"The last thing a fish would ever notice would be the water." Ralph Linton
You swim in social and cultural worlds more complex than you are used to noticing. We all do. In the department of Sociology and Anthropology, we seek to help students see and understand those worlds.
Learn About Critical Issues
in our Society and Beyond
Meet the Faculty
Argentine-born anthropologist Terry Hoops (Ph.D. Michigan State University), Department Chair, leads courses which teach students to ask questions and unpack tangles of cultural, historical, and material complexity, with a focus on Latin America, urban centers, food, and the politics of water.
Brian Watkins (Ph.D. Michigan State University) is a sociocultural anthropologist who focuses on issues of language, human rights, and the law, and he teaches courses which highlight the transnationality and intersectionality of forms of everyday life, with topics from American Indians to race, gender, and language.
Cate Bowman (Ph.D., University of Colorado) is a public sociologist, focused at the nexus of immigration policy and labor studies, with a specific focus on how and why U.S. immigration policy is evolving from a family reunification and humanitarian-based model to one that increasingly privileges short-term immigration for labor purposes.
After Austin College
A sociology major and students who earn their anthropology degree at Austin College will become ultra-refined in areas of reading, writing, and developing thoughts on societies & humanity as a whole. They also learn to navigate human difference and social distance with grace and humility and to critically analyze issues of complexity and supreme relevance to the world around them. Learning to see the social fabric of everyday life can be an empowering part of your education.
Program Details
Program Extras
- American Sociological Association
- American Anthropological Association
- Boas Network
- Sapiens, Everything Human
- Summer Research in Queretero
- Summer Research in Peru
- Summer Research in Taiwan