The mission of the B.A. program in Sociology is to provide a stimulating and nurturing learning atmosphere for a highly diverse group of students. The program seeks to have students develop and express a love of learning and a respect for a wide range of intellectual perspectives, including a variety of theories and scientific methodologies. We are dedicated to providing students with tools and opportunities to critically examine social life, including the full range of social problems. Students learn specifically about the workings of social institutions, patterns of group life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Students will learn basic principles and practices in applying this perspective to support individuals, families and groups, or for going on to do graduate study in social work, public administration or counseling.
Students will increase their appreciation of the value of all human beings and a commitment to an inclusive and just society that addresses the needs of all groups of people. In acquiring a deep understanding of the structure of groups, organizations, and societies -- and human interaction within these contexts, our students develop their capacity for more personally rewarding and socially responsible participation and leadership in their families, their work, their communities, and society as a whole.
Dear Sociology Department students, We want to acknowledge the pain, anger, and sadness many of us are feeling as we witness and engage in social action in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Monterrosa, Erik Salgado and his unborn child, Steven Taylor, as well as so many other Black and brown lives that have been taken by police violence. For many of us, and especially people of color, these recent incidents only serve to unearth deeply buried grief around these long standing social tragedies. When combined with social isolation, health impacts, job and income loss, and general uncertainty from COVID-19, it may be extremely difficult to cope emotionally as the layers of structural racism and systems of inequality, which we regularly strive to deconstruct through sociology, are uncovered, acknowledged, and hopefully, dismantled. As the faculty and staff of CSUEB Sociology, we are committed to doing more to respond to the anti-Blackness, police violence, and white supremacy on our campus. While sociology can be powerful in challenging oppression, the fact that two of the four police involved in the murder of George Floyd were once sociology majors illustrates that no discipline, no one, is not immune from complicity in such systems. Our Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) deserve better support from all of us, especially from those of us who are white or have other privileges, to stay committed to combating structural violence where we find it in our own field. We have some initial ideas for actions we could take that are linked in the living document below, but we also want to hear your ideas on how we can best support you and concrete actions we should be taking to address racial injustice within our department. If you haven’t already, please complete this survey to let us know what you think. To ensure accountability and transparency, we have created this living document of action items we plan to complete. The document will be updated as items are completed and as additional items are added based on student feedback. We look forward to continuing the conversation and pursuing additional actions to support you now and moving forward. We strongly believe that Black Lives Matter and are committed to ensuring the well being of our Black students, staff, and faculty. We also want to remind you that there are a variety of campus support services to help you, including Student Health & Counseling Services, Pioneers for Hope, and the Diversity and Inclusion Student Center. It is clear that we cannot and should not return to business as usual as a department or university community. Wishing you all solace, CSUEB Sociology Department Additional Resources Resource List on Defunding Police & Local Actions Support Social Justice and Anti-Racism Resources from the Office of Diversity Anti-Racism Resources for White People Abolitionist Futures Reading list Dr. Frank Leon Roberts’ BLM Syllabus Radical History Review’s Reading List on Policing, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Blackness Ferguson Syllabus Local Organizations BLM Bay Area: https://www.facebook.com/BlackLivesMatterBayArea/ APTP (Anti-Police Terror Project) - Oakland: https://www.facebook.com/APTPaction SURJ Bay Area (especially good for white allies!): https://www.facebook.com/SURJBayArea/ CURYJ, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice: https://www.facebook.com/CURYJ/ Berkeley Copwatch https://www.facebook.com/Berkeley.Copwatchers/ Bay Rising Action: https://www.facebook.com/bayrisingaction/ BAMN, Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary: https://www.bamn.com/ Black Organizing Project: https://www.facebook.com/BlackOrgProject
Dr. Duke W. Austin and Dr. Benjamin P. Bowser recently published the book Impacts of Racism on White Americans in the Age of Trump. In Impacts, an exciting range of scholars make the case that racism often negatively affects whites themselves, especially during the age of Trump. This volume advances the proposition that the problem of race in the U.S. is fundamentally one of white identity and culture and that racism has substantial negative effects on White Americans through three key areas: (1) Trump-era cultural and institutional racism, bolstered by the use of historical notions of racial hierarchy; (2) institutional and interpersonal racism, which in turn drive individual racist behaviors; and finally, (3) racism’s interactional sequences and how they impact anti-racism efforts. Some critical reviews of the book include the following: “Editors Austin and Bowser brilliantly point out the unintended consequences of systemic racism. The volume effectively illustrates the ways in which white racists often work against their own interests, and why. Appearing at the end of the so-called Trump era, this collection also offers hope that the fight against systemic racism is not a lost cause. Informative, timely, and well-edited, this is a work of importance, a must-read.” —Elijah Anderson, Sterling Professor, Yale University, and author of Black in White Space: The Enduring Impact of Color in Everyday Life (2021) “Impacts of Racism on White Americans in the Age of Trump is an essential book for responding to the resurgence of overt racism while not neglecting the tenacious roots of white supremacy that shape U.S. society. Editors Benjamin Bowser and Duke Austin have given us white people a gift: We can hold onto whiteness or we can struggle to live more meaningful lives rooted in critical self-reflection and a deeper understanding of our own interests.” —Robert Jensen, Emeritus Professor, School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin and author of The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (2017) and The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege (2005). Austin and Bowser's book can be found online on "Read More" below. Read More
Dear Sociology Department students, Many of you have heard of the mass shootings on Tuesday, 3/16, targeting massage parlors in Atlanta that have left eight dead, including six Asian women. The faculty and staff of the Sociology Department extend our condolences and want to express our support for the Asian American community of CSUEB, especially our students. We know this type of hate and violence has potential long-term mental health consequences for the AAPI community, impacts that can be exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others by police as well as by mass shooters like Kyle Rittenhouse sparked discussions and reflection on the realities of anti-Black racism in our country, communities, and Universities. At that time, the Sociology department expressed our commitment to do more to respond to anti-Blackness, police violence, and white supremacy on our campus. We recognize that ongoing incidents of anti-Asian racism are another facet of white supremacy. Groups like Stop AAPI Hate and the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism have documented a 150% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in major cities around the country last year, including locally in the Bay Area, with over 3,795 incidents reported nationally between March 2020 and February 2021 (68% of these targeting women). To move forward and prevent future harm requires that we recognize the shared roots of anti-Black and anti-Asian violence. White supremacist violence is also gendered, as indicated by the recent shootings in Atlanta and the growth of white male supremacist terrorism. Far-right hate groups rely on misogyny and sexism to recruit and radicalize members. The sexual fetishization of Asian women expressed by the perpetrator of the Atlanta shootings is tied to white supremacist imperialist ideologies. We also want to acknowledge that more policing is not the solution to anti-Asian hate crimes, illustrated clearly by the recent murder of Angelo Quinto by police in Antioch. (Please consider signing this petition seeking justice for Quinto’s family.) As expressed by numerous Asian organizations across the Bay Area demanding action against recent hate crimes, “we know that an over-reliance on law enforcement approaches has largely been ineffective and has been disproportionately harmful to Black communities and other communities of color. We believe the solution to violence is to empower our communities with resources, support, and education—this is how we make all of our communities safe.” Our department is committed to combating racism in all forms in our communities and our University. We echo our Diversity Officer in saying that “We are holding you, your pain, your hurt. Your fear is seen and acknowledged. We, your East Bay, community are here in solidarity, in our advocacy, as your accomplices. We value YOU, We appreciate YOU.” We will continue to reflect on what else we can do as a department to better support our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, staff, and faculty. Please feel free to contact us with suggestions moving forward or add ideas to this living document of action items. Remember, there are also a variety of other campus support services to help you, including the Student Health & Counseling Services, Pioneers for Hope, and the Diversity and Inclusion Student Center. Wishing you all solace, CSUEB Sociology Department Additional Resources Asian Pacific Islander Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) APALA’s Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit Red Canary Song National Organization of Asians and Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Atlanta Korean American Coalition Metro Atlanta Asian Americans Advancing Racial Justice (AAJC) Asian Mental Health Collective Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Asian Law Caucus CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) AAPI Community Fund Asian Pacific Fund
This fall, students in Dr. Duke Austin's SOC 433 course spent 13 weeks providing service in over a dozen community based organizations. They paired their service with critical reflection using their sociological imaginations. Then, at the end of the semester, they presented posters that highlighted their action and critical reflection.
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