Hi SOAN Students!
It’s another school year. I hope you had a wonderful summer and are energized for the fall semester. I am the new incoming chair for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. For those who are not familiar with my work, I’m a cultural sociologist who studies mass media and art. I teach the SOAN electives Media and Modern Society as well as American Popular Culture. I usually teach American Popular Culture every semester, but not this fall, as my duties as chair take up more of my time. But I hope to see some of you in this class next spring semester.
So here is some information I thought I’d pass your way.
Resource Room and Lounge Fourth Floor Alumni
Don’t forget we have a great resource room, Alumni 429/430, with working space dedicated to SOAN students. And there is a white board waiting for any announcements and tidbits of wisdom and fun from students. The lounge is also available to relax, study, or chat.
SOAN Faculty
Half of the regular faculty are on sabbatical this fall: Janel Benson, Michelle Bigenho, Jon Hyslop, Alicia Simmons, Emilio Spadola, and Nancy Ries. Professors Benson and Simmons will return in the spring.
We are lucky to have four visiting professors to help SOAN out. Lavinia Nicolae is returning for a second year as a visiting anthropologist. Two sociologists, Travis Beaver and Kimberly Creasap, are visiting this year. And finally Nick Shepherd is an archaeologist visiting as the A. Lindsay O’Connor Chair of American Institutions. Professor Shepherd is visiting us from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. All four visiting professors are bringing exciting new research and teaching into the SOAN department. Keep an eye out for their course offerings this year.
SOAN Events
Here are some events you might want to keep in mind.
Cho-Dunkin’ Tuesdays = This grand tradition will continue this year with Cho-Dunkin’ (yogurt and donuts) days in the SOAN lounge on September 8, October 20, November 10, and December 8 from 8:15am – 11:30am
SOAN Student Happy Hours = Another grand tradition continuing this year is the happy hour at Donovan’s Pub for SOAN students and prospective SOAN students. We will have two happy hours from 4:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday October 14 and Tuesday November 17.
Other Events
September, 17-18 “Local Food Cultures: Traditions and Futures.”
Thursday, September 17
7:15 pm – Meyerhoff Auditorium, Ho Science Center – “Edible Memory: How Tomatoes became Heirlooms and Apples became Antiques” – Dr. Jennifer Jordan, Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Friday, September 18
12:15pm – ALANA Cultural Center – Panel Discussion: “Experiences and Perspectives from Local Food Producers”
3:30 – Meyerhoff Auditorium, Ho Science Center – “Climate Change: Resilience and the Future of Food” – Dr. Laura Lengnick, Cultivating Resilience, LLC
12-1:30pm – Women’s Center – Maylei Blackwell – Geographies of Difference: Cautionary Tales from Transnational Feminist Travels
September 25, Friday = Summer Reading
3:30 – Little Auditorium – Valerie Purdie-Vaughns – “Identity Matters: How Stereotypes Affect Where We Live, Study, and Play”
October 2, Friday = Summer Reading
5pm – Golden Auditorium – “W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices”
October 19, Monday
4:15 – Women’s Studies Center – Cati Connell – “Pride and Professionalism in the Lives of Gay and Lesbian Teachers”
October 27, Tuesday = Summer Reading
7:30pm – Chapel – Kiesa Laymon, author, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America
November 11, Wednesday
4:15 – Persson 27, Sociologist Aldon Morris on W. E. Du Bois
November 18, Wednesday
Case Library – Curtiss Cobb, a sociologist who works for Facebook and manages their Growth Population and Survey Sciences group. Curtiss will talk on the challenges of finding high quality data on developing countries and internet use and adoption in such countries.
Hope to see you around!
Professor Lopes