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Sociology

The sociology department at Randolph College focuses on experiential learning and applied sociology, service learning, gender and sexuality, and environmental issues.

Why Study Sociology at Randolph?

Sociology majors study societies and cultures within a broadly comparative framework.

The discipline illuminates the give-and-take relationship of human beings and their sociocultural environments and gives students a keener appreciation of their own social world, a less enthnocentric view of different ways of life, and a better understanding of the world system in which their society is one of many interdependent entities.

Students are encouraged to get out into the world and develop a deep and practical understanding of the structure and dynamics of society.

Beyond acquiring valuable people skills, sociology majors are trained to think critically and to analyze and understand symbolic content—skills that are vital to success in a wide variety of professions.

Degrees offered

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology

Minor in Sociology

Minor in Human Services

Curriculum and Courses

Related Programs

Environmental Studies

Gender Studies

Political Science

Psychology

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The Randolph Experience

An emphasis on “learning by doing” is one reason Randolph’s sociology majors graduate with skills that prepare them for life and work.

Internships

All sociology majors are required to complete an internship related to their personal and professional goals.

Recent majors have

  • conducted research at the Central Virginia Planning District Commission;
  • counseled people at retirement centers, halfway houses, children’s homes, and family-planning agencies;
  • worked on various projects for local government agencies and law offices;
  • helped provide health services to recent immigrants; and
  • participated in service-learning projects in the Caribbean.

Summer Research

Spend the summer working closely with a professor and focused on a specific aspect of philosophy.

Randolph’s intensive eight-week Summer Research Program enables students to conduct research that is complemented by a thorough review of the relevant literature; live in a residence hall on campus, participate in on-campus summer events, attend special seminars with guest speakers; and share the progress and results of their research. 

Learn more about the Summer Research Program.

Study Abroad

Randolph maintains partnerships with study abroad programs in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and  Japan, for full-year or semester-only experiences.

In addition, you can enroll in a foreign university or study abroad in an approved program coordinated by another U.S. institution.

Randolph also offers several unique international and cultural experience programs.

American Culture Program
Study abroad at home! This unique road trip program explores the diverse cultures of the United States.

Summer Study Seminars
Randolph professors lead 2-week study seminars across a range of academic disciplines and in countries around the globe either during winter break, spring break, or the summer. Recent destinations include Iceland, China, Cuba, and Rome, Italy.

Top Ranked Professors

Randolph College’s faculty are consistently recognized as among the best in the nation. The Princeton Review ranked the College in the Top 20 for most accessible professors in the 2021 edition of its flagship college guide, The Best 387 Colleges.

Randolph has been ranked in the top 20 for most accessible professors for four consecutive years.

Sociology Faculty

Brad Bullock

Professor of Sociology

Read More... Brad Bullock

Danielle Currier

Associate Professor of Sociology

Read More... Danielle Currier

Julio Rodriguez

Associate Professor of American Culture, Director of the American Culture Program

Read More... Julio Rodriguez

Only at Randolph

Randolph students can take advantage of unique programs which give them a more enriching education than can be found anywhere else.

Money for Your Research

The Randolph Innovative Student Experience (RISE) program provides every student a $2,000 grant to fund research, creative work, experiential learning or other scholarly pursuits.

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The Liberal Arts Advantage

Randolph graduates learn to think critically, solve problems and work well with others. They are prepared to succeed in all aspects of life.

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The Randolph Plan

Randolph students work with faculty mentors to explore a broad range of disciplines as they chart their academic path.

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TAKE2

Two courses per half-mester means you get to focus in and dig deep into your coursework while still having time for the rest of the college experience. Two classes. Seven weeks. Repeat.

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Department News

Students inducted into national, international honor societies

On Tuesday, Randolph students from a variety of academic departments were officially inducted into international, national, and College honor societies.

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Bullock publishes paper on ‘Anger and Identity in the Divided States of America’

The paper appears in a special issue of the journal, "Living in the Age of Anger: Representing ‘Negative Solidarities’ in Contemporary Global Culture."

Read More

Meet the graduates: Allie Fields ’22

Patience and understanding are values that have always guided Allie Fields ’22.

Read More

Students inducted into national, international honor societies

On Tuesday, Randolph students from a variety of academic departments were officially inducted into international, national, and College honor societies.

Read More

Bullock publishes paper on ‘Anger and Identity in the Divided States of America’

The paper appears in a special issue of the journal, "Living in the Age of Anger: Representing ‘Negative Solidarities’ in Contemporary Global Culture."

Read More

Meet the graduates: Allie Fields ’22

Patience and understanding are values that have always guided Allie Fields ’22.

Read More
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Department Chair

Brad Bullock

Professor of Sociology

Credentials:B.A., Baylor University
M.A., Vanderbilt University
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Associated Departments:Sociology
Office:Leggett 606
Phone:4349478559
Email:bbullock@randolphcollege.edu

News Headlines

My primary areas of interest include political economy, international social development and environmental issues. Courses I teach include Community and Social Problems. I conduct research on the Caribbean Basin and have recently traveled to such places as Guatemala, Panama, Barbados, Curacao, Guyana, Belize, and Cuba. I bring those experiences to my teaching about developing countries and society. Outside academia, I have been involved in work in the Caribbean for The Nature Conservancy.

After years of doing analyses about how economic and political factors translate into social development among nations, I was increasingly interested in the Caribbean– a place well-traveled but poorly understood — and the essential link there between people and environments. Since that region relies heavily on its natural beauty, assembling long-term strategies for sustainable resource use are urgently needed.

I encourage my students to learn sociology by applying it — using it to discover how it is connected to their lives in practical ways. For example, my teaching of conservation, land use, and other environmental issues stresses that these are necessarily people issues. Conventional development policies, poverty, international inequality, and lack of opportunities in education or through viable alternative practices put enormous pressures on natural environments.

The value of putting alternative practices into place became vividly clear during a recent trip arranged through the Quillian Visiting Scholars program. A few colleagues and I were privileged to spend weeks among the Makushi, an indigenous group living deep inside the rain forest in Guyana. They were mixing their traditional subsistence farming with new crops that have an international market (e.g., cashews and dried fruits). More exciting, they had begun a nascent eco-tourism business catering to international tourists. Their expertise as guides and cooks provides for jobs while preserving the rain forests.

Simultaneously, they preserve their language and culture, since young people are less prone to migrate elsewhere in search of opportunity. The on-going efforts of my students and colleagues to raise money and send supplies in support of the Makushi’s eco-tourism business have been particular rewarding.

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Danielle Currier

Associate Professor of Sociology

Credentials:B.A., Grinnell College
M.S., Virginia Commonwealth University
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Associated Departments:Sociology, Gender Studies
Office:Leggett 616
Phone:4349478561
Email:dcurrier@randolphcollege.edu

News Headlines

I joined the Randolph faculty in 2011. I am Chair of the Sociology department, Director of the Summer Research Program, and I coordinate the Gender Studies and Human Services minors. Before coming to Randolph, I was at the College of William & Mary for three years and Radford University for four years. I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Connecticut in 2004. My dissertation was entitled “Gendered Athletes” and in it I examined the different way women and men athletes experience the hyper-masculine world of college sports. Over the years I have won various teaching awards, including the Distinguished Teaching Award at Randolph in 2015.

In my teaching and research I focus on issues of intersectionality and inequality, with an emphasis on gender and sexuality. I teach a wide variety of undergraduate courses including Sociology of Gender, Qualitative Methods, Social Theory, Sociology of the Family, and Sport Sociology. I am also faculty in the Master’s of Coaching and Sport Leadership program, teaching the History of Sport and Research Methods and Inquiry.

My areas of research include hookups among college students, sexual violence, gender and sport, and participation in social movements such as the Women’s March in 2017. I have done several multi-method research projects and have had many students work with me to learn researching techniques and develop strong analytic and writing skills.

My interdisciplinary publications include a book chapter entitled “Feminist Pedagogy” (2021), a co-authored book chapter with a political science colleague about women’s issues in national elections (“The Social Construction of Women’s Interests in the 2014 and 2010 Midterms”), a peer-reviewed article about hookups (“Strategic Ambiguity”, 2013), and a variety of book reviews addressing the topics of hookups, family dynamics and violence, and violence against women. I regularly go to sociology and gender studies conferences and take students whenever possible.

In my spare time, I love to travel, kayak, hike, read, and watch crazy series on Netflix. In 2018, I completed a bucket list item and drove around the entire United States, visiting every national park I could and visiting every state except Alaska (which is next on my list).

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Julio Rodriguez

Associate Professor of American Culture, Director of the American Culture Program

Credentials:B.A., East Stroudsburg University
M.A., Bowling Green University
Ph.D., Bowling Green University
Associated Departments:Media and Culture, Sociology, The American Culture Program old 2016, African and African American Studies
Office:Leggett 601
Phone:4349478304
Email:jrodriguez@randolphcollege.edu

News Headlines

Professor Rodriguez has published articles on baseball, basketball, boxing, and the performance of masculinity in sports films.

He is currently working on a book-length project examining the role of neo-conservative foreign policy in action-adventure films released during George W. Bush’s presidency.

In the summers he tirelessly, but fruitlessly, tries to break 80 on the golf course, quitting the game on a regular basis. The winter brings snowboarding and the to-date successful attempt not to break anything. Sports have always been central to his work and leisure. They instruct and inform his personal and professional search for a comprehensive understanding of the male gender.

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