Department of Sociology, Hispanic and Liberal/ Interdisciplinary Studies

Lisha Lopez

Overview

Department of Sociology, Hispanic and Liberal/Interdisciplinary Studies

Bienvenides to the Hispanic Studies program!

As part of the Department of Sociology, Hispanic, Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies, the Hispanic Studies program aims to prepare you to take your place in a multicultural, multilingual environment —whether locally or abroad— through a curriculum designed to promote the development of written and oral communication skills and cultural awareness. Our curriculum is geared for you to study the Hispanic world, in a variety of dimensions: linguistic, cultural, and literary, among others. We offer different concentrations depending on your interests and goals in language acquisition and cultural competence.

The Sociology Program welcomes anyone who is interested in exploring the social frameworks within which we learn how to live our lives. It studies social life at every level, from two-person relationships to nations, civilizations and the global system. It is a meeting place of the social sciences, combining its own ideas and methods with insights from philosophy, history, anthropology, economics, political science, and psychology. It is in this all-encompassing way it examines the ways human social lives work--or fail to work. Our faculty has particular strength in global perspective on sociology of organizations, sociology of culture, race, class, gender relations and social inequality, collective action and social change, and sociological theory. We build the career paths leading to the fields of public administration, non-profit organizations, human resource management, community organizing, as well as marketing research. In addition to sociology major, the program offers anthropology minor.

The Liberal Studies Academic Program allows students to create a customized degree program that suits their educational interests. Students choose 3 complementary concentrations of study and complete a total of 45 credits. This program gives students the freedom to study a field that is not otherwise offered here at the University such as Hospitality Management, Film Music, or Hospital Administration.

The Department of Sociology, Hispanic and Liberal/Interdisciplinary Studies at Westfield State University prides itself on its personal attention to students. It affords substantial access to faculty and administrators and flexibility in meeting individual intellectual agendas. Students may take courses in a variety of areas and put together a focused concentration of study reflecting their own particular interests. If you are interested in exploring any of the three programs above, please do not hesitate to come to our department office at Mod Hall 104; or contact Ms. Carolyn Healey at chealey@westfield.ma.edu You should also feel free to reach out to any of the faculty members listed below.

We look forward to getting to know you!

Contact Us

Tamara Smith
Chair - Department of Sociology, Hispanic and Liberal/Interdisciplinary Studies
Bates Hall Room 016C

Academic Programs

Major

Minor

Certificate

Sociology Learning Goals, Competencies, Alumni Outcomes

Sociology Department Learning Outcomes

Facilitate our students to grow into active, constructive, productive and energetic members of a just and prosperous society by enabling their sufficient analytical and language skill, accurate understanding about social reality, deep knowledge in the professional fields, strong drive for social justice and social progress, built-in cross-cultural sense and sensibility.

Sociology Department Competencies Developed

The Sociology Program welcomes anyone who is interested in exploring the social frameworks within which we learn how to live our lives. It studies social life at every level, from two-person relationships to nations, civilizations and the global system. It is a meeting place of the social sciences, combining its own ideas and methods with insights from philosophy, history, anthropology, economics, political science, and psychology. It is in this all-encompassing way it examines the ways human social lives work--or fail to work. We further explore the ways to put the theories into practice and facilitate positive social change. Our faculty has particular strength in global perspective on sociology of organizations, sociology of culture, race, class, gender relations and social inequality, collective action and social change, and sociological theory. We build the career paths leading to the fields of public administration, non-profit organizations, human resource management, marketing, community organizing, as well as further studies in graduate school.

Sociology Department Alumni Outcomes

Since its inception in the 1980s, the sociology program at Westfield State University has graduated close to 2000 majors/double majors. These graduates worked/are working in the professional fields of human resources and marketing departments in both public and private organizations, social service/social work agencies, state and local governments, schools, non-profit organizations, and many more. Equipped with the knowledge and skills they learned from the program, some students accomplished extraordinary achievements and gained recognition from the society, while most students embed their extraordinary in the ordinary as they worked and are working on daily basis as community organizers, government officials, social workers, school-teachers, police officers, business owners, company executives, etc. and have contributed to the local communities, the State of Massachusetts, the country, and the human society as a whole. About 10—15% of our graduates went on to graduate schools to pursue master’s degree or Ph.D. in sociology, social work, psychology, and anthropology.