Welcome

The mission of the Department of Sociology at SUNY Potsdam is to instill in students what C. Wright Mills dubbed “the sociological imagination” – the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and larger social and historical forces. We seek to develop in our students the ability and impulse to apply this perspective to their own lives and communities. Sociologists anaylze social institutions such as family, education, medicine, religion, politics. and the criminal justice system. They examine the role that race, gender, ethnicity, age and social status play in our daily lives. With skills in analysis, critical thinking and communication, sociology and criminal justice majors enjoy careers in many fields.