Faculty Books
About the Department
Sociologists study systems made up of relations among people, such as families, formal organizations, ethnic groups, or countries and their politics. The Northwestern Sociology Department concentrates especially on those relations that create and maintain inequalities, looking at the social movements, legal and economic systems, institutions, organizations, and cultural forms that shape, redress, or defend these systems of inequality. We teach courses and do research on relations between men and women, racial and ethnic groups, rich and poor, and workers and managers, and the feminist, civil rights, and labor movements that grow from them. As a discipline, Sociology blends scientific and humanistic approaches. This department uses and teaches four main methods: quantitative survey methods, historical and comparative methods, ethnographic methods, and cultural analysis.
A department is not just an intellectual discipline. It is also a place where people teach and learn, meet requirements for degrees, prepare for and pursue careers, and develop and maintain intellectual, professional, and personal ties. The evidence suggests we are doing these tasks well. The books and articles of the faculty and students regularly win prizes and honors and we do extremely well in national ranking systems. Even our most demanding courses are well received by both majors and nonmajors. And one could make a plausible case for eavedropping on our hallway conversations as a good introduction to the sociological imagination.
1810 Chicago Avenue, home of the Sociology Department
William Henry Exum Award
The intent of this prize is to honor the memory of William Henry Exum, a member of the Department of Sociology and the African American Studies Department, who died in 1986 at the age of 37. Exum was concerned with the quality of writing and research analysis in student papers. He was also interested in racial problems facing minority youths in higher education. This award was established as a means of continuing his goals of breaking barriers for all minorities.
The award submission deadline is April 27, 2012. All interested students should submit a 15-20 page paper, typed and double-spaced, on a topic dealing with race and ethnicity. Students are not limited to a sociological approach in preparing their submissions, nor is the award limited to sociology or social science majors.
The paper should include a cover sheet with the student's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, year in school, and major.
Three copies of the essay must be submitted by the announced deadline to the Exum Award - Department of Sociology, 1810 Chicago Ave., Evanston Campus or one copy by email to sociol@northwestern.edu.
This award is open to all undergraduate students from all disciplines.
Upcoming Events
COLLOQUIUM: Aldon Morris, Sociology, Northwestern University
May 24, 2012 • 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
