This has been a big week for SOAN students and faculty, as our department brought in a number of major awards. On the student side, senior Evan Chartier won SOAN’s Award for Academic Excellence in Sociology and Anthropology, which is awarded to the SOAN major with the highest departmental GPA. SOAN’s other major award, the Ramshaw Service Award, is named for our departed colleague Warren Ramshaw, and recognizes outstanding community service and academic achievement; this year the Ramshaw Service Award was given to two SOAN seniors, Sarah Ebner and Shaina Kaplan.

Several other SOAN seniors also won other academic and community service awards this year, including Tess Christiansen, Hannah Fitton, Jessica Hall, Sam Lee, Jennifer Rivera, Marshall Scott, Marvin Vilma, and Gillian Weaver. Evan Chartier actually won a BUNCH of awards, including Colgate’s most prestigious award for graduating seniors, the Colgate Alumni Corporation 1819 Award. Congratulations to all our student awardees—we are very proud of you and your accomplishments!

Two SOAN faculty were also honored this week with major distinctions. Professor Rhonda Levine won the 2014 French Prize for Inspirational Teaching, and Professor Mary Moran was named 2014 AAUP Professor of the Year. Congratulations—these recognitions are very well-deserved!

Evan Chartier, left, winner of the 2014 Award for Excellence in Sociology and Anthropology, Prof Chris Henke, center, and Sarah Ebner, right, winner of SOAN’s Ramshaw Service Award. Not pictured, Shaina Kaplan, winner of SOAN’s Ramshaw Service Award.

SOAN Professor Mary Moran, left, winner of the 2014 AAUP Professor of the Year and Professor Rhonda Levine, winner of the 2014 French Prize for Inspirational Teaching.

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Earlier this month, the SOAN Department held a Career Forum in Donovon’s Pub.  The forum featured a panel of four Colgate alumni and representatives of our Center for Career Services, including: Janice (Leadbetter) Bennett ’94, currently Associate Director for Marketing and Business Operations in the Department of Campus Recreation at Binghamton University, Jennifer Uribe ’13, Research Associate with MDRC in New York City, Jillian Arnault ’10, Alumni Engagement Coordinator with Colgate’s Center for Career Services, and Kelly Brant, a Career Advisor with Career Services.  

Each panelist spoke briefly on three key questions: What do they do now, how did they get there, and what advice would they give to other majors in anthropology or sociology?  If you missed the event, check out the YouTube video for their answers!

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One of the big areas of research in sociology is social problems. To me, one of the most interesting things about social problems is the difference between perception and reality. Often, people panic about problems that really aren’t that big – especially if they involve teenagers and sex. According to one organization, 90% of adults think that teen pregnancy is more important than any other problem facing America today. And the media is full of terrifying (to adults) stories about the rise of the hook-up culture.

Actually, teen pregnancy rate in the United States is less than half of what it was 20 years ago. And public health campaign about the cost of the “epidemic of teen pregnancy” may do more harm than good.

What about the hook-up culture? To learn more about teenage sexual behavior in general, check out this article on FiveThirtyEight.com: Are American Teenagers Getting More Promiscuous?

Carolyn Hsu
Associate Professor of Sociology

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After a long process of input, collaboration, and voting, SOAN has a new logo!

Developed with the help of graphic artist Lara Scott and some of our SOAN majors, you’ll see our new logo on our posters and other materials that we use to market SOAN events and information. One of the things I really like about the logo’s design is the large ampersand, which I think is symbolic of a few important things about our community of anthropologists and sociologists.

Read more

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This time of year, everyone is starting to get a little crazy. Final papers and exams loom just around the corner, so it’s a good time to get a little wisdom and perspective. Prof Spadola shared this poem with me last week, which references legendary Japanese painter Hokusai. Hokusai is known for his paintings of Mount Fuji and his iconic painting, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Enjoy…

HOKUSAI SAYS (by Roger Keyes)

Hokusai says Look carefully.
He says pay attention, notice.
He says keep looking, stay curious.
He says there is no end to seeing.

He says Look Forward to getting old.
He says keep changing,
you just get more who you really are.
He says get stuck, accept it, repeat yourself
as long as it’s interesting.

He says keep doing what you love.
He says keep praying.
He says every one of us is a child,

every one of us is ancient,
every one of us has a body.
He says every one of us is frightened.
He says every one of us has to find a way to live with fear.

He says everything is alive –
shells, buildings, people, fish, mountains, trees.
Wood is alive.
Water is alive.
Everything has its own life.
Everything lives inside us.
He says live with the world inside you.

He says it doesn’t matter if you draw, or write books.
It doesn’t matter if you saw wood, or catch fish.
It doesn’t matter if you sit at home
and stare at the ants on your verandah or the shadows of the trees
and grasses in your garden.

It matters that you care.
It matters that you feel.
It matters that you notice.
It matters that life lives through you.

Contentment is life living through you.
Joy is life living through you.
Satisfaction and strength
are life living through you.
Peace is life living through you.

He says don’t be afraid.
Don’t be afraid.
Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.
Let life live through you.

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A Walmart employee puts Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on the rack prior to the midnight release at Walmart on March 6, 2014 in Orange, California.

Years ago, I had a student foolishly say in class that “sociology is just opinion.” Needless to say, I disabused him of that “opinion” quickly. The social sciences (including sociology and anthropology) are disciplines that get to the reality behind opinions – and also explain why people hold those opinions in the first place.

Here’s an example: Hollywood movies are much more likely to feature men than women. The movie industry justifies this discrimination by claiming that movies about men make more money than movies about women. But is this economic truth or sexist rationalization?

Check out this article from one of Carolyn Hsu’s favorite blogs, FiveThirtyEight.com:
The Dollar-And-Cents Case Against Hollywood’s Exclusion of Women

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