Sociology comes back to Washington University

ST. LOUIS -- Washington University in St. Louis has announced plans to revive its sociology department.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Washington University yanked the department in 1991. But university officials now say it will reinstitute the department, hiring professors and eventually again offering the major to students. Classes could begin as early as this fall. The university plans to hire two sociology professors a year for several years.

Barbara Schaal, the university's arts and sciences faculty dean, said the university needs a sociology department. Schaal said the study of human social behavior relates to important issues such as inequality and economics.

Schaal also said a recent poll of Washington University undergraduates found sociology was the No. 1 course that Washington University was missing.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com