Sociology is the disciplined effort to understand society, social and cultural relations, the working of institutions, and the patterns of behaviour that characterize all social life.

Sociologists are interested in how humans form groups, whether for peace or war, cooperation or conflict, persuasion or domination, development or destruction. They investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts.

Algoma University’s four-year sociology program provides critical skills for understanding and interpreting the social world. The program offers courses which address a wide variety of areas, such as contemporary media depictions of gender and the body, debates in the environmental movement, health policy analysis, critical assessments of law and social justice, and Canadian policy in relation to multiculturalism and Aboriginal rights. Students will use a variety of research methods to gain a vital understanding of social movements, race and diversity, and gender and sexuality, including surveys, interviews, observational studies, polls, personal letters, and focus groups.

A key element of the program is the honours thesis course, known as the Research and Critical Analysis course, which allows students to engage in critical study and theory at an advanced level. Students have the opportunity to design, research, and carry-out their own ideas in order to complete the research component of their honours thesis. Students will be guided by a thesis supervisor who will oversee their work to completion. They are required to perform background research, analyze the collected research, and present and defend their findings at a public presentation. This research-based thesis adequately prepares students for graduate studies.

Students studying sociology at Algoma University also have the opportunity to take course electives in the field of anthropology to complement their studies. Anthropologists focus on cultures of traditional and modern folk societies. Courses offered will familiarize students with cultural anthropology through the use of empirical evidence and analysis.