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for California State University, Fresno.
Department of Sociology
The College of Social Sciences
MATTHEW A. JENDIAN, Chair
LILIANA SUZUKI, Department Administrative Coordinator
LINDA RAGUS, Administrative Support Assistant
Social Science Building, Room 227
559.278.2234
http://www.fresnostate.edu/sociology/
www.fresnostate.edu/ah
Certificate in Applied Sociological Research Methods
Humanics Nonprofit
Administration Certificate
Faculty
Matthew A. Jendian, Chair, Coordinator for Humanics Program
Bridget Conlon
Xuanning Fu
Margaret Gonsoulin
Deborah Helsel
Andrew Jones
Timothy Kubal
Edward E. Nelson
Robert S. Palacio
All full-time faculty hold Ph.D.s and share a commitment to excellence
in teaching. Their areas of special interest are diverse, including social
change, deviance, women in society, social stratification, social psychology,
social theory, and research methods. Most of the faculty are actively involved
in research. Recent faculty research has included studies of opinions on
women's issues, willingness to pay additional taxes, prayer, stereotypes
and ethnic prejudice, and the social organization of sport.
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of social interaction and institutions and seeks to understand the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Developing out of philosophy and 19th-century industrial Europe, sociology evolved into a methodologically rigorous, empirically based analysis of social life.
Sociology's main concept - social structure - rests on the observation that society is more than a collection of individuals. As humans interact, they create social structure - a pattern of social arrangements and relationships. The concept of social structure refers to interaction networks, social organization, and power relationships. Studying the social structure helps understand how our choices, attitudes, and behaviors are shaped by the society in which we live.
Sociology can help identify social problems, locate the source of those problems in the social structure, assess their scope and design, and evaluate possible solutions. This understanding helps us take better charge of our lives, to become shapers of society, and not to be just shaped by it. From the sociological perspective, effecting social change necessarily involves understanding social structure.
Faculty and Facilities
Sociology majors receive strong grounding in traditional and contemporary social theory, methods of conducting social research, and techniques of analyzing social data. Courses with a service-learning component provide students with an opportunity to engage in participant-observation studies, while the Social Research Laboratory (SRL) gives them a chance to participate in survey research. Encouraging student research is one of the hallmarks of sociology at Fresno State.
The program also offers advanced courses on topics ranging from medical sociology, religion, and family to popular culture, deviance, and social movements and social change.
All full-time faculty members have Ph.D.s and have a wide range of interests in the field of sociology. All are involved in the Center for the Study of Social Life in the San Joaquin Valley, which promotes scholarship and research with a regional focus.
Sociology is also the home to the Humanics Program, which prepares students and community members for professional positions in community benefit organizations (CBOs).
Career Opportunities
The study of sociology provides students with a rewarding academic experience as well as a variety of career possibilities. The American Sociological Association notes in surveys that people who have majored in sociology have some of the highest levels of job satisfaction, regardless of career choice.
A baccalaureate degree in sociology provides strong liberal arts preparation for entry-level positions in social services, business, and government. The degree serves as a launching point for careers in journalism, politics, public relations, business, and public administration. When combined with the Humanics Certificate, the degree opens up another area for employment: nonprofit community benefit organizations (CBOs). Likewise, for those interested in attaining professional degrees, sociology provides a rich fund of knowledge that directly pertains to fields such as law, education, medicine, social work, and counseling.
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