University of Kansas — Department of Sociology Summer 2016 Newsletter
Volume 7, Issue 7 July 2016 Message from the Chair Welcome again from high atop Mt. Oread!
Friends and colleagues,
I'm writing to express thanks to everyone who made my four years as Chair of the Department so memorable and rewarding. Eric Hanley was simply outstanding as Associate Chair—congenial and conscientious, thoughtful and painstaking. Kelly Chong and Brian Donovan were equally conscientious and reliable in their roles as, respectively, Director of Graduate and Director of Undergraduate Studies—and Kelly will continue to serve us well as our incoming Associate Chair. Janelle Williams, our Office Manager, was, as always, our Rock of Gibraltar—the soul and face of the de‐ Happy 50th, Fraser Hall! partment. Corinne Butler has been utterly dependable and responsive in her role as Graduate Secretary. And I was fortunate enough to work with an outstandingly sup‐ portive Associate Dean in the College office, Jim Mielke. I could go on, and on, about my fellow faculty—but suffice to say, the Sociology Department is incomparably the easiest department to administer at KU, not least because our 20+ faculty members are so consistently positive and constructive. I have enjoyed working with every member of the faculty—I mean each of you!—in my role A newspaper version of a as chair, and I look forward to working alongside you in other ways in the years to faculty project by… come. Your presence, and the presence of our able and good‐hearted graduate students, makes the seventh floor of Fraser Hall a terrific place to work. Looking back at the past four years, I'm pleased to say that we have held our own in a period of often‐complex change. We have found an increasingly diverse range of ways to teach, practice, and model sociology. We have grown significantly both as a faculty and in terms of stu‐ dent attendance in our courses. Higher education faces serious challenges, but we're well positioned to respond creatively and effectively. Our new leadership team is seasoned and competent, ensuring continuity and a steady hand at the wheel—and they can Which faculty member rely on the support of their colleagues, friends, alumni is the Dean & Associate Dean and students. surprising in class? I'll see you all around! Inside this issue: Faculty Activities 2 Thanks again to everyone; all the best,
Graduate Program News 8 David Undergraduate News 12 Alumni Notes 14
PAGE 2 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7
Faculty Activities
Victor Agadjanian had several publica- Sandra Albrecht con nues her research Kelly H. Chong has been engaged in a ons based on his research in sub- on gender and the labor movement, fo- wide variety of research, teaching, and Saharan Africa and Central Eurasia. His cusing on the right to strike. service ac vi es in the academic year sole-authored ar cle tled “Women’s 2015-2016. Prof. Chong’s ar cle Religious Authority in Sub-Saharan Afri- “’Asianness Under Construc on:’ The Bob Antonio completed “In the Twilight ca: Dialec cs of Empowerment and De- Contours and Nego a on of Panethnic of Plutocracy and Ecocatastrophe: The pendency” was published in Gender & Iden ty/Culture among Interethnically Return of ‘History?’” for Michael Thomp- Society. A thema cally related piece, Married Asian Americans” was published son’s The Handbook of Cri cal Theory tled “Religious Belonging, Religious in Sociological Perspec ves online in and “The Pike y Thesis and the Environ- Agency, and Women’s Autonomy in 2015, as was her ar cle “Feminine Habi- mental Wall” for Lauren Langman and Mozambique,” on which Agadjanian was tus: Rhetoric and Rituals of Conversion David A. Smith’s Pike y, The 21st Centu- lead author, was published in Journal for and Commitment among Contemporary ry, and the Cri ques of Inequality. He also the Scien fic Study of Religion. He was South Korean Evangelical Wom- coauthored with Bob Brulle “The Pope’s lead author on a study tled “Place, en” (published in The Anthropology of Fateful Vision of Hope for Our Future and Time, and Experience: Barriers to Univer- Global Pentecostalism and Evangelical- the Planet” for Nature Climate Change. saliza on of Ins tu onal Child Delivery in ism, NYU Press). Prof. Chong also has He is currently wri ng, with Bre Clark, Rural Mozambique” published in Interna- several ar cles in press, under review, “Environment” for Peter Kivisto’s The onal Perspec ves on Sexual and Repro- and in progress, including “’New Tradi- Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory. duc ve Health. He also co-authored a onal Man’: The Construc on and Defini- Bob also presented “Construc onism and study tled “Father's Labor Migra on ons of Asian-American Masculini- Dualism: Mead, Dewey, and the Embod- and Leaving the Parental Home in Rural ty” (under review) and “Theorizing Wom- Mozambique,” published in Journal of en’s Consent: Familism, Motherhood, Marriage and Family. As part of his re- and Middle-Class Feminine Subjec vity in search on demography of Central Eura- Contemporary South Korea,” forthcom- sia, he co-authored a study tled ing in the volume Psychology of Patriar- “Between Tradi on and Modernity: Mar- chy and published by the School for Amer- riage Dynamics in Kyrgyzstan” that was ican Research. Prof. Chong has secured a published in Demography. Another co- book contract with Routledge for her authored paper focused on abor on second book project, Love Across Bor- trends in Armenia was published in Stud- ders: Asian Americans and the Poli cs of ies of Family Planning. His co-authored Intermarriage and Family-Making, and is study of fer lity in non-first marital un- hard at work comple ng the manuscript. ions in the Russian Federa on was pub- Dr. Bob Antonio presenting at the ISTC meeting As usual, she con nues to enjoy her lished in Russian in Demographic Review, teaching, and has provided a wide variety Russia’s leading popula on studies jour- ied Organism” at the joint mee ng of the of service for KU and her profession at nal. Midwest & North Central Sociological the local and na onal levels. She has par- Victor Agadjanian is also a co- Society in Chicago; was a Plenary Panelist cularly enjoyed her role as the Director in several sessions (Social Theory Se ngs, Director (along with Prof. Cecilia Menjí- of Graduate Studies for the Sociology The Recogni on Paradigm in Cri cal The- var) of the KU Center for MigraƟon Re- Department for the past three years and ory, & The 2016 Elec on) at the Interna- search. In the past academic year, the looks forward to star ng her new posi- onal Social Theory Consor um’s confer- Center organized several ac vi es, cul- on as Associate Chairperson for the de- ence, “Capitalism, Culture, & Cri que,” in partment star ng in 2016. mina ng in a two-day Ames, Iowa; par cipated in a workshop— symposium tled Modera on & its Discontents—at the Brian Donovan’s book Respectability on “Race and Immigra- University of Warwick in Coventry, UK; Trial: Sex Crimes in New York City, 1900- on: Cri cal Perspec- and presented at Making Science Public: 1918 will be published by SUNY Press in ves and Future Di- Opening up Closed Spaces at the Univer- October. The press’s website notes that rec ons” that took sity of No ngham in No ngham, UK. the book provides “a front row seat at place in Spring 2016. Also, the KU chapter of the Na onal Soci- cri cal courtroom ba les over seduc on, ety of Collegiate Scholars designated Bob pimping, rape, and sodomy in early twen- a Dis nguished Member. (continued on p. 3) Dr. Victor Agadjanian, spring 2016 VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 Faculty Activities
eth-century New York City, Brian Do- za on devoted to research, educa on, rement teaching medical sociology and novan uses verba m trial transcripts to and prac ce in the field of aging. The family sociology. Shirley con nues to understand the city’s history during the principal mission of the Society — and serve on the Langston Hughes Visi ng so-called ‘first sex- its 5,500 members — is to advance the Professor Commi ee and as library liai- ual revolu on.’ By study of aging and disseminate infor- son for the Sociology Department. She is tracing the revolu- ma on among scien sts, decision mak- looking forward to becoming ‘professor onary and re- ers, and the general public. Members emeritus’ in May of 2017. pressive dimen- come from more than 50 countries. The sions of this me GSA publishes preeminent peer- period, Donovan reviewed journals and fosters collabora- ChangHwan Kim spent the past year on reveals how con- on among biologists, health profes- sabba cal in Sta s cs Korea (the Census flic ng ideas about sionals, policymakers, humani es schol- Bureau in South Korea) located in Dae- sex and gender ars, and behavioral and social scien sts. jeon, South Korea. While he was there, shaped the city’s Interdisciplinary ac vi es notwithstand- he extended his research on the labor criminal jus ce ing, Dave s ll carries the flag for sociol- market and inequality issues in South system.” Brian was ogy with his publica ons on work and Korea and has intensively analyzed re- also awarded the 2016/17 Gene A. Budig re rement, possessions and consump- stricted datasets which are available only Teaching Professorship, a College-wide on, and future orienta on among old- at a secured site. Teaming up with sever- teaching award. He con nues to work on er adults. al other Korean scholars, he applied for a book-length manuscript on how the two research grants in Korea: one to the “gold digger” stereotype has shaped US Korean Studies Promo on Service and th law and culture in the 20 century. He’s the other to the Na onal Research Foun- Shirley A. Hill submi ed the final dra also co-direc ng the Hall Center’s Gender da on of Korea. One of his proposals was of her most recent book to Policy Press Seminar and serving a final semester as awarded with a 150 million Korean won for publica on this Fall. Inequality and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. ($136,000 US) grant to do research on African-American Health: How Racial "Educa on and Social Mobility in Korea" Dispari es Create Sickness provides a for the next three years. He is wai ng for current and historic look at the health a decision on the other proposal. Recent- and health behaviors of black people ly, Dr. Kim published a paper tled "Field within the context of a racialized socie- of Study in College and Life me Earnings ty. She presented a chapter of the book in the United States" in Sociology of Edu- that focuses on the health socializa on ca on and another paper tled of black children at the annual Associa- "Educa on and Life me Earnings in the on of Black Sociologists mee ng last United States" in Demography. Both pa- summer in Chicago. While there, she pers are funded by the NIH and the Spen- also served as presider and discussant cer Founda on. Christopher R. Tamborini for an ASA session for those in the Mi- at the Social Security Administra on and nority Fellowship program. Last sum- Arthur Sakamoto at Texas A&M Universi- Dr. Brian Donovan presented in class with the mer, in a Lawrence seminar for educa- 2016-2017 Gene A. Budig Teaching Professorship! ty are his collaborators for these projects. tors across the country, she also pre- Another exci ng news item is that his sented (with John Rury) a talk on black ar cle on Asian American wom- educa on in the post- David Ekerdt is stepping down as Direc- en's labor market performance Brown era. Shirley tor of the Gerontology Center in the Life from Social Forces (93:623-52), taught her first online Span Ins tute and as Director of the Ger- coauthored with Yang Zhao, was class in the fall of 2015— ontology Doctoral Program in the College selected for the 2016 Best Re- Wealth, Power, and Ine- of Liberal Arts and Sciences, posi ons he search Award from the Asia and quality—and in the has held since 2003. At the same me, he Asian America sec on of ASA. spring a graduate semi- will take office later this year as president- Star ng in the coming fall, he will nar on qualita ve meth- elect of the Gerontological Society of serve as Director of Graduate ods. She will spend her America. The GSA is the oldest (since Studies. 1945) and largest interdisciplinary organi- last year in phased re- PAGE 4 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 Faculty Activities
Tracey LaPierre has been busy col- presented at the Midwest Sociological Joane Nagel’s book Gender and Cli- lec ng and analyzing data from two re- Society and the Gerontological Society of mate Change: Impacts Science, and Poli- search projects funded by the Health America mee ngs this past year. In Fall cy was published by Routledge this year, Care Founda on of Greater Kansas City 2016, Dr. LaPierre will be on sabba cal, and she has presented this research at (HCFGKC) with co-inves gators Mary and when she returns in the spring of KU and other venues including the Envi- Zimmerman, Tami Gurley-Calvez, and 2017 will take over the role of Director of ronmental Protec on Agency in Wash- Joanna Brooks (Department of Health Undergraduate Studies. ington. A paper based on this work, Policy and Management, KUMC). The “Men at Work: Scien fic and Technologi- first project looked at the experiences of cal Solu ons to the ‘Problem’ of Nature,” low-income individuals in the Greater will appear in the Sage Handbook of Na- Kansas City area with the health insur- ture. Her ongoing interest in the militari- ance marketplace. An ar cle highligh ng za on of science and everyday life, and major findings from this study was re- the gendered dimensions of all things cently published in the Journal of Pov- military, are reflected in her forthcoming erty. Graduate student Emily Jones was chapter in an edited collec on on Gen- a research assistant on this project and der and War, “Gender and the Sexual is a co-author on the publica on. The Economy of War: Some Consequences of second project involved traveling across Integra ng Women into the U.S. Armed Missouri to evaluate consumer’s experi- Dr. Menjívar, Phd student Jorge Thieroldt- Forces.” The journal Ethnic and Racial ences with Medicaid. The HCFGKC is Llanos, & Dr. Kelly Chong Studies has selected her 1998 paper, using these findings to promote policy “Masculinity and Na onalism: Gender reform related to Medicaid in Missouri. Cecilia Menjívar’s new book (with Leisy and Sexuality in the Making of Na ons,” Graduate students Andrea Gómez Cer- Abrego and Leah Schmalzbauer), Immi- for its 40th anniversary issue, in which vantes and Jennifer Dueñas assisted grant Families, was published in early she’ll be asked to with this project. She also con nues to 2016 by Polity Press. She also published respond to a ret- work with KU Sociology alumna Dr. Car- the ar cles “Transforma ve Effects of rospec ve com- rie Wendel-Hummell on a state funded Immigra on Law: Migrants’ Personal and mentary on the project revising Medicaid waiver func- Social Metamorphoses through Regulari- paper, so she’ll be za on,” in American Journal of Sociology working on that (with Sarah Lakhani); “Impunity and Mul- this summer. sided Violence in the Lives of La n Joane was pleas- American Women: El Salvador in Com- antly surprised by para ve Perspec ve,” in Current Sociolo- her first experi- gy (with Shannon Drysdale-Walsh); and ence last spring “Immigrant Criminaliza on in Law and semester teaching the Media: Effects on La no Immigrant an online course, Soc 534—Global Ethnic Workers’ Iden es in Arizona,” in Ameri- and Racial Rela ons; she found the stu- can Behavioral Scien st. She and Victor dents engaged and engaging in their re- Agadjanian launched the Center for Mi- sponses and reflec ons to the readings onal eligibility instruments. Thanks to graƟon Research in the spring semester. and visual funding from the College of Liberal Arts And also with Victor, and with Sociology assignments, and Sciences, Professor LaPierre is cur- PhD students Dan- and she’s rently conduc ng focus groups with ny Alvord, Andrea looking for- women with chronic physical and men- Gómez Cervantes, ward to teach- tal health condi ons to learn more Natalie Jansen, and ing the course about the factors that influence their Byeongdon Oh, online again in decision making regarding pregnancy. they have started the fall. Mary Zimmerman and Jean Hall (Health doing fieldwork on Policy and Management) are collabora- rela ons between tors on this project. Dr. LaPierre also established resi- dents and newcom- Photos: Drs. Tracey LaPierre, above, ers in rural Kansas. & Joane Nagel, right, spring 2016 PAGE 5 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 Faculty Activities
Mehrangiz Najafizadeh has been con n- torical documents including kinçi, the says, including an invited essay in a spe- uing her research on global gender is- first Azeri language newspaper (1875- cial issue of Current History: A Journal of sues. During the past academic year, she 1877), Molla Nəsrəddin (1906-1931), the Contemporary World Affairs. He present- con nued to be ac ve in various aspects highly influen al sociopoli cal sa rical ed invited papers at interna onal confer- of KU’s area studies programs including magazine, and Ishiq, the first Azeri wom- ences in Canada and Nigeria, and was invited to serve as a guest interlocutor by the Center for Russian, East European, en’s newspaper edited by a woman the Charles Phelps Ta Research Center, and Eurasian Studies and (1911-1912). These University of Cincinna . He is on sabba - the Center for La n printed media were cal leave in the fall of 2016, which he American and Caribbean published in the Aze- plans to devote to the wri ng of a book Studies. This past spring, ri language, which manuscript on the role of religion in the she also formally received during this era was poli cs of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. a Courtesy Faculty ap- wri en using the pointment in the Center original Azeri Turkic Emily Rauscher is con nuing her efforts for Global and Interna- Arabic script rather to understand policies or programs that onal Studies. During the than the contempo- could increase equality of opportunity. academic year, Mehrangiz rary Azeri La n Her ar cle “Does Educa onal Equality presented a paper, script. Increase Mobility? Exploi ng Nineteenth- “Cri cal Perspec ves on Century U.S. Compulsory Schooling Women’s “Place” in Early Twen eth Cen- Dr. Najafizadeh at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Institute of Manuscripts, Laws” recently appeared in the American tury Azerbaijan,” at the combined Mid- Baku, Azerbaijan, reading Ishiq, the first Azeri Journal of Sociology. In fact, it was in the west Sociological Society and North Cen- women’s newspaper published in 1911. same journal issue as Cecilia Menjivar’s tral Sociological Society Mee ngs in Chi- ar cle “Transforma ve Effects of Immi- was delighted to cago. Mehrangiz also con nues to serve Ebenezer Obadare gra on Law: Migrants’ Personal and So- on the Board of Directors of the Research receive the cial Metamorphoses through Regulariza- good news of Ins tute of the South Caucasus, and her on.” Emily recently began inves ga ng his eleva on ar cle, “Social Entrepreneurship, Social the role of higher educa on in intergen- to Full Pro- Change, and Gender Roles in Azerbaijan,” era onal inequality, and her ar cle fessor of So- is being published this summer 2016 in “Passing It On: Parent-to-Adult Child Fi- ciology, and nancial Transfers for School and Socioec- the Handbook of Entrepreneurship in appointment Developing Economies (Routledge). Fur- onomic A ainment” will appear in The as Research Russell Sage Founda on Journal of the ther, Mehrangiz and Linda Lindsey Fellow in the Social Sciences this fall. Emily is con- (Washington University in St. Louis) con- Research duc ng research with PhD student nue work on their anthology of original Ins tute for Byeongdon Oh, who will present a post- ar cles, Women of Asia and Eurasia: Theology and er of their paper “Have Black-White Globaliza on, Development, and Change, Religion, Uni- Dr. Obadare’s new book! Differences in Intragenera onal Mobility which is under contract with Routledge. versity of South Changed over Cohorts in the U.S.?” at Finally, Mehrangiz was awarded a Hu- Africa. He published two books: Humor, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics An- mani es Summer Research grant from Silence, and Civil Society in Nigeria nual User Conference in September. the KU Office of Interna onal Programs (University of Rochester Press, 2016) and Governance and the to conduct fieldwork in the Republic of Crisis of Rule in Con- Azerbaijan. During her fieldwork this temporary Africa: summer, she met with the Director and Leadership in Trans- Deputy Directors of the Azerbaijan Na- forma on (co-edited onal Academy of Sciences Ins tute of with Wale Adebanwi) Manuscripts, named a er the renowned (Palgrave-Macmillan, th 16 century Azerbaijani literary figure, 2016); and several Muhammad Fuzuli. In this Ins tute, she peer-reviewed es- had access to numerous Azeri social his-
Drs. Emily Rauscher & Nate Freiburger, fall 2015 PAGE 6 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 Faculty Activities
Jarron Saint Onge con nues to work Theory Consor um, two presenta ons dic ng prejudice, Smith and Hanley in the area of social determinants of at the annual mee ng of the Interna- wrote a new proposal in the fall of 2015, health, with ongoing projects examining onal Society for Poli cal Psychology with PhD students Danny Alvord and the importance of racial iden ty in (where he also chaired a session), two Shane Willson, urging the ANES to use health behaviors. In the past year, he papers at the mee ng of the American these items again. They were informed in has con nued to publish work on health Sociological Associa on, a paper at the February 2016 that both of these scales differences by race/ethnicity and social mee ng of the Midwest Sociological had been “provisionally accepted.” With class, including a published manuscript Society, and a lecture at a special con- any luck these scales will in fact be used with PhD student Natalie Jansen, “An ference en tled “Remembering Erich again. Smith’s teaching in the past year Internet Forum Analysis of S gma Pow- Fromm and the Frankfurt School” at the included a graduate theory seminar and er Percep ons among City University of New York Graduate a newly prepared online “Cross-Cultural Women Seeking Fer- Center. Sociology” course for advanced under- lity Treatment in the Smith published “Profit Maxims: Cap- graduates. He also chaired a successful U.S.,” in Social Sci- italism and the Common Sense of Time PhD disserta on defense by James Ord- ence & Medicine. He and Money” (Current Perspec ves in ner. was a featured guest Social Theory,) and “Capitalism’s Future: on KCUR’s radio pro- Self-Aliena on, Self-Emancipa on, and gram Central Stand- the Remaking of Cri cal Theo- Joey Sprague con nues to explore the ard discussing ongo- ry” (Capitalism’s Future, ed. Daniel Krier, degree to which Sociology as a discipline ing mortality trends Brill, 2016). He finished six forthcoming and the academy in the U.S. He recent- book chapters, the result of several more broadly are ly presented papers years work, including “Charisma and the organized by gender, at the Popula on Associa on of Ameri- Spirit of Capitalism” (The Anthem Com- focusing on the con- ca and the Southern Demographic Asso- panion to Max Weber, ed. Alan Sica, sequences for cia on. He also par cipated in the PAA Anthem) and “Theory and Class Con- knowledge of stand- Advocacy days on Capitol Hill in Wash- sciousness” (The Handbook of Cri cal ard prac ces for do- ington, D.C. advoca ng for increased Theory, ed. Michael Thompson, Palgrave ing research and for social science funding at the Na onal Macmillan). His book, Marx’s Capital evalua ng academic Ins tutes of Health and Na onal Science Illustrated, with art by Phil Evans, ap- work. The second Founda on. The group helped to edu- peared in a South Korean edi on and edi on of her book, cate lawmakers on popula on science will soon appear in Chinese. Another Feminist Methodologies for Cri cal Re- and also advocated for increased aware- book, George Orwell Illustrated, illus- searchers: Bridging Differences (Rowman ness of U.S. Census Bureau data and trated by Mike Mosher, will soon appear & Li lefield) came out this past March, research. Professor Saint Onge was re- in a second edi on with a 2016 a er- and the book tour starts (and perhaps cently honored with a teaching award, word, “Planet Orwell.” ends) this fall when she gives some talks the JHawk Faculty Apprecia on Award, In 2013, the American Na onal Elec- at the University of North Carolina- from the Jayhawk Healthcare Adminis- on Study (ANES) included a pair of sur- Ashville. In the mean me she is working trators Working for Kansas student as- vey scales on a tudes towards authori- on an essay on the implica ons of femi- socia on at the KU Medical Center. He ty and equality which Smith, Eric Hanley, nist methodology for gender research at was also recently promoted to Associate and Robert McWilliams had proposed. the invita on of the editors of the sec- Professor with tenure in the Depart- Given the success of these scales in pre- ond edi on of the Handbook of the Soci- ments of Sociology and Health Policy ology of Gender (Springer). and Management. At the end of August, Joey will step down from her three-year-plus term David Smith had an even ul year. Ad- as the Execu ve Officer of Sociolo- ministra vely, he enjoyed his fourth and gists for Women in Society, whose final year as Sociology Department Chair, organiza onal opera ons have been and he finished his term on the Provost’s housed in the KU Sociology Depart- Advisory Board. He gave talks at several (continued on p. 7) conferences, including a featured lecture at the mee ng of the Interna onal Social Stephen Turner, Arnold Farr, Bob Anto- nio, & David Smith at the 2016 ISTC meeting VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 Faculty Activities ment. She con nues to co-edit The Gen- He is also serving as “Guest Editor” for roadblocks and openings of new, sustain- der Lens book series (Rowman & Li le- the journal Informa on, Communica on able farmers to carve out a livelihood field) with Judith Howard, University of & Society, where he will publish a Special with an emphasis on women and family Washington, and Virginia Ru er, Fram- Sec on en tled “The Informa on Socie- farmers. More informa on can be found ingham State University. Last year the ty is a Surveillance Society.” Along with here: h p://newfarmersproject.com/ series signed a contract with KU alumna PhD student Alex Myers, Bill presented and here: h ps://www.youtube.com/ Shelley Koch to write a book offering a “Midwives versus the State: Experts and watch?v=YZ0VoCzmRoE. gender lens on food. Exper se in Early American Birth Regis- Joey has signed an agreement to tra on” at the MSS mee ng in Kansas Mary Zimmerman is embarking on her begin phased re rement this fall and is City. And in the spirit of Gene Autry, last year of full- me work. She will begin looking forward to more spare me to “Whoopi-ty-aye-oh, I go my way, and phased re rement July 1, 2017, at which spend hanging out with her friends and I’m back in saddle again,” Bill will be me she will step down from her current family, including 2 grandchildren, and returning to serving as Department posi on as PhD Director in the Depart- doing some rabble-rousing on behalf of Chair for a three-year term beginning ment of Health Policy and Management the homeless and for prison reform in st July 1 , 2016. in the School of Medicine. She has held Lawrence with the local organiza on either a regular appointment or a courte- Jus ce Ma ers. Paul Stock’s year has been full of ex- sy appointment in the KU Sociology De- ci ng research opportuni es. The New partment since 1982. During the Bill Staples con nues as Director of the Farmers project, in collabo- past year she has served as disser- Surveillance Studies Research Center ra on with photographer ta on co-chair or commi ee (SSRC). Along with co-PI Adjunct Associ- Bryon Darby and designer member for several Sociology ate Professor Argun Saatcioglu from Edu- Tim Hossler, was exhibited graduate students. In 2016 she ca onal Leadership and Policy Studies at both at the Commons at has had three papers accepted for KU, they completed interviews for a KU and during the Spirit of publica on with Sociology PhD Spencer Founda on grant studying Stu- Sustainable Agriculture student Emily Jones—in Journal of dent Informa on Systems in public conference at Harvard Di- Poverty, Journal of Health Care for schools. Bill has been elected to a three- vinity School in March and the Poor and Underserved, and year term as Associate Editor of Surveil- April. Further, they printed Academic Medicine. Sociology lance & Society, the journal of the inter- a newspaper version of the exhibi on colleague Tracey LaPierre was a co- na onal Surveillance Studies Network. (available upon request). The interdisci- author on two of these papers. plinary project highlights the structural
Emeritus Faculty Activities
Lew Mennerick has con nued to par cipate ac vely in the profession. This includes fieldwork in Azerbaijan during summer 2015 and summer 2016 focusing on educa on and social change. Among his fieldwork ac vi es were mee ngs with government officials as well as educators and archivists in Baku and on the Absheron Peninsula. He is currently working on educa on in Azer- baijan, from the late 1800s to present, and he also con nues to be ac ve in professional associa- ons including the Midwest Sociological Society and the Associa on of Third World Studies.
Carol Warren, Professor Emerita, con nues to lounge around in the sun, but also to do research Prof. Mennerick in and wri ng. Her ethnography, The Lotos Eaters: Aging and Iden ty in a Yacht Club Community, is Baku, Azerbaijan. in press with Routledge. Her next book, with Professor Emerita Kathryn Kirigin (of the former HDFL), Our Bodies Not Ourselves: Women Aging from Seventy to Ninety, has been accepted for publica on by Routledge. All is well in the Land of the Lotos. PAGE 8 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 Graduate Program
ChangHwan Kim will take over as Director of Graduate Studies for the coming year. Other faculty members on the commi ee for 2016-2017 are Victor Agadjanian, Eric Hanley, and Mehrangiz Najafizadeh. Currently, there are 2 students at the master’s level of the program and 30 students at the PhD level. We are expec ng an incoming cohort of 8 students (3 Pre-MA and 5 Post-MA) this fall.
Graduate Awards & Scholarships
Carroll D. Clark Award for Teaching Excellence Morris C. Pra Travel Scholarships Chelsea Bailey Kyle Chapman David Cooper Carroll D. Clark Pre-MA Award Ilana Demantas Ruth Stamper Natalie Jansen Pooya Naderi Carroll D. Clark Post-MA Award Byeongdon Oh Kyle Chapman Laurie PeƩy Shane Willson Carroll D. Clark Award for Professional Service Andrea Gómez Cervantes Graduate Studies Doctoral Student Research Fund Andrea Gómez Cervantes Christopher Gunn Graduate Student Laurie PeƩy Scholarship in Sociology Daniel Alvord Graduate Studies Carlin GTA Award Daniel Alvord Centennial Award Byeongdon Oh Capitol Graduate Research Summit Award Brock Ternes Morris C. Pra Research Scholarships Emily Jones Sherman & Irene Dreiseszun Scholarship Jake Lipsman David Cooper Laurie PeƩy American Sociological Associa on Department Prize Carroll D. Clark Travel Award Emily Kennedy Byeongdon Oh Pooya Naderi Brock Ternes
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 9 Graduate Activities
Aislinn Addington defended her tions among Women Seeking Fertili- dissertation, Drawing Lines and Tak- ty Treatment in the United States” ing Sides: An Examination of Bounda- was published in Social Science & ry Work among Oppositional Medicine. She also was a guest on the Worldviews, on Oct. 21, 2015 and KCUR program Central Standard to passed with honors. talk about this research.
Daniel Alvord, along with PhD stu- Emily Jones passed her ASD1 in dent Shane Willson, Prof. David Gender on Dec. 1, 2015. She had two Smith, and Prof. Eric Hanley, wrote co-authored articles published: & submitted a proposal to the pro- “Women in Medicine,” with Profs. posal to the American National Elec- Shirley Hill and Tracey LaPierre, tion Studies for the 2016 Times Series was published in the Handbook on Study: “Authoritarianism, Social Well-Being of Working Women, and Dominance, and Generalized Preju- “Silent Bias: Challenges, Obstacles dice.” and Strategies for Leadership Devel- opment in Academic Medicine- Les- Chelsea Bailey passed her Oral sons from Oral Histories of Women Comprehensive Examination on May Professors at the University of Kan- 13, 2016. sas,” with Prof. Mary Zimmerman, in Academic Medicine. Two additional Bo Cassell passed his ASD2 in Reli- articles with Profs. Tracey LaPierre gion on April 4, 2016. and Mary Zimmerman are forthcom- PhD student Daniel Alvord ing. Kyle Chapman accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Sociology Christy Craig defended her disser- and Population Health Management tation, Reading Between the Lines: at Oregon Institute of Technology Social, Cultural, and Erotic Capital in (Oregon Tech) starting in the fall. He American and Irish Women's Book defended his dissertation, Determin- Clubs, on Aug. 28, 2015. Her research ing Diabetes: The Role of Educational was also published as an article, Attainment and Race/Ethnicity in the “Exploring Gendered Sexuality Link between Health Behaviors and Through American and Irish Women’s Diabetes, on July 14, 2016. Book Clubs,” in the journal Sexuality and Culture. Sarah Colegrove defended her MA thesis, Landowners and the Marcellus Tony Feldmann passed his ASD1 in Shale: Money, Perceptions of Commu- Social Psychology on Dec. 1, 2015. nity Life, and the Natural Gas Indus- PhD student Emily Jones assisting at the try, on May 5, 2016. Andrea Gómez Cervantes passed Undergraduate Recognition Ceremony! her Oral Comprehensive Examination David Cooper passed his ASD1 in on Dec. 2, 2015. Emily Kennedy defended her dis- Globalization on Nov. 30, 2015. Melissa Irwin passed her ASD2 in sertation, Digital Desire: Commer- Medical Sociology on Dec. 16, 2016 cial, Moral, and Political Economies and passed her Oral Comprehensive of Sex Work and the Internet, on May Examination on May 3, 2016. 4, 2016.
Natalie Jansen’s article with Prof. Jake Lipsman passed his ASD1 in Jarron Saint Onge, “An Internet Fo- Environmental Sociology on Oct. 26, rum Analysis of Stigma Power Percep- 2015.
PhD student David Cooper received the Sherman & Irene Dreiseszun Scholarship from the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation in Spring 2016! Pictured left to right: 2016 Good Neigh- bor Award Recipient Sen. John McCain, David Cooper, Prof. Joane Nagel, and President of the Board of Directors Karl Zobrist. VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 10 Graduate Activities
Adrianne Showalter Matlock sas, this summer on their Get Out the Pamela Rooks passed her Oral collaborated with the Historic North- Vote initiative. The goal was to in- Comprehensive Examination on east Midtown Association of Kansas crease voter turnout in the Kansas May 11, 2016. City, KS this spring to host a public primaries. He wrote an essay about lecture and discussion series on differ- civic engagement and voting on behalf Sarah Smith defended her MA ent topics related to inequality. The of MainStream for the Kansas City thesis, Food Insecurity, Childhood series, titled “Radish,” featured speak- Star in its “As I See It” column. It was Obesity, and the Role of Assistance ers who shared on the criminalization an opportunity to learn about how Programs, on May 5, 2016 and of mental health issues, physical small, grassroots organizations shape passed with honors. health inequalities, housing afforda- state politics in an environment of bility, race & reparations, and implic- political extremism, and an opportuni- Ruth Stamper defended her MA it bias in civil engineering. Each ses- ty to see democracy at work on the thesis, Two Paths to Sustainable sion included presentations, spoken ground. All the while keeping on his Farming: Gender, Care-work, word performances, and a group dis- sociological hat, it was also a good and Finding Common Ground in the cussion. Twenty to forty community lesson in participant observation and Bible Belt, on April 20, 2016. members attended each time. A sec- ethnography. ond series is tentatively scheduled for Lukas Szrot is currently working winter 2016. on his Religion ASD 1 Adrianne is currently ty- with CRE under the guid- ing up the loose ends on her ance of Ebenezer Oba- two year role as program dare (chair), Kelly evaluation specialist at Chong, and Bob Anto- Rosedale Development Asso- nio. His CRE is focused ciation in the Rosedale on religion as it relates to neighborhood of Kansas City, secularization theory, edu- KS, home to KU Med, Joe's cation, politics, and the KC Barbeque, the Rosedale public sphere. Park Disc Golf Course, and Lukas is attending the the Boulevard Drive-in. In Social Science Historical order to facilitate community Association (SSHA) Meet- input on the upcoming mas- ing in Chicago in Novem- ter plan for Rosedale, Adri- ber, where he will serve as anne partnered with a researcher at PhD students Pooya Naderi, Prof. Ebenezer a discussant in the macro- KU Med and RDA staff to create, pro- Obadare, Kevin McCannon, Kyle Chapman, historical dynamics section, and will mote, and distribute a survey to all Danny Alvord, and Prof. Bob Antonio. be presenting a paper on the Durk- 6,000 households in Rosedale. Adri- heim, the Internet, intellectual his- anne also conducted and coordinated Pooya Naderi defended his disser- tory, and the sociology of scientific 57 in-depth interviews of Rosedale tation, Gender, Martyrdom, and the knowledge. residents in English and Spanish. Management of Stigmatized Identities With some guidance from Bob Adrianne has had two opportunities among Devout Muslims in the U.S., on Antonio, Lukas is working on an to present on the process of conduct- April 6, 2016. article on Pope Francis, climate ing a community survey: at the Feb- change, and environmental justice ruary Midwest Regional Conference of Byeongdon Oh passed his ASD1 in as it relates to the relationship be- the American Planning Association, Social Stratification on Dec. 8, 2015. tween religion and science. and at the upcoming Kansas Confer- ence on Poverty. She has also contrib- James Ordner defended his disser- Brock Ternes continues to work uted to RDA's programming and goal- tation, Grassroots Resistance to the on manuscripts and his dissertation setting through conducting internal Keystone XL Pipeline in Nebraska, on on water conservation in Kansas. In program evaluation, media and policy Dec. 7, 2015. the academic year of 2015-16, he analysis, and creating new program received the Capitol Graduate Re- Nicole Perry defended her disserta- reporting systems. search Summit Institutional Award tion, Diseased Bodies and Ruined Rep- and the ASA Departmental Prize. Kevin McCannon interned with utations: Venereal Disease and the Brock also worked with professors MainStream Coalition, a group dedi- Construction of Women's Respectabil- and graduate students in the School cated to political moderation in Kan- ity in Early 20th Century Kansas, on of Journalism on two manuscripts. Dec. 4, 2015 and passed with honors. He is the current editor of STAR. PAGE 11 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 Graduate Activities
Later in 2016, he will serve as a speak- The graduate student organized er for the Kansas Humanities Council 2016 Blackmar Lecture Series in their series on water. featured Dr. Georgiann Davis
Jane Webb defended her dissertation, From Amazon Warriors to Hobbits: Heightism and the Cultural “Staturization” of Identities, Gender, and Sexuality, on Nov. 12, 2015.
Shane Willson passed his Oral Com- prehensive Examination on May 26, 2016. Together PhD student Daniel Alvord, Prof. David Smith, and Prof. Eric Hanley, he wrote & submitted a proposal to the proposal to the Ameri- can National Election Studies for the 2016 Times Series Study: “Authoritarianism, Social Dominance, and Generalized Prejudice.” PhD student Daniel Alvord visited the graves of Karl Marx & Herbert Spencer at Highgate Cemetery in London!
Above: Prof. Nagel talks with doctoral graduates Pooya Naderi & James Ordner
Left: PhD student Brock Ternes at the Undergraduate Recognition Ceremony!
Below: Prof. Obadare talks with grads Josh King, Erin Ice, and Nathan Collins
PhD Student Ruth Stamper’s garden bounty & finds! PAGE 12 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 Undergraduate Program
The Undergraduate Studies Committee had a busy and pro- ductive year! This year, we inducted an impressive number of students into the national sociological honors society (Alpha Kappa Delta) at our Recognition Ceremony (nine!). Nadia Vossoughi and Monique A. Brigham were co-winners of our Departmental Distinguished Achievement Award for 2016. After the fall semester, Brian Donovan will step down and Tracey LaPierre will take over as Director of Undergradu- ate Studies in the spring. Other faculty members for 2016- 2017 are Lynn Davidman, Emily Rauscher, and Jarron Saint Onge.
Undergraduate Awards
The following undergraduate students were recognized at our
Sociology Undergraduate Recognition Ceremony this past May 13th at the Kansas Union:
Graduate with Dis nguished Achievement Honors in the Major
Highest Dis nc on Award Monique A. Brigham Nadia Vossoughi Monique A. Brigham
Nadia Vossoughi VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 13 2015-2016 Carroll D. Clark Lecture
Top: Dr. Christopher Uggen talking with students prior to the lecture Above left: Drs. Saint Onge, Uggen, & Stock; Right: Grads Lukas Szrot and Byeongdon Oh
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 14
Alumni Notes
Dean Braa and Kathleen Stanley send Robert Futrell published a co-authored Gree ngs from Oregon! He and Kathleen ar cle, "Paren ng as Ac vism: Iden ty are s ll teaching at Western Oregon Uni- Alignment and Ac vist Persistence in the versity and Oregon State University. US White Power Movement” in the Soci- They are enjoying a beau ful early ological Quarterly. Rowman & Li lefield summer in the Willame e Valley which released the revised second edi on of has become one of the wine centers of his co-authored book, American Swasit- the country and maybe the world. Their ka: Inside the White Power Movement's son just finished a degree in wine studies Hidden Spaces of Hate (with Pete Simi, and works part- me at a tas ng room in Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha). Robert's the heart of the valley. So he and Kath- work on extremism was featured in The leen have become "common sewers" of New Yorker and several other media fine Oregon wines. Oregon is most fa- outlets. He was also elected to a second mous for its pinot noirs which are the term as UNLV Sociology Department same as a Burgundy. They invite all their Chair. Jayhawk friends to come visit, and they will take you on a grand wine tour. Dean is finally Bill Swart (PhD 1997) was pro- thinking about re rement, moted to Full Professor and ap- probably in a couple years. pointed Director of the Civitas Teaching is s ll a passion and Honors Program at Augustana he would like to teach part- University (Sioux Falls, SD) in me a er re rement. Their September 2015. His recent new union contract has an ar - work on the economics of mo- cle that guarantees part- me torsports spectacles (coauthored employment a er re rement with Dan Krier) has been pub- for up to four years with the lished in Cri cal Sociology, Capi- se ng of an obligatory re re- talism's Future, and Current Per- ment date. This way he can go spec ves in Social Theory. Their fly fishing and s ll teach on a book, NASCAR, Sturgis, and the regular basis! Kathleen is busy New Economy of Spectacle, is with a union campaign at OSU currently in produc on with Brill where AFT and AAUP are work- Publishing. Swart also remains ing hard to create a faculty union. She is ac ve in study abroad teaching and re- part of an organizing commi ee repre- sen ng adjunct professors. An AFT-AAUP search. In 2016 he taught a course on unit was established at the University of Catalonian iden ty and poli cs in Barce- Oregon three years ago and this prece- lona, Spain and contributed a chapter dent should help get OSU organized as en tled "Designing the Academic well. The university communi es over- Course: Principles and Prac cali es" to whelmingly voted for Bernie in the prima- the Na onal Associa on for Study ry here and young Bernie supporters Abroad's Guide to Successful Short-Term were all over the state. This is great mo- Programs Abroad, 3rd ed. mentum for the future even though most of us know that he will likely not be the Mark Worrell (PhD 2003) completed the nominee. Dean and Kathleen wish all the long march to Full Professor, effec ve best to their Jayhawk friends and com- September 1st, 2016. rades!
Photos courtesy of tree hugger Dr. Mark Worrell., above
Top: Alumnus Dr. Dan Krier presenting at the ISTC Meet- Middle: Alumni Drs. William Swart, George Lundskow, and Dan Krier ing VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 15
Sociology faculty and graduating sociology majors, spring 2016
Lectures and Research Colloquium
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER PAGE 16 Stay in touch! We’d love to hear from you!
Please send Alumni notes, comments and changes of address to Janelle Williams at [email protected] Notes received before July 1, 2017 will be printed in the Summer 2017 edi on.
University of Kansas Fraser Hall 1415 Jayhawk Blvd, Room 716 Lawrence, KS 66045-7540
Phone: 785-864-4111 Fax: 785-864-5280 E-mail: [email protected]
Centennial Sociology Development Fund The Department of Sociology gratefully acknowledges contribu ons to support faculty and graduate student research. Your support of our efforts is important, and very much appreciated. Please use the following card for your dona on.