The Obamas and the New Politics of Race

With the 2012 US presidential election campaign in full swing, the meaning and significance of Barack Obama and his presidency are once again in the spotlight. Has the election of Barack Obama served as the watershed moment for American politics and race relations that many predicted? A number of experts in the field of critical race theory attempt to answer this question in a special issue of Qualitative Sociology: The Obamas and the New Politics of Race, published by Springer and available to the general public. This series of six articles showcases the most recent critical sociological work on race, racism, and politics through the lens of Barack Obama’s presidency.

One article provides a timely examination of how the concept of “family” has been used to both address and mask social inequalities generally, and racial inequalities in particular. In her article entitled “Just another American story? The first Black First Family,” former American Sociological Association president Patricia Hill Collins shows—by highlighting their own “family stories” during the 2008 campaign and in the post-election years—how the Obamas have been able to reintroduce race, gender, labor and equality into public policy discussions in a time when such debates are often deemed risky.

Public debate over Obama’s citizenship and legitimacy as President is analyzed by Mississippi State University Professor Matthew Hughey, in his article, “Show me your papers! Obama’s birth and the whiteness of belonging.” Hughey identifies “birtherism” – the belief that by virtue of birthright, Obama is disqualified from presidential office – as a practice informed by the history of slavery. According to Hughey, much of what is “new” about the politics of race and racism is oriented around discussions of citizenship, belonging, authenticity and identity. Hughey concludes that while Obama may be a legal citizen, he is still viewed by some as an equivocal American, suggesting that the question of who is “the real” Obama will remain a factor in the 2012 election.

Wellesley College professor Michael Jeffries’s article “Mutts like me: multiracial students’ perceptions of Barack Obama,” explores how other multiracial US citizens understand Obama’s racial identity, race and “race relations.” In his interviews with multiracial students, Jefferies finds that respondents reject the concept of “post-racial idealism” and do not view Obama’s election as signaling an end to racism. Instead, Obama is viewed predominantly as black rather than multiracial, even though his multiracial origins are acknowledged. His findings suggest that racial schemas birthed by nineteenth century racial science continue to have a powerful effect in shaping popular perceptions of race today.

The election of Barack Obama—and his bid for re-election in November 2012—allow us to consider how race and race relations have, or have not, changed; both in and outside of the electoral sphere. With a synoptic essay on the multiple meanings of Barack Obama and the Obama family in a putative post-racial age by guest editors Simone Browne and Ben Carrington of The University of Texas at Austin, the June issue of Qualitative Sociology demonstrates the importance of critical sociological analyses for understanding contemporary racial speculation in US politics. This issue is essential reading for anyone interested in how the wider cultural politics of race shaped the 2008 US Presidential election, the current election, and the future of race in the US.

Qualitative Sociology, Special issue: The Obamas and the New Politics of Race, Vol. 35, No.2. The special issue is freely available online to the general public here.

Notes from Nicaragua by Pamela Neumann

Quisiera cantar bonita, softly sang the curly haired light-skinned woman dressed in a t-shirt and capris as she entered from the back of the room. “I’d like to sing pretty.” Tied around her right ankle was a piece of rope with which she noisily dragged a small foot stool behind her on the ground. At the front of the room were three other women arguing about their singing and dancing abilities, in preparation for a “spectacle”.

Thus began the 30 minute original drama on domestic violence and its consequences performed by the theatre team of the feminist women’s collective 8 de marzo that I attended last week. Theatre is one of the many strategies the collective uses to raise awareness about issues facing women in Nicaragua, including domestic violence, sexual and reproductive rights, and active citizenship. 8 de Marzo has been working for over 15 years in the highly industrial, infrastructurally precarious, and environmentally contaminated eastern sector of the city. This summer I am getting to know the women of this collective and participating in their activities as the first stage of what I hope will become a long-term ethnographic project examining how women in marginalized communities overcome situations of interpersonal violence and assume activist or leadership roles in their neighborhoods. This is a question with ongoing relevance, give the escalating violence against women in the region over the last decade (Carey and Torres 2010; Wilding 2010; El Nuevo Diario 2011).

“I’m not going to put up with your violence. I am not alone.”

The question of women’s empowerment has gained prominence in recent years in response to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG #3) and the rise of microenterprise and microcredit, both of which are frequently directed at women in developing countries. Although economic independence is widely acknowledged as a key component of women’s empowerment, my research is focused on other dimensions of these processes—particularly how local context, gender power relations, and class interact in the formation of women’s subjectivities and their modes of collective action.

The 8 de marzo collective has a small office on the east side of the city, where I’ve spent most of my time for the last week or so. Their house simultaneously serves as a meeting place, a haven for help and resources, a training space, and a place to share tortillas, queso, and frijoles amidst lively banter around a crowded counter top at lunchtime. I feel honored that I’ve been offered a seat at this counter amongst women who have been struggling so long on behalf of themselves and their compañeras. I’ll never forget the day we met—after I introduced myself, two women turned to each other and said wistfully “can you imagine…a doctorate!” Embarrassed, I quickly replied that titles mean very little and their knowledge and experience is already quite vast.

I’m the one who still has much to learn.

Carey Jr., David and M. Gabriela Torres. 2010. “Precursors to Femicide.” Latin American Research Review 45, 3: 142-164.

El Nuevo Diario. “ONG: 90% de las mujeres en América Latina han sufrido violencia.” 18 June 2011. Web.

Wilding, Polly. 2010. “‘New Violence’: Silencing Women’s Experiences in the Favelas of Brazil.” Journal of Latin American Studies 42, 4: 719-747.

ASA 2012, Aug 17-20: “Real Utopias”–UT SOC Presenters and Participants

“Real Utopias”

American Sociological Association 2012 Annual Meeting

August 17-20   ·   Denver, CO

Colorado Convention Center & Hyatt Regency

~ The University of Texas at Austin Program ~

Fri 8/17     Sat 8/18     Sun 8/19     Mon 8/20

Friday, August 17

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Jacqueline L. Angel
Section on Aging and the Life Course Invited Session. What’s In a Name? Perspectives on the Sociology of Age, Aging, and the Life Course
Unit: Section Invited
Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Panelist

Travis Beaver
Table 14. Culture, Politics, and Collective Action
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Culture / Section on Sociology of Culture Roundtables
Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Presenter: Roller Derby Revolution: Sport as a Social Movement

Mounira Maya Charrad
Contemporary Sociology Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant

Robert Crosnoe
Section on Children and Youth Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 3:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Carmen Marie Gutierrez
Table 02. Incarceration, Parole, and Treatment Interventions
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Crime, Law and Deviance / Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Dually Deviant: A Weberian and Durkheimian Perspective on the Reproductive Rights of Incarcerated Women

Mark D. Hayward
Section on Aging and the Life Course Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 3:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Nicolette Denise Manglos
Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Paper Session. Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity: Envisioning Utopias
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity / Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity: Envisioning Utopias
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Haitian and Ghanaian Liturgy and Prayer as Constitutive-ends Practices

Michael Jason McFarland
Section on Aging and the Life Course Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 3:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Megan Tobias Neely
Table 09. Employment and Gender
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Global and Transnational Sociology / Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: Women Political Executives on Women’s Rights: A Shifting Framework

Pamela Jane Neumann
Regular Session. Development and Gender
Unit: Development and Gender
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Empowerment Paradox: Volunteer Mothering as Community Participation in Nicaragua

Evangeleen Pattison
Regular Session. Inequalities in College Access and Completion
Unit: Higher Education, Sociology of.
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Changes in Ascribed and Achieved Advantage in American Higher Education

Pamela M. Paxton
Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Paper Session. Gender, Globalization, and Transnationalism
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Global and Transnational Sociology / Gender, Globalization, and Transnationalism
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Transnational Women’s Activism and the Global Diffusion of Gender Quotas

Catherine E. Ross
Table 05. Families across the Life Course
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Aging and the Life Course / Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Preferences for Remarriage among the Widowed and Divorced

Sharmila Rudrappa
Contexts Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant
Section on Asia and Asian America Invited Session. Asia and Migration: New Directions in the New Global Economy
Unit: Section Invited
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Gay Dads and Indian Surrogates

Connor Sheehan
Table 19. Drugs and Drug Use
Unit: Open Refereed Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Drug Prevalence Differentials in Violent Deaths

Angela R. Stroud
Table 03. Inequality and Crime
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Crime, Law and Deviance / Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Is Concealed Handgun Licensing Motivated by Fear of Crime?

Debra Umberson
Section on Aging and the Life Course Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 3:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Andres Villarreal
American Sociological Review Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant

Michael P. Young
2013 W.E.B. Dubois Award for Distinguished Scholarship Selection Committee
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant

Alumni

Sinikka Elliott (PhD, 2008)
Regular Session. Food and Agriculture
Unit: Food and Agriculture
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Bringing Sociology to the Table: A Case for a Sociological Approach to the “Obesity Epidemic”

ChangHwan Kim (PhD, 2008)
Section on Methodology Paper Session. Open Topic 1
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Methodology / Open Topic (2 sessions)
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Do Proxy Responders Report Earnings Accurately? Gender and Marital Status Effects of Proxy Responses

Jenny Trinitapoli (PhD, 2009)
Regular Session. Kinship and Pathways of Support
Unit: Family and Kinship
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Sibling Support among Young Adults in Malawi

Sara Yeatman (PhD, 2008)
Regular Session. Kinship and Pathways of Support
Unit: Family and Kinship
Scheduled Time: Fri, Aug 17 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Sibling Support among Young Adults in Malawi

Saturday, August 18

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Lady Anima Adjepong
Table 07. Table 32. Sport and Sport Cultures
Unit: Open Refereed Roundtables
Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter: Play-forms of Association: An Examination of How Women’s Rugby Teams Develop Sociability and Organic Solidarity

Jacqueline L. Angel
Section on Sociology of Population Paper Session. Disciplines and Demography: Finding the Sociology in Population Processes
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Population / Disciplines and Demography: Finding the Sociology in Population Processes
Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter: Contextualizing Financial Strain in the Older Latino Population

Ronald J. Angel
Journal of Health and Social Behavior Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Participant

Julie Anne Beicken
Table 04. Medicine and Health
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Science, Knowledge and Technology / Section on Science, Knowledge and Technology Roundtables
Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 9:30am
Presenter: Scientific Knowledge Production and the Creation of “Feeblemindedness”: A Foucauldian Approach to the Eugenics Movement

Dustin C. Brown
Regular Session. Biosociology/Biosocial Interaction
Unit: Biosociology/Biosocial Interaction
Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter: Does Marriage Lower Biological Risk among Older Adults?

Shannon Cavanagh
Social Psychology Quarterly Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant

Mounira Maya Charrad
Section on Political Sociology Invited Session. Is There a Politics of Law or a Legality of Politics?
Unit: Section Invited
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Panelist

Wenhong Chen
Table 05. Politics
Unit: Open Refereed Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Media Use and Civic Engagement in Western China

Robert Crosnoe
Sociology of Education Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Carlos Diaz-Venegas
Section on Sociology of Population Paper Session. Disciplines and Demography: Finding the Sociology in Population Processes
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Population / Disciplines and Demography: Finding the Sociology in Population Processes
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Contextualizing Financial Strain in the Older Latino Population

Mark D. Hayward
Journal of Health and Social Behavior Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant
Regular Session. Biosociology/Biosocial Interaction
Unit: Biosociology/Biosocial Interaction
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Does Marriage Lower Biological Risk among Older Adults?

Robert A. Hummer
Journal of Health and Social Behavior Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant

Hortencia Jimenez
Section on Latino/a Sociology Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 1:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

David Michael McClendon
Section on Sociology of Population Paper Session. Population, Environment, and Context
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Population / Population, Environment, and Context
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Where It’s Easier Being Blue: The Second Demographic Transition and IVF Utilization in the United States

Michael Jason McFarland
Regular Session. Biosociology/Biosocial Interaction
Unit: Biosociology/Biosocial Interaction
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Does Marriage Lower Biological Risk among Older Adults?

Christian Luis Paredes
Section on Human Rights Paper Session. Human Rights of Migrants
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Human Rights / Human Rights of Migrants
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Coercive Immigration Enforcement and Bureaucratic Ideology

Pamela M. Paxton
Regular Session. Cross-National Sociology
Unit: Cross-National Sociology
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Session Organizer

Catherine Riegle-Crumb
Sociology of Education Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Bryan Rees Roberts
Section on Community and Urban Sociology Invited Session. Utopia or Dystopia? Comparing Cities in the Global North/Global South
Unit: Section Invited
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Panelist

Keith D. Robinson
Sociology of Education Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Nestor P. Rodriguez
Section on Human Rights Paper Session. Human Rights of Migrants
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Human Rights / Human Rights of Migrants
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Coercive Immigration Enforcement and Bureaucratic Ideology

Dara Renee Shifrer
Regular Session. Social Psychology
Unit: Social Psychology
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: A Mixed Methods Study of How Socioeconomic Status is Associated with Adolescents’ Sense of Control
Section on Social Psychology Paper Session. Social Psychology and Inequality
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Social Psychology / Open Topic on Social Psychology (2 sessions)
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Regional Differences in Adolescents’ Locus of Control: Social Disadvantage or Cultural Exceptionalism?

Robert Sitko
Regular Session. Consumption and Economic Inequality
Unit: Consumers and Consumption
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Presider

Amanda Jean Stevenson
Table 03. Inequality
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Population / Section on Sociology of Population Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: The Effect of First Interbirth Interval on Women’s Poverty at Midlife

Mary Esther Sullivan
Table 02. Housing and Inequality
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Community and Urban Sociology / Section on Community and Urban Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: Informal Development in Low-income Communities: Housing Conditions and Self-help Strategies in Informal Subdivisions in Texas

April M. Sutton
Section on Social Psychology Paper Session. Social Psychology and Inequality
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Social Psychology / Open Topic on Social Psychology (2 sessions)
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Regional Differences in Adolescents’ Locus of Control: Social Disadvantage or Cultural Exceptionalism?

Margaret Tate
Regular Session. Visual Sociology
Unit: Visual Sociology
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Representing Social Invisibility: Aesthetics of the Ghostly in Rebecca Belmore’s Named and Unnamed

Debra Umberson
Journal of Health and Social Behavior Editorial Board
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant
Professional Development Workshop. ASA Editors Offer Insights and Advice on Writing and Submitting Articles
Unit: Professional Workshop
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Panelist

Christine L. Williams
Regular Session. Consumption and Economic Inequality
Unit: Consumers and Consumption
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Session Organizer

Alumni

ChangHwan Kim (PhD, 2008)
Regular Session. Asians and Asian Americans: Economic and Educational Processes
Unit: Asians and Asian Americans
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Are Asian American Women Advantaged? Labor Market Performances of College Educated Female Workers

Jennifer Karas Montez (PhD, 2011)
Section on Sociology of Population Paper Session. Disciplines and Demography: Finding the Sociology in Population Processes
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Population / Disciplines and Demography: Finding the Sociology in Population Processes
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: How do Parents’ and One’s Own Education Accumulate to Shape Adult Health?

Wei Zhang (PhD, 2008)
Regular Session. Asians and Asian Americans: Economic and Educational Processes
Unit: Asians and Asian Americans
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Discrimination and Psychological Distress among Asian Americans: Exploring the Moderating Effect of Education
Table 02. Mental Health of Asians and Asian Americans
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Mental Health / Section on Sociology of Mental Health Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sat, Aug 18 – 10:30am – 11:30am
Session Submission Role: Table Presider
Presenter on individual submission: English Proficiency and Psychological Distress among Latinos and Asian Americans

Sunday, August 19

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Ellyn Margaret Arevalo
Table 10. Relationships and Sex Among Young Adults
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on the Sociology of the Family / Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Presenter: Relationship Formation Processes Among Emerging Adult Men and Women

Kathleen H. Averett
Section on Sex and Gender Paper Session. Youth and Children Transgressing Gender Boundaries
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sex and Gender / Youth and Children Transgressing Gender Boundaries
Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter: Anxious Publics, Disruptive Bodies: The Case of the Transgender Girl Scout

Sergio Antonio Cabrera
Regular Session. Consumer Citizenship
Unit: Consumers and Consumption
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Session Submission Role: Presider

Ben Carrington
Section on Sex and Gender Invited Session. The State of Masculinities Studies: Current Trends and Future Directions
Unit: Section Invited
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Panelist

Shannon Cavanagh
Section on the Sociology of the Family Paper Session. Family Structure and Children’s Well-being
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on the Sociology of the Family / Family Structure and Children’s Well-Being
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Family Trajectories and School Readiness in the United States and the United Kingdom

Mounira Maya Charrad
Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology Council and Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Participant
Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology Paper Session. Modernity Reconfigured: Post-colonial Theory and Comparative-Historical Sociology
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology / Modernity Reconfigured: Postcolonial Theory and Comparative-Historical Sociology
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Modernity, Islam and Gender: Post-colonial Perspectives

Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez
Policy and Research Workshop. New Ethical Challenges in Qualitative Research (sponsored by the Committee on Professional Ethics)
Unit: Research/Policy Workshop
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Co-Leader

Katherine Christine Jensen
Research Poster Session. Communicating Sociology
Unit / Sub Unit: Poster Presentations / Communicating Sociology
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Lessons from the Spatial Margins in Argentine Memory-making: Sites of Memory in Buenos Aires

Amy C. Lodge
Section on Medical Sociology Paper Session. Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Parenthood and Physical Activity across the Life Course: How do Gender and Race Matter?

Nicolette Denise Manglos
Theory Section Invited Session. Agency or Personhood?
Unit: Section Invited
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Panelist

Catherine McNamee
Table 14. Marriage Values and the Value of Marriage
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on the Sociology of the Family / Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: Race-ethnic Differences at Remarriage and the Role of Pro-nuptial Values

Chandra Muller
Table 03. Cultural and Sociopolitical Representations
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Disability and Society / Section on Disability and Society Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 9:30am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Racial Minorities in High School Disproportionately Labeled with Learning Disabilities

Christian Paredes

Section on International Migration Paper Session. Migrating People, Migrating Culture
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on International Migration / Migrating People, Migrating Culture
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Using Media in Foreign Languages: an Analysis of Cultural Proximity and Cosmopolitanism in Austin, Texas

Pamela M. Paxton
Regular Session. Social Capital, Trust, and Well-being
Unit: Social Capital
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Do Social Connections Create Trust? A Longitudinal Analysis

Mark D. Regnerus
Table 10. Relationships and Sex Among Young Adults
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on the Sociology of the Family / Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Relationship Formation Processes Among Emerging Adult Men and Women

Catherine Riegle-Crumb
Section on Sociology of Education Paper Session. Gender Differences in Education
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Education / Open Topic on Sociology of Education (6 sessions)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Presider

Brandon Andrew Robinson
Table 03. Sexuality, Health, and Meaning-Making
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Sexualities / Section on Sociology of Sexualities Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 9:30am
Presenter on individual submission: In Defense of Barebacking and Sexual Risk Taking: Weberian Perspective on Rationalization, Discipline, and Disenchantment

Dara Renee Shifrer
Section on Medical Sociology Paper Session. The Causes and Consequences Illness-related Stigma
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / The Causes and Consequences Illness-related Stigma
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Stigma of a Label: Educational Expectations for High School Students Labeled with a Learning Disability
Table 03. Cultural and Sociopolitical Representations
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Disability and Society / Section on Disability and Society Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 9:30am
Presenter on individual submission: Racial Minorities in High School Disproportionately Labeled with Learning Disabilities

Katie Sobering
Table 15. Service Work
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work / Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: From Worker to Worker-owner: A New Theater of Service Work

Emily Jane Spangenberg
Table 13. Resource Use, Governance, and Social Inequality
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Environment and Technology / Section on Environment and Technology Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: The “Sick Poor” and the “Healthy Professional”: Environmental Health Discourse in Abra Pampa, Argentina

April M. Sutton
Section on Sociology of Education Paper Session. Gender Differences in Education
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Education / Open Topic on Sociology of Education (6 sessions)
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Gender Differences in Postsecondary Matriculation: Rurality, the Local Labor Economy, and Gender Role Socialization

Debra Umberson
Section on Medical Sociology Paper Session. Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Alcohol Use: A Mixed-methods Study

Christine L. Williams
Author Meets Critics Session. Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World (Oxford University Press, 2011) by Cecilia Ridgeway
Unit: Author Meets Critics
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Critic
Regular Session. Consumer Citizenship
Unit: Consumers and Consumption
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 4:30pm – 6:10pm
Session Submission Role: Session Organizer

Amina Zarrugh
Table 15. Politics and Civic Engagement
Unit: Open Refereed Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Table Presider
Presenter on individual submission: Participant Propriety: A Case for the Study of the Body in Social Movement Organizations

Alumni

Nicole Angotti (PhD, 2010)
Regular Session. Social Dimensions of AIDS
Unit: AIDS, Social Dimensions of
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Struggle Against AIDS as Discursive Object: Institutionalization and the Rise of Bio-medicine in Malawi 1999-2009

Anna Strassmann Mueller (PhD, 2011)
Section on Medical Sociology Paper Session. Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Are Suicidal Behaviors Contagious in Adolescence? Understanding the Role of Selection in Suicide Imitation

Corinne Reczek (PhD, 2011)
Section on Medical Sociology Paper Session. Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Social Networks, Social Support, and Health Across the Life Span
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Alcohol Use: A Mixed-methods Study

Sara Yeatman (PhD, 2008)
Regular Session. Social Dimensions of AIDS
Unit: AIDS, Social Dimensions of
Scheduled Time: Sun, Aug 19 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Struggle Against AIDS as Discursive Object: Institutionalization and the Rise of Bio-medicine in Malawi 1999-2009

Monday, August 20

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Julie Anne Beicken
Section on Sociology of Education Paper Session. Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity in Education: Social Psychological Mechanisms
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Education / Open Topic on Sociology of Education
Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter, Winners and Losers: Teachers’ Perceptions of the Children of Immigrants

Sarah F. Blanchard
Section on Sociology of Education Paper Session. Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity in Education: Social Psychological Mechanisms
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Education / Open Topic on Sociology of Education
Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter, Winners and Losers: Teachers’ Perceptions of the Children of Immigrants

Maryann Bylander
Section on International Migration Paper Session. Transnationalism and Development Issues
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on International Migration / Transnationalism and Development Issues
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Until I Go to Thailand: A Culture of Migration among Rural Cambodian Youth
Table 03. Issues in Migration
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Development / Section on Sociology of Development Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 9:30am
Presenter on individual submission: Migration and the Expansion of Micro-credit in Cambodia

Sergio Antonio Cabrera
Regular Session. Consumer Identities
Unit: Consumers and Consumption
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Presider

Ben Carrington
Regular Session. Cultural Studies
Unit: Cultural Studies
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Roles: Presider, Session Organizer

Mounira Maya Charrad
Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology Paper Session. Revolutions “New” and “Old”
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology / Revolutions “New” and “Old”
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Roles: Presider, Session Organizer

Wenhong Chen
Table 15. Stress, Coping, Social Status and Health
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Help or Hurt? Unsolicited Job Information and Receivers’ Psychological Distress

Robert Crosnoe
Section on Sociology of Education Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 11:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Molly Dondero
Table 08. Language
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on International Migration / Section on International Migration Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Presenter on individual submission: Language Use at Work and Earnings of Immigrants in the United States

Jeong Ha Hyun
Regular Session. Religion: Conflict and Resolution I
Unit: Religion
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: The Mode of Modern State Power Operations on Religious Minorities: Violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt

Melissa H. Humphries
Table 08. Immigrant Children, Education, and Their Outcomes
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Education / Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 10:30am – 11:30am
Presenter on individual submission: The Political Socialization of Adolescent Children of Immigrants: The Roles of Schooling and Family

Chandra Muller
Regular Session. Gender in Science and Academia
Unit: Gender and Work
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Inequality in Academic Salaries: How Gender Matters in the University
Section on Sociology of Education Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 11:30am – 12:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant
Table 08. Immigrant Children, Education, and Their Outcomes
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Education / Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 10:30am – 11:30am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: The Political Socialization of Adolescent Children of Immigrants: The Roles of Schooling and Family

Kate C. Prickett
Regular Session. Interactions between Work and Family
Unit: Family and Work
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: (Un)Employment and Parental Time Use: Does Education Matter?

Kelly Raley
Regular Session. Gender in Science and Academia
Unit: Gender and Work
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Inequality in Academic Salaries: How Gender Matters in the University

Catherine Riegle-Crumb
Regular Session. Patterns and Consequences of College Sorting
Unit: Higher Education, Sociology of.
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Session Submission Role: Discussant

Sharmila Rudrappa
Table 09. South Asian and Muslim American Identities
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on International Migration / Section on International Migration Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Session Submission Role: Table Presider

Dara Renee Shifrer
Regular Session. Gender in Science and Academia
Unit: Gender and Work
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Inequality in Academic Salaries: How Gender Matters in the University

Ori Swed
Regular Session. Militarization and Governance
Unit: Peace and Conflict
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 10:30am – 12:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: The Arab Spring and the Role of the Military: Coercion and Diffusion through Arms Sales

Mieke Beth Thomeer
Table 08. Racial and Ethnic Relations and Health
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Race and Gender Differences in Nursing Home Admissions and Discharges

M. Christine Wheatley
Regular Session. Political Sociology I: Immigration, Trafficking, and Deportation: The Politics of Voluntary and Involuntary Migration
Unit: Political Sociology
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Removal as Disposal? Deportation and the Value of Non-citizen Life
Section on International Migration Business Meeting
Unit: Meetings
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 1:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Participant

Christine L. Williams
Author Meets Critics Session. Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture (University of California Press, 2009) by Allison J. Pugh
Unit: Author Meets Critics
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Session Submission Role: Critic
Regular Session. Consumer Identities
Unit: Consumers and Consumption
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Session Submission Role: Session Organizer

Alumni

Erin R. Hamilton (PhD, 2008)
Table 03. Issues in Migration
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Sociology of Development / Section on Sociology of Development Roundtables (one-hour)
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 9:30am
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Migration and the Expansion of Micro-credit in Cambodia

Ryan Kelly Masters (PhD, 2011)
Regular Session. Mortality
Unit: Mortality
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Temporal Changes in Socio-economic Gradients of “Preventable” Mortality: A Test of Fundamental Cause Theory

Jennifer Karas Montez (PhD, 2011)
Regular Session. Health Policy
Unit: Health Policy
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 12:30pm – 2:10pm
Non-Presenter on individual submission: Socio-economic Inequalities in Health Among Older Adults: Implications for the Retirement Age Debate

Anna Strassmann Mueller (PhD, 2011)
Regular Session. Gender in Science and Academia
Unit: Gender and Work
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 2:30pm – 4:10pm
Presenter on individual submission: Inequality in Academic Salaries: How Gender Matters in the University

Hyeyoung Woo (PhD, 2008)
Table 15. Stress, Coping, Social Status and Health
Unit / Sub Unit: Section on Medical Sociology / Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
Scheduled Time: Mon, Aug 20 – 8:30am – 10:10am
Presenter on individual submission: Predictive Strength of Self-rated Health on Mortality Risk Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

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2012 UT Austin Sociology graduates ready to change the world

It is always poignant to say goodbye to our good friends at graduation, but we are very happy to celebrate their success.  Special thanks to Dr. Chris Pieper for his reflections on his time at UT – placements included in the photo details below.

I have taught at three universities since becoming a doctoral candidate at Texas in 2007 — Southwestern University, the College of William and Mary, and Baylor University. At each one, I found that my UT training had prepared me well for nearly every kind of classroom, intellectual, and departmental challenge. Many of these lessons were learned from my UT classmates through countless hours of conversation and bonding outside of the classroom. The great Gideon Sjoberg told me when I started the program in 2004 that this would be the case, and, of course, he was right, though I was skeptical at first. The importance of close relationships with fellow students cannot be overstressed, and UT is peerless in cultivating a climate that makes this possible and easy.

There have been innumerable occasions post-UT when I’ve realized that something good I just did in class or said to a student or wrote came directly from an experience in the department. I was too busy to appreciate these gifts at the time, sadly, but like many things in life, they become more obvious with time and perspective. For me, so many of these blessings came through involvement in “Power, History, and Society” — the affinity group for political sociology and comparative/historical students. Leadership and involvement in PHS gave me preview of what being a departmental citizen is like: building an academic community through service and love of knowledge. I hope this tradition is continued in the department in a variety of forms.

I miss Austin constantly, but it is now only 95 miles away — a distant but familiar companion I can always return to. Austin is like a family member now; I can’t imagine ever living too long or too far from it. But her memories and embrace are with me no matter where I go. Just like UT and the amazing sociology department I was fortunate enough to be part of for 7 years.