W.E.B. Dubois CONGRATULATIONS!!
Tristine Baccam ('09) and Phillip Cantu ('08) were selected to participate in the American Sociological Association's 2008 Undergraduate Honors Program in Boston this August.
Dr. Melissa Johnson (with Emily Niemeyer in Chemisty) published an article based on their collaborative research project in Matamoros. The June 2008 article is titled "Ambivalent Landscapes: Environmental Justice in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands," Human Ecology, 36:371-382.
Lauren Hamlett ('10) was selected to participate in National Institute of Aging summer research program at Western Washington University in Bellingham.
Dr. Edward L. Kain has two pieces published in the 2008 book Sociology Through Active Learning. One is titled "An Introduction to an Important Source for Basic Quantitative Sociological Data" and the other is "Global Stratification."
The Austin American-Statesman ran an op-ed piece on March 7, 2008 written by Dr. Dan Hilliard and two of his students. Read the piece online here.
Dr. Maria Lowe has a new 2008 publication titled “An Unseen Hand: The Role of Sociology Professor Ernst Borinski in Mississippi’s Struggle for Racial Integration in the 1950s and 1960s.” Leadership 4:27-47.
Lauren Cox ('08) received the 2008 Frank E. Luksa award in sociology and Rachael Die ('08) received the 2008 Gwen Kennedy Neville Award in anthropology.
Dr. Edward L. Kain published an article titled "Information Literacy: The Partnership of Sociology Faculty and Social Science Librarians" in the January, 2008, issue of Teaching Sociology. This is co-authored with Patti Schifter Caravello (UCLA), Triveni Kuchi (Rutgers), Susan Macicak (University of Texas), and Gregory L.Weiss (Roanoke College).
Rachael Die ('08) and Carly Morris ('08) were selected as 2008 Junior Fellows of the American Academy of Social and Political Science.
Dr. Maria Lowe published "An Oasis of Freedom in a Closed Society: The Significance of Tougaloo College in Mississippi’s Civil Rights Struggle, 1954 to 1965.” The Journal of Historical Sociology 20:486-520.
Tristine Baccam ('09, sociology) and Angelica Castillo interviewed Amy Tan as part of the Writer's Voice series. You can read the interview transcript here.
Alexandra O. Hendley ('06), Lauren R. Contreras ('06), and Krystal K. Wyatt-Baxter ('06) co-authored an article with Dr. Edward L. Kain titled “Sociology in Two-Year Institutions.” It was published in the October 2007 issue of Teaching Sociology.
Dr. Maria Lowe published “‘Sowing the Seeds of Discontent:’
Dr. Maria Lowe and alumnus Clint Morris ('01) published "Civil Rights Advocates in the Academy: White Pro-integrationist Faculty at
Dr. Edward L. Kain was honored with the 2007 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award by the American Sociological Association.
The Department
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Southwestern University has six full-time faculty members, four in sociology and two in anthropology. The department offers a Sociology major, an Anthropology major, a Sociology minor, and an Anthropology minor. Each year, we typically graduate 8-14 sociology majors and 4-10 anthropology majors. In addition, we usually have a large number of sociology and anthropology minors.
We encourage students to be involved in research, activism, and internships. In the past few years, our students have presented research at anthropology and sociology conferences, participated in the American Sociological Association's Undergraduate Honors Program, and in the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Students in the department have also engaged in activist work on-campus with groups like the Progressive Student Alliance, Feminist Voices and Students for Environmental Activism and Knowledge. Off-campus, our students have worked with Austin Against War, the Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Casa Marianella, The Rhizome Collective, Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Monkey Wrench Bookstore, and Third Coast Activist Alliance. Students in the department have also completed internships and independent studies with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Georgetown Animal Outreach, Texas Department of Family and Child Protective Services, the Salvation Army and PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources).
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is strongly committed to issues of diversity. The analysis of race and ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and culture are central to the disciplines of anthropology and sociology. In addition to courses which focus specifically on these topics (like Gender and Sexuality; Race and Ethnicity; Social Class in the United States; Gender, Power, and Violence; and Race, Class and Gender in the Caribbean), issues of diversity are integrated into courses across the curriculum. Through participation in the MOST (Minority Opportunities through School Transformation) grant, funded by the Ford Foundation, the department has systematically examined its curriculum and focused upon research training for undergraduates with the aim of creating a pipeline for students of color interested in pursuing advanced degrees in graduate and professional school. As a department, we aim to create a climate that encourages and fosters multi-cultural and pluralistic perspectives.
Faculty in the department work one-on-one with students to help them determine which combination of courses best suits their career goals. Students are encouraged to use our Handbook for Majors to help them plan their major and think about how sociology and anthropology can prepare them for graduate or professional school and careers in a variety of fields.
Visit any of the links on this page for more in-depth information about the department and related programs.