History, Sociology, & Anthropology Mission Statements

The Anthropology program has two principal goals: 1) to prepare students interested in pursuing graduate work in anthropology or professional degrees in the related fields of international business, criminology, education, medicine, and law; 2) to provide an interesting and rigorous course of study for students seeking to understand the human cultural and biological experience through time and space. Students pursuing the Anthropology minor at SUU will be exposed to a four field approach that emphasizes Anthropology’s dominant sub-disciplines: archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and biological anthropology. They will master a broad range of research, critical reasoning, and oral and written communication skills designed to prepare them for life and work in an increasingly multi-cultural world. Through courses dealing with human evolution, prehistoric culture change, linguistics, and the cultural and biological diversity of contemporary humans, students will be taught to question and examine the significance of ethnocentric beliefs, attitudes, and prejudices and to understand the incredible biological and cultural diversity that characterizes the human species. A minor in Anthropology supplements existing SUU major programs in Biology, Criminal Justice, Foreign Languages, History, Geography, Outdoor Recreation, Psychology, and Sociology.

• Students will possess factual knowledge in the fields of anthropology and/or archeology, including the role of culture and social structures in shaping individual lives and human societies. 
• Students will have the ability to understand, describe, and critically assess theories, principals, and concepts central to the anthropological and/or archaeological fields. 
• Students will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills. 
• Students will demonstrate the ability to design ethical anthropological/archaeological research and to apply anthropological/archaeological concepts and methods in the field research or other forums. 
• Students will possess and demonstrate critical and analytical thinking and reasoning skills to understand, describe, and critically assess the role of culture and social structures in shaping individual lives, and to understand, describe, and critically assess inequalities based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexualities, immigration status, etc. 
• Students will analyze personal experiences (inclusive of educational experiences), including experiential learning projects, using the anthropological/archaeological imagination. 

The history program is committed to preparing undergraduate students to understand their historical and cultural heritage. It supports the university’s mission by emphasizing excellence in teaching with courses grounded in the liberal arts and sciences tradition, a curriculum designed to foster knowledge of human cultures and instill intellectual and practical skills involving inquiry and analysis, critical thinking, written and oral communication, teamwork and problem solving. The history discipline supports the general education program at the university. In cooperation with the College of Education, the department prepares students for teaching careers in elementary and secondary schools, and it works to qualify majors for graduate study and advanced administrative specialization. The program also includes the interdisciplinary Ethnic Studies, Sustainability Studies, Shakespeare Studies, and Women and Gender Studies Minors. In keeping with the university’s mission, the program emphasizes personal and social responsibility by requiring students to complete projects involving civic engagement, experiential learning, and service learning that elevate students’ civic knowledge, intercultural competence, and ethical reasoning, experience that together provide foundations for engaged citizens and lifelong learning.

• Students will possess factual and critical knowledge about past historical events, institutions, movements, figures, and societies and have the ability to identify key events that express change over time in a particular place or region, identify how change occurs over time, and explain historical continuity and change.
• Students will understand, describe, and critically assess historical theories, principles, and concepts and possess the ability to apply historical theories, principles, and concepts.
• Students will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to apply historical methods and research protocols to formulate historical questions, obtain data from primary and secondary sources, critically assess primary and secondary sources, and follow scholarly conventions of the discipline.
• Students will possess and demonstrate critical and analytical thinking and reasoning skills and demonstrate the ability to construct well-organized historical arguments that utilize historic data in support of a thesis.

The Sociology program’s mission is to prepare students for life in diverse, global societies by introducing them to applied and conceptual tools that enhance critical understandings of the social world. With a curriculum rooted in the liberal arts and sciences tradition, the Sociology program supports the university’s academic mission (and general education requirements), fosters an understanding of sociological theories, principles, and methodologies, integrates service- and experiential-learning with other pedagogies, and prepares students for advanced education in addition to careers in teaching, social work, and a variety of administrative and research occupations.

• Demonstrate factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends).
• Students will understand, describe, and critically assess sociological theories, principles, and concepts to comprehend inequalities based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexualities, immigration status, etc. 
• Students will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills. 
• Students will demonstrate the ability to understand, describe, and critically assess quantitative and qualitative methods used in sociological research. 
• Students will possess and demonstrate critical and analytical thinking and reasoning skills to design ethical sociological research. 
• Students will analyze personal experiences (inclusive of educational experiential learning experiences) using the sociological imagination, methodology, principals, and concepts.