This means that students who study sociology at Piedmont College ought to develop several sensitivities: critical, cultural, historical, and moral. 

The sociology program has established the following educational objectives for its graduates. Graduates will have the ability to critically reflect and articulate: 

• The discipline of sociology and how it contributes to the understanding of social life 
  
  
• The basic concepts, theories, and methodologies of sociology and social sciences, including the ability to explain which methodologies are appropriate for the questions being asked 
  
  
• How sociology is similar and different from the other social science disciplines 
  
  
• The relationships among the various social institutions 
  
  
• How socio-historical conditions influence social and cultural life, including the study of sociology itself, the other social sciences and disciplines 
  
  
• The interrelationships among the individual, culture, and society, including the ability to explain the sociological self, how social and cultural conditions (structures and processes) influence individual  actions, the development of self, as well as how individuals produce and reproduce social and cultural conditions 
  
  
• How and why societies and cultures change 
  
  
• The diversity of cultures, both past and present, including an appreciation of the diverse forms of social and cultural life 
  
  
• The interconnectedness of global societies, how their pasts and cultures are related to unequal structures and relations; and the implications of these unequal 
  
  
• A sense of social justice and social responsibility 

¥ CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

¥ FACULTY
Ken Melichar, Professor of Sociology and Chair, Department of Social Sciences 
B.A., University of Montana 
M.A., University of Wyoming 
M.A., Ph.D., New York University 
Ed.S., University of Georgia 

For the past 6 years, Professor Melichar has been interested in online learning, making numerous presentation to professional organizations on this topic.  He has taught online courses for the past 6 years.  In addition, Professor Melichar is interested in the areas of critical social theory, and the social construction of the U.S. West, including the Southwest.  A recent interest of his is the relationship between Sam Peckinpah and Cormac McCarthy.  He is the editor of the journal Adult Basic Education . 

Max White, Associate Professor of Anthropology
A.B. University of Georgia 
M.A. University of Georgia 
Ph.D. Indiana University 

Dr. White is a native Georgian, and in true anthropological fashion, has a wide range of interests.  His research has been in the areas of archaeology, history, ethnohistory, and cultural anthropology.  Fieldwork, in addition to archaeological excavations, includes work with the Eastern Cherokees, Southern Appalachian mountain people,  Blacks, and Hispanics.  Professor White is the author of numerous articles in professional journals and two books:  Georgia's Indian Heritage (1988) and An Introduction to Georgia's Indian Past (in press).  He is currently investigating prehistoric use of soapstone (steatite) in the local area, as well as conducting ethnohistoric research on descendants of slaves of the Moss and Wynne families. 
 
 

¥ LINKS
American Sociological Association
Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World
http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/tutorial/TUTORIAL.HTM