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The Department of Sociology & Anthropology combines the study of people and cultures and produces students who are not only aware of the history and significance of humankind but who are also cognizant of how our actions impact the world in which we live.
Congratulations to Jennifer Munnings, 2019 recipient of the Henry H. Stewart scholarship and Jacob Roberson, 2019 James A. Sartain winner!
Faculty Highlights
UR Community Dives into Book about Flint Water Crisis This SummerDr. Rania Sweis discusses her plans to use What the Eyes Don’t See in the classroom in the spring.
Richards Published Dr. Bedelia Richards published a chapter entitled 'Faculty Assessments as Tools of Oppression: A Black Woman's Reflections on (Colorblind) Racism in the Academy'.
Jan French inducted into Omicron Delta KappaDr. Jan French has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. The award recognizes her excellence in teaching and contributions to anthropology in developing future leaders.
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Global Health
Rania Kassab Sweis is an anthropologist whose ethnographic research traces the long term social effects of international aid and global health interventions with vulnerable populations. She can also speak to the ways in which young people in vulnerable populations consume, negotiate, and reconstitute global health care in specific ways.
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French Named Distinguished Educator
Anthropology professor Jan French was named a 2018 University of Richmond Distinguished Educator.
Husain ArticleSociology professor Atiya Husain published "Are Jews white?" in Slate.
Grollman BookSociology professor Eric Grollman recently published the book Counternarratives from Women of Color Academics.
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Grollman Articles
Dr. Eric Grollman published “Sexual Orientation Differences in Whites’ Racial Attitudes,” in Sociological Forum and “Americans’ Gender Attitudes at the Intersection of Sexual Orientation and Gender,” in the Journal of Homosexuality.
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Grollman Article
Dr. Eric Grollman, with Nao Hagiwara, published "Measuring Self-Reported Discrimination: Trends in Question Wording Used in Publicly Accessible Datasets” in Social Currents.
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Sweis Articles and Chapter
Dr. Rania Sweis recently published the article "Security and the Traumatized Street Child: How Gender Shapes International Psychiatric Aid in Cairo" in the journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly; the article "Children as Biological Sufferers: The Paradox of International Medical Aid for Homeless Children in Cairo," in the journal Childhood; and the book chapter titled "Do Muslim Village Girls Need Saving? Critical Reflections on Gender and the Suffering Child in International Aid" in the forthcoming book, The Status of Women and Girls: A Global Perspective (Lexington Books).
Scholarship Repository Readership
The University of Richmond's Scholarship Repository shares faculty publications with a world-wide audience. The map below shows where articles from sociology and anthropology faculty are being read around the globe.
Feature Stories
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Photos from the department's graduation party on Saturday, May 11th.
Congratulations! Dr. Bedelia Richards’ Spider Talk with President Ronald A. Crutcher went live today, May 8. In this interview, Dr. Richards discusses her research, especially its focus on first generation college students and how she includes her students in her research. Her work addresses the implications of the growing diversity of the U.S. Black population and promotes critical thinking about how institutions of higher education can better work for students and faculty from diverse backgrounds and communities. The department is very proud! Congratulations! A link to the video may be found here: https://vimeo.com/321833871.
Farewell and Good Luck to Justine Guan, the department's work study student for 2018-19. Justine majored in Healthcare Studies and Russian and hopes to study for one year in Kazakhstan and then pursue a Master's Degree in Social Work at Hunter College, NYC. We wish her much success!
Dr. Eric Grollman was the keynote speaker at the University of Maryland Baltimore Country’s annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) on April 24. Grollman is a ’07 grad of UMBC and their URCAB experiences were fundamental in propelling them into a successful research career. Below Dr. Grollman is with Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Reception for Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice graduates
Saturday, May 11, 2019 1:30-3:00 pm Weinstein Hall 3rd floor department foyer
Dr. Miguel Centeno of Princeton University was invited by the department on April 18th to speak on the creation of a Research Community at Princeton focused on “Global Systemic Risk.” Centeno is a renowned sociologist who has published widely on conflict and militarization in Latin America and global capitalism.
Last evening, April 17, UMBC’s Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies department hosted a discussion panel on Dr. Eric Grollman’s Counternarratives anthology. Other panelists included: Roxanna Harlow, Patricia Herrera and Archana Pathak – all contributors to the book. Additionally, on April 24, Dr. Grollman will be the keynote speaker at UMBC’s annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD). A magazine article on this event may be found here: https://bit.ly/2UrHqRJ.
Jessica Winkler presented research on Friday, April 12 at the A&S Student Symposium. Her paper, Relocating the Individual in a Refugee Crisis, draws on first-hand field research conducted in Jordan, Nepal, and France. Using the voices of refugees, Winkler explored how international humanitarian organizations act as vehicles of state-border management and border security, and less as entities that successfully integrate refugees in host countries while granting them human "dignity." Jessica's research was advised by Dr. Rania Sweis, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Global Studies.
Also at the symposium, Criminal Justice major, Alicia Jiggetts and Anthropology major, Peyton Carter made presentations. Alicia spoke on "The Criminal (In) Justice System of Virginia" based on her internship with the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Restoration of Rights Division. Peyton's research, "Marketing Disability: Navigating the Ethics of Nonprofit Marketing and Development" centered on her summer internship with Greater Richmond ARC. (now SOAR 365) Here is a summer 2018 newsletter created and written by Peyton for the organization: https://bit.ly/2GolkLS. Both students were mentored by Dr. Jan H. French, Associate Professor Anthropology.
At the 34th Annual A&S Student Symposium on Friday, April 12, Sociology majors Mysia Perry and Jacob Roberson with Leadership major, Ayele D’Almeida presented “UR’s Hidden History, Bringing Light to Marginalized Voices.” Their faculty mentors were Dr. Patricia Herrera and Dr. Bedelia Richards. Jacob also presented a second talk: “The New Age Plantation: The NCAA’s Effect on the Black Student Experience at University.” His faculty mentor for this research was Dr. Atiya Husain.
Below are photos from “Women of Color in the Academy: Mentoring, Leading, Thriving” a panel discussion held at the University of North Texas on Friday, April 12. This was a book event for Dr. Eric Grollman’s Counternarratives anthology. The other panelists who are faculty at UNT
contributed a chapter to the book. A video of the event may be found here: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1yoKMENvEDNKQ
The Sociology and Anthropology Department has invited Dr. Miguel Centeno to speak at the University of Richmond on the creation of a Research Community at Princeton University focused on “Global Systemic Risk.” The talk will take place on Thursday, April 18th at 5:30 in Jepson Hall room 103. Dr. Centeno is a renowned sociologist who has published widely on conflict and militarization in Latin America and global capitalism. He has published many books as author or editor including Democracy within Reason: Technocratic Revolution in Mexico (1997), Blood and Debt: War and State making in Latin America (2002), The Other Mirror: Grand Theory and Latin America, (2000), and Essays in Latin American Military History (2006). His latest books are Global Capitalism (2010), Discrimination in an Unequal World (2010), and War and Society (2016).
Additional photos from the department's Spring celebration, March 29, 2019.
Over twenty anthropology majors/minors were inducted into Lambda Alpha, the Anthropology Honor Society at the March 29th event.
Anthropology capstone graduating seniors received a book prize in their field of interest - presented by Dr. Jan French.
Emily Routman and Jennifer Munnings, newly elected members of Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) Sociology Honor Society with Dr. Yetkin Borlu and Dr. Jeff Hass.
As mentioned in earlier postings, the Sociology and Anthropology department held its Spring Celebration last Thursday, 3/29. The master of ceremonies was our chair, Dr. Miguel Díaz Barriga. Opening the event were two alumnae speakers: Mariah Williams '14 and Gigi DeJoy '15.
Congratulations! Kiara Lee UR alumna class of 2012 and sociology major successfully defended her dissertation on April 3 and will be earning a Ph.D. in education from VCU in May. This great achievement adds to her long list of accomplishments which include being named Style Weekly’s Top 40 under 40 – inspiring young leaders who bring Richmond to Life in 2016, and she is the author of the children’s book “ Be a Man Tyrone: What Happens when Daddy Goes to Prison”, exploring the effects of parental incarceration on children. In the photo below, she is with Dr. Bedelia Richards who served as an external reader on Kiara’s dissertation committee. The department is very proud and we wish Kiara continued success!
Resources
Contact Us
Mailing Address:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
302 Weinstein Hall
231 Richmond Way
University of Richmond, VA 23173
Phone: (804) 289-8067
Fax: (804) 287-1278
Department Chair: Miguel Diaz-Barriga
Administrative Coordinator: Diane Zotti
410 Westhampton Way
University of Richmond, VA 23173
(804) 289-8000
(800) 700-1662