Department of Sociology
Duke University sociology major Umang Dhingra earned third place in the prestigious Undergraduate Paper Competition at the 2024 Mid-South Sociological Association (MSSA) Conference. Umang’s paper, “Protecting the American Family: Preserving Familial Intimacy and Cohesiveness during Parental Incarceration,” sheds light on the disruptive impact of parental incarceration on family structures, especially its long-term effects on children’s academic, social, and emotional development… read more about Umang Dhingra’s Paper on Parental Incarceration Wins Award »
During the summer of 2024, Duke sociology junior and Air Force ROTC cadet Margaret Cole served as an intern with the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Her experience working closely with lawmakers, veterans, and legislative staff deepened her understanding of policy-making and showcased her dedication to bridging the gap between military and civilian communities.With a scholarship from the DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation and Fund for American Studies, Cole conducted policy research, analyzed voter… read more about Sociology in Service: Margaret Cole's Journey from Classroom to Capitol Hill »
Access to financial services, such as bank accounts, credit, cryptocurrency, and insurance, allows people to save, invest, and manage resources, leading to improved income levels and reduced poverty. Financial inclusion, however, varies greatly across the globe. To better understand the relationship between financial inclusion and economic inequalities across and within well-developed, developing, and under-developed countries, Farris Khan worked on an independent study with Professor Hamil-Luker over the summer of… read more about Faris Khan Studies Global Disparities in Financial Inclusion »
In high school, Amber Smith planned to become a physician. “Before college, I had no intention of studying Sociology and barely even knew what the discipline was about,” said Smith, who is graduating this Spring with a major in Sociology, concentration in medical sociology, and a minor in Global Health. “During my first semester at Duke, I took an introductory class, SOCIOL 110: Sociological Inquiry, with Professor Craig Rawlings. I quickly found myself deeply interested in the material.” Smith enrolled in more Sociology… read more about Amber Smith Analyzes Abortion Care Access as a Social Network »
The Spring Research Symposium is an annual event where the sociology honors students, with support from honors director Hedwig (Hedy) Lee and other faculty members, present their research to the wider community. Oral presentations and a Q&A occurred first and were followed by a poster presentation reception where various faculty, students, friends and family came out to support each of our students. Oral Presentation Order: Amber Smith Clementine (Clemmie) Biddle Safiyyah… read more about Spring 2024 Research Symposium »
During her last undergraduate semester at Duke, Aasha Henderson worked with colleagues in Sociology and Nursing to examine health outcomes in a Latinx community. Her independent study paper compared how recent Latinx immigrants to North Carolina categorized themselves into racial groups (self-reported race) to how they believed other Americans would perceive their race when they walked down a street (street race). When given the U.S. Census categories, most research participants self-reported… read more about Aasha Henderson, Duke Sociology Undergraduate, Publishes Paper on Race & Health »
This summer, I worked as a researcher at the Institute für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) in Bonn, Germany. Sociologists and economists at IfM Bonn work closely with German government ministries to conduct applied research into Der Mittelstand. At its core the Mittelstand refers to the assortment of German companies that are both owned and managed by individual entrepreneurs and their family members. The Mittelstand is the backbone of the German social market economy. Almost 94% of all German companies, using the… read more about Researching the German Mittelstand »