Sociology
In Remembrance: Don Dillman
It is with a heavy heart that we share this news. Don passed away Friday, June 14, 2024, at the Pullman Regional Hospital after a year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Words cannot describe Don’s influence on his family, students, colleagues, survey research methodology, and on the field of Sociology.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 23, at Simpson United Methodist Church, 325 NE Maple St., Pullman. The event will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.
In lieu of flowers, his memory may be honored by making a contribution to WSU’s Don Dillman Graduate Fellowship, the WSU Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections (MASC) Development Fund or to a charity that is meaningful to you.
https://www.corbeillfuneralhomes.com/obituary/don-dillman/
A Successful Start to 100 Years of Sociology
Our Sociology Centennial Celebration had a successful kick-off on September 27th with our wonderful guests, Dr. Lois DeFleur, Dr. Sandra Ball-Rokeach, Dr. Marilyn Ihinger-Tallman and Betty Winfield. We are looking forward to our upcoming event on October 25th to celebrate Don Dillman’s 55 years of service to the Department of Sociology. You can find more information about our calendar of events here.
Featured Undergraduate Courses
Growing Up and Growing Older (SOC 356)
How do societies define adulthood and old age? What does it mean for a society to have a very young or old population? This course provides a framework for understanding the interplay between the way we age and changing social structures of societies. The course explores how major institutions (e.g., employment, family, health care) shape the aging process; social inequalities and changes in life experiences that come with age; and how historical change creates differences between generations as well as how different generations propel societal change. We will examine social policies and practices that benefit population health in an aging society and personal well-being across the life course.
Medical Sociology (SOC 334)
This course explores how long and how well we live, as a social process. Though we often reflect on the biological, physiological, and genetic conditions that contribute to our health and the length of our lives, we will examine evidence that suggests social conditions shape health and mortality prospects for all of us. Did you know that otherwise healthy widowers have significant increased risks of death especially in the first 12 months following the death of a spouse? Or, on average, that the most affluent Americans live 5 years longer than the most deprived? The course uses “the sociological imagination” to explore the role and meaning of medicine in modern U.S. society.
Medical Sociology is one of two foundational courses in the Health & Society Minor.
Experiential Learning
Take your education out of the classroom and into the world! Experiential learning opportunities and the capstone course help you apply your academic learning to effect change in communities and workplaces or get involved in hands-on research.
Department Announcements
- Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson was interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio about teen employment. You can hear a recording of the program here:How our first jobs shape the rest of our lives | MPR News
- Erik Johnson and Azdren Coma were featured in WSU Insider’s “For Republican men, environmental support hinges on partisan identity”
- Department of Sociology Anti-Racism Statement
- WSU Anti-Racism Statement
- Notice of Non-Discrimination