The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Marshall University offers a supportive environment for undergraduate and Masters level students who wish to pursue training in sociology and anthropology. Our accomplished faculty place a strong emphasis on teaching and mentoring while also striving to maintain an active research agenda. The curriculum is designed to provide our students with a wide range of options in pursuit of their academic and professional goals and interests, while also providing solid training in core foundations the two disciplines. Students learn both qualitative and quantitative research methods and are exposed to a variety of subfields and theoretical perspectives.Faculty core strengths include: social movements and social change, gender, race, inequality, stratification, cultural diversity, social interaction and group processes, migration, environmental justice, social institutions (religion, family, work and occupations, health care, politics and the economy), gerontology, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and advanced statistical analysis.
Faculty serve both programs through offering cross-listed and other courses that are accepted in partial fulfillment of degree requirements by the separate degree programs of Sociology and Anthropology within our combined department. While faculty members listed here primarily advise students within their respective disciplines, there are many situations where students are advised and mentored, both formally and informally, by faculty within both disciplinary areas. These include independent studies, capstone and honors projects, as well as as through graduate thesis committees.
Retired Faculty
Nicholas Freidin
Professor (retired, 2022)
DPhil University of Oxford, Keble College
Archaeology, prehistory and contact period, Eastern Woodlands
Former Director of Archaeology Field School & Lab
Fred Roth
Professor (retired, 2020)
PhD University of Connecticut
Criminology
Donna Sullivan
Associate Professor (retired, 2023)
PhD University of Massachusetts, Boston
Aging, Work and Retirement, Education and Training, Caregiving