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.
The Austin American-Statesman ran an op-ed piece on March 7, 2008 written by Sociology Professor 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.
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.
Dr. Maria Lowe published “‘Sowing the Seeds of Discontent:’
Dr. Jennifer Esperanza, visiting professor of anthropology, successfully completed her dissertation entitled "Outsourcing Otherness: Pursuing Modernity in the Global Handicrafts Market," at UCLA, Dept. of Anthropology, October 2007.
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.