Dr. Joel Best to Speak on Campus Tuesday October 29th

 

     Dr. Joel Best, Professor and Chair of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, will give a lecture October 29th at 7:00 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall located in the BAS. The presentation is entitled “Damned Lies and Statistics: Sorting Out Good and Bad Numbers about Social Problems.”

 

     Primarily, Dr. Best’s research interests include deviance and social problems, with a recent focus on institutional fads (e.g. fads in science, business, education, etc.).The title, taken from his book Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists, has received acclaim from both academics and lay-persons alike.

     In the popular press, the book has garnered comments such as:

 

“[It] ought to be required reading in every newsroom in the country.” (Washington Times)

“[It] deserves a place next to the dictionary on every school, media, and home-office desk.” (Boston Globe editorial)

   

This lecture is free and open to the public and all interested parties are encouraged to attend. 

 

Larry Brown to Speak on the Christian Identity Movement

 

 
 
 “Christian Israel: A White Nationalist Landscape of Hate” will be presented by Larry Brown, Assistant professor of Geography at the University of Missouri—Columbia.

The presentation, scheduled for Monday, October

 
 
28th at 6:30 p.m., will be held at the MTSU Foundation House. Professor Brown’s research interests include white supremacy movements, geography of religion, qualitative geographical research methodologies, and political movements in Latin America.

     Please arrive early and join the GSSA for hors d’oeuvres at the Foundation House as we welcome Professor Brown prior to his lecture.

 

Current Graduate Student and Faculty Research in the Department

 

Sociology graduate students and faculty are currently involved in a multitude of research projects. The following highlights research projects currently underway in the department as reported by various faculty members and graduate students:

Dr. Kevin Breault and Cindy Trail are in the process of writing a chapter entitled “Teen Pregnancy, Drug Use, and Violent Criminality” for inclusion in a forthcoming encyclopedia on issues pertaining to adolescents as well as a book examining trends in violent crime  across nations. 

Dr. Jackie Eller and Terri Terrell are collaborating on an article which addresses the (little researched) concept of “calling out” as a form of remedial work done when inappropriate behavior is called into question. Calling out re-establishes common, shared meaning in interaction and maintains social order.  

Professor Faye Johnson is working on the GEAR-Up grant (oriented toward creating college success paths for future first generation college students) and with the Family Centered Community Building course. 

Dr. Brandon Wallace is currently working on a paper investigating the relationship between nursing home characteristics (size, ownership, etc.), staffing levels, and quality of care. Carmen Martinez contributed to an earlier version of the paper presented at the Southern Gerontological Society meetings in Orlando in May.

Dustin Brown, in collaboration with Dr. Ed Kick and Professor Ben Austin, is working on research that attempts to link the work of Charles Horton Cooley with that of other theorists/writers across various disciplines and periods of time. Furthermore, he is currently devising a community relations survey commissioned by the campus police department.

Additional works in progress  include Randall Adams's paper on teen identification and support groups, Jill Bethune's paper, "Welfare Reform: Time Limits and Accomplishments," and Nola du Toit's look into identity salience among immigrant groups.

 

GSSA To Go Bowling in November

 

     The next GSSA meeting will be held at the Murfreesboro bowling alley. Typically, the meetings are held at an area restaurant (usually Faces). However, GSSA officers, in consultation ith several members, thought that conducting the meeting at the bowling alley would be a welcomed change of pace.

The meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 7th. and all those who are interested are encouraged to attend. As this event draws closer, more specific information (times, approximate costs, etc.) will be made available.

 

Students and Faculty Attend the 28th Annual MSSA Conference

The 28th annual meeting of  the Mid-South Sociological Association (MSSA) was held over Fall Break (October 16-19) in Memphis , TN. Several MTSU graduate students, alongside two undergraduate students, and faculty members attended this year’s conference.

Three MTSU students—one graduate and two undergraduate—presented their work at the conference. Andrea Eller, an undergraduate sociology student, and Dr. Jackie Eller presented their paper entitled, “Hurting as Ritual: A Qualitative Analysis of Women Self-Cutters.” Debbie Lehew, a graduate student in sociology, presented a paper on “Women’s Participation in the Trucking Industry.” Jessica Smith, an undergraduate social work student, presented a poster on “The Culture of Asian Gangs.” Sociology graduate student Terri Terrell and Dr. Jackie Eller participated in a panel discussion entitled “Doing Applied Sociology through Club Involvement.”

Lastly, congratulations are extended to Dr. Jackie Eller for her election to the presidency of the MSSA in 2002-2003.

 

Various Sociological Resources on the Web

 

·        http://www.alternet.org/

Alternative Press website.

·        http://www.mcmaster.ca/socscidocs/w3virtsoclib/journals.htm

List of sociology e-journals.

·        http://sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/sociol.html

The Social Science Information Gateway.

·         http://www.ndacan.cornell.edu/

The National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect. Site maintained by the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University.

·        http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/timeline.html

Ed Stephan’s Timeline of Sociology. Traces the roots of sociological knowledge from 1600 to 1995.

·        http://www.digeratiweb.com/sociorealm

The Sociorealm. Contains many useful links to theoretical sites and datasets useful to sociologists.

 

Undergraduates Help Raise Funds for Domestic Violence Program

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 The 2002 United Way Holiday Benefit Sale at Hechts will receive sponsorship from the MTSU Undergraduate Sociology Club this year.

Tickets will be available through members of the club at two locations in Rutherford county. Tickets will be sold on campus at the KUC Knoll on

 
 
 October 21st—23rd from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Friday October 25th, tickets will also be available in front of the Wal-Mart on 231 North from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

All proceeds from both ticket sales will support the Rutherford County Domestic Violence Program. Please support the Undergraduate Sociology Club in their effort to  raise funds for this worthwhile cause.