Sociology and Anthropology

Sociology: Major 
Anthropology: Major, Minor

The sociology and anthropology department will challenge you to critically examine continuing and urgent issues of inequality and social marginalization, focusing on complex human interactions in diverse cultures within a globalized world. 

You will learn to analyze structures of power and hierarchy, draw connections between your personal experiences and larger social and historical processes, as well as question preconceived ideas about the nature of society and representation of cultures around the world. Our graduates enter a wide variety of occupations well prepared with sharp analytical skills and as knowledgeable and engaged citizens.

The department combines a humanistic concern for the quality and diversity of human life with a commitment to the empirical analysis of culture and society. The sociology curriculum will give you qualitative and quantitative research skills to tackle pressing 21st century issues. Courses draw attention to history, culture, and social structure and their effects on people’s lives. The anthropology curriculum focuses on human cultural experiences around the world, with an emphasis on the contemporary challenges wrought by globalization. Courses often highlight the geographical areas in which faculty work (Latin America, Asia, and Africa) and focus on a diverse range of topics.

Sociology and Anthropology Department Statement on Black Lives Matter: Racial Justice and Action

Read the full statement »

Program Highlights

Classes in sociology and anthropology give students the analytical tools to apply to complex issues that face us in the 21st century, including:

  • Global structures of inequality
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Gender and sexuality
  • Power and class
  • Religion
  • Environment
  • Media and popular culture
  • Health, medicine, and the body
  • Social movements
  • Family and kinship
  • Work and employment
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Opportunities

From internships to study abroad to independent research, opportunities abound for sociology and anthropology students.

Students in a garden
In the Community

Many department courses engage students in community-based learning, where academic learning and civic engagement meet.

Alumni in Rehm Library
Careers

Graduates apply their skills in many careers, including business, health, education, marketing, and non-profits.

Sociology and Anthropology News

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel
Our Shared Responsibility: Jesuit Mission Holds Strong on Mount St. James
Just as the campus has changed since Day One, so have the Jesuits. The society and its mission have evolved over time, to a point in which, today, embracing and sharing the society’s mission at Holy Cross is not solely …
Associate Professor Melissa F. Weiner of the Sociology and Anthropology Department.
Holy Cross Professor Discusses Her Book on Racial Identity in The Netherlands
Melissa Weiner, associate professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross, has spent years studying racial identity formation, most recently in The Netherlands. In an article for Dutch news outlet The Northern Times, Weiner talks about the recent publication …
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Eleven students and recent alumni receive prestigious grants and scholarships
This spring, College of the Holy Cross students and alumni have won an impressive array of awards from prestigious organizations, including the Fulbright Program, Critical Language Scholarship and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. These accolades speak to the curiosity, intellect and …