Fall 2024 Highlights

 
  • PAA President-Elect Marcy Carlson
  • Jessica Calarco presents research from Holding It Together to legislators in Washington, D.C.
  • Engaging Erik Olin Wright
  • Welcome Maria-Fátima Santos
  • Alum Loka Ashwood wins MacArthur Genius Award
  • First Year Interest Groups
  • Alum Liz Lefkofsky wins Luminary Award from WFAA
  • Pets of Sociology Halloween costume contest
Decency. Excellence. Diversity.

PAA President-Elect Marcy Carlson

Congratulations to Marcy Carlson, the President-Elect of the Population Association of America (PAA) beginning January 1, 2025! Marcy is Sewell-Bascom Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Graduate Education at UW-Madison. Marcy formerly served as the Vice President of the PAA in 2021.
Alberto Palloni and Larry Bumpass have each served as PAA President while UW Sociology faculty, in 2006 and 1990, respectively.

Several others served as PAA President after working as faculty at UW Sociology, including Judith A. Seltzer (2016), Robert Mare (2010), Sara McLanahan (2004), Marta Tienda (2002), and Karen O. Mason (1997). Norman B. Ryder, PAA President from 1972-73, established our Center for Demography and Ecology during his tenure at UW Sociology from 1956 to 1971.

In addition, many former PAA Presidents earned their PhD at UW Sociology, including Wendy Manning (PhD 1992, President 2018), Daniel Lichter (PhD 1981, President in 2012), Charles Hirschman (PhD 1972, President 2005), Paul C. Glick (PhD 1938, President 1966-67), Harold F. Dorn (PhD 1933, President 1957-58), and Henry S. Shryock, Jr. (PhD 1937, President 1955-56).

Jessica Calarco Presents Research from Holding It Together to Legislators in Washington, D.C.


Jessica Calarco was invited to the U.S. Capitol to present research from her new book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America's Safety Net, at a dinner hosted by the House Democratic Caucus and the Democratic Women's Caucus. The event also featured a presentation from Molly Murphy, a pollster and President of Impact Research, along with a Q&A discussion with the Representatives and their staff. Jessica says, "The Representatives and staff in attendance were really engaged and asked terrific questions - it was great to see so much appreciation for what Sociology can bring to conversations about policy!"

Engaging Erik Olin Wright

Engaging Erik Olin Wright: Between Class Analysis and Real Utopias, with essays engaging Erik’s work by a group of Erik’s former students, colleagues, and friends, is now available from Verso Press. Gay Seidman and Michael Burawoy edited the volume.

When the renowned social scientist Erik Olin Wright passed away in 2019, he left behind an unfinished project intended to forge a connection between class analysis and real utopias. In taking up this project, the essays in this volume pay tribute to his generative theory, crystalline thinking, inspirational teaching, and personal generosity.

The volume will be the subject of a panel at next year’s ASA meeting in Chicago, with the hope that many of our alumni who engaged with Erik will join that conversation.

Welcome, Maria-Fátima Santos!

Maria-Fátima Santos has joined our department as an Anna Julia Cooper postdoctoral fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year. Next fall, she will join our faculty as an Assistant Professor of Sociology. Fátima's work encompasses social theory, political sociology, law, punishment and inequality, race and ethnicity, and work.

First Year Interest Groups

First Year Interest Groups (FIGs) are cohorts of twenty first year UW-Madison students who share a common academic interest and take (usually) three fall classes together as a group. More than 60 different FIGs are offered on a wide range of subjects. Each FIG is anchored by a small enrollment seminar that is only open to incoming freshmen who take this class and the other courses in the FIG together as a cohort.

This fall, two Sociology professors are leading FIGs. In Big Data and Society, Fabien Accominotti invites students to examine a range of timely questions about technologies like AI and algorithm-based sorting and their impact on many facets of social life. Meanwhile, in Children and Youth in a Changing World, Jessica Calarco and students examine how the meaning of childhood has varied over time and across cultures, and how children’s experiences vary across different social groups.

Alum Loka Ashwood Wins MacArthur Genius Award

Loka Ashwood earned her PhD in Sociology in 2015. Less than a decade later, the MacArthur Foundation has named her a Fellow in the Class of 2024. Her work develops action-centered methodologies that help frontline communities overcome environmental injustices and strengthen democracy. Congratulations, Loka!

Loka joined with four co-authors to write Empty Fields, Empty Promises: A State-by-State Guide to Transforming and Understanding the Right to Farm.

Alum Liz Lefkofsky Wins Luminary Award from WFAA

When Liz Lefkofsky earned her BA in Sociology in 1991, she couldn’t have imagined where she would be today. As President of the Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Liz received the Luminary Award from Wisconsin Alumni Association. This award recognizes alumni who serve as aspirational examples for others through their accomplishments in the areas of leadership, discovery, progress, and service. Liz is a leading social philanthropist committed to championing initiatives that enhance the quality of human life. Congratulations, Liz!

Pets of Sociology Halloween costume contest

The second annual Pets of Sociology Halloween costume contest just concluded. This year's winner is May May, dressed as a lion!

Members of the Sociology department staff, faculty, and students coaxed their pets into various costumes and convinced them to pose for photos. Pet costume enthusiasts flocked to our Instagram account to vote in the Stories feature. For more Pets of Sociology content, in addition to other updates about our department, follow @uw_soc on Instagram!
This newsletter was created by Erin Skarivoda and Tina Hunter.

            

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