Welcome to the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Criminology at Eastern Illinois
University.
The department offers a major in Sociology (B.A.), a major in Criminology and Criminal
Justice (B.A.), and minors in Anthropology, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and
Sociology. Our Sociology curriculum exposes students to the central areas of study
in the discipline, challenges them to think critically about society and social behavior,
and prepares them for careers in social services, human resources, public planning
and administration, and for graduate study in Sociology, Social Work, and related
fields. Our undergraduate major in Criminology and Criminal Justice similarly provides
a student-centered curriculum that enables students to think critically about the
causes and consequences of crime and criminal behavior and prepares graduates for
a variety of careers in law-enforcement, corrections, law, and advocacy. Our program
offers those students that are interested the opportunity to double major in Sociology
and Criminology and Criminal Justice in four years and with little extra coursework. |
Innovative Teaching
Our professors have received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and bring
to their classrooms innovative, exciting, and challenging exercises and activities.
Dr. Angela Glaros, for instance, asks students to conduct field observations for her
Ethnography class, work together to make butter and pickles in The Anthropology of
Food course, and construct a miniature shrine for The Anthropology of Religion. The
Shrine in a Tin project invites students to reflect on belief and meaning as they assemble their
own sacred spaces in a tiny tin. These miniature creations form the basis of a student
exhibit which is displayed on campus. |
Student Research
Our students conduct and engage in original research in a variety of ways. Students
may work directly with a faculty member on their research project or develop their
own independent research or course of study. Some students further develop and enhance
papers or research that they completed for a course for publication and presentation.
Many students go on to present their research at state, regional, and national conferences.
As past President of the Illinois Sociological Association (ISA), Dr. Wade Smith has
helped prepare many students to present their research at the Association’s annual
conference. Student presentations at the ISA and other meetings not only serve as
a momentous capstone experience and celebration of students’ hard work and research,
but they also prepare our students for graduate study and research careers in the
private and public sectors. |
Faculty Scholarship
Our faculty have active research agendas and are respected scholars in their fields
of expertise. Dr. Mari Kita, for instance, recently published Offender Care and Support by Families in Contemporary Japan, which focuses on the burdens that the Japanese State imposes on the families of
incarcerated individuals, especially the mothers of prisoners. This book is the culmination
of Dr. Kita’s extensive research into crime and the criminal justice system in Japan,
a topic that Dr. Kita weaves into her teaching and one that continues to inform new
directions in her research. |
Public Scholarship & Service
Our faculty and students are committed to research and service that benefits our communities.
Our two student organizations often volunteer in our communities, and service-learning
activities are part of the curriculum in many of our courses. Dr. Michael Gillespie,
professor of sociology, has a long-standing research interest in understanding and
addressing food insecurity and poverty in East Central Illinois. This work, and his
advocacy, was fundamental to the creation of a food bank on the campus of Eastern
Illinois University. |
Our department graduates have a 90% acceptance rate to top tier MSW programs.
