Sociology Newsletter
Fall 2009
Soc Alumnus Donates $1,000 to Sociology Department
Sociology Outside the Classroom
Soc Alumnus donates $1,000 to Sociology Department
The Sociology department recently received $1,000 from an alumnus, Steve Nelson, Ph.D, class of 1970. Steve is director of the Planning and Service Coordination Office at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). He recently received his employee service award for 35 years of service to the Pacific Northwest as well as national educators and education. As part of that recognition, Steve was asked how he would like NWREL to recognize his outstanding service. He stated that as an alumnus of Western, he wanted a designated gift sent to support the work of Western's Sociology Department.
Sociology Honors Society: Applications Due February 19
The Sociology department here at Western houses a chapter of the International Sociology Honors Society. We initiate juniors and seniors who apply and meet the qualifications every May during scholars’ week. It’s a lifetime membership for a one-time fee of $40, but no annual dues. (The Soc department has set aside some limited funds to defray the cost for a few students.) The deadline for applying this year is February 19, 2010. See the National AKD website to find out more about it. Applications are available from Linda Clark, Academic Advisor, Sociology Department.
Sociology Outside the Classroom
Consider doing an internship this academic year!
Kenny McMillion remained in his internship during the summer. "An internship is an excellent way to gain some familiarity in the field of your interest. It is also a wonderful opportunity to add to your resume when it is time for you to apply for graduate schools or when you are searching for a job. My internship was at the Whatcom County Drug Court where I was able to help people search for different alternatives. My experience can be related to the story of Hansel and Gretel. Hansel told Gretel “let us drop these bread crumbs so we can find our way home.” Once a person is lost, they have two choices. They can find the person they used to be or lose that person completely. During my internship, I was able to help those to find the person(s) they used to be and lose the person(s) they became."
Grace Kim, 2008-2009 Outstanding Graduate in Sociology earned prestigious spots with the Norm Mineta Internship Immersion Program and the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Program. She also held two research assistant positions at Western: one analyzing U.S.-Canada trade, and the other co-authoring a book chapter on family demography.
Anne Riordan gained valuable experience outside the classroom, in her Sociology of Social Stratification class. "I spent 30 hours at the local Boys and Girls Club. While hanging out with the participants, I talked to them about their experiences in school. This experience connected to our classroom learning about educational inequality and the impact of social class on students’ learning experiences. At the Boys and Girls Club, I saw the stratification first-hand, and this became not only the topic of my term paper, but also inspired me to take action. I applied for Teach for America and will be teaching in a low income community this upcoming year.”
Colin Watrin, Sociology major and 2009-2010 Associated Students VP for Diversity, shares how the sociology department has allowed him to explore social justice issues outside of the classroom, “My work with the Sociology department has led me to join several on campus clubs (Western Men Against Violence, and Queers and Allies for Activism) which are working with issues of social equality and awareness of social issues. I have grown immensely outside of the classroom from joining these groups and engaging in weekly dialogue with my fellow students about important social issues.”
Student-Faculty Projects
Karen Bradley and John Richardson presented a paper at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco in August on how ideas associated intelligence change over time within the discipline of educational psychology. The dataset for their research was compiled by advanced undergraduate students in the 461 capstone seminar (Advanced Sociology of Education) taught by Dr. Bradley over the course of two years. They coded educational psychology textbooks from the early 1900s until the present. Amanda Turner, a recent graduate of the department (and last year’s outstanding senior), has continued to work with Dr. Bradley and Dr. Richardson on this project.
Ronald Helms and Nick Johnson, a student here at WWU, have submitted a research manuscript for peer review at Security Journal, titled "Cyber-Terror, Cyber-Crime, and Global Cyber-Threat Analysis: A Literature Review and Discussion." Ronald Helms will also be presenting that paper at the annual meetings of the Western Association of Criminal Justice in October, 2009.
With two students, Mira Whyman and Megan Lemmon, Jay Teachman published an article titled "Active-Duty Military Service in the United States: Cohabiting Unions and the Transition to Marriage" in the journal Demographic Research.
Professor Tsunokai and his research assistant, Allison McGrath (BA, Spring 2010) have recently submitted their manuscript entitled, “Baby Boomers and Beyond: Crossing Racial Boundaries in Search for Love” to Social Science Quarterly for publication considerations. Using data from one of the largest matchmaking websites, Match.com, Dr. Tsunokai and Allison investigated interracial dating preferences between black and white daters over the age of 45. They found that older African Americans were more likely to cross the color line when seeking a potential mate compared to their white counterparts.
Professor Tsunokai and Allison are in the process of completing their second manuscript that examines age dating preferences among individuals from different birth cohorts. In November, Allison will be presenting some of their preliminary findings at the annual California Sociological Association Meetings in Berkeley, California.Faculty Updates
Kristin Anderson published a study examining whether Johnson's Intimate Terrorism/ Situational Couple Violence Typology is more effective than other approaches to explain negative outcomes of violence for victims. The study, entitled "Is Partner Violence Worse in the Context of Control?," appeared in the December 2008 issue of Journal of Marriage and Family. She found mixed results for the effectiveness of the typology and the findings suggest several limitations of using typologies in domestic violence research. She was also invited to give a panel presentation on "Laying the Research Foundation: What is the Academic Debate about Domestic Violence Typologies and Why Is It Important to Practitioners?" at a conference for domestic violence and healthy marriage program practitioners in Warrenton, Virginia in April of 2009.
This summer Jen Lois traveled to San Francisco to present some of her research on homeschooling mothers at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association. Her paper, "'Time for Me Later': Losing the Self and Savoring the Mother Role," looks at how homeschooling mothers willingly put their own lives on hold for prolonged periods by managing their perceptions of time and motherhood.
Jen Lois was granted professional leave for the 2009-10 academic year to write a book on homeschooling mothers. Savoring Motherhood: How Homeschoolers Manage Emotions, Time, and Self will be published in 2011 by New York University Press.
Jay Teachman and Lucky Tedrow were awarded a new grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work investigating the consequences of military service for young men. In this latest grant, they will be examining the health consequences of military service.
Jay Teachman was elected chair of the family section of the American Sociological Association.
Alumni News
Heath Hoffmann (1995) completed his graduate work in sociology at the University of Georgia, finishing his MA in 2000 and Ph.D. in 2002. In 2003, he began his first and only tenure track position at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. He was just tenured last spring and is now an associate professor at the College of Charleston. His research interests revolve around crime, alcohol and drug use and prison and prisoners. See Heath Hoffman's college web page.
Aaron Joy (B.A. sociology 2001) spent much of his college years working as a history author of Whatcom County, becoming for a time it's "official" parks historian. Followinggraduation he spent a year in Budapest, Hungary and 3 years in Osaka, Japan teaching English to Japanese kindergarteners. Returning to Bellingham he unexpectantly found himself working for Socialdata, Inc. supervising a survey/research team studying traffic patterns in Bellingham for the Mayor's Office with the goal of not just presenting to the City Council the mobility patterns of Bellingham residents but also encouraging environmentally friendly changes. After years of work it was a pleasure to say he'd finally found a job that completely utilized degree, particularly his demography classes which had always been his favorite. When the research project came to a close Aaron resettled to Manhattan where he worked as the administrative assistant to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Marymount Manhattan University. With this job he saw the insides of a college community like never before realizing both the assets of a college education and the regrets of not taking advantages of opportunities as an undergrad. In 2009 he opened up his own business in 2009 - RomanMidnight Music - a record label/publisher, deciding to make his life long hobby ofmusic his career. In October 2009 the company will release it's first album, the debut of Juilliard trained 30 year cocktail pianist Albert Aprigliano.
Cecelia Stevens is currently the Volunteer Services Coordinator for Puget Sound Blood Center. She covers the whole Olympic Peninsula. She supervises over 250 active volunteers on mobiles and in the center at Silverdale. She gives presentations to many different groups, hosts workshops for training, and travels from Port Orchard, North Mason as far as Neah Bay and Forks. Cecelia works with individuals on Vocational rehab and individuals with disabilities. She has interns from college and students from high schools looking for community services hours. She is also required to do statistical analysis for monthly reports and annually they do a Territory Analysis This requires graphs, tables and all kinds of (sociology learned ----statistical data). Cecelia says "little did I know this would encompass a major part of my position. So, you tell your students to buckle down and do that stats. But, of course – I use all the other wonderful class information I learned from all of you wonderful teachers."
Graduation Procedures
Deadlines for graduation applications:
- Spring 2010 graduation - December 4, 2009
- Summer 2010 graduation - March 12, 2010
To apply for graduation, make an appointment with Linda Clark for a Major/Minor Evaluation. An appointment schedule is posted outside her door-AH 513; or email to set up a time (please provide your open days and times).
Get a Degree Application from the Registrar's Office. Submit your Degree Application to the Registrar's Office, along with your major/minor evaluation.
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