Sociology Commons^™

Living With Students: Lessons Learned While Pursuing Tenure, Administration, And Raising A Family, Michael Humphrey, Janet Callahan, Geoff Harrison

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This case study is centered on two faculty-in-residence: one pursuing tenure and raising a young child while living in the residence halls and one an established professor and associate dean raising two teens while living in the residence halls. This case study offers two unique perspectives of faculty-in-residence at various stages in their career, living in residence with their students, working closely with students outside a typical classroom, all while managing professional and familial obligations.

Attractor-Based Obstructions To Growth In Homogeneous Cyclic Boolean Automata, Bilal Khan, Yuri Cantor, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We consider a synchronous Boolean organism consisting of N cells arranged in a circle, where each cell initially takes on an independently chosen Boolean value. During the lifetime of the organism, each cell updates its own value by responding to the presence (or absence) of diversity amongst its two neighbours’ values. We show that if all cells eventually take a value of 0 (irrespective of their initial values) then the organism necessarily has a cell count that is a power of 2. In addition, the converse is also proved: if the number of cells in the organism is a proper …

Slavery Reparations, Kristen Gatens

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (Class of 2019)

As part of the English 101.003 Writing Seminar taught by Dr. Anne Porter in Fall 2015 at Providence College, this essay was written in response to an assignment to articulate a central question about slavery reparations. The essay explores the question from various angles and makes reference to Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel, “The Case for Reparations” from The Atlantic (June 2014) by Ta-Nehisi Coates, as well as at least one additional, scholarly source. The essay is written for college-age readers, who are interested in the issue and asking the same questions.

Abstract: In …

Forty Acres And Unfulfilled Promises, Julia Rizza

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (Class of 2019)

As part of the English 101.003 Writing Seminar taught by Dr. Anne Porter in Fall 2015 at Providence College, this essay was written in response to an assignment to articulate a central question about slavery reparations. The essay explores the question from various angles and makes reference to Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel, “The Case for Reparations” from The Atlantic (June 2014) by Ta-Nehisi Coates, as well as at least one additional, scholarly source. The essay is written for college-age readers, who are interested in the issue and asking the same questions.

Abstract: In …

Drowning In White Whine, Melissa J. Lauro

SURGE

“What are some examples of white privilege?” my professor asked.

I felt an audible tension in the class as this was asked. This is a tricky subject, especially when you’re talking to a class full of mostly white, privileged people (myself included). [excerpt]

Trend Or Transition: A Report On Interdisciplinary Work In The 2013-2014 Academic Job Market For The Humanities And Social Sciences, Michael Aiuvalasit, Carson Davis, Ángel Gallardo, Bingchen Liu, Tim Mcgee, Meghan Wadle

Graduate Fellow Publications

Academics are increasingly encouraged to devote themselves to interdisciplinary scholarship, but does being interdisciplinary help you get a job? What do hiring committees really mean when they say they desire a candidate with “interdisciplinary experience”? To investigate these questions the 2014-2015 Graduate Fellows at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies undertook a content analysis of academic job announcements using the term “interdisciplinary”. We analyzed 200 job listings for tenure-track positions at the Assistant Professor level in the social sciences and humanities, using job listings from the website H-Net posted during the 2013-2014 hiring cycles. The demands for interdisciplinarity …

From The Editor, Jeffrey Smith

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

Engaging Older Adults To Build Social Capital, Beverly K. Lunsford, Danielle Janes

Nursing Faculty Publications

Countries are considering the healthcare implications as the proportion of older adults increases, including rising healthcare costs and resources needed as more adults want to "age in place" or continue living in the community. More in home resources and support services will be needed for older adults to continue living independently at homes. Older adults are an incredibly untapped resource with a continuing need to contribute to society and a willingness to help others. Older adults are working longer than ever before, so they have the potential to build their own social capital for meeting the needs of aging colleagues. …

“In Defense Of The Faith: The Catholic Response To Anti-Catholicism In Early Nineteenth-Century St. Louis”, Sarah Hinds

The Confluence (2009-2020)

One side effect of the Second Great Awakening was a rise in anti- Catholic sentiment, especially as new Catholic immigrants arrived in the 1840s. While much is written on this nativism, little examines the Church’s response. Sarah Hinds uses St. Louis as a case study for understanding the nature of antebellum nativism and the Church’s responses.

“There’S Still That Window That’S Open”: The Problem With “Grit”, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement’s fascination with “grit,” the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a 20-year-old African American seeking his High School Equivalency diploma, this case study explores linkages among dominant discourses on meritocracy, opportunity, personal responsibility, and group blame. Specifically, exposition of the figured worlds present in Elijah’s narratives points to the attempted obfuscation of social inequities present in the current educational reform movement and our …

Outgroup Prejudice From An Evolutionary Perspective: Survey Evidence From Europe, Serdar Kaya Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This study investigates the root causes of outgroup prejudice. The literature explains prejudice primarily as a result of the perception of threat or the lack of optimal intergroup contact. The literature also emphasizes that individuals who are prejudiced against one outgroup are more likely to be prejudiced against other outgroups as well. This study does not react to these established theories. Instead, it argues from an evolutionary social psychological perspective that the root cause of outgroup prejudice is an activated sense of distrust and caution. In ancestral environments, higher levels of distrust and caution helped humans better protect themselves and …

Being Muslim, Being Cosmopolitan: Transgressing The Liberal Global, Chad Haines Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

The practices and concepts of Muslim cosmopolitanism are rooted in Islamic ideas, providing the foundations for informal “comings together” that foster new kinds of ethical communities. Muslim cosmopolitanism transgresses global normative aspirations of the liberal West that attempt to impose a singular way of being a global citizen. The informal, ethical communities that are inherent to a Muslim cosmopolitan vision also reject the absolutist visions of Islamists, such as those promoted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which, like Western liberal aspirations, attempt to impose a singular vision of the global. The article traces Muslim cosmopolitan ethics in …

Is Political Evolution Over? An Anthropological Analysis Of The Twentieth Century, Robert Bates Graber Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Why did human societies grow from small bands and villages into highly populous nations and empires? This process, termed political evolution, is explained by one major strand of anthropological theorizing as having resulted from population pressure, warfare, and conquest. War is seen as having been essential because polities do not willingly surrender autonomy. The 20th century apparently brought both an increase in population pressure (the ratio of humans to the available resource base) and a considerable amount of war, but only a modest increase in political evolution as measured by the average population of nations. One interpretation of this is …

Acharya, Amitav. Constructing A Security Community In Southeast Asia: Asean And The Problem Of Regional Order, 3rd Edition, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2014., Allesandro Uras

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Alatas, S. Applying Ibn Khaldun: The Recovery Of A Lost Tradition In Sociology. London And New York: Routledge, 2014., Ahmed Nabil

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Wan, Ming. The China Model And Global Political Economy – Comparison, Impact, And Interaction. New York: Routledge, 2014., Hee-Young Shin Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Ferguson, J. Give A Man A Fish: Reflections On The New Politics Of Distribution. Durham And London: Duke University Press, 2015., A. Peter Castro Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Chang, Gordon H. Fateful Ties: A History Of America’S Preoccupation With China. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2015., Brian Arendt Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Ford, Michele, Lenore Lyons, & Wilem Van Schendel. Labour Migration And Human Trafficking In Southeast Asia: Critical Perspectives. London: Routledge, 2012., Christina Pomianek Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Legg, Stephen. Prostitution And The Ends Of Empire: Scale, Governmentalities, And Interwar India. Durham And London: Duke University Press, 2014., Jessica Namakka Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Khatib, Lina, Dina Matar, & Atef Alshaer. The Hizbullah Phenomenon. Politics And Communication, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014., Aurélie Daher Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Pietz, David A. The Yellow River: The Problem Of Water In Modern China. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 2015., Chris A. Georges

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Dayley, Robert A. & Neher, Clark.D. Southeast Asia In The New International Era, 6th Edition. Boulder: Westview Press, 2013., William Jones, Matthew P. Copeland Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Addressing The Past, Embracing The Future: An Analysis Of How Historic Inequality Has Created Current Obstacles To Learning English In Brazil And A Proposal For A New Community-Based Approach, Aja C. Bryant

MA TESOL Collection

This paper contextualizes current challenges to English learning in Brazil within the educational history of the country. It explores the ways in which language, both native literacy and foreign, has been used to set apart and advantage the elite class, while educational policy and approaches have served to pacify and control the majority. This history has left psychological, cultural, and economic legacies which inhibit learning today. Nevertheless, modern globalization is placing increasing pressure on Brazilians to achieve fluency in English and other languages. This paper briefly outlines the new and complex intellectual and social skills needed to participate in a …

Kingston, J. Critical Issues In Contemporary Japan. New York And London: Routledge, 2014., Douglas M. Miller

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Smith, B.J. And Woodward, M. (Eds.) Gender And Power In Indonesian Islam: Leaders, Feminists, Sufis And Pesantren Selves. New York And London: Routledge, 2013., Andy Scott Chang

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Zang, X. & Kou, Chien-Wen. Elites And Governance In China. New York And London: Routledge, 2013., Yu Xiao Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

"Casting Aside That Ficticious Self.": Deciphering Female Identity In The Awakening 2015, Anne L. Dicosimo

Master's Theses

Kate Chopin’s female protagonists have long since fascinated literary critics, raising serious questions concerning the influence of nineteenth-century female gender roles in her writing. Published in 1899, The Awakening demonstrates the changeability of the various representations of woman. In the nineteenth century, the subject of women may be divided into two categories: the True Woman and the New Woman. The former were expected to “cherish and maintain the four cardinal virtues of piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity” (Khoshnood et al.), while the latter sought to move away from hearth and home in order to focus on education, professions, and political …

“So Much To Learn: Understanding Missouri’S Landscape—The Early Years Of The Missouri Conservation Commission”, Quinta Scott

The Confluence (2009-2020)

In this second article of a two-part series, Quinta Scott examines the impact of Aldo Leopold on the formation of the Missouri Conservation Commission and his role in shaping Missouri’s views on the landscape.

Fall/Winter 2015, Full Issue

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.