News

On April 6, 2015, Rose Buckelew successfully defended her dissertation: "Betting on Black and White: Race and the Making of Problem Gambling." Her committee consisted of: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Chair, Linda Burton, Linda K. George, and Carol Stack. read more about Buckelew Awarded Ph.D. »

On April 3, 2015, Brad Fulton successfully defended his dissertation: "Bridging and Bonding: How Diverse Networks Influence Organizational Outcomes" His committee consisted of: Mark Chaves (chair), Nan Lin, Lisa Keister, James Moody, and Richard L. Wood read more about Fulton Awarded Ph.D. »

On March 25th, 2015, David Eagle successfully defended his dissertation: "Supersized Christianity: The Origins and Consequences of Protestant Megachurches in America." His committee consisted of: Mark Chaves, Chair, Lisa Keister, Jen’nan Read, and Grant Wacker. read more about Eagle Awarded Ph.D. »

On March 18 2015, Sancha D. Medwinter successfully defended her dissertation: “Race, Class, Poverty, and Social Capital Inequality in Urban Disasters” Her committee consisted of: Gary Gereffi, Co-Chair, Nan Lin, Co-Chair, Martin Ruef, and Carolina Bank Muñoz read more about Medwinter Awarded Ph.D. »

Senior honors students, Charlotte Ke, Stephanie Ogwo, and Karina Santellano, recently traveled to NYC for the annual meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS), where they presented posters of their honors thesis projects.  All three students produced excellent work, with Charlotte Ke being honored with “Best Poster” and a $50 cash prize in her undergraduate poster session and Karina Santellano receiving runner-up recognition.  Congratulations to the trio for jobs well done! read more about Undergraduates Shine at ESS Conference »

On March 18th, 2015, Qiang Fu successfully defended his dissertation: “The Global Epidemic of Childhood Obesity and Its Non-medical Costs” His committee consisted of: Kenneth C Land, Co-supervisor, Linda K George, Co-supervisor, Nan Lin, James Moody, and Amanda Thompson read more about Fu Awarded Ph.D. »

On Nov 13, 2014, Robert Freeland successfully defended his dissertation: "Occupational Stratification and The Multidimensional Structure of Symbolic Meaning" His committee consisted of: Lynn Smith- Lovin, Chair, James Moody, Lisa Keister, and Kenneth C. Land read more about Freeland Awarded Ph.D. »

Austin Ashe was a panelist at Fordham Law School on November 5, 2014 which looked at the "Standards of Police Conduct. Title: Standards of Police Conduct Description: Recent tragic events involving the interaction between police officers and individuals call into question what standards police should abide by in their daily conduct to protect the community. The death of Eric Garner makes such a question particularly relevant to individuals in New York. Eric Garner’s story also… read more about Ashe to be panelist for Fordham Law school »

Trenita Childers was selected for a National Science Foundation (NSF) Doctoral  Dissertation Research Improvement Grant for her dissertation research titled: "We Are Not Foreigners: Immigrant Status and Mental Health Among Haitian Descendants in the Dominican Republic".  Trenita's project is an ethnographic examination of how perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, and documentation status impact the lives of people of Haitian descent in the D.R.  The NSF grant is a highly competitive,… read more about Childers selected for NSF Dissertation Grant »

Louise Seamster, with coauthors Kasey Henricks and Leighton Kenji Vila, are First Place recipients of the 2014 Graduate Student Paper Award by the Association for Black Sociologists (ABS) for their paper, “Antiracist Allies or White Noise:  Are White Working-Class Women Racial Progressives?” The award will be presented at ABS' October meeting in Charlotte. read more about Seamster Awarded Paper Award »

On Sept 11, 2014, G. Robin Gauthier successfully defended her dissertation: "Anatomies of Kinship: Diversity in the formal structure of American Families" Her committee consisted of: James Moody, Chair, S. Phillip Morgan, Lynn Smith- Lovin, and Giovanna Merli read more about Gauthier Awarded Ph.D. »

Andrew Miles has been selected as a 2014-2015 fellow in the Program for Advanced Research In the Social Sciences (PARISS) at Duke’s Social Science Research Institute. In this capacity, he will teach courses on quantitative methods, advise undergraduate researchers, present findings from his own research, and receive advanced methodological training. read more about Miles named PARISS Fellow »

Robert Reece has been named a 2014-15 student scholar in the PhD Lab in Digital Knowledge at the Franklin Humanities Institute. At the PhD Lab, Robert will collaborate with scholars in and outside of the university to engage with the promises and challenges of a growing field of digital scholarship. read more about Reese Named Student Scholar »

On June 27th, 2014, Megan Reynolds successfully defended her dissertation: “Power, Policy and Health in Rich Democracies” Her committee consisted of: Linda K Goerge (Chair), Kenneth C. Land, Jessi Streib, David Brady, and  John D. Stephens read more about Reynolds Awarded Ph.D. »

Sancha Doxilly Medwinter won the National Science Foundation (NSF) Doctoral  Dissertation Research Improvement Grant for her dissertation research titled: Race, Class and Social Capital in Devastated Neighborhoods. Sancha’s project is a multi-method field study in New York City, after Hurricane Sandy. The research examines how emergent race and class dynamics of devastated neighborhoods differentially impact the capacity of residents to create new social capital; and the consequence for disaster assistance and… read more about Medwinter Wins NSF Grant »