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. Jocelyn Aviles-Vazquez Clementine Biddle Serena Biondi Arianna Buchanan Michael Cao Mackenzie Culp Andrew Danowitz… read more about Duke Sociology Welcomes the 2023 AKD Inductees »
Fatima Fairfax has received the 2023 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship. The fellowship is a nationally-competitive award that is made to individuals who “….have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level in the U.S., show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.” The fellowship provides three years of… read more about Fatima Fairfax Receives 2023 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship »
Aidan Combs has been named the 2022-2023 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… read more about Aidan Combs Named 2022-2023 Vorsanger-Smith Scholar »
Samuel Snelson has been selected to receive a 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. The five year fellowship offers awardees… read more about Samuel Snelson Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship »
Lynn Smith-Lovin has received the 2023 “Roll of Honor” award from the Southern Sociological Society (SSS). The Roll of Honor is the highest recognition bestowed by the SSS and recognizes a career of distinguished intellectual contribution to Sociology. This is Smith-Lovin's fifth lifetime achievement award! She has also received the Coleman Award from the ASA Mathematical Sociology section, Cooley-Mead Award from the Social Psychology section, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sociology… read more about Lynn Smith-Lovin Receives 2023 “Roll of Honor” Award »
Congratulations to Aidan Combs on being selected as the winner of the Graduate Student Odum Award given by the Southern Sociological Society. Aidan's award winning paper is titled “Estimating Ambiguity in Cultural Meaning” To learn more about Aidan's research interests, click here. For more information on the Southern Sociological Society, click here. read more about Aidan Combs Wins Southern Sociological Society Award »
Duke Magazine explores Bail’s efforts to bust myths about digital extemism and show there are ways to make social media platforms less polarizing. read more about Chris Bail Calls for a Reset of Our Partisan Digital Divide »
A new Duke University study appears to ease concerns that clergy would steer congregants suffering from depression away from mental health providers and instead rely only on their faith. Clergy are often the first point of contact for people suffering from depression. About 90 percent of clergy members surveyed for the Duke study embrace a medical understanding of depression; about 10 percent said they’d counsel their congregation members to address depression solely through religious means. “We consider this good news… read more about Most Clergy Follow Science on Depression Treatment, Duke Study Finds »
Long winter nights make for good reads. Duke publications from the fall and winter include attractions for readers of many interests. For history buffs, there's new history of the American West and a timely assessment of economic sanctions. For politicos, there's a blueprint for protecting democracy and a study of the contributions of migrants to various cultures. Movie fans can read about the history of Asians in theater and cinema and a surprising look at the politics of Marvel movies. Many of the books,… read more about Warm Up With Winter Books From Duke Authors »
On Wednesday, November 9th, Nicolas Restrepo Ochoa successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Three Papers on Beliefs: on their Measurement, their Transmission, and its Implications for Large-scale Change”. His committee consisted of Steve Vaisey (Chair), Jim Moody, Craig Rawlings, and Lynn Smith-Lovin. Nicolas has accepted a postdoctoral position in the Evolutionary Anthropology department at UC Davis. There, he will work with professor Cristina Moya to explore how and why individuals adopt beliefs and rituals… read more about Nicolas Restrepo Ochoa Defends Dissertation, Accepts Postdoctoral Position »
Opportunities for three postdoctoral scholars could impact hundreds thanks to a new postdoctoral fellowship program led by Nicki Washington, professor of the practice of Computer Science and Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, Shaundra Daily, professor of practice of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Sociology. The three faculty were already collaborators on the NSF-funded Alliance for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education (… read more about Duke Team Awarded $1.25 Million to Create New Identity-Inclusive Postdoc Program »
When he was named the inaugural Presidential Fellow, social scientist Tyson Brown wasn’t certain what it would involve or what skills he would come out of it. But very quickly he learned that this wasn’t an internship or a training ground for academic leadership, but a means by which he could have a different perspective of the university as a whole, beyond even any university networks he had developed as an interdisciplinary scholar of health and society. As he completes his work as a fellow – with engineering professor… read more about Tyson Brown’s Year of Exploring Duke Leadership »
Jessica West received the Maddox Fellow Award from the Duke University Aging Center, which recognizes early career investigators who have demonstrated outstanding academic potential in their field. Jessica is currently an NIH/T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Aging Center under the mentorship of Matthew Dupre (Sociology, Population Health Sciences) and Sherri Smith (Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences). read more about Jessica West Awarded Maddox Fellowship »
When asked about her work, Hedwig (Hedy) Lee points to a quote from Ralph Ellison’s novel “Invisible Man”: “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” Lee, who joined Duke this fall as a professor of Sociology, is dedicated to measuring the invisible. She quantifies some of the most critical issues facing society today, such as racial and ethnic health disparities, in an effort to shed light upon forms of inequality that would otherwise go unseen. “We can't really see or understand a… read more about Hedy Lee Finds Better Measures For Old Problems »
Three DUPRI scholars, Christina Gibson-Davis, Lisa Gennetian, and Sociology Professor, Lisa Keister, were recently awarded an R21 grant by NICHD called "Net worth poverty and children’s development." The research examines how net worth poverty, distinct from income poverty, is associated with children’s cognitive and behavioral development. The investigation contributes a new perspective on economic precarity of child households, on the ways in which wealth and income scarcity contribute… read more about Gibson-Davis, Gennetian, and Keister awarded NICHD grant to study children's development »
Sociology Professor, James Moody, is part of Duke Team that is awarded $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The team is pinpointing the factors that are likely to turn a local outbreak into a global pandemic. Click here to read full article. read more about Sociology Professor, James Moody, part of Duke Team that is Awarded $1 million to Predict the Next Pandemic »
Gary Gereffi, Professor Emeritus of Sociology has been quite busy in terms of both academic and policy-related work on global supply chains. As an originator of the global value chains framework, Professor Gereffi was invited to testify at the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearings on “Implementing Supply Chain Resiliency” in Washington, DC on July 15, 2021. This summer, Gary was an academic facilitator and commentator for the 2022 Supply Chain Ministerial hosted by U.S. Secretary of State… read more about Sociology Emeriti, Gary Gereffi, Ph.D. Has Been Quite Busy »
Experts know COVID-19 won’t be the last major pandemic. What they don’t know is where, or when, the next one will begin. An interdisciplinary team from Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine (TriCEM) is hoping to change that. Thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the team is pinpointing the factors that are likely to turn a local outbreak into a global pandemic. At Duke, the research… read more about Duke Team Awarded $1 million to Predict the Next Pandemic »
Matt Dupre (PI) and Scott Lynch (Co-I) were recently awarded $1.7 million by NIH for an R01 study on the life course patterns and predictors of hospitalizations in older adults with heart failure. The study is a collaboration among faculty from the Department of Sociology, Population Health Sciences, Family Medicine and Community Health, and the University of Texas Southwestern. read more about Matthew Dupre and Scott Lynch Awarded NIH Grant »
On Thursday, May 19th, 2022, Claire Le Barbenchon successfully defended her dissertation entitled, “Essays on Migration, Social Networks and Employment”. Her committee included Maria-Giovanna Merli (chair), James Moody, Lisa A Keister, Alexander Volfovsky, and Marcos Rangel. Claire was a member of the inaugural cohort of the joint PhD in Public Policy and Sociology and is the first student to graduate with the joint degree. She also graduated with a Master's in Statistical Science with her thesis entitled "… read more about Le Barbenchon Successfully Defends Dissertation »
