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This sixth edition of the handbook was revised and updated
by Bernard Cohen, Dean Savage, and Joyce Tang. Samuel Heilman,
Lauren Seiler, and Lynn Zimmer provided useful suggestions specific
to this edition. Sam Heilman, member of the Department's Publicity
Committee, conceived the idea of making the handbook available
on-line.
Melvin Reichler and Stephen Green were the original authors, and
the following faculty members graciously contributed their time
and knowledge to earlier editions: Professors James Beshers, Paul
Blumberg, Bernard Cohen, Steven Cohen, Patricia Kendall, Dean
Savage, Sheldon Seller, and Charles Smith. Special thanks go to
the Office of Reprographics, Mrs. Patricia Seeger, Mrs. Lillian
Lindroth, and Ms. Yvette Baker.
Charles W. Smith, the Department Chair, encouraged and supported
the preparation of this edition.
INTRODUCTION
The faculty and chair welcome you to the Queens College Sociology Department. Ours is one of the largest and most productive departments on campus and one of the very best undergraduate sociology departments in the country. Our course offerings are many and varied; our faculty has a strong commitment to both teaching and research.
The department maintains high academic standards for student performance. Accordingly, previous sociology majors have gone on to graduate and professional study at Harvard, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, U.C.L.A., the Mount Sinai Medical School, and many other prestigious public and private schools.
One of the most important, but often neglected, aspects of
"going to college" is obtaining adequate advisement.
We urge you to seek counseling with respect to what you should
major in, what careers and job opportunities are available, whether
and how a graduate education will benefit you, and what courses
and instructors best fit your needs and interests. This handbook
is one means of obtaining such advice. To further help you, the
Sociology Department's faculty members are available for student
advising. Queens College provides additional advisement through
The major purpose of this handbook is to address some basic questions that arise for the student considering a major in sociology or going on to graduate school. Only you, the readers and users of this document, can tell us about its usefulness. Did we provide you with answers to your questions? What didn't we tell you that you need to know about? Please give your comments on this handbook to the Department Chair so that we may make whatever changes seem desirable. We need to know what your needs are in order to provide the best possible service.