Theory and Methods
The department's long tradition of classical European theory and qualitative research methods has been deepened and renovated over the years since Everett Hughes, Kurt Wolff, Lewis Coser, and Egon Bittner gave them their distinctive stamp. Theoretical training includes classical, feminist, critical, postmodern, psychoanalytic, existential, democratic, French and German social theory. Methodological training includes a variety of methods, especially field methods and ethnography, for which many of our published dissertations are especially well known, as well as comparative, historical, and quantitative methods. Theoretical and methodological rigor have been accompanied, in the work of many students and faculty, with active engagement in community and institutional renewal, and with building peace, civil rights, social justice, feminist, labor, women's health, disability rights and independent living movements.
Graduate training in theory and research methods is sustained through the Approaches to Social Research course all Ph.D. students are required to take in their first three years in the program. Taught collaboratively, this course aims to train students to be better consumers and producers of sociological knowledge.
Core Faculty and Research Interests
Wendy Cadge: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods.
Peter Conrad: Symbolic Interaction, Field Methods.
David Cunningham: Historical and Quantitative Methods.
Gordon Fellman: Psychoanalytic Theory.
Karen V. Hansen: Feminist Theory, Comparative and Historical Methods.
Gila Hayim: Classical, Critical, Postmodern, Existential Theory.
Laura Miller: Cultural Theory, Communication Theory.
Shulamit Reinharz: Field Methods, Feminist Methods.
Sara Shostak: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods.
Carmen Sirianni: Democratic Theory, Participatory Action Research.