Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, has a chapter in a new book published in August by the American Sociological Association. The book is called Peer Review of Teaching: Lessons from and for Departments of Sociology. Kain’s chapter is titled “Ways to Start the Peer Review Conversation within a Department.”

Three current students, one recent graduate, and two faculty members in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology presented their research this week at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association. 2011 graduate Toni Nietfeld and senior Whitney Rominger presented their research as participants in the ASA Honors Program. Nietfeld’s paper, “‘Welcome to Hell’: The Role of Framing and Recruitment in Saving Souls” was also recognized at the meetings as the third place winner in the national Undergraduate Paper Competition of Alpha Kappa Delta, the national sociology honors society. This work was developed in her capstone course under the direction of Maria Lowe, professor of sociology. Junior Griffin Ferry and senior Melissa Garcia presented a paper titled “White University Students’ Perspectives on Race and the Value of Racial/Ethnic Diversity” that was co-authored by Lowe and Reginald Byron, assistant professor of psychology. The paper resulted from collaborative research funded by the Mellon Foundation. Ferry, Garcia, Byron and Lowe also presented a second paper titled “Race and Frequency of Interracial Dining Experiences on Students’ Perceptions of the Campus Racial Climate.”

Ed Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, is delivering the opening keynote address at a conference sponsored by the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas, Nev. Aug. 19. His address is titled “The Ecology of Teaching and Learning: Increasing Your Pedagogical Footprint.” 

Four graduating seniors, Amy Crook, Ursula James, Toni Nietfeld, and Kate Roberts were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the country’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, May 2011.

Dr. Sandi Nenga won the 2011 Southwestern University teaching award. 

Ursula James (‘11, Anthropology) won the Annual Student Paper Competition by the Southern Anthropological Society for her paper titled “The Emergence of Hoi An: World Heritage Status and Global Tourism in Vietnam,” based on her honors thesis.

Toni Nietfeld (‘11, sociology) won Third Place in the 2011 Undergraduate Paper Competition at Alpha Kappa Delta (national sociolology honors society) and Honorable Mention in the 2011 Odum Award undergraduate paper competition at the Southern Sociological Society meetings for her senior capstone project titled, “‘Welcome to Hell’: The Role of Framing and Recruitment in Saving Souls.”

A heartfelt congrats to our graduating seniors in Anthropology and Sociology:  Alex Brown, Amy Crook, Amanda Doenges, Cameron Duggins, Mayra Garcia, Robbie Hanley, Kelly Holt, Matthew Kamas, Ursula James, Fernando Leon, Laura Mitchell, Carissa Nash, Toni Nietfeld, Alex Overton, Callie Paige, Kate Roberts, Megan Renneker, Whitney Rodriguez Rominger, Megan Satterfield, Sarah Wiggins, and Hannah Yterdal. All of the department faculty members wish you the very best in your future endeavors! Stay in touch.

Tanlyn Roelofs has been awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships in Germany for the 2010-11 academic year. Roelofs graduated in December with a major in anthropology and a minor in German. Read more here.

Amanda Doenges, Alexis Kropf and Victoria Phillips are attending the Southwestern Anthropological Association meeting in Reno, Nev., April 29-May 2. Doenges is presenting a paper titled “Constructing the Pregnant Body,” Kropf is presenting a paper titled “Community and Identity Construction in a Charity General Health Clinic” and  Phillips is presenting a paper titled “Living with Violence in Juarez.” All three are students of Claudia Campeanu, visiting assistant professor of anthropology.

Four current students and one recent graduate from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology are presenting their research at the annual meetings of the Southern Sociological Society in Atlanta, Ga., April 21-24. December graduate Laura Burrow is presenting her paper titled “Breaking the Cycle of Abuse: Why Advocates Work to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.” Alex Brown will present a paper titled “How to Accurately Interpret a Peer’s Social Class: Symbols of Class Status and Presentation of Self in College Students.” Lauren E. Hamlett will present a paper titled “Hot Spots for Swine Flu: Preparing for the New Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic in London Schools.”

Jessica Herbst will present a paper titled “Sometimes You Have to Sell Your Soul a Little Bit’: Maintaining Meaning and Identity in the Midst of Non-Profit Politics.”  Herbst’s research has been chosen to receive the 2010 Odum Undergraduate Student Paper Award. This is the fourth time in five years that this top award has been given to a sociology student from Southwestern.

Callie Paige will present a paper titled “Capital Matters: The Familial Effect on the College-Bound Student.”

The papers being presented by Burrow and Herbst are a result of work done in their capstone course under the direction of Maria Lowe. Hamlett did her capstone research in the London program under the direction of Edward Kain. Brown and Paige developed their papers as part of a course taught by Sandi Nenga.

Kain will co-lead a workshop at the conference on “Preparing for a Program Review.”  He will also receive the 2010 Southern Sociological Society Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award.

Dr. Sandi Nenga just published her article “The Value of Volunteering:  Comparing Youths’ Experiences to Popular Claims” in a special issue of Sociological Studies of Children and Youth titled Children and Youth Speak for Themselves (Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Group).

Chauntelle Tibbals, Visiting Instructor in Sociology, succesffully defended her dissertation at The University of Texas at Austin.  The entire department congratulates Dr. Tibbals on this wonderful accomplishment!

Lauren Hamlett (‘10 sociology) received the 2010 Frank E. Luksa award in sociology.

Ed Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, is presenting the inaugural Luster Lecture at Michigan State University March 15.  The title of his lecture is “Pathways for Navigating the Changing Landscape of Higher Education.” Part of the lecture will focus on the contributions and legacy of Tom Luster, who was a faculty member in the Department of Family and Child Ecology at Michigan State. The lecture is being held in conjunction with the awarding of the first Tom Luster graduate scholarship in the department.

Dr. Edward L. Kain’s book chapter, “Some Sociological Aspects of HIV Disease,” was published in Leonard Cargan and Jaenne H. Ballantine (eds.) Sociological Footprints:  Introductory Readings in Sociology.  11th ed. 2010. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Dr. Sandi Nenga and Tristine Baccam (‘09, sociology) had their coauthored article, “Stealing Peanuts and Coercing Monsters:  The Underground Economy of a Middle School Summer Camp,” accepted for publication in Qualitative Sociology Review.

Dr. Reggie Byron had his co-authored article, “Revisiting the Criminal Consequences of Commercial and Residential Density:  Land Use Patterns and Violence in Neighborhood Context” accepted for publication in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.

Dr. Maria Lowe had her paper “Sowing the Seeds of Discontent:  Tougaloo College’s Social Science Forums as a Prefigurative Movement Free Space, 1952-1964” published in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Black Studies. 39: 865-887.

Nicole Powell (‘09, Sociology) presented her paper “Little Gay Gandhi’s: Providing a Safe Space and Empowering Sexual Minorities” at the 2009 American Sociological Association (ASA) meetings in San Francisco as part of the ASA’s Honors Program.  She also received her award as third place winner of the 2009 Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Student Paper Competition.

Tristine Baccam (‘09, sociology) had her paper, “‘That Synergy of People’:  The Significance of Collective Identity and Framing in a Gay-Straight Coalition” accepted for publication in the undergraduate sociology journal, Sociological Insight.

Eryn Snyder (‘09 anthropology) was selected as the 2009 female Pirate Anchor Award winner.

Noah Bickford (‘09, anthropology) received the 2009 Gwen Kennedy Neville Award in anthropology.  Nicole Powell (‘09, sociology) received the 2009 Frank E. Luksa award in sociology.

Dr. Maria Lowe, professor of sociology, has received a 2009 Southwestern University Teaching Award. The award was created by the Southwestern faculty in 1999 to recognize faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching. Nominations for the award are submitted by students in the spring semester, and recipients are selected by the Honorary Degrees Committee. Lowe received the award for a tenured faculty member.

At the 2009 meetings of the Southern Sociological Society, Dr. Edward L. Kain was selected as the recipient of the 2010 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. Read more here.

Ed Kain, professor of sociology, served as an external program reviewer for the Sociology program at Grinnell College in Iowa this week. 

Five students from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology presented papers on their research at the annual meetings of the Southern Sociological Society in New Orleans April 2-4.

• Tristine Baccam presented a paper titled “That Synergy of People: Fortifying Social Networks and Collective Identity to Build a Straight-Gay Coalition.”
• Lauren Hamlett presented her research on “State Health Indicators and the Hispanic Population.”
• Jessica Herbst presented apaper was on “Factors in Opinions on Childcare: Effects of Life Experiences on Views of Spanking and Child Maltreatment.”
• Nicole Powell presented a paper on “Little Gay Gandhi’s: Providing a Safe Space and Empowering Sexual Minorities.”
• Grace Stafford presented a paper titled “From Bra Burning to Bible Study: Motivation for Political Activism and Polarization Among Local Women Activists.”

Baccam, Powell and Stafford did their papers as part of their capstone course under the direction of Maria Lowe, professor of sociology. Lowe also presented a paper at the conference titled “The Impact of Race, Gender and Social Networks in Mississippi’s Struggle for Racial Equality: An Analysis of Pro-Integrationist Tougaloo College and Millsaps College Students, 1954 to 1965.”

Hamlett and Herbst completed their papers for the Research Methods course taught by Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology.

Sandi K. Nenga, assistant professor of sociology, chaired a session at the recent Southern Sociological Society meeting on Youth Culture and Behavior. She also presented a paper that was co-authored with Tristine Baccam titled “Monsters and Rockstars: The Gendered Underground Economy of a Middle School Summer Camp.”

Senior sociology major Nicole Powell (‘09, sociology) is receiving the 2009 Odum Award for best undergraduate research paper from the Southern Sociological Society. Powell wrote a paper titled “Little Gay Gandhis: Providing a Safe Space and Empowering Sexual Minorities” for her capstone class last semester under the direction of Maria Lowe, professor of sociology. Powell will receive the award and a $200 cash prize at the Southern Sociological Society meeting in New Orleans, La., April 1-4.

Junior sociology major Lauren Hamlett participated in a summer research program on Population, Health and Aging at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. The program was funded by the National Institute on Aging. Students from a variety of sociology and health care-related backgrounds were selected to participate in the program, and work on developing ways to solve the health and population problems that our country faces today. Hamlett plans to continue research in this area in the Sociology Research Methods course this semester.

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, had two student exercises published in Sociology through Active Learning, edited by Kathleen McKinney and Barbara S. Heyl (Pine Forge: 2008). The first is “An Introduction to an Important Source for Basic Quantitative Sociological Data,” and the second examines “Global Stratification and Its Impact on a Country’s Population Characteristics.” He also had a review of Family Life in 20th Century America published in the Journal of Comparative Family Studies vol. XXXIX (2), 2008.

Two sociology majors presented their research as part of the American Sociological Association Honors Program at the annual meetings of the ASA in Boston, July 31 – Aug. 4. Tristine Baccam, senior sociology major, presented her paper, “Deriving Self-Image: A Study of Upper and Upper Middle Class Students and How They Construct Self Image,” at a roundtable on demography. Her research was done as part of a class taught by Sandi Nenga, assistant professor of sociology. Phillip Cantu ‘08 presented his paper, “Activists on the Margin: High Risk Activism in a Needle Exchange Program,” at a roundtable on social deviance. His research was done as part of a capstone class under the direction of Maria Lowe, professor of sociology.

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, delivered the opening keynote address for a preconference on teaching at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association in Boston July 31 – Aug. 4. The title of his talk was “Increasing Your Pedagogical Footprint.” He also organized and co-led an academic workshop on “Bridging the Gap Between Cultures of Teaching and Cultures of Research, and helped with the orientation for the ASA Honors Program.

Sandi Nenga, assistant professor of sociology, presented a paper titled “From Selfless Heroes to Narcissistic Praisehounds: Tracing the Shifting Portrayals of the Millennial Generation” at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association in Boston July 31 – Aug. 4. Nenga also was a panelist at a professional workshop on “Succeeding at a Liberal Arts College.”

Sandi Nenga, assistant professor of sociology, received $6,500 from the Fleming Collaborative Research and Creative Activity Program to conduct a study of how youth use media, technology and language to organize their peer culture. The Fleming Collaborative Research and Creative Activity Program enables faculty members and students to engage in projects that go beyond the scope of regular coursework. Five different projects totaling $113,000 were funded for 2008. Dr. Nenga’s study will be conducted on sixth, seventh and eighth graders attending a middle school summer camp in Georgetown. Sociology major Tristine Baccam will assist Nenga with her research.

Four Anthropology students presented papers at the Southwestern Anthropological Association’s Annual Meeting in Fullerton, Calif., April 10-12. Shauna Davidson presented “Orphan Care in Senegal,” Tricia Dickson presented “Little Emperors Wear Prada: The One Child Policy and Globalization in Shanghai,” Lauren Griebel presented “The Other Side of the Islands: HIV/AIDS in Fiji,” and Casey McAuliffe presented “Young Mothers and a Young Anthropology Student.”

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar is presenting a paper titled “If You Build It, They Will Learn: Using National Standards to Create a Challenging, yet Flexible, Sociology Curriculum” at the annual meetings of the Pacific Sociological Association, being held April 10-13 in Portland, Ore. The paper is in a session titled “Creating a Standardized, Rigorous Undergraduate Sociology Curriculum.” Kain is also co-leading a workshop titled “Information Literacy: The Partnership of Sociology Faculty and Social Science Librarians.”

Eight sociology majors from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology will be presenting their research at the 2008 annual meetings of the Southern Sociological Society in Richmond Va., April 10-12. Students presenting their research are: Tristine Baccam, “Rebuilding the House that Jack Built: Comparative Analysis of Immigration and Residential Crowding in the US”; Megan Collins, “Bureaucratic Traditions, Consensus and the Role of the Media in the American Civil Liberties Union Central Texas Chapter”; Lauren Cox, “Trabajadores Unan!: Leaders, Collective Identity, and Conflict Resolution among Latino Immigrant Workers”; Rachael Die, “Communities of Color Fighting Toxic Contamination: A Case Study of Grassroots Environmental Justice and Community Advocacy”; Sarah Fankhauser, “Guardian Angels at the Grassroots: A Study of the Factors that Shape Individuals Into Activists”; Cody Faulk, “Fighting the Religious Right in Texas: How Political Activist Organizations Recruit and Maintain Members in the Fight for a Division Between Church and State”; Anne Olson, “Which Side Are You On? An Examination of the Recruitment Tactics of a Local Education Union”; and Nicole Powell, “Examining Social Class: Comparisons Between Attitudes and Composition of a College Campus and the United States.” The papers resulted from individual research projects in the sociology capstone seminar under the direction of Maria Lowe, and the Research Methods course taught by Edward L. Kain.

Maria R. Lowe, associate professor of sociology, recently published an article titled “An Unseen Hand: The Role of Sociology Professor Ernst Borinski in Mississippi’s Struggle for Racial Integration in the 1950s and 1960s.” The article appears in the February 2008 issue of Leadership.

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, presented a lecture and co-led a workshop at Rutgers University Dec. 10. His presentation was titled “Fruitful Partnerships between Faculty and Librarians - the Integration of Information Literacy into the Sociology Curriculum.” It was part of a half-day workshop for the Rutgers University Libraries titled “Information Literacy in the Disciplines: The Sociology Experience.” Participants included subject librarians from the libraries at Rutgers, selected faculty in sociology, and several administrators involved with undergraduate education and teaching excellence. The workshop was co-presented with Triveni Kuchi, Social Sciences/Instructional Services and South Asia Librarian. This workshop is one result of a two-year collaboration with the American Library Association / ACRL / Anthropology and Sociology Section Instruction and Information Literacy Committee. Near the beginning of the collaboration, Kain worked with Joan Parks, head of Reference Services in the Smith Library Center, to develop a set of materials about collaboration between faculty and librarians on issues of information literacy.

Melissa Johnson, associate professor of anthropology, presented “Cleaning the Yard: Trash and Bush in Rural Belize” in the panel “Rubbish, or Not” at the American Anthropological Association’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 28-Dec. 2. She also was a discussant for the panel “Landscape Interrupted: Reflections on Experiences of Place and Displacement.”

The October issue of Teaching Sociology includes an article co-authored by a Southwestern faculty member and three alumni from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. The article is titled “Sociology in Two-Year Institutions.” The article reports on analyses of college catalog listings at over 100 two-year institutions across the United States. It is co-authored by Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology, Alexandra O. Hendley ‘06, who is in the Ph.D. program in sociology at UC-Santa Barbara, Lauren R. Contreras ‘07, who is an Americorps member at College Forward in Austin, and Krystal K. Wyatt-Baxter ‘06, who is in the Ph.D. program in sociology at The University of Texas at Austin.

Stephen M. Cherry, visiting instructor of sociology, won the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion 2006 Distinguished Article award along with Michael Young from The University of Texas for their co-authored article “The Secularization of Confessional Protests: The Role of Religious Processes of Rationalization and Differentiation.” The article was published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion in December 2005.

Jennifer Esperanza, visiting instructor of anthropology, successfully completed her dissertation titled “Outsourcing Otherness: Pursuing Modernity in the Global Handicrafts Market” at the UCLA Department of Anthropology in October 2007.

Maria R. Lowe, associate professor of sociology, published an article “‘Sowing the Seeds of Discontent:’ Tougaloo College’s Social Science Forums as a Prefigurative Movement Free Space, 1952-1964” in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Black Studies.

Melissa Johnson, associate professor of anthropology, was invited to Wesleyan University to present “Cleaning the Yard: Bush and Trash in Rural Creole Belize” as this semester’s lecture for their Center for African American Studies on Oct. 2. She also visited with classes in anthropology and African-American studies.

An article titled “The Sociology Major at Institutions of Higher Education in the United States” appears in the January 2007 edition of the peer-review journal Teaching Sociology. The article is authored by Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar in the Sociology and Anthropology Department. Research in the article examines the extent to which national recommendations on the undergraduate sociology major, adopted by the American Sociological Association in 1990, were implemented at 100 colleges and universities across the country a decade later.

Southwestern students Meagan Elliott and Nathan Turner and have been named 2007 Junior Fellows in the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Elliott is a senior majoring in sociology and Turner is a senior majoring in anthropology. Social science departments at universities are invited to select one senior each year to be Junior Fellows in the Academy. Criteria for selection include an outstanding grasp of their academic discipline, an enthusiasm for understanding social issues, and the promise of making substantial contributions to the social sciences in the future.

The lead article in the October issue of Teaching Sociology is titled “Bridging the Gap between Cultures of Teaching and Culture of Research.” The article presents data from job listings for academic sociology positions in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and documents an increasing call for faculty who combine teaching and research in their careers in academia. The author of the research article, Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar in the Sociology and Anthropology Department, provides a series of suggestions for changes that are needed to help bridge the gap between teaching and research within the changing landscape of higher education in the United States.

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University Scholar, is presenting a paper at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-22. The paper is titled “The Interconnections Between Measures of Religiosity and Attitudes About Homosexuality.” The research examines 30 years of change in national survey data on attitudes about the morality of homosexuality as well as support for basic civil liberties of homosexuals. It also explores how these attitudes vary by religious affiliation and religiosity.

M. Cristina Alcalde, assistant professor of anthropology, had her article, ” Going Home: A Feminist Anthropologist’s Reflections on Dilemmas of Power and Positionality in the Field” accepted for publication in Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism.

Alexandra Hendley ‘06 received the top undergraduate paper award in a national competition. This award, sponsored by the national sociology honorary society, Alpha Kappa Delta, was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, held in Montreal August 10-14. Hendley presented her paper, titled “Barreras del Lenguage: Children’s Negotiation of Adult-Created Exclusionary Structures” in an ASA Honors Program session. Sociology majors Lauren Contreras and Meagan Elliott also presented papers in the ASA Honors Program. Contreras’s paper was titled “Fitting in at College: How Social Class Affects Friendships.” Elliot’s paper was titled “Listening to Silence: Social Class Dialogue on the University Campus.” All three of these papers were a result of research done in classes taught by Sandi Nenga, assistant professor of sociology.

Maria Lowe, associate professor of sociology, served on the advisory board for the American Sociological Association Honors Program at the annual meeting.

Sandi Nenga and Edward L. Kain co-edited the 4th edition of Innovative Techniques for Teaching Sociological Concepts. This was published in August and is available from the American Sociological Association. They co-led a workshop on this topic at the ASA meetings in Montreal. At the same meetings, Kain presented a plenary session in a pre-conference workshop for senior faculty, co-led a workshop on preparing for a department review, assisted with the orientation of students in the ASA Honors Program, co-led a workshop for directors of graduate studies on mentoring graduate students who want to get a job in a liberal arts institution, and co-led a training session on guidelines for successful joint sociology/anthropology programs.

M. Cristina Alcalde, assistant professor of anthropology, had her article “Why Would You Marry a Serrana? Women’s Experiences of Identity-Based Violence in the Intimacy of their Homes in Lima” accepted for publication. The article will appear in the Spring 2007 issue of the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology.

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology and University scholar, is co-author of a new publication from the American Sociological Association, Models and Best Practices for Joint Sociology-Anthropology Departments.  It is co-authored with Theodore C. Wagenaar of Miami University and Carla B. Howery of the American Sociological Association. View the publication at www.asanet.org.

Melissa A. Johnson, associate professor of anthropology and environmental studies, presented “Conservation in a Creolized World: Ambiguities and Ambivalences of ‘Protecting Nature’ in Belize” at the XXVI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association March 15-18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Fourteen students from the Sociology and Anthropology Department presented their research at the annual meetings of the Southern Sociological Society in New Orleans, March 22-26. Support for this professional activity came from the Fleming Collaborative Research fund, administered by Stephanie Fabritius. Ali Hendley’s paper was chosen as winner of the Odum Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Paper at the SSS meetings. Two of the students presented research they did while studying in the London semester with Maria Lowe, associate professor of sociology. They are:

• Andy Morrison: “Bitters and Cheers: An Ethnography of Pub Culture at the Churchill Arms.”
• Nathan Turner: “Minding the Gaps: Cultural Patterns on the London Underground.”
• Five students presented research they did while in the required senior Capstone seminar with *Sandi Kawecka Nenga*, assistant professor of sociology:
• Kelsie Alstead: “You Must be a Very Special Person! Special Education and Identity Work.”
• Annie Garcia: “How Different are They? Friendships in a Home School Support Group.”
• Ali Hendley: “Barreras del Lenguaje: Children’s Negotiation of Adult-created Exclusionary Structures.”
• Ashley Heck: “We’re not Special Anymore: Identity Creation, Identity Loss, and Coping Strategies in Former Gifted and Talented Students.”
• Krys Wyatt: “Finding Me Through You: The First-year Struggle to Create and Maintain Identity and Friendship.”

Seven students presented papers they developed while doing research in the required Research Methods course with Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology. They are:

• Alice May Berthelsen: “Religiosity and Income: Do They have an Impact on Attitudes Towards Marijuana?”
• Phillip Cantu: “Income, Income Inequalities and Education and their Effect on Healthcare: A Cross-National Approach.”
• Lauren Cox: “Factors that Predict Attitudes Toward Immigration: Income and Socioeconomic Status.”
• Jenna Hardy: “Reading into Contraceptives: How Female Literacy Rates Affect the Prevalence of Contraceptives in an International Study.”
• Jacque Holden: “Religion, Politics and why no one Watches the News: How Religiosity and Extremity of Political Views Affect Confidence in the Media.”
• Brian Kasper: “Money and Alcohol Abuse: An In-depth Analysis of Income Levels Effect on Alcohol Abuse in Wet and Dry Counties.”
• Lydia Rudy: “What Lies Within: Constructing Beauty through Advertising in Women’s Fashion Magazines.”

M. Cristina Alcalde, assistant professor of anthropology, presented a paper titled “Discrimination and Violence Across Borders: A Preliminary Comparison of Battered Women’s Experiences in Peru and the U.S.” at the Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies Conference in Albuquerque, N. M., March 1-4. Research for her paper and travel to the conference were funded in part by a Sam Taylor Fellowship.

Senior Alexandra “Ali” O. Hendley won the 2006 Odum Student Paper Competition at the Southern Sociological Society for her paper, “Barreras del Lenguage: Children’s Negotiation of Adult-Created Exclusionary Structures.” This paper examines the dynamics between English-only, Spanish-only and bilingual speakers on a children’s soccer team. Hendley will present the paper at the upcoming Southern Sociological Society meetings in New Orleans in March.

M. Cristina Alcalde, assistant professor of anthropology, had her article, “What Happens When She Leaves? Migration and Class as Constraints in Battered Women’s Attempts to Escape Violence in Lima, Peru,” accepted for publication in the journal Latin American Perspectives.  In November 2005, she had her review of Blenda Femenias’ book, Gender and the Boundaries of Dress in Contemporary Peru, published in the Journal of Latin American Anthropology.

The Sociology Colloquium Series presents Claudia W. Scholz, assistant professor of sociology at The University of Texas at San Antonio, speaking on “Using Theory: Testing the Link Between Social Capital and Community Development” Thursday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. in the Mood-Bridwell Atrium.  There will be a reception following the lecture. Drawing on her experiences with community organizations in mountain communities of the Dominican Republic, Scholz will address definitions of social capital prevalent in recent scholarship on economic development.  The presentation will demonstrate the connection between social theory and observation in sociological research.

Edward L. Kain, professor of sociology, was on a panel at the mid-winter meetings of the American Library Association in San Antonio Jan. 21.  The panel was in the sociology librarian discussion group section.  The presentation was titled “Some Tips for Establishing Fruitful Relationships with Sociology Faculty.”  The material was prepared with Joan Parks, head of reference services, A. Frank Smith, Jr. Library.

Melissa A. Johnson, associate professor of anthropology, has her article “Racing Nature and Naturalizing Race: Rethinking the Nature of Creole and Garifuna Identities” published in Belizean Studies.