Ph. D. Areas of Study

Sociology Ph. D. students must specialize in one of four Areas of Study and must select another one as their minor area. Our four areas of study — Health & Aging, Inequality & Social Justice, Social Demography, and Social Psychology — are described below, along with a list of illustrative courses offered in each area and a list faculty who teach in each area. The areas are listed in alphabetical order.

NOTE: Students may petition the Director of Graduate Studies (and appropriate graduate faculty committees) to substitute for their minor area a specialization in research methods and/or sociological theory. (See Guide to Graduate Studies in Sociology 2007.)

Health and Aging

The program in Health and Aging allows students to concentrate in one of two related areas or to design a study plan that draws significantly from both.

The Sociology of Mental Health and Substance Use Problems considers the social distributions of psychological distress and disorder, substance abuse, and deviant behavior. It focuses on potentially modifiable social factors relevant to these outcomes. Courses and research mentoring include consideration of stage of life variations in the role and significance of social statuses, social processes and both adverse and confirming life experiences. Much of the training falls within the domain of social epidemiology.

The Aging, Health and Social Policy concentration considers the relationship between such issues as health and labor force participation, health and family relationships, public insurance programs for the elderly, and the causes and conse¬quences of inequality in access to health care over the life course. In addition to these issues, courses will examine more general topics relevant to health and aging including health institu¬tions, social movements for health equality, age norms, family transition, gender and race/ethnic differences in health behaviors, and the consequences of gender and racial inequality for mental health.

Illustrative Courses

(For current listings, contact the Area Committee Chair)

SYD 5136 Life Course Epidemiology
SYD 5137 Fundamentals of Epidemiology
SYO 5416 Stress and Mental Health
SYO 5426 Gender and Mental Health
SYP 5007 Sociology of Emotions
SYP 5735 Sociology of Aging
SYP 5737 Dynamics of Aging and Social Change
SYP 5733 Social Psychology of Aging
SYO 6407 Race, Ethnicity, and Health
SYO 5405 Health Institutions and Social Policy

Health & Aging Faculty

Associate Professor Anne E. Barrett (Duke University 1999) is an associate of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. She works in the areas of medical sociology, marriage and families, gender, and aging and the life course. Her current projects include a quantitative study of the mental health effects of romantic relationships and a qualitative study examining women's experiences with aging.

Assistant Professor Donald A. Lloyd (Toronto 2000) studies cumulative stress in the onset of psychiatric and substance use disorders. His research also includes tracing the consequences of early-onset disorders.

Professor Verna Keith (University of Kentucky 1982) studies how position in the social structure influences social, physical, and emotional well-being, including how race/ethnicity, gender, and class, along with stress, increase the risk of depression. Currently she is investigating the effects of colorism (i.e., the valuing of light over dark skin complexion) and discriminatory experiences on substance use and depressive symptoms. She is also evaluating the social, economic, and psychological impact of Hurricane Katrina on survivors. Dr. Keith is an associate of the Center for Demography and Population Health.

Professor Jill Quadagno (University of Kansas 1976) is Mildred and Claude Pepper Eminent Scholar in Social Gerontology, Professor of Sociology, and past president of the ASA. She has received grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National Science Foundation and been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies.

Associate Professor John R. Reynolds (Ohio State 1997) is an associate of the Claude Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. His research examines cohort changes in adolescents' pathways to adulthood, including an analysis of the rise of unrealistic career expectations among teenagers in the U.S., and a study of gender-related trends in higher education supported by the National Science Foundation. He also works with current and former graduate students on several projects related to the intersection of work and family demands, such as gender differences in the consequences of taking time off work to deal with family needs.

Associate Professor Robin W. Simon (Indiana University 1992) examines gender and other social (e.g., marital and parental) status variations in the experience and expression of emotion and emotional problems among adults in the U.S. and social factors that underlie these variations. She teaches courses on emotion, health, gender, family, and social psychology and currently sits on the Editorial Boards of the American Journal of Sociology and the American Sociological Review.

Associate Professor John Taylor (Miami University 2000) studies social stress, ethnicity and health, and social psychological factors in health and well-being. His recent work has examined the role of early adolescent self-derogation in problem behaviors in young adulthood. His current projects include a paper that evaluates age contingent effects as an underlying factor in the explanation of the “Cost of Caring” hypothesis, and a study on the significance of physical limitations in the fear of being victim of crime.

Professor R. Jay Turner (Syracuse University 1964) studies mental health, mental illness, and substance abuse problems. Awards from the American Public Health Association, the Mental Health Sections of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and the ASA, and the Medical Sociology Section of the ASA have recognized his research.

Assistant Professor Koji Ueno (Vanderbilt University 2004). His research areas include friendships, sexuality, mental health, and life course. His recent research has examined how sexual orientation is associated with friendship patterns and mental health in adolescence and young adulthood.

Inequality and Social Justice

The Inequality and Social Justice area involves the study of inequalities based on class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexualities; the social movements mobilized to effect social change; inequality in work and labor markets; and the political processes that contribute to or reduce inequality. Students in the inequality concentration study the structural sources and individual consequences of racism, sexism and economic exploitation. A central premise of this area is that resources and life chances are unequally distributed on the basis of class, gender and ethnicity. Courses in this area encourage students to develop a holistic approach to the analysis of inequality, recognizing the complex connections between culture, diverse institutions (such as work, religion, and schooling), politics and everyday life. Faculty use qualitative and quantitative methodologies to explore inequality and social justice in diverse institutions such as family, work, the state, the economy, healthcare, and mass media.

Illustrative Courses

(For current listings, contact area committee Chair)

SYD 5705 Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
SYO 5535 Inequalities: Race, Class, and Gender
SYA 6933 Sociology of the Welfare State
SYO 5306 Political Sociology
SYO 5547 Race & Gender in Organizations
SYP 5305 Collective Behavior and Social Movements
SYA 6933 Gender and Violence
SYP 5005 Social Interaction
SYO 6407 Race, Ethnicity, Health
SYO 5185 Family & Work Linkages
SYD 5817 Contemporary Theories of Gender
SYO 5545 The Changing Workplace
SYO 6356 Labor, Class, and Social Movements
SYP 6356 Sociology of the Contemporary Women’s Movement
SYO 6506 Advanced Research Seminar in Social Organization
SYO 6538 Advanced Research Seminar in Stratification and Inequality

Inequality & Social Justice Faculty

Assistant Professor Marc Dixon (Ohio State, 2005) studies social movements, labor unions, and grassroots political mobilization. Marc's current work uses social movement theory to address political mobilization among elites, employers, and business groups and includes projects on the spread of restrictive labor policies across U.S. states following the New Deal, as well as work on contemporary union revitalization strategies and student protest.

Professor Verna M. Keith (Ph.D.University of Kentucky 1982) studies how position in the social structure influences social, physical, and emotional well-being, including how race/ethnicity, gender, and class, along with stress, increase the risk of depression. Currently she is investigating the effects of colorism (i.e., the valuing of light over dark skin complexion) and discriminatory experiences on substance use and depressive symptoms. She is also evaluating the social, economic, and psychological impact of Hurricane Katrina on survivors. Dr. Keith is an associate of the Center for Demography and Population Health.

Professor Patricia Yancey Martin (Ph.D. Florida State 1969) is Daisy Parker Flory Professor of Sociology. Dr. Martin won the American Sociological Association's 2007 Jessie Bernard Award and served as president of the Southern Sociological Society in 2002. Her recent book, Rape Work: Victims, Gender & Emotions in Organization and Community Context (Routledge, 2005), was a finalist for the C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems. She is currently analyzing gender in relation to emotion management when doing rape work and the effects of being stalked on women. She will serve as Marie Jahoda Visiting Professor of Gender and Feminism at Bochum University in Germany in Fall 2007 and as a Fulbright Visiting Professor of Organizations and Management at Goteborg University in Sweden in Spring 2008.

Assistant Professor Janice McCabe ( Ph.D. Indiana University 2006) studies gender, youth/adolescence, education, race/ethnicity, sexuality, and social psychology using quantitative and qualitative methods. Her current projects include an investigation of how social networks influence young people’s identities and an exploration of how black and white women evaluate their sexual well-being. She has also conducted research on media representations of gender and the relationship between feminist self-identification and attitudes about gender.

Professor Irene Padavic (Ph.D. Michigan, 1987) uses quantitative and qualitative methods to study workplace inequality, including workplace gender inequality (sexual harassment, glass ceiling, segregation) and race inequality in organizations (workplaces, the fraternity/sorority system). She also has investigated childcare arrangements, changes in gender ideology, contingent work, and how organizations can contribute to or mitigate sex differences.

Associate Professor John Reynolds (Ph.D. Ohio State 1997) is an associate of the Claude Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. His research examines cohort changes in adolescents' pathways to adulthood, including an analysis of the rise of unrealistic career expectations among teenagers in the U.S., and a study of gender-related trends in higher education, supported by the National Science Foundation. He also works with current and former graduate students on several projects related to the intersection of work and family demands, such as gender differences in the consequences of taking time off work to deal with family needs.

Assistant Professor Deana Rohlinger (Ph.D. University of California, Irvine 2004) is interested in how movement-countermovement dynamics affect mass media and coalition work in the American abortion debate. She is also interested in, and has written on, gender, transnational movements, and popular culture. Her current projects include an examination of the role of religion in policy outcomes and an analysis of women’s roles in cultural change.

Assistant Professor Doug Schrock (Ph.D. North Carolina State 2001) focuses on social psychology, inequality, and social movements. One strand of research has centered on transsexual women’s status passage and another on masculinity in a batterer intervention program. Both projects investigate how identity, emotion, and interactional processes are linked to the reproduction and undermining of gender categories and inequalities. He is currently collecting data on farmworker-solidarity activists (see www.ciw-online.org).

Assistant Professor Brian Starks (Ph.D. Indiana 2005) is interested in religion and value orientations and their influence on social change. His research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to study religion, politics, and parenting. He has written on parental values, educational expectations, and belief in the American Dream. His recent research has examined self-identified traditional, moderate, and liberal Catholics and explored both what divides these Catholics and how they cope with conflicts and manage to stay together in one Church.

Assistant Professor Daniel Tope (Ph.D. Ohio State, 2007) studies politics, work, labor movements, and inequality. His current research analyzes how historically shifting political arrangements have affected organized labor in the U.S. Other projects examine organizational aspects of workplace sexual harassment, how racial cleavages affect worker solidarity, politicians' use of racial animus, and the determinants of Republican political strength across U.S. states.

Social Demography

Demography has a tongue-in-cheek definition as the study of “sex, death, and travel” – that is, the study of fertility, mortality, and migration. More broadly, demographers consider the causes and consequences of population change, including the dynamics of population growth and decline, and population distribution within and across nations. Social demography views these dynamics through a sociological lens, with special attention to the myriad ways in which various social institutions like the family, economy, and religion, among others, shape and are shaped by fertility, mortality, and migration, as well as the interplay of these on social characteristics like the age distribution.

Students concentrating in Social Demography typically maintain offices in the Center for Demography and Population Health, an interdisciplinary unit of the College of Social Sciences that brings together faculty from Economics, Geography, Urban Planning, Sociology and other departments throughout campus. Sociology students are encouraged to take elective courses from CDPH faculty in different departments to enhance their demographic training.

Illustrative Courses

(For current listings, contact the Area Committee Chair)

SYD 5045 Introduction to Demography
SYD 5105 Population Theory
SYD 5135 Techniques of Population Analysis
SYD 5145 Population Policy
SYD 5125 Mortality
SYD 5225 Fertility
SYD 5235 Population Mobility
SYO 5177 Family Demography

Demography Faculty

Associate Professor Karin Brewster (University of Washington, 1991) studies work-family balance and adolescent fertility in post-industrial societies. Her current projects include an examination of the impact of welfare reform on low-income women’s child care arrangements, and a description of race/ethnic variation in sexual experience among youth in the United States.

Professor Elwood (Woody) Carlson (University of California at Berkeley, 1978), the Charles B. Nam Professor in Sociology of Population, was director of FSU's Center for Demography and Population Health from 2003 through 2007. He has returned to full-time research and teaching, including the graduate course in methods of demographic analysis. His research concentrates on social determinants of health, including infant and reproductive health and working-age mortality, and involves evidence from Europe and the Middle East as well as American society.

Professor Isaac (Ike) Eberstein (University of Texas at Austin, 1979), Charles Meade Grigg Professor of Sociology, studies health and mortality, with a particular focus on inequality and social differentials. Other interests include the demography of American Jews and applied demography. Current research includes analyzing the causes of infant death in Florida, multiple causes of adult mortality, and intergenerational linkages of SES and health.

Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus Charles B. Nam (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1959) Dr. Nam came to Florida State University from the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1964. He founded what is now the Center for the Study of Demography and Population Health in 1967 and was its Director until 1981. Although he retired from the Sociology Department faculty in 1996, he continues to maintain an active research program, including studies of differential adult mortality in the United States and demographic measurement of the family in post-industrial societies.

Assistant Professor Kathryn Tillman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001) Dr. Tillman’s current research focuses on the educational and behavioral outcomes of youth/adolescents, the adaptation of immigrant youth, and the importance of family contexts for individual development and well-being. She is also engaged in an examination of the ways in which researchers have conventionally defined and measured the “family,” and an exploration of alternatives that may more closely reflect the realities of our changing society.

Social Psychology

The Social Psychology concentration enables graduate students to gain expertise in both classical and cutting edge approaches to understanding the relation between selves and society. Whereas other departmental areas focus on substantive issues (e.g., inequality and social justice, health and aging, demography) the social psychology area focuses on training students to understand and critically evaluate theory and research on micro level (i.e., individual and small group) processes and topics. Students will have the opportunity to take a basic seminar that surveys classical and contemporary social psychological theories and research. Other core courses offer an in-depth examination of approaches to social psychology—including social interaction, social structure and personality, emotions, and identity and the self. The goal of these courses is to train students to teach and conduct research using social psychological theories, approaches, and concepts.

In addition to the aforementioned courses, faculty members offer courses that apply social psychological perspectives and research to a broad range of substantive issues and topics. For example, courses are offered on the social psychology of aging, sexuality over the life course, gender and mental health, stress and mental health, men and masculinities, and childhood and adolescence. Some of these courses are co-listed with other departmental areas. Students majoring in areas other than social psychology who take these substantive courses will gain insight into how social psychologists approach topics within these various areas of sociology.

Illustrative Courses

(For current listings, contact the Chair of the Area Committee.)

SYP 5105 Survey of Social Psychology
SYP 5005 Social Interaction
SYP 5007 Sociology of Emotions
SYP 5006 Identity & the Self
SYP 5733 Social Psychology of Aging
SYO 5426 Gender & Mental Health
SYO 5416 Stress & Mental Health
SYA 6933 Social Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence
SYA 6933 Social Psychology of Men & Masculinities
SYA 6933 Sexuality over the Life Course
SYA 6933 Social Structure & Personality

Social Psychology Faculty

Associate Professor Anne Barrett (Duke University 1999) is an associate of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. She works in the areas of medical sociology, marriage and families, gender, and aging and the life course. Her current projects include a quantitative study of the mental health effects of romantic relationships and a qualitative study examining women's experiences with aging.

Assistant Professor Janice McCabe (Indiana University 2006) studies gender, youth/adolescence, education, race/ethnicity and sexuality using a social psychological approach and both quantitative and qualitative methods. Her current projects include an investigation of how social networks influence young people’s identities and an exploration of how Black and White women evaluate their sexual well-being. She also has conducted research on feminist identity and faculty members’ views of and experiences with teaching, grading, and grade inflation.

Professor James D. Orcutt (University of Minnesota 1973) studies the social psychology of drinking and drug use, deviance and social control, and conversational power. His ongoing work involves research on temporal patterns in daily moods and alcohol use, the construction of drug problems in the mass media, and gender and race/ethnic differences in deviant drinking. He is past president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and a former editor of the journal, Social Problems.

Assistant Professor Doug Schrock (North Carolina State University 2001) focuses on social psychology, inequality, and social movements. One strand of research has centered on transsexual women’s status passage and another on masculinity in a batterer intervention program. Both projects investigate how identity, emotion, and interactional processes are linked to the reproduction and undermining of gender categories and inequalities. He is currently collecting data on farmworker-solidarity activists (see www.ciw-online.org).