Sociology & Anthropology

Examine social and cultural diversity, social inequalities, and contemporary, often controversial, social issues such as poverty and homelessness, crime and social deviance, globalization and international conflict, race and ethnic relations, physical and mental health, and the changing roles of women and men. Explore the differences across cultures and within the United States in peoples' experiences of such areas as family life, education, work, and religion.

About the Major

The SOAN Department focuses on the shared intellectual tradition and methods of sociology and cultural anthropology. As a major, you will follow a carefully designed curriculum that begins at the foundations of social science and branches into topics that are critical to understanding human behavior in society and across cultures in the contemporary era. Beyond foundational coursework in social thought and classes that reflect student interest, you will have many opportunities to apply sociological and anthropological knowledge and skill to prepare you for a vast array of career options. These experiences come in the form of service-based learning, research experiences, and the many opportunities for off-campus learning (domestic and international). Our graduates are well-prepared to use the explanatory power of the disciplines to enter a great diversity of careers upon graduation or continue to graduate school in either field. 

Related Minors

Think Big

Undergraduate research, performed under the mentorship of expert faculty, is a central component of The OWU Connection.

We emphasize intellectual curiosity, creativity, initiative, and synthesis. OWU provides opportunities, including traveling abroad, for you to explore an existing problem or develop a totally new avenue of exploration. You can work with a faculty mentor and apply for grant funding—and present your research at the Student Symposium in the spring.

Research & Independent Study Student Symposium

Sizable Research

Avery Panozzo '25 and Ava Swanson '26 spent 10 weeks researching how predator size affects the defense strength of house wrens in Ohio as part of the annual Summer Science Research Program (SSRP).

Documentary Project

Sociology/Anthropology major Anna duSaire '21 received an OWU-funded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Grant to create a documentary film that explores the sense of belonging felt by the university's students of color.

The Sociology of Sectarianism

On a Theory-to-Practice Grant trip, Daniel Delatte '19, Anna L. Davies '19 and Eli Reed '19 listen to two sociologists from Queens University Belfast explain the sociological differences between sectarianism in Northern Ireland and racism in America.

Watch the Video

Service in Peru

Meg Teitelman '18 and Alyssa DiPadova '19 used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to spend their Winter Break volunteering at Maximo Nivel in Cusco, Peru.

Go Global

From your first year on campus, you can get off campus—with travel-learning courses. Journey to a distant land and immerse yourself in another culture. Learn how classroom theory truly connects with real-world experience.

Sociology & Anthropology majors have taken Travel-Learning courses and received OWU Connection grants for projects in Europe and South America.

Travel-Learning Courses

Studying French Colonialism

Paris Norman '20 (right) used an OWU Connection Grant to travel to France to study the lasting impacts of French colonialism. Professor Mary Anne Lewis Cusato served as her mentor.

Watch the Video

Archeology at Halmyris

Bridget Roddy '20 used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to participate in a 2019 excavation at the Roman fort of Halmyris in Romania.

Get Real

The department gives credit in the major to juniors and seniors who take internship positions in local organizations and agencies. Some ongoing internships are with the Delaware Juvenile Court, Turning Point (a domestic abuse shelter), and HelpLine (crisis intervention and referral).

Internships The OWU Connection

Making Human Connections

Taimur Iftikhar '20 (back left) and Avianna Carmoega '20 (front middle) interned with Human Connections, a nonprofit social enterprise based in Bucerías, Mexico.

Servants, not Saviors

Raissa Kanku '20 interned with the Borgen Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce global poverty by advocating for U.S. congressional leaders to support bills tied to foreign aid and poverty.

Inspired Teaching

OWU faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.

They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique I³ lectures.

I³ Lectures

Dr. Ted Cohen

Helicopters, Tigers, and Snow Plows? Oh My!" Parents, Young Adults and Changing Families

Watch the Video

Dr. Paul Dean

What a 10-Year-Old Taught Me about My Own Privilege

Watch the Video

Highlights

Lecture Series

The Butler A. Jones Lectureship on Race and Society brings renowned scholars to Ohio Wesleyan to speak and meet with students. Recent speakers have included filmmaker Sarah Burns and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

More information

Spring Break Service

Every spring break, teams of OWU students spread out across the nation and in Central America doing volunteer work. Interfaith Service Week projects have provided community support in New Orleans, Chicago, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and many more locations. It's spring break with a greater purpose.

Interfaith Service Week

Documentary Filmmaking

In the Ethnographic and Documentary Film and Filmmaking class, students create short documentaries about sociological topics of their choice. The films are shown at the annual OWU Documentary Film Festival.

2019 OWU Documentary Film Festival

Undergraduate Conference

In the spring, OWU students and faculty attend – and present at – an undergraduate sociology conference.

Graduate Outcomes

Josh Epkins '19

After graduating, Josh was accepted to Boston College and is pursuing a Master's in Clinical Social Work. While at OWU, Josh participated in volunteer service opportunities with the Delaware County Juvenile Court and with the Columbus Initiative.

Employment Success

In the past few years, OWU graduates have begun careers at social service agencies such as: American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Delaware County Job & Family Services, Franklin Co. Board of Developmental Disabilities, Network for Victim Recovery of D.C., Pwoje Espwa Orphanage in Haiti, and the Stewart R. Mott Foundation.

Urban Housing Leader

Sociology/Anthropology alum Colin Penney '05 got his start working on housing issues as a student at OWU. He worked with the homeless in Columbus and studied how city growth and new infrastructure had forced low-income people out of their homes. In 2017 he was named executive director of the South County Habitat for Humanity in Rhode Island.

Nonprofit Management

OWU prepares SOAN majors for a wide range of careers at nonprofit organizations. Valerie Solomon '04 is a Development Manager at PACE Center for Girls in Winter Park, Florida. She says, "The SOAN curriculum inspired me to think critically about complex community issues and how to motivate community members to take action, while the caring faculty encouraged my growth into a change-maker."

Public Health Careers

Two 1997 Sociology/Anthropology graduates have become leaders in the public health field. Kira Baldonado is vice president of public health and policy at Prevent Blindness, America's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization. She oversees the organization's public health and policy agenda. Rachelle Johnson Chiang is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Texas at Austin, teaching in the public health program.

Headlines

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A Look at SOAN

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Caroline Shaffer '20, Raissa Kanku '19, Allie Eynon '19 and Farida Rezk '20 (L-R) used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to study the lasting social impact of French colonialism.

Caroline Shaffer '20, Raissa Kanku '19, Allie Eynon '19 and Farida Rezk '20 (L-R) used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to study the lasting social impact of French colonialism.
Farida Rezk '20 examines museum narratives while on a Theory-to-Practice Grant studying French colonialism.

Farida Rezk '20 examines museum narratives while on a Theory-to-Practice Grant studying French colonialism.
What a 10-year-old taught me about my own privilege

What a 10-year-old taught me about my own privilege
The Sociology and Anthropology department resides in the building where OWU opened in 1842.

The Sociology and Anthropology department resides in the building where OWU opened in 1842.
Eli Reed '19, Anna L. Davies '19 and Cara Harris '18 studied the similarities and differences of Northern Irish sectarianism and American racism. Their trip included attending lectures at Ulster University and Queens University Belfast, taking walking tours of the city and listening to personal narratives of locals involved in The Troubles.

Eli Reed '19, Anna L. Davies '19 and Cara Harris '18 studied the similarities and differences of Northern Irish sectarianism and American racism. Their trip included attending lectures at Ulster University and Queens University Belfast, taking walking tours of the city and listening to personal narratives of locals involved in The Troubles.
Students attended classes with sociology professors at Queens University Belfast while on a Theory-to-Practice Grant to Northern Ireland.

Students attended classes with sociology professors at Queens University Belfast while on a Theory-to-Practice Grant to Northern Ireland.
Caroline Shaffer '20 (left) and Raissa Kanku '19 (right) studied colonialism in the French-speaking world and examined the narratives of museums.

Caroline Shaffer '20 (left) and Raissa Kanku '19 (right) studied colonialism in the French-speaking world and examined the narratives of museums.

Department Contact Info

Location

Elliott Hall 205
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
P 740-368-3906
E soan@owu.edu

Department Contact

Chair: Vanessa Hildebrand
Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Elliott Hall 309
740-368-3786
vmhildebrand@owu.edu

Academic Assistant: Deborah Lovell
Academic Assistant
Elliott Hall 205
740-368-3906
djlovell@owu.edu