Sociology

Ellensburg
Farrell 409

(509) 963-1305
Fax: (509) 963-1308
http://www.cwu.edu/~sociolo
See Web site for how sociology could be used for educational and career purposes.

Faculty and Staff
Chair
Kirk Johnson

Professors
Laura L. Appleton, sex roles, social movements, social theory
John R. Dugan, statistics, methodology, social psychology
Kirk A. Johnson, criminology, delinquency, victimization, organizations, methods

Associate Professors
Delores Cleary, criminology, the life-course, American society, minorities, ethnic studies, American Indian issues
Nelson Pichardo, ethnic studies, social movements
Nancy Wessel, family, child abuse, social change, globalization, gender, inequality
Hong Xiao, social stratification, comparative sociology, China studies

Assistant Professor
Judith Hennessy, social welfare and poverty, gender, sociology of work, sociology of family

Staff
Michelle Cyrus, secretary

Department Information

The sociology department provides opportunities for students to understand the conceptual and methodological tools used by sociologists to understand society. Students will be encouraged to: 1) see society as concrete day-to-day behavior of human beings; 2) grasp the relationship between history, society and the individual’s life; 3) realize that social patterns are tools for the accomplishment of human ends and not necessarily unalterable facts of life; and 4) develop the ability to critically analyze social phenomena.

Department Standards

Students who major in sociology and social services are required to register with the department, at which time an advisor will be selected. In order to develop a program of study, students are required to meet once a quarter with their advisor. Further information on specific courses, the faculty and career opportunities are available in the department office. Students must complete an end of major assessment prior to graduation.

Honors in Sociology

The sociology department’s honors program is designed for students who wish to explore a particular research problem in depth.
The program is open to sociology majors who have completed 20 credit hours in sociology and have achieved a junior standing.
The student: (a) selects an honors advisor and designs a research project in consultation with him/her; (b) writes a letter of application to the department chair; and, (c) if accepted, completes a research paper that is approved and supervised by his/her honors advisor and a second member of the department.
Credit for this paper may be obtained through Sociology 497.