- Welcome
- Members of the Department
- Courses
- Supplemental Information
Welcome
WELCOME!
Sociology is an integral part of the John Abbott College Social Science program and offers courses for Social Science, Nursing, Police Technology and Youth and Adult Correctional Intervention students. Students from all programs are welcome to take our complementary courses in Sociology of Cyberspace and Culture and Media.
Our dedicated teachers, Kathryn Allen, Vicki Beaupre-Ordorico, Mariella Castenella, Richard Element, Wendi Hadd, Jessica Legere, Roger MacLean, Roksana Nazneen, John Pestana, and Luba Serge teach and create challenging and enriching Sociology courses to a diverse student population. As sociologists, we challenge common sense knowledge and help students to understand that many of the things we perceive to be “natural” are in fact socially constructed and organized. Our stimulating and dynamic class experiences provide an opportunity to begin thinking critically about taken-for-granted assumptions, and in the process, understand the many ways personal experience is shaped by social processes and social institutions.
The Sociology and Anthropology department is located in Herzberg 326 .
WHY DO PEOPLE DO THE THINGS THEY DO?
Students of Sociology develop their sociological imagination – a way of thinking about the world that can help us to answer this question.
Sociology is the study of social organization in modern society. In exploring that social organization, sociologists believe it can’t be understood by simply studying individuals. Instead, sociologists study social life in order to understand its complexity, especially patterns of human interaction and group activity. Students of sociology learn to think critically about social issues, challenging old ideas and assumptions about society. This awareness and understanding of the world can promote societal change.
Sociologists look at social structures and institutions and ask how things like race, gender, ethnicity and age affect social life. Students of Sociology can learn about many aspects of society, including families, socialization, deviance, social inequality, the impact of technology and environmental issues, among many others.
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
Sociology…
…is a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects—- Max Weber
…every time that a social phenomenon is directly explained by a psychological phenomenon, we may be sure that the explanation is false. —- Emile Durkheim