|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sociology & Criminal Justice Home
Programs
Course Listings
Faculty & Staff
Internships
Department Handbook
The major in sociology gives an understanding of human behavior. By examining the social and cultural forces that shape our lives, we gain a richer understanding of ourselves and contemporary social issues. Sociology explores how and why people behave as they do as well as the effects of their behavior on others. In an economy that is moving from a manufacturing base to a service orientation, graduates in sociology are prepared to work in fields where an understanding of the dynamics of human relationships is important.
The sociology major may also consider further study in graduate school for a career in teaching or research.
The Criminal Justice major is a multi-disciplinary approach to examining the patterns associated with various crimes, theories of crime causation, victimization and society's response to crime. The components of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, the courts, and corrections are analyzed. Study of the criminal justice system includes a critical approach to examining the goals and controversies associated with crime control policies.
Latest News From The Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice:
Sharon Arnold, Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice gave the keynote presentation at the annual meeting of Meeting Planners International, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, February 1, 2009. The theme was "Making Diverse Groups Work." While there, the members of the organization participated in a community service project which involved purchasing and installing flush toilets into the out houses of an impoverished, overcrowded school, La Escuela Camila Castillo. Sharon was pleased to be able to work with them on this community service project. Additionally, many treats and supplies were taken to the students of the school.
Eleven students from Dr. Goodfellow's Soc 311 Research Methods class volunteered for the 2009 Point in Time Unsheltered Homeless Count in Lebanon Wednesday, January 28. The Federal government mandates biannual Point-in-time counts of the homeless. A point-in-time is a one-night count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons. The one-night count must occur during the last seven days in January and must collect information about chronic homelessness from all homeless people using statistically acceptable methods.
Training began at 7:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army in Lebanon. From this home base, teams were sent onto the streets between 9 p.m. and 12 p.m. looking in designated areas for anyone who may be homeless that evening.
Heather Aurand attended and presented her research at the Pennsylvania Sociological Society November 1, 2008 held at the Dixon Center in Harrisburg. She was awarded the PSS undergraduate poster award and a check for $50.00.
Heather's poster was entitled Culturally competent collegians: The effects of study abroad. The primary focus of this study was to examine the effects of the study abroad experience on increasing intercultural competence. The participants of the experimental group included 30 undergraduate Lebanon Valley College students who chose to study abroad the spring semester of 2008. The control group consisted of 30 randomly selected undergraduate Lebanon Valley College students who would remain on campus. The entire sample was made up of 19 males and 40 females. Both groups were pre-tested with the Strategies Inventory for Learning Culture (SILC) and the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) questionnaires. Phase 1 of this study examines the differences and similarities between the two groups prior to the study abroad exposure. T-tests were used to evaluate the comparability of the two groups. Results suggest that the experimental and control groups do not significantly differ on cultural competence. Results also indicated that a majority of students are not interculturally competent.