Department of Sociology, Hispanic and Liberal/Interdisciplinary Studies
Bienvenides to the Hispanic Studies program!
As part of the Department of Sociology, Hispanic, Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies, the Hispanic Studies program aims to prepare you to take your place in a multicultural, multilingual environment —whether locally or abroad— through a curriculum designed to promote the development of written and oral communication skills and cultural awareness. Our curriculum is geared for you to study the Hispanic world, in a variety of dimensions: linguistic, cultural, and literary, among others. We offer different concentrations depending on your interests and goals in language acquisition and cultural competence.
The Sociology Program welcomes anyone who is interested in exploring the social frameworks within which we learn how to live our lives. It studies social life at every level, from two-person relationships to nations, civilizations and the global system. It is a meeting place of the social sciences, combining its own ideas and methods with insights from philosophy, history, anthropology, economics, political science, and psychology. It is in this all-encompassing way it examines the ways human social lives work--or fail to work. Our faculty has particular strength in global perspective on sociology of organizations, sociology of culture, race, class, gender relations and social inequality, collective action and social change, and sociological theory. We build the career paths leading to the fields of public administration, non-profit organizations, human resource management, community organizing, as well as marketing research. In addition to sociology major, the program offers anthropology minor.
The Liberal Studies Academic Program allows students to create a customized degree program that suits their educational interests. Students choose 3 complementary concentrations of study and complete a total of 45 credits. This program gives students the freedom to study a field that is not otherwise offered here at the University such as Hospitality Management, Film Music, or Hospital Administration.
The Department of Sociology, Hispanic and Liberal/Interdisciplinary Studies at Westfield State University prides itself on its personal attention to students. It affords substantial access to faculty and administrators and flexibility in meeting individual intellectual agendas. Students may take courses in a variety of areas and put together a focused concentration of study reflecting their own particular interests. If you are interested in exploring any of the three programs above, please do not hesitate to come to our department office at Mod Hall 104; or contact Ms. Carolyn Healey at chealey@westfield.ma.edu You should also feel free to reach out to any of the faculty members listed below.
- Dr. Hugo Viera, Director of the Hispanic Studies Program, hviera@westfield.ma.edu
- Dr. Alina Gross, Director of the Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies Program, agross@westfield.ma.edu
We look forward to getting to know you!