Engaged Sociology
A significant portion of the faculty aspires to a special kind of sociology. Many of us care about a model of sociology that has an impact on our world, a sociology that makes a difference, a sociology that applies the best theory and research methods to the problems of our society. We call our model "engaged sociology." Engaged sociology at NC State University has multiple dimensions that profoundly shape the graduate student and faculty experiences:
- Significant numbers of faculty and students subscribe to and act on a value-oriented sociology, not a value-neutral one. We see good social science as consistent with social activism. We do not, however, train activists as a formal part of our program. Our program is designed to train researchers and college professors, who, themselves, create and disseminate knowledge.
- Many graduate courses foster a critical perspective that puts inequality, domination, power, and resistence at the center of the analysis.
- The land grant tradition of the university is formally enacted through several faculty appointments to extension sociology roles as part of the NC Cooperative Extension Program.
- Numerous faculty without formal extension appointments nonetheless take their research out into the local community, state, and sometimes farther. Current research projects with explicit outreach goals include:
- Outpatient commitment of the mentally ill
- Social consequences of rural economic development
- Teenage injuries on the job
- School and delinquency consequences of child maltreatment
- Latinos in low wage NC jobs
- Racial profiling in traffic stops
- The department publishes the North Carolina Quality of Life Bulletin, which brings sociological research applied to North Carolina to the attention of policy makers. Recent issues have focussed on:
- Crime
- School Funding
- The Causes and Consequences of Children's Poverty
- Several faculty members bring the findings of social science research to journalists, policy makers, and the public
