project requirement.

Course majors are required to complete at least eight units of work in the department; of the eight, five are core, see overview of curriculum above.

The Sociology and Anthropology Department does not offer a course minor.

Acceptance to the SOAN honors major normally requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at least a B average overall.

The department will evaluate the progress of students writing Senior Honor Thesis before the end of November. If progress is deemed inadequate, the student will be asked to withdraw from Honors.

Students seeking to complete an honors major are required to complete at least nine units of work in the department;
- five required core courses, see overview of curriculum above 
- two 2-credit preparations. These preparations can include honors seminars, a course plus attachment, paired upper-level courses, or off campus study. The latter three forms of preparation must have the advance approval of the supervising faculty member and of the department.

Honors preparations (3):

1. Thesis preparation: The thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who will also administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner’s evaluation of the thesis.
2. Two 2-credit (non-thesis) preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written assignments or examinations given by the external examiners and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral examinations.

Students wishing to prepare for honors through a course plus an attachment must obtain permission from the instructor. Honors preparation will consist of the following materials:

• the syllabus for the course.
• the syllabus for the attachment
• written materials as requested by the instructor. The syllabus for the class and for the attachment, plus the written materials, if any will be forwarded to the external examiner. The external examiner will be asked to prepare a written examination based on the material as a unified whole. An oral examination will follow.

There are a number of ways in which off-campus study can be either integral or complementary to an honors major in Sociology and Anthropology. These include, but are not restricted to, the development of an honors preparation from work abroad and preparation for the senior thesis. To explore off-campus study possibilities, students must consult with the Chair of the department.

Students who contemplate basing an honors preparation on off-campus study work must seek the department’s conditional approval for this, before undertaking off-campus study. Upon returning from abroad, students must request departmental approval of the honors preparation based on work done abroad. To do this, students must submit to the department all materials done abroad, including syllabi and written work, which are intended to be part of the honors preparation. Upon review of these materials, the department will notify the student as to whether or not the proposed honors preparation is approved. Students should expect approval of only one honors preparation which includes off-campus study.

Acceptance to the SOAN honors minor normally requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at least a B average overall.

The department will evaluate the progress of students writing Senior Honor Thesis before the end of November. If progress is deemed inadequate, the student will be asked to withdraw from Honors.

Students seeking to complete an Honors minor normally complete at least five units of work in the department;
- three are required: ANTH 001, SOCI 001, and at least one designated methods course
- one 2-credit preparation: an honors seminar, a thesis, a class with an attachment, or with permission, paired upper level courses. 

The Honors Minor includes: One honors preparation in Sociology and Anthropology.
Depending on the format of the presentation, the examiner will receive the materials:

1. For thesis preparations: the thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who will also administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner’s evaluation of the thesis.
2. For non-thesis preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written assignments or examinations given by the external examiners and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral examinations.

Acceptance to a special major housed in SOAN normally requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at least a C average overall.

Most Special Majors need to be anchored in a home department. When a student anchors their special major in the department of Sociology and Anthropology, they must fulfill the requirements below. In many cases, the best option is pursuing a course major, since the department is not required to approve a Special Major application.

Requirements: 

1. Must complete the required core courses. See overview of the curriculum above.
2. Four credits from outside of the department must be included as part of the special major.
3. In putting together the special major, it is advisable that the student only designate ten courses as part of the major. That way there will be no problems with the 20-course rule.

Applicants for the Course and Honors Special Major in Medical Anthropology will usually be expected to have completed at least two courses in the department with grades of at least a B, and to have at least a B average overall.

The special major in medical anthropology offers students the opportunity to tailor a scholarly exploration of medicine, health, and illness with a foundation in anthropology. Medical anthropology is a dynamic subfield of the discipline that offers important theoretical, critical, and comparative perspectives to the study of medical systems and healing practices in different cultures, and it provides ways to shape the work and practices of medical institutions and professionals. Medical anthropology pays attention not only to biomedicine and scientific knowledge but also to diverse ways of healing, managing pain, and defining wellbeing. It also pays close attention to the different local, national, and global forces that shape the health and wellbeing of various groups and their access to resources and knowledges. This special major will be of particular interest to students interested in graduate work in medical anthropology, the study of medicine, and those planning on pursuing training and work in diverse professions of the health field.

Requirements, at least 10 credits:

1. ANTH 001. Foundations: Culture, Power, Meaning

2. one methods course in the SOAN department

3. Senior Research Project (to be discussed with advisor and developed beginning with declaration of special major)

4. Must complete at least one of the following two courses in the SOAN department:

ANTH 043E. Culture, Health, and Illness

ANTH 049B. Comparative Perspectives on the Body

5. Five additional courses with a maximum of four credits outside of the department

• Additional recommended SOAN courses include:

ANTH 012C. Anthropology of Childhood and the Family

ANTH 003G. First-Year Seminar: Development and its Discontents

ANTH 039C. Food and Culture

ANTH 053B. Anthropology of Public Health

ANTH 133. Anthropology of Biomedicine

SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture, and Society

SOAN 035. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action

• Up to four credits from outside of the department, may be included as part of the special major, with permission from SOAN. Please note that no more than one credit from any single department will be counted toward this special major. Students are encouraged to tailor their courses outside the department to their particular areas of interest. Some recommended courses at Swarthmore include:

ECON 075. Health Economics

ENGL 002M. Medical Writing and Rhetoric

ENVS 035. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action

HIST 066. The Social Construction of Diseases in the Modern World

HIST 067T. The Pandemic of Cigarette Smoking: Habit, Addiction and Public Health in the Big Tobacco Archives

HIST 080. History of the Body

POLS 048. The Politics of Population

POLS 068. Politics of Public Health

PSYC 038. Clinical Psychology

RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice

• Additionally, students are encouraged to explore course offerings in the Tri-co Health Studies Program and at the Health & Societies program at the University of Pennsylvania. Studying abroad could also be a valuable opportunity for the study of medical anthropology. Please consult with your advisor for guidance on course selection beyond Swarthmore.
• In putting together the special major, it is advisable that the student only designate ten courses as part of the major.  That way there will be no problems with the 20-course rule.

Applicants for the Special Major in Political Sociology will usually be expected to have completed at least two courses in the department with grades of at least a B, and to have at least a B average overall.

The special major in Political Sociology offers students an opportunity to ground their inquiries into all things political–political economy, forms of political order and organization, regime formation and revolution, political action, parties and elections, policy, status, power–in a sociological approach that seeks to interrogate and understand social structures and insists that politics must be treated as fully implicated in every facet of the social order, from institutional arrangements to social relations. Political Sociology encompasses a wide variety of theoretical and methodological approaches with which sociologists attempt to describe and explain political phenomena. We cover a wide range of areas within the field, including race, class, migration, colonization, imperialism, public policy, urban politics, social movements, state-formation, revolutions, and cross-national social policy and policy outcomes.

Requirements, at least 10 credits:

1. SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture, and Society

2. one methods course in the SOAN department

3. Senior Research Project (to be discussed with advisor and developed beginning with declaration of special major)

4. At least six additional courses

5. Up to four credits from outside of the department, may be included as part of the special major, with permission from SOAN. Please note that no more than one credit from any single department will be counted toward this special major. Students are encouraged to tailor their courses outside the department to their particular areas of interest. Some recommended courses at Swarthmore include:

• Courses to Consider:

SOCI 006C. FYS: Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness

SOCI 025B/PEAC 025B. Transforming Intractable Conflict

SOCI 025C. Globalization and Global Inequality

SOCI 026B. Class Matters: Privilege, Poverty & Power

SOCI 035B. Anti-Capitalism, Revolution and Resistance in the “Third World”

SOCI 035D. Transnational Migration

SOCI 035E. Race, Migration and the Law

SOCI 048G. Between the Is and the Ought: Black Social and Political Thought

SOCI 048K. The Mafia and the State

SOCI 048L. Urban Crime and Punishment

SOCI 058C . Manufacturing Scarcity:The Housing Crisis in American Cities and the People’s Fight for A Home

SOCI 056C. Sociology of [this year’s] election

SOCI 138. Du Bois and the 21st Century Color Line

SOCI 145. Marxism and Radical Political Economy

SOCI 148. Advanced Topics in Political Sociology: Power, Governance, and the State

ANTH 037B. Anthropology of Law

ANTH 037C. Anti-Corruption Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean

ANTH 042D. Political Anthropology

ANTH 072C. Memory, History, and Nation

• Up to 4 courses outside department (strongly encourage Tri-co and Penn courses)

ECON 013. Economic Efficiency, Markets, and Distributive Justice

ECON 041. Public Economics

ECON 042. Law and Public Policy

ECON 073. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Economics

ECON 082. Political Economy of Africa

HIST 056.Police, Prisons, & Protests

PEAC 014. Systems Thinking for Social Change

PEAC 055. Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking

PEAC 135/SOCI 135. Social Movements and Non Violent Power

POLS 028. The Urban Underclass and Public Policy (AP)

POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)

POLS 054. Identity Politics

POLS 081. Global Environmental Governance (IR)

 

Students seeking to complete an honors special major housed in SOAN are required to complete at least 10 units of work in the department;
- requirements of the special major.
- three 2-credit preparations. These preparations can include honors seminars, a course plus attachment, paired upper-level courses, or in special circumstances off campus study. The latter three forms of preparation must have the advance approval of the supervising faculty member and of the department.

Honors preparations (4):

1. Thesis preparation: Thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who will also administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner’s evaluation of the thesis.
2. Three 2-credit (non-thesis) preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written examinations based on the syllabi given by the external examiners and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral examinations.

In order to graduate, all majors housed in the Sociology and Anthropology Department must complete a 2-credit senior research project. The 2-credit senior research project requirement, normally completed in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year, includes the Senior Research Project Masters Class and a tutorial in which the student works closely with a faculty adviser.

The senior research project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through working directly with a faculty member. Students develop their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting a substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript. 

Considered on a case-by-case basis for majors and minors.

Considered on a case-by-case basis for majors and minors.

Because of its strong cross-cultural and transnational orientations, the department encourages students to study abroad. For many students, study abroad provides a basis for their senior research project (see the department’s homepage for a listing of students’ projects). The senior research project allows students to develop their research interests through working directly with a faculty member. This combination of breadth of knowledge, global understanding, and independent research make sociology and anthropology an ideal liberal arts major.

The Sociology and Anthropology Department emphasizes independent research. We prepare students to conduct research on primary and secondary documents as well as to conduct interviews, engage in participant observation, organize focus groups, administer surveys, and produce ethnographic films. By senior year, our students are ready for a senior research project that is not only based on library research but also in real-world experience. Recent student research projects have focused on issues such as alternative development programs in Latin America, health reform policies in the United States, and human rights in Africa. Independent research conducted by our students is one feature that consistently distinguishes them when they are pursuing jobs, fellowships, or graduate school admission.

Some students have the opportunity to conduct original research with faculty - whose approaches run the gamut from ethnography to discourse analysis to survey research. Students also explore the historical development of Sociology and Anthropology. Research design, qualitative research, and statistical analysis are important components of many of our courses, enabling students to undertake rigorous research projects and best analyze, interpret, and communicate their findings. The curriculum also provides opportunities for students to learn techniques to creatively convey their work through photography and documentary films.

Experiential and Service Learning Opportunities

Experiential learning is an important component of Sociology and Anthropology. Our department strongly supports participation in study abroad as well as work in the field. For many students, these experiences challenge them to ask questions that eventually serve as foundations of their senior research project. Study abroad and fieldwork provide an opportunity for students to develop contacts and gain rapport within their eventual research setting. Funding is available from the College to support students in their pursuit of these experiences.

Summer funding opportunities exist and are particularly relevant for juniors planning research towards their senior research projects. Grants from a variety of college-administered sources are available to support research by students during the summer. Please have a look at: http://www.swarthmore.edu/x8583.xml to learn more about the extensive and generous funds for travel, research, internships, and faculty/student collaboration. We especially encourage our juniors to explore these possibilities. Funded summer research has often been the basis for fine senior research projects.

Each year, in conjunction with the Educational Studies Department, a number of our majors seek teacher certification. Students contemplating teacher certification would normally schedule their program in a semester which does not conflict with their senior research project. Such programs should be developed in close consultation with advisers in the Educational Studies Department.

Note: Course labeling within each of the three tiers of offerings reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas. 
(ANTH 001-019) introductory courses
(ANTH 020-099) regular courses
(ANTH 100-199) seminars
reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas. Please consult the listings for prerequisites particular to each course.

Note: Course labeling within each of the three tiers of offerings reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas.
(SOCI 001-019) introductory courses
(SOCI 020-099) regular courses
(SOCI100-199) seminars
reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas. Please consult the listings for prerequisites particular to each course.