Sociologists at Work in Boston by Jackie Cooper, the core theoretical and ASA Public Information Office analytic tools we use to get at contemporary realities oston upheld its reputation as the of work, workers, and the B“Athens of America” as sociologists workplace.” from around the United States and abroad Dovetailing on the topic converged on the city to share research and of insecurity, a plenary fea- discuss “Worlds of Work,” the theme of the turing Christopher Jencks ASA’s 103rd Annual Meeting last month. (Harvard University), The conference theme—speaking to American Prospect co- both the increasing diversity by which founder Robert Kuttner, work is organized and experienced and to and former U.S. Secretary From left to right: Douglas Massey, Jorge Castaneda, and Julia the cross-national and historical diversity of Health and Human Preston at the “Barriers and Bridges” plenary. in work activities, institutions, and experi- Services Donna Shalala ences—drew the third-highest attendance featured a discussion ing the Boston Convention and Exhibition in ASA history with 5,458 attendees. of “Reinventing the American Dream.” Center and the Hynes Convention Center. The meeting’s program, developed by Another plenary on United States-Mexico Prior to arriving in Boston, the ASA President Arne Kalleberg and the 2008 immigration cited insecurity as a reason for Council voted to support fair labor Volume 36 • Number 7 September-October 2008 Volume Program Committee, included 470 break- the growing anti-immigration sentiment practices in a dispute between Aramark out sessions, five plenary sessions, and six in this country. At this informative plenary and UNITE HERE Local 26, the Boston presidential panels focusing on topics tied moderated by New York Times reporter Hotel and Foodservice Workers Union. to the conference theme. Julia Preston, Douglas Massey (Princeton As a result, ASA declined to contract The state of work was the subject of University), and former Mexican foreign with Aramark for food services inside the Kalleberg’s presidential address, in which minister Jorge Castaneda discussed the bar- Hynes Convention Center, the site of the he discussed the increasing risk, insecurity, riers and bridges of immigration. Annual Meeting’s exhibits, poster ses- and unpredictability of employment today. Beyond immigration, the challenges sions, bookstore, employment service, and In the address, which was preceded by the and responsibilities of globalization and registration areas. Water stations were set ASA major awards ceremony (see article work were the focus of a plenary featuring up at the entrance, but in order to sup- on award recipients in the November 2008 Harvard’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter, MIT econ- port the workers, ASA made no refresh- Footnotes), Kalleberg explored the causes omist Michael Piore, and Erik Olin Wright of ments available through Aramark inside and consequences of the increasing insta- the University of Wisconsin-Madison. this area of the meeting. Several attendees bility of jobs and its implications for policy. participated in a march from the Sheraton Sociologists in Action “The growth of precarious work creates Boston to the Hynes Convention Center in new challenges and opportunities for soci- The opening plenary session, “The Future solidarity with the union. In a special letter ologists seeking to explain this phenom- of the American Labor Movement,” fore- of appreciation to members of the ASA, enon and to help frame effective policies to told the decline of U.S. labor unions. Amid UNITE HERE Local 26 expressed its grati- address its consequences,” said Kalleberg discussions of work and labor issues, a real- tude for ASA’s support. As of mid-August, in his address. “To meet these challenges, world scenario was playing out during the no resolution had been reached. we need to revisit, reorient, and reconsider Annual Meeting in a labor dispute involv- See Annual Meeting, page 5 A New Perspective with Patricia Hill Collins inside Profile of the 100th ASA President Beginning in adolescence, I was increas- Sociology was taught at Brandeis, where A Science Fair on by Elizabeth Higginbotham, University of Delaware ingly the “first,” “one of the few,” or the they embraced a sociology of knowledge 3 Capitol Hill “only” African American and/or woman approach. Sociology was also the place Ohio State University sociologists welcome this opportunity to introduce the and/or working class person in my where race was studied. I liked how schools, communities, and work settings. this major enabled me to reach in many spoke to policymakers about race, I2009 ASA President, Patricia Hill Collins, residence, and crime. I saw nothing wrong with being who I directions. to the sociology community. Patricia Hill was, but apparently many others did. My Collins is the 100th president of the ASA An important advisor at Brandeis world grew larger, but I felt I was growing was Pauli Murray, an African American AIDS as a Social Science and the first African American woman to smaller. I tried to disappear into myself in woman who had opened many doors dur- 4 Issue hold this office. Her election is one of the order to deflect the painful, daily assaults many “firsts” that we are witnessing in this designed to teach me that being an ing the Civil Rights movement. Pat saw her Sociologists have long been new millennium, as some of the barriers African American, working-class woman connection to Murray important to inter- involved in AIDS research, but that have existed for women and people of made me lesser than those who were not. generational community building, as those more is needed in the realm of color have lifted. What is the path that has And as I felt smaller, I become quieter who gain in one era have to work for social intervention. and eventually was virtually silenced brought our new president to the leadership change over their careers. Even in college, (Collins, 1990, p. xi). of our national organization? Pat was involved in progressive educa- Thinking Ahead to Atlanta Entering Brandeis in 1965, Pat used tional pursuits in Boston’s Black commu- 5 Propose a session related to the The Life her time to reclaim that voice. nity. After college, she secured an “Sociology of Citizenship” for the Patricia Hill was born in Philadelphia Migrating from Philadelphia to MAT in Social Science Education 2010 Annual Meeting now. in 1948, the only child to Eunice Randolph the Boston area meant moving at Harvard University in 1970. As Hill and Albert Hill. Her parents were into new communities where a teacher, she was very involved directly affected by World War II. Her one can see how others lived, in curriculum development at Bringing Sociological what they assume, and their St. Joseph’s School, a diverse 7 Practitioners to the father was a veteran who met her mother in Washington, DC, where she had agendas. Majoring in sociol- community-based school in Forefront migrated to during the war to work. Pat ogy, which offered the freedom Roxbury. She participated in The Sociological Practice section is part of a cohort of working-class youth to shape her own pursuits, many of the progressive educa- seeks to address the concerns of who had educational opportunities long Patricia received her BA in 1969. Patricia Hill Collins tional developments regarding applied sociologists. denied their parents. During the 1950s Regarding her choice of major, inner city schooling. From 1976- and 1960s, most northern cities had public she commented: 1980, she was the Director of the African Science Policy ..............................................2 schools that were channels for social As an undergraduate I did not think that American Center at Tufts University, From the Executive Officer ......................2 mobility. Schools were well funded, but all the answers were personal or in your involved with many initiatives in program- head. Sociology was right between the ming and staffing. While working at Tufts, navigating them was not easy. Pat was a sciences and philosophy. The sciences, Sociologists in Research quiet, but diligent, student in Philadelphia. she met and married Roger Collins in 1977 with an emphasis on empirical data, can and gave birth to their daughter Valerie in and Applied Settings .........................6 Her education there was a stepping stone reveal some of the hidden structures 1979. In 1980, she returned to Brandeis to Public Sociology .........................................8 to Brandeis University. Writing in Black and patterns that are not obvious to you, Feminist Thought, she said that, contrary to whether you are talking about explaining pursue a doctorate in sociology. She was Announcements ......................................10 the support she had in the Black working- natural or social phenomena. Philosophy an ASA Minority Fellow and the recipient offers explanations and interpretations. of a Sydney Spivack Dissertation Support Obituaries ...................................................14 class community, the spaces she was deseg- regating were less welcoming: I was particularly drawn to the way that See Collins, page 6 2 footnotes • September-October 2008 from the executive officer Federal Support for Basic Research and Training of the Future Scientific Workforce ith the national political party con- had success in advocating for critical fund- This is compared to an inflation-adjusted sustained effort with national priorities and Wventions behind us and Americans ing of the National Institutes of Health, the growth of 5% in all nonfederal funding for appropriate safeguards to insure research contemplating the nation’s future execu- National Science Foundation (NSF), and the universities’ R&D spending in FY 2007. quality and integrity. This includes a tive and legislative leadership, the federal Census Bureau. Additional efforts to help Given noteworthy increases in R&D fund- national commitment to training our future government’s commitment to basic science NSF are ongoing as of this writing. ing from industry to universities, we may scientific workforce as well as supporting should be a matter for significant national This unhealthy roller-coaster “decision” be witnessing a new age for basic research.