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About the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology was incorporated as a subject of study within the Department of Social Sciences from 1994. In 1997, the Special Degree Programme in Sociology and Anthropology was introduced under the Department of Social Sciences. Continued academic growth led to the establishment of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology On 03 December 2025, was officially established as an separate department through a Gazette Notification of the Government of Sri Lanka.
Subsequently, on 14 May 2026, the Department was ceremonially inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka, Professor V. Piratheepan, under the patronage of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Culture, Professor K. Suresh.
Mrs. Paheerathy Moses has been appointed as the Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Sociology and Anthropology
The Course of Sociology and Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology share common philosophical roots and concern for the social and cultural conditions of human life although the two fields have developed independently over the last century. Historically, Sociology exists more on the modernized social structure, while Anthropology focuses on primitive culture. Such distinctions of subject matter no longer prevail, and the line between Sociology and Socio-cultural Anthropology today is neither firm nor fixed. The Special Degree in Sociology and Anthropology builds on the overlapping concerns and distinctive strengths of Sociology and Anthropology. Instead of maintaining separate curricula in the two fields, the department has developed a single curriculum dedicated to providing solid preparation in social theories and qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Objectives
- To introduce a variety of methodological perspectives including ethnographic fieldwork and interviewing,
- To learn survey research techniques
- To develop texts, discourse, and the practices of representation
- To stress the relationship between cultural formations and social structures set in historical context
- To emphasis in the study of inequality and difference by race, gender, class, and region
- To providing classroom study, the department provides majors and non-majors opportunities to carry out to field research within the country
Intended Learning Outcomes
After completion of the course in Sociology and Anthropology, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate the knowledge of the core concepts of Sociology (social structure, culture, social stratification and inequality, race, ethnicity, and gender, and globalization)
- Understand the knowledge gained out of the methods of Sociological research
- Develop knowledge of diversity within or between societies
- Apply Sociological concepts or principles to individual experiences or the social world
- Demonstrate the knowledge of cultural variability within one geographical region of the world
- Practice the major theoretical perspectives of Anthropology in the field.
Undergraduate Programme
The Department currently offers both the Bachelor Degree Programme in Sociology and Anthropology and the Bachelor of Arts Honours Programme in Sociology and Anthropology.
Sociology and Anthropology combine scientific and humanistic perspectives in the study of society. This study includes all the field of study in holistic views and drawing upon various theoretical perspectives from classical to contemporary sociologist, and anthropologists. Study areas of sociology and anthropology rely on major fields of the disciplines, sociology of disabilities, migration, religion, law, environment, development and media and communication, social psychology, criminology, anthropology of state and ethnic conflicts, tourism, post-conflict studies and Culture. Combining theoretical perspectives with empirical research allows students an opportunity to develop new insights and a different perspective on their own lives. This combination also helps students to understand everyday social life as a blend of both stable patterns of interaction and ubiquitous sources of Social Change.
The Sociology curriculum prepares the student for both academic and applied research careers in Sociology and Anthropology. The department also offers extensive instruction and experience in Research Design and Methodology, including courses in research methods, qualitative and quantitative Methodologies, survey, Social Statistics, and computational approaches in Social Research. The department offers many other opportunities for interested students to engage in research and practice outside of the classroom. It offers an essential liberal arts background for many careers and professions, including public service and Administration, Communications and public relations, law, Businesses, Medicine, Journalism, Arts management, environmental science, social workers, and other professions.
The field study and internship programs provide opportunities for disciplined Sociological exploration and application of the theoretical and methodological principles learned in the classroom. This program encourages the student to explore careers that they feel may interest them and give them valuable experience that may help them gain employment after Graduation.
Bachelor Degree Program in Sociology & Anthropology
Objectives
To obtain sociological knowledge of core areas and substantive topics and the ability to think critically about them.
To understand the role of theory in the application of conceptual frameworks in the research
process.
To understand the role of evidence in the social sciences and the application of systematic empirical inquiry.
To think creatively and meaningfully link individual biographical events to larger social patterns in society.
To perceive and systematically analyse social structures in society, from small-scale interactions to large-scale global social arrangements.
To engage with an intellectually rigorous theoretical core including using a wide variety of classical and contemporary Sociological and Anthropological theories to interpret social reality.
To develop effective communication, written and oral, about the field of sociology within the classroom and through a variety of arenas including service learning, international experiences, student research, and internships.
Intended Learning Outcomes of the Bachelor Degree programme
After completion of the course in Sociology and Anthropology, students will be able to
To demonstrate the ability to analyse and evaluate multiple and competing social, political, and/or cultural arguments.
To articulate and evaluate how individual biographies are shaped by social structures, social institutions, cultural routines, and multiple of elements of social difference and/or inequality.
To formulate effective and convincing written and verbal arguments.
To use and evaluate both classical and contemporary perspectives in sociological theory.
To interpret and evaluate several of the major social science research methodologies, as well as the relationship between research questions and appropriate methods.
To demonstrate knowledge of multiple key substantive areas within the field of sociology and evaluate competing perspectives.
To articulate and evaluate how sociological insights should inform a commitment to social justice.
To synthesize knowledge acquired through in-class and out-of-class material on a specific topic.
To apply it in the production of a piece of sociological and anthropological research, research design, methodologies and critical literature review, and intended data analysis.
Bachelor of Arts Honours Program in Sociology & Anthropology
Objectives
To develop Sociological and Anthropological thinking patterns and literacy ability.
To think creatively and meaningfully link individual biographical events to larger social patterns in society.
To perceive and systematically analyse social structures in society, from small-scale interactions to large-scale global social arrangements.
To engage with an intellectually rigorous theoretical core including using a wide variety of classical and contemporary Sociological and Anthropological theories to interpret social reality.
To strengthen their methodological experiences through an acquaintance with the research methods of Sociology and Anthropology and independent research skills, including qualitative and quantitative approaches.
To acquire Sociological and Anthropological knowledge through an active sense of citizenship and community participation locally, nationally, and globally.
To link to the world through information about such belongings as internships, career choices, fellowships, graduate, service opportunities, cross-cultural experiences, and other opportunities.
To engage in a lifelong sociologically and anthropologically informed search for meaning that is intellectually, ethically, morally and aesthetically rewarding.
Intended Learning Outcomes of the Honours degree programme in Sociology & Anthropology
After completion of the course in Sociology and Anthropology, students will be able to
- Understand how and why social categories, such as gender, class, race, ethnicity, religious background, sexual orientation shape human experiences.
apply the field’s major theories and concepts to contemporary real-life events or topics of social importance.
Demonstrate the ability to design, undertake, and analyse social research informed by disciplinary methods
Communicate the results of that research using writing skills appropriate to the discipline.
Synthesize knowledge acquired through in-class and out-of-class material on a specific topic
Apply it in the production of a piece of sociological and anthropological research, research design, methodologies and critical literature review, and intended data analysis.
Synthesize sociological and anthropological knowledge acquired during the major studies
Apply it in the production of a piece of original research in an area of expertise.
Integrate sociological and anthropological knowledge and perspectives to an understanding of after graduation and their personnel and social life
Postgraduate Programme
The Department currently provides academic research supervision for M.Phil programme in Sociology and Anthropology in collaboration with the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Eastern University, Sri Lanka.