Sociology and Anthropology

Collection Development Policy: Sociology & Anthropology

Subject Librarian: Steve Sigety

Purpose of policy: The collection development policy for Sociology & Anthropology guides the development and management of the Sociology collection.

Program Description

The Department of Sociology & Anthropology provides undergraduate education critical to understanding the social and cultural diversity and dynamics of the human condition. Students are prepared to be active contributors to their communities and to live fruitful lives as informed citizens of a global society. Education and training cover theoretical analysis and research methods.

Areas of Established Specialization

• Mentoring, social networks, gender and race stratification in work organizations
• Economic and organizational sociology, social movements, sociology of information technology
• Quantitative and qualitative methods
• Sociology of gender and sexualities, including transgender, men and masculinities, bisexuality, sociological theory, classical and contemporary (feminist theory and social construction of reality)
• Law and society, sociology of law, human rights, leadership and organizational transformation, postmodernism and mental health
• Drug addiction and treatment
• Classical and contemporary social theory, sociology of science, sociology of the environment, qualitative methods, urban society
• Economy and society, community sociology, race and ethnic relations, family, pets, food
• Social inequality, urban sociology
• Anthropological theory
• International health
• Archaeology, prehistoric and historic Caribbean contact between cultures, historic North American class and race issues
• Political anthropology, gender, ethnicity, racism, and nationalism, violence and cultural conflict, feminist theory and border studies, Middle East, Israel

Changes in User Population for Most Recent Five Years

• Many if not most of the students have a strong preference for and only know how to obtain internet-based resources.
• Two new faculty with research focus on medical anthropology and applied sociology

New and Expanding Areas of Interest

• Applied Sociology
• Medical Anthropology: traditional medicine, tropical infectious disease (especially malaria), sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancy, and substance abuse
• Cultural anthropology in Africa
• Native American culture and prehistory

Degrees Offered

• Social and Cultural Diversity Certificate
• Sociology Minor
• Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
• Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology

Clientele

The primary clientele are the undergraduate students, faculty, and staff of the Sociology & Anthropology Department. Members of the Michiana community may also use the collection.

Collection Guidelines

The Sociology collection consists of works written for the basic through advanced undergraduate level and for basic faculty research. Graduate- and research-level publications are collected selectively.

Formats Collected

Scholarly monographs, serials, collections of essays, conference proceedings, videos, and electronic resources are extensively collected.

Formats Excluded

Pamphlets, newsletters, article reprints, and required textbooks. Popular and/or journalistic monographs about social issues are selectively collected.

Language

The collection is primarily in English.

Geographic Coverage

All geographic areas are covered. For titles with a geographic focus, preference is given to materials relating to the region (Michiana, northern Indiana, and Midwest).

Chronological Periods Collected

Priority is given to current publications. Older imprints are collected selectively, usually as replacements for classic works, or upon request.

Subject Emphases

The Sociology collection focuses on the topics of family, marriage, and sexual life; crime; social deviance; race and ethnic relations; public welfare; sociological theory, anthropological theory; drug addiction and treatment; and international health.

Current Collecting Priorities

In addition to the topics listed above, mass media and popular culture, Latin American studies, human rights, race, class, and gender stratification, migration and immigration, transnational and global exchanges, and religious organizations.

Subjects Collected Selectively

Social history and urban sociology are collected selectively.

Reference

Reference material for Sociology and Anthropology are selected by the Sociology & Anthropology subject librarian following the general subject parameters of the collection policy.

Interdisciplinary Considerations

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of sociology & anthropology, materials are also occasionally selected in the areas of women's studies, gender studies, African American studies, East Asian studies, Latin American studies, education, criminal justice, political science, social work, and public affairs.

Location

Sociology & Anthropology materials are housed in the Schurz Library. Works specifically about the discipline of sociology are classified in the HM schedule of Library of Congress system; those about anthropology as a discipline, particularly cultural anthropology, are classified in the GN area.

Anthropology Library of Congress Classification Ranges

• Anthropogeography [GF]
• Anthropology [GN1-296]
• Ethnology and Ethnography [GN301-686]
• Prehistoric Archaeology [GN700-890]
• GN (Any Other)

Sociology Library of Congress Classification Ranges

• Sociology: General Works, Theory [HM]
• Sociology: Social History and Conditions [HN]
• Family, Marriage, Women, Sexual Life, General Works [HQ1-10]
• Sexual Life [HQ12-472]
• Family, Marriage, Home [HQ503-1058]
• Middle Age, Aged, Gerontology (Social aspects), Retirement, Death, Dying [HQ1059-1073]
• Sex Role, Men [HQ1075-1090]
• Women, Feminism, Life Skills, Life Style [HQ1101-2044]
• Communities, Classes, Races [HT]
• HQ-HT (Any Other)

Works on anthropological and social topics may be found in many other classifications. For example, related materials are found in LC call numbers CC, E51-E78, E98-E99, GF, GR, and P40-P41.