Department of Sociology Newsletter Vol. 7 — 2014 UConn Board of Trustees Bickman Mendez, is Border is to represent sociologists Politics: Social Movements, everywhere and to advance Distinguished Collective Identities, and sociological knowledge Professorship Award Globalization (NYU Press, throughout the world. 2014). Professor Naples Members of the ISA currently Nancy Naples has been holds a joint appointment in come from 167 countries; she appointed Board of Trustees Sociology and Women’s, will represent the ASA and all Distinguished Professor, the Gender, and Sexuality Studies sociologists in the United highest honor that the where she currently serves as States to the ISA community. University of Connecticut Director. bestows on faculty who have Distinguished Early demonstrated excellence in American Sociological teaching, research and Career Award service. She had previously Association Appoints received UConn’s College of Representative to the Matthew Hughey was Liberal Arts and Sciences International Sociological selected as the winner of Excellence in Research Award ASA's Section for Racial and for Social Sciences (2011) and Association Ethnic Minorities' the Humanities/Social Science Distinguished Early Career Alumni Faculty Excellence Bandana Purkayastha has been appointed by the Award. This award is only Award in Research (2008). given once every two years Her research investigates the American Sociological and recognizes exceptional relationships between state, Association as the market, other social Association’s official achievement and scholarly institutions, and citizenship. representative to the contribution to research on the Most particularly, she has International Sociological sociology of race and been exploring the dynamics Association (ISA) for 2014- ethnicity. Matthew's recent of community activism, 2018. Her research on the books and publications globalization, and feminist intersections of gender/racism/ include The White Savior Film: praxis. She has analyzed the class/age; transnationalism; Content, Critics, and historical construction and violence and peace; and Consumption and White implementation of welfare, human rights, bridges Bound: Nationalists, scholarship within the US with immigration, and rural Antiracists, and the Shared global conversations on these economic development, as Meanings of Race which was well as issues related to subjects. Her research has appeared in ten books and a finalist for the 2013 SSSP C. sexual identity and sexual Wright Mills Book award and abuse. Her publications thirty-five articles and chapters over the last thirteen years, received an honorable include seven books and 60 Mention for the 2013 Humanist journal articles and book and has been published in the Sociology Book award. chapters. In her most recent USA, UK, Australia, Germany, book, co-edited with Jennifer and India. The goal of the ISA Department of Sociology Newsletter 2014 Claudio Andrew Deener’s Matthew Hughey’s Benzecry’s book, book, Venice: A Contested book, White Bound: The Opera Fanatic, Bohemia in Los Angeles, Nationalists, Antiracists, received an received the honorable and the Shared honorable mention mention for the Robert Meanings of Race, was for ASA's 2014 Park Book Award from the one of five finalists (out Distinguished Community and Urban of 67 nominated) for the Book award. As Section of the American C. Wright Mills Award Jennifer Pearce, Sociological Association. from the Society for the Chair of the Previous winners include Eli Study of Social Committee wrote, Anderson, and Harvey Problems. This book "Over 80 Molotch. This is the third also received the books were major recognition for this Association for nominated for the book since it was recognized Humanist Sociology award this past year by the Eastern Sociological 2013 Book Award and competition Society, with the Mirra honorable mention. was very keen, so Komarovsky book award this is quite an (honorable mention), and honor." was recognized as the LA Public Media Best Books about L.A. Students Recognize Davita Silfen Glasberg has been accepted into a Outstanding Teachers Leadership in Higher Education Administration Claudio Benzecry was awarded the Faculty program at Harvard Mentoring Award this year. Run fully by graduate University for this summer. students, this award recognizes outstanding mentors in the department. The graduate students make a donation to a charity of the faculty members choice. Ingrid Seemaan was awarded the Faculty of the Year Award by students at the Stamford Campus. Congratulations! Department of Sociology Newsletter 2014 2 Grants and Fellowships Awarded Brad Wright (principal investigator) and Jeremy Pais (a co-investigator) have been awarded a major grant from The John Templeton Foundation for “Character, Spirituality, and Well-Being: A Large-Scale, Online Study using Experience Sampling Method.” The project is funded from 2014-2016 and it uses respondents’ smartphones to survey them at random times throughout the day about their experiences in the moment regarding spirituality, health, willpower, gratitude, and other social-psychological constructs. The resulting data will be used to describe and explain how these processes work in day-to-day life. You can learn more about it at soulpulse.org. Ruth Braunstein has been selected to receive an AAUW American Fellowship. This Summer/Short- Term Research Publication Grant will support work on her book manuscript based on her ethnographic fieldwork in a local Tea Party group and a faith-based community organization. Mary Fischer and Jeremy Pais were awarded two small grants from UConn. Mike Wallace was awarded a Roper Center Faculty Fellowship, which he will hold for two years. Elizabeth Holzer has been awarded a Human Rights fellowship for Fall 2014. Sociologists for Women in Society has awarded our department the Public Sociology “SWS Seal of Approval for Phoebe Godfrey is president and co- Faculty in Gender founder of CLiCK, Inc (Commercially Licensed Equity”! Co-operative Kitchen). The organization has secured a building in Windham, CT through a generous, anonymous loan and was awarded a $100,000 matching grant, an additional loan and a line of credit from Community Economic Development Fund. CLiCK was also recently awarded a $25,000 USDA grant. Additionally, Congratulations to CLiCK continues to make community connections including UCONN Engineers Andrew Deener on Without Borders to potentially develop a gray his promotion to water system, ECSU Center for Sustainable Associate Professor Energy to get solar panels, and members of with tenure! Storrs Congregational Church to assist as part of their commitment to sustainability. A PhD student from the CUNY Graduate School will be also be doing her dissertation on CLiCK’s role in community economic development among Latinos. Dan Winchester, who More information is available at: joined us last year, will http://www.clickwillimantic.com be leaving to join the faculty at Purdue University, where he and his partner have tenure track positions. We thank Dan for a wonderful year and wish him (and Christy) the very best for the future. Department of Sociology Newsletter 2014 3 Colloquia and Presentations Elected Offices: Mary Bernstein was invited to Brandeis Mary Bernstein, President, continues to lead University to give a talk entitlted “How the Right Sociologists for Women in Society. Usurped the Queer Agenda: Frame Co-optation in Claudio Benzecry was elected to the Council of Political Discourse” in October 2013. the Culture Section of ASA and will continue this Ruth Braunstein has been invited to present her post through 2016. research at the Religion and Politics Colloquium at Manisha Desai was elected to lead the Human Yale in March. Rights section of ASA. She was also elected to Susan Eisenhandler has been selected to serve on the Council on the section on Development. attend a seminar for faculty, “Moral Dilemmas and Bandana Purkayastha was elected to the Moral Choice in the Holocaust: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Committee on Committees of the ASA. She and Pius XII as Case Studies in Religious continues to serve as Vice President of International Leadership,” sponsored by the United States sociological Association’s research committee on Holocaust Memorial Museum. conflict and conflict resolution, and Secretary Bandana Purkayastha was the invited keynote Treasurer of the research committee on Women in speaker for an interdisciplinary international Society. She is also on SWS’s Council as Past conference, held (this year) at the management President. school at Simmons College, Boston, on Daisy Reyes was elected to the Board of Intersectionality on June 29-July 1, 2013. She Directors of the Sociology of Education Association. spoke on “Intersectionality: Challenges and Provocations.” Editorships Mary Bernstein continues as Deputy Editor of Gender & Society and an Advisory Board Member for Social Problems. Claudio Benzecry continues his position as Welcome to Christin Associate Editor for both the American Journal of Munsch! Culture and Apuntes de Investigacion del CECYP. Matthew Hughey continues to serve as Christin earned a Ph.D. in Associate Editor of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. sociology from Cornell Nancy Naples continues her post as Editor of University in 2012 and then “Praxis: Theory in Action Series,” SUNY Press, 2009 completed a postdoctoral -present. fellowship at Stanford University's Clayman Institute David Weakliem continues as Editor of for Gender Research. She is currently an Assistant