Department of Sociology
Professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Co-PI, on a recently funded NSF grant for the Alliance for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (AIICE-PRF). ABSTRACT: While computer science (CS) has transformed society, these groundbreaking technologies have proven extremely harmful for people from groups that are historically underrepresented in computing. This can be attributed to the lack of diversity in academic and professional computing environments.… read more about Sociology Professor, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Receives NSF Grant »
Four new members joined the Duke University Board of Trustees on July 1, university officials announced Friday. Among the four new members is Sociology graduate, Kacia A. Anderson, a 2022 Duke graduate who studied sociology and chemistry. Nominated by the Undergraduate Young Trustee Nominating Committee, Anderson, T’22, was a David M. Rubenstein Scholar and Questbridge Scholar and served as a peer mentor for the Rubenstein Scholars and DukeLIFE. A proud first-generation Jamaican-American, she focused her… read more about Sociology Graduate, Kacia Anderson, Named to the Duke Board of Trustees »
Congratulations to sociology’s Jessica Ellington on receiving a Dean’s Pillar of Excellence Award in recognition of her many outstanding contributions to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. She is one of only four recipients of this award. “While this may not come as a surprise to those of us who work with Jessica, it is wonderful to see that her contributions are valued across Duke University.” – Chair Read The Dean's Pillars of Excellence Staff Award was stabled in 2017, and is presented… read more about Congratulations to Jessica Ellington, Dean's Pillar of Excellence Award Winner »
Sociology Professor, Christopher Bail, appears in The New Yorker, where his work is featured. Click here to read the full article. read more about Sociology Professor, Chris Bail, in The New Yorker »
Set deep within the Blue Ridge mountains, far from Duke’s campus, a group of almost 40 campers huddled around the campfire ready to discuss the day’s activities. Archery, board games and hiking had kept them busy. But now it was evening, and they were tired and ready to eat s’mores and share typical campfire stories — like dealing with academic stress and deciding on a career path. Well, maybe not so typical, as these weren’t just any campers, but Duke sophomores on a meditative retreat. Soon, they would go back to their… read more about Students Explore Life’s Most Important Questions Through New Program for Sophomores »
Joseph Roso has been named the 2021-2022 Graduate Teaching Award Recipient. The Graduate Teaching Award is presented each year to a graduate student selected for excellence in teaching as an individual instructor or as a teaching assistant. read more about Roso Receives Teaching Award »
Em Maloney has been named the 2021-2022 Vorsanger-Smith Scholar. The Vorsanger-Smith Scholar Award is presented annually to recognize overall excellence in the graduate program. Excellence is assessed for all areas of performance in the programs, including coursework, examinations, professional presentations, publications and awards, evaluated contributions as teaching and/or research assistants and departmental citizenship. The award consists of the honorary designation during the following academic year as the Vorsanger-… read more about Maloney named Vorsanger-Smith Scholar »
Sociology Professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's acclaimed "Racism without Racists" examines in detail how whites talk, think, and account for the existence of racial inequality and makes clear that color-blind racism is as insidious now as ever. Click here to read full article. read more about Latest Edition of Professor Bonilla-Silva's "Racism Without Racists" Among Spotlighted Spring Books »
Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), the international sociology honor society, began in 1920 to “acknowledge and promote excellence in the scholarship in the study of sociology.” In 1967, AKD became a certified member of the Association of College Honor Societies. Over the past 100 years, universities have established almost 700 AKD chapters. We welcome and honor the newest inductees to Duke’s chapter. Alberta Simmons Allessandra Reuben Ashley Russell Ashwin Subramaniam Bailey Davis Bates Crawford Carolina Paniagua Dejanae… read more about Congratulations to the 2022 AKD Inductees! »
On April 21, Duke Sociology Honors students presented findings from their year-long research projects. Under the direction of Dr. Maria Febbo, students collected and analyzed data on a diverse range of topics, as indicted below. Thesis titles are listed in order of students in the picture, from left to right. Francesco Pucci: “Who Saves the Day?” Racial Messaging in Superhero Cartoons Malik Scott: “No Man is an Island”: Exploring Black Men’s Health Decisions Through a… read more about 2022 Honors Symposium: Honors Students Present Findings »
Each year, Duke Service-Learning recognizes students, faculty, and community partners with the Betsy Alden Outstanding Service-Learning Awards. Betsy Alden was a pioneer in service-learning, beginning her work at Duke during the 1980s. Read more about the legacy of Betsy Alden HERE. Recipients are chosen because they represent an exceptional commitment to the ideals of service‐learning. Each winner receives $150 to further develop his/her community-building and leadership skills. Recipients will be recognized in a… read more about 2022 Alden Award Winners Represent the Best of Service-Learning »
On Thursday, March 31th, 2022, Joseph Quinn successfully defended his dissertation entitled, “Network Contexts and Social Identities Interact to Shape Beliefs and Behaviors.” His committee included James Moody and Lynn Smith-Lovin (co-chairs), Ashley Harrell, Craig Rawlings, and Sarah Gaither. Joe has accepted a tenure-track position as an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Sociology, where he will study how social networks shape trust, cooperation, and inequality between… read more about Joseph Quinn Defends Dissertation, Accepts Tenure-Track Position »
Duke senior Caroline Surrett is a Music minor with an interdepartmental major in Visual & Media Studies and Sociology. Her senior thesis combines sociology and music. Read the full article here. read more about Duke Senior, Caroline Surrett, Thesis Combines Sociology and Music »
Susan W. Jacobs successfully defended her dissertation Monday March 28, 2022, titled “Cultural Meaning, Stigma, and Polarization.” Her committee was comprised of Stephen Vaisey (chair), Ashley Harrell, Scott Lynch, and Lynn Smith-Lovin. Susan has accepted a position as Research Scientist at Amazon with the Customer Trust and Partner Support team. In this role, she will conduct research on employee growth and development and promote strategies for improving worker experience at Amazon. read more about Susan Jacobs Defends Dissertation, Accepts Position with Amazon »
Social-media reform is flying blind Redesigning social media to improve society requires a new platform for research. As Russia continues its ruthless war in Ukraine, pundits are speculating what social-media platforms might have done years ago to undermine propaganda well before the attack. Amid accusations that social media fuels political violence — and even genocide — it is easy to forget that Facebook evolved from a site for university students to rate each other’s physical attractiveness. Instagram was founded to… read more about Chris Bail Commentary Published in Nature »
On Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022, Crystal Peoples successfully defended her dissertation entitled, “The Significance of Racialized Networks in Contemporary American Sociology.” Her committee consisted of Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (co-chair), Craig Rawlings (co-chair), Scott Lynch, Jessi Streib, and Yasmiyn Irizarry (UT-Austin). read more about Crystal Peoples Defends Dissertation »
Congratulations to Pamela Zabala Ortiz, Sociology PhD candidate, for being profiled in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine. To read full article, click 2022 Diverse Rising Graduate Scholar read more about Pamela Zabala Ortiz Sociology PhD Candidate Profiled in Diverse Magazine »
On Wednesday, March 16th, 2022, Colin Birkhead successfully defended his dissertation entitled, “Shareholder Value Minimization? How Some US Corporations Avoid Institutional Pressures.” His committee consisted of Martin Ruef (chair), Lisa Keister, Jen’nan Read, and Craig Rawlings. Colin has accepted a tenure-track position as an assistant professor at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University. There, he will study employee-owned companies and corporate myopia. read more about Colin Birkhead Defends Dissertation, Accepts Tenure-Track Position »
Senior Sociology major, Kacia Anderson, is a finalist for the Young Trustee Position Kacia is a senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida studying Sociology with a minor in Chemistry. She focuses her studies on health policy and inequities from a comparative lens. At Duke, Kacia is a David M. Rubenstein Scholar (DMRS) and Questbridge Scholar, mentoring for both DMRS and DukeLIFE. She is a proud first generation Jamaican-American. On campus Kacia spends most of her time devoted to Duke University Union,… read more about Senior Sociology Major, Kacia Anderson, Finalist for the Young Trustee Position »
Congratulations to Kiersten Hasenour on being selected as the winner of the Graduate Student Odum Award given by the Southern Sociological Society. For more information on the SSS, click here. read more about Kiersten Hasenour Wins Southern Sociological Society Award »
On Tuesday, February 15, 2022 Christina Kamis successfully defended her dissertation entitled, “Childhood Adversities and Adult Mental Health: Conceptualizing and Measuring Heterogeneity in Adversity Experience.” Her committee consisted of Scott Lynch (chair), Tyson Brown, Jen’nan Read, and Matthew Dupre. Christina has accepted a position as a T32 Postdoctoral Trainee at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Center for Demography of Health and Aging. There, she will examine how early life conditions shape later… read more about Christina Kamis Defends Dissertation, Accepts Postdoctoral Position »