News Archives

Sociology Celebrates its 90th Anniversary.

Dr. Raymond Bellamy founded the Sociology Department at FSU in 1918. We're still going strong 90 years later, and we celebrated on October 3 with a keynote address by Dr. Vincent Roscigno of Ohio State University and a party that evening.

 

Patricia Yancey Martin Placed on the SSS Roll of Honor

Patricia Martin was named to the Southern Sociological Society's Roll of Honor. This award recognizes a career of distinguished intellectual contribution to Sociology and goes to an SSS member who has made stellar contributions to the discipline across their career. It is the greatest recognition given by the Southern Sociological Society.

Art Opening Features Jill Quadagno

Jill Quadagno's oil paintings on exhibit during the month of April in the Claude Pepper Library on the FSU campus.

University Honors Sawtell & Bishop; Padavic Serves as "Celebration of Graduate Student Excellence" Speaker

Two of our graduate students garnered awards at the University level. Carolyn Sawtell won the Leadership Award, only one of which is awarded annually. Jessi Bishop won a 2008 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards. Irene Padavic delivered the keynote address at the April Awards Ceremony. Joanna Hunter was awarded a certificate for her role as a PIE associate.

 

Robin Simon's Research Garners National Press

Robin Simon's research on parenting has made the national news! Newsweek's report on it has generated hundreds of comments.

NPR picked up the story as well: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92278298 and the comments are available here.

Kathi Tillman's research featured locally and nationally

The LA Times picked up the story about Dr. Tillman's research on children in blended families and local station WCTV conducted a brief interview. Here are the links:

• LA Time Article
• WCTV Interview

Janice McCabe Interviewed on Race Relations

The Tallahassee Democrat interviewed Dr. McCabe about how her research linked to Dr. King's legacy. Here's the story:

All groups must reach across racial divides, researcher says

Jim Orcutt and Pat Martin's Retirement Party

The full complement of department faculty, along with many graduate students, friends and family from around the country-100 people-came together on January 26 to give Jim and Pat a rousing send off!

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Pat Martin's Retirement Party

Friends from Tallahassee, the University, and the Sociology Department gathered to honor Pat Martin. Laughing Stock roasted her in a series of musical tributes. Check out these video highlights! Clips are WMV (Windows Media Player) format.

W-O-M-A-N (8.68 MB)
copyright by Laughing Stock

CV Song (5.84 MB)
copyright by Laughing Stock

She'll Fly Away (9.20 MB)
copyright by Laughing Stock

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2008 ANNUAL DEPARTMENTAL AWARDEES

• Dr. Karin Brewster received the 2008 Michael Armer Best Teacher Award
• Dr. John Reynolds named by SGSU as Most Supportive of our Graduate Program, 2008
• Dr. Verna Keith awarded the SGSU 2008 Mentoring Award
• Mr. Ben Kail received the 2008 Sociology Department’s Klar-Allen Best Research Paper Award
• Ms. Jessi Bishop received the 2008 Sociology Department’s Best Teaching Assistant Award
• Ms. Rosanna Earl received the 2008 Sociology Department's Best Undergraduate Student Paper Awards and Ms. Elizabeth Votra received an Honorable Mention

 

Schrock Tenured and Promoted; Schwabe Promoted; Miles Taylor Joins Faculty

Douglas Schrock was tenured and promoted, effective Fall 2008. Annette Schwabe was promoted to Associate in Sociology, also effective Fall 2008. Congratulations! Dr. Miles Taylor joins the faculty as an Assistant professor, August, 2008. Welcome!

Remembering J. Michael Armer

J. Michael Armer, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, passed away on January 21, 2008 . He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and for the next 40 years pursued a full-time academic career of research, teaching and professional service. He conducted research and taught at FSU from 1979 until his retirement in 2004. His specialty area was social psychology, and much of his scholarship concerned the impact of formal education, Western and non-Western, on the development of both individuals and nations, with particular reference to Nigeria and other less developed societies. He served as Department Chair from 1980 to 1985, and was active on many student and university committees, as well as in regional and national organizations. In recognition of his multiple teaching awards and his leadership, the department renamed its teaching award the “Michael Armer Best Faculty Teacher Award.”

He leaves behind his wife, Loretta, and daughters Cathy and Traci.

FSU Faculty on the Air

One of WFSU’s local call-in and discussion programs has featured several of our professors and students in the past few weeks. The show's website can be found here, and direct links to the audio files are:

• 08/02/2007
• 06/28/2007

MARTIN RECEIVES ASA 2007 JESSIE BERNARD AWARD, A FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP TO SWEDEN, & A VISITING PROFESSORSHIP IN GERMANY

Patricia Yancey Martin was awarded the American Sociological Association’s 2007 Jessie Bernard Award, given for scholarly work over a career that has enlarged the horizons of sociology to encompass fully the role of women in society. This is one of the most distinguished awards the ASA confers. Dr. Martin's work in the area of gender extends across the two key issues of feminist analysis: The dynamics of employment discrimination and violence against women. She has done ground-breaking work and formulated leading ideas in both areas. Martin will teach graduate seminars in Goteborg, Sweden, on a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008 and serve as the Marie Johoda Visiting Professor of Feminist Studies at Bochum University in Germany, in Fall 2007.

EBERSTEIN & REYNOLDS WIN BEST PRACTICES TEACHING AWARD WITH INNOVATIVE 'HYBRID' INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY COURSE

Isaac Eberstein and John Reynolds are being featured for their innovative “hybrid” version (comprised of part face-to-face and part on-line teaching) of our Introduction to Sociology course. A national program associated with the teaching platform BLACKBOARD--called “the Greenhouse Exemplary Course Program”--recognized their course as embodying “Best Practices.” Here’s what their recognition noted: “We rated Introduction to Sociology as having a best practice for great student engagement with clickers (PRS) and other technologies showcasing a great model of blended learning for such a large course.”

UNIVERSITY HONORS PADAVIC, ROHLINGER, SAWTELL & WEINBERG; ORCUTT SERVES AS GRADUATE TEACHING AWARDS SPEAKER

Several of us garnered University Awards. Our new Chair, Irene Padavic, won a 2007 University Graduate Faculty Mentor Award, and Assistant Professor Deana Rohlinger won a 2007 University Teaching Award. Graduate Students Carolyn Sawtell and Lisa Weinberg won 2007 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards. James Orcutt was asked to address all FSU Outstanding Teaching Assistants at the April Awards Ceremony, a credit to sociology and to his record of outstanding teaching over the years.

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SIMON WINS BEST PAPER AWARD FROM ASA EMOTIONS SECTION

Robin Simon won the 2007 Outstanding Recent Contribution Award given annually by the ASA’s Section on Emotions for her paper, "Gender and Emotion in the United States: Do Men and Women Differ in Self-Reports of Feelings and Expressive Behavior?" (coauthored with Leda Nath), which appeared in 2004 in the American Journal of Sociology 109: 1137-1176.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ANNUAL DEPARTMENTAL AWARDEES

• Dr. Kathryn Tillman received the 2007 Michael Armer Best Teacher Award
• Dr. Koji Ueno named by 2007 SGSU Most Supportive of our Graduate Program
• Dr. Doug Schrock received the 2007 (inaugural) SGSU Mentoring Award
• Ms. Sarrah Conn received the 2007 Sociology Department’s Klar-Allen Best Research Paper Award
• Ms. Lisa Weinberg received the 2007 Sociology Department’s Best Teaching Assistant Award
• Mr. Gregory Harris and Ms. Kathy Dillworth received the 2007 Sociology Department's Best Undergraduate Student Paper Awards

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BARRETT & TAYLOR TENURED AND PROMOTED; TOPE & SCHWABE JOIN FACULTY

Two of our faculty were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2007: Anne Barrett, who studies aging and the life course, and John Taylor, who studies mental health. We also welcome the arrival of two new faculty members: Daniel Tope, who joins us from Ohio State University and studies politics, work, labor movements, and inequality, and Annette Schwabe, who joins us from Kent State University and is our first full-time teaching faculty member.

TOPE RECEIVES SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS' 2007 BRAVERMAN AWARD

Daniel Tope, who joins our faculty in Fall 2007, will be honored at the annual meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems Labor Studies Division for his research paper which was accorded the Braverman Award for the Best Graduate Student Paper.

GRADUATE PROGRAM: NEW LEADERSHIP & STUDENT MILESTONES

The graduate program is thriving under the new leadership of John Reynolds, successor to Eminent Pepper Scholar Jill Quadagno. In the past year, with Dr. Quadagno at the helm, four of our Ph. D. graduates began tenure-track jobs, two accepted prestigious post-doctoral appointments, and three accepted jobs with national organizations concerned with health or aging. Furthermore, 18 students presented papers at professional conferences, eight published research articles or chapters, and 16 received graduate degrees (MS or Ph. D.). Graduate student Margaret Leaf received the Herbert Blumer Best Graduate Student Paper Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction for her study of self-injury.

SEVERAL FACULTY HOLD NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL OFFICE

Jim Orcutt is Chair of the Editorial and Publications Committee for the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Jay Turner is Chair of the ASA’s Medical Sociology Section, Karin Brewster is a member of Council for the ASA’s Population Section, Irene Padavic as a member of Council for the ASA’s Organizations, Occupations and Work Section, and Patricia Martin is a member of the ASA’s Publications Committee.

Quadagno Addresses Senators, Promotes New Book, Receives ASA Freidson Award

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - Claude and Mildred Pepper Professor of Sociology Jill Quadagno was invited by Senator Harry Reid to make a presentation at the annual Democratic Senators Issues Conference. The conference was held in Philadelphia, April 28-29 and was organized by the Democratic Policy Committee, chaired by Senator Byron Dorgan. Her panel was entitled "Getting to Universal Coverage: Challenges and Opportunities." Thirty-two Democratic senators attended the conference including Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Carl Levin, Mary Landrieu, Harry Reid and Ron Wyden. Among the 18 other guest speakers were CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and former Democratic presidential candidate General Wesley Clark, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Vice President Al Gore who made a special presentation on global climate change. The event concluded with a tour and dinner at the National Constitution Center.

Dr. Jill Quadagno with Senators Mary Landrieu and Harry Reid

Professor Quadagno has also appeared on more than 30 radio shows around the nation to discuss her new book, One Nation, Uninsured: Why the US Has No National Health Insurance (Oxford University Press, 2005). Her book was featured by Paul Krugman in a New York Times op-ed column on June 13, 2005 and was the focus of a long article in The Washington Post on June 12, 2005. To read more about her book, click here. She also participated in a National Public Radio "Science Friday" show with Ira Flatow on "end of life issues" on Friday, April 8, 2005. A recent paper of Dr. Quadagno's that is based on material from the book, "Why the United States Has No National Health Insurance: Stakeholder Mobilization Against the Welfare State, 1945-1996" [Journal of Health and Social Behavior 45:25-44], was accorded the Eliot Freidson Outstanding Publication Award for 2005 by the Section on Medical Sociology of the American Sociological Association, August 2005, in Philadelphia and was featured on the portal webpage of the American Sociological Association for several weeks (as a free download).

Turner Receives New Grant and ASA Medical Sociology Section Chair

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - Marie Cowart Professor of Sociology & Social Epidemiology R. Jay Turner received a grant for $576,000 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (2006-2009) to support a team of FSU Sociologists studying Ethnic Contrasts in Mental Health and Substance Problems. This funding will allow further exploitation of a unique data set assembled in Miami-Dade County of young people transitioning to adulthood. The research team includes Don Lloyd, John Taylor, Anne Barrett, and John Reynolds, all sociology faculty and associates in the Center for Demography and Population Health or the Pepper Center for the Study of Aging.

Professor Turner has also been elected Chair of the Medical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association. The section is one of the largest within ASA, with over 1000 members. Professor Turner is featured on FSU's "Faculty Honors" webpage for being among the eight most-cited faculty members at Florida State University. Additionally, he recently received a Florida State University Program Enhancement Grant (PEG) from the Research Foundation that he and his colleagues will use to develop the Center for Health Disparities Research. The Center will focus on epidemiological and cultural dimensions of health across race/ethnic and other status groups.

Martin Receives 2006 Feminist Activism Award and Writes New Book

Daisy Parker Flory Professor of Sociology Patricia Martin has written a book, Rape Work: Victims, Gender, and Emotions in Organizations and Communities (Routledge 2005), that addresses the conditions that prompt society's representatives to treat victims harshly even when they sympathize with them. Martin argues that the jobs that police officers, nurses and physicians, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges hold prompt them to treat victims as either witnesses to a crime or "illegitimate patients" rather than victims who deserve empathy and support. She also explores how gender and emotions affect relations between rape victims and these professionals. Her study shows the benefits to a community of rape crisis center involvement in both serving victims and educating the public. To learn more about the book, click here.

Martin also received the Feminist Activism Award from Sociologists for Women in Society in 2006 for her scholarship and activism over three decades regarding gender inequality and violence against women. Myra Marx Ferree had this to say, “Pat has worked on issues affecting the campus climate including the status of women on campus, equity issues within collegiate athletics, fraternity culture and binge drinking . . . . Not only has she served her campus and profession well in a variety of service contributions but her activism and dedication to feminist and humanitarian causes extends throughout and beyond the confines of academia.

UPDATE (01-18-06): More information on Martin's book can be found in this article.

Professor Simon's Work Featured

Associate Professor of Sociology Robin Simon, received extensive media attention after her paper, "Clarifying the Relationship between Parenthood and Depression," (in collaboration with co-author Ranae J. Evanson), published in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, was featured on the ASA website. The paper reported that parenthood is not associated with enhanced mental health; in fact, it is more likely to be associated with symptoms of depression. The research finds that parents of all types report more symptoms of depression than non-parents do and confirms that certain types of parenthood are associated with more depression than others. Among the media outlets that reported the study’s findings were the BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and over 50 other newspapers or television organizations. To learn more about the results of their study,click here.

UPDATE (01-20-06): More information can be found in the following links: link 1 (Washington Post), link 2.

Congratulations to Our Annual Awardees!

• Dr. Deana Rohlinger receives 2006 Michael Armer Best Teacher Award.
• Dr. Irene Padavic named by SGSU, 2006 Most Supportive of our Graduate Program.
• Ms. Manacy Pai, advanced Ph. D. student, wins Klar-Allen Best Research Paper Award.
• Ms. Carrie Sawtell, advanced Ph. D. student, named Best Teaching Assistant for 2006.
• Ms. Catherine Griffith (undergraduate major in Urban and Regional Planning), wins Best Undergraduate Student Paper Award for 2006.

Dr. Deana Rohlinger & Dr. Elwood Carlson

Ms. Manacy Pai & Dr. Elwood Carlson

Ms. Carrie Sawtell

Ms. Catherine Griffith

Dr. Irene Padavic & Ms. Carrie Sawtell

Graham Kinloch Retires... Well, sort of!

Graham Kinloch, who joined the Sociology Department in 1970 and served as Chair of the Department in 1975-1976, retired from the faculty in March 2006. His colleagues, supported by the College of Social Sciences Dean and FSU Provost and President, awarded him Emeritus Professor status, which he richly deserves. Graham will be missed not only because he taught social theory, race/ethnic relations, and large sections of introduction to sociology with never a complaint. He also helped our sociology majors plan and graduate and, best of all, made us all laugh. Graham’s great sense of humor brought a relief to tedium of and challenges of running a large, complex Department and College. We thank you, Graham.

We are sort of uncertain about how to react to Graham’s retirement because in no time at all (after one month), he was back in the Dean’s Office, serving as College of Social Sciences Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Graham is the first FSU sociology faculty member to retire under Florida’s “Deferred Retirement Option Program” (or DROP). This program requires one to “officially” retire five years ahead of actually retiring, during which time the state pays the faculty member’s retirement into a ‘savings account’ and pays him/her a regular salary. At the end of five years, the faculty member receives a lump sum payment from the savings account and must stay away from state employment for at least one month. Thereafter, she/he can be employed as a “temporary” worker and, after one year, may be re-employed as a new “permanent” employee.

Given the ambiguity of this situation, our Department and the COSS Dean’s office decided to wait until Fall 2006 to honor Graham with an event of some kind. In the meantime, Graham shows up on the fifth floor of Bellamy early every Thursday morning when Jesse Taintor delivers his contribution of a dozen donuts. We thank Graham for his many contributions to department and College over the years, wish the very best, and hope to see him—in person—for a long time to come.

Professors Simon, Quadagno, and Martin serve as Editors

Professors Robin Simon, Jill Quadagno, and Patricia Yancey Martin serve as Associate Editors on the Editorial Board of the American Sociological Review.

Long-time Staff Memeber Marlene Middleton Retires

A luncheon in celebration of Marlene Middleton's retirement was held last week. For picture of the event, click here.

2005 Sociology Department Award Ceremony

The Allen-Klar Graduate Student Research Paper Award went to Emily Boyd, for "The 'Body as Project': Adolescent Girls and Eating Disorders." The award was accompanied by $300.00 and Boyd's name will be placed on a plaque in the Nimkoff Conference Room, fifth floor Bellamy Building.

The Sociology Graduate Student Teaching Award was given to Mike Stewart. The award was accompanied by $300.00 and Stewart's name will be placed on a plaque in the Nimkoff Conference Room, fifth floor Bellamy Building.

The Michael Armer Faculty Best Teacher Award was given to Elwood Carlson. His name will be placed on a plaque in the Nimkoff Conference Room, fifth floor Bellamy Building.

The Sociology Graduate Student Union (SGSU) also gave an award to the faculty member who contributed most to the graduate program in the past year. This year's recipient was Koji Ueno whose name will be placed on a plaque in the Nimkoff Conference Room, fifth floor Bellamy Building.

Sociology Professor Robin Simon wins national award

The Mental Health Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA) recognized Professor Robin Simon at the annual meeting of the ASA in San Francisco in August 2004. The Section gives an award each year for the paper published in the prior three to five years that has the highest odds of having an impact on mental health scholarship. The presentation was made by Professor David Mechanic who praised Simon's work and recognized the contributions of the award-winning paper.

Simon's paper, which is entitled "Revisiting the Relationships among Gender, Marital Status, and Mental Health" (published in American Journal of Sociology January 2002 107: 1065-96) revisits the relationship among gender, marital status, and mental healtha topic thats received scholarly attention for more than three decades. Overcoming some of the methodological and conceptual limitations of earlier work, she reexamines whether marriage is advantageous for men and disadvantageous for womenand does so by analyzing whether the emotional consequences of both marital loss and marital gain differ for women and men. She felt compelled to return to this issue, given the many changes that have occurred over the past quarter of the century in mens and womens social roles and marital patterns in the U.S. In addition to her substantive interest in the topic, Simons theoretical interest in gendered responses to stress provided motivation for the project.

In many ways, Simon's paper is a straightforward extension of her previous work, which examines gender differences in the emotional consequences of role involvement and role-related stressors among adults. However, in contrast to her earlier work, which focused on symptoms of depression and generalized distress, this project included the types of mental health problems experienced by both males and femalesin order to avoid overestimating womens reactions to marital transitions and underestimating mens. Based on two waves of data from the National Survey of Families and Households, Simon found that the emotional advantages of marital gain and the emotional disadvantages of marital loss apply to men and women, but that men and women respond to marital transitions differently. Women respond to marital transitions with depression, which is a mental health problem more common among women, whereas men respond with substance abusea mental health problem more common among men.

Although Simon could not directly test this idea, she suggests that socio-cultural factors contribute to male and female expressions of emotional distress. Drawing on insights from the Sociology of Emotion, she attributed mens and womens emotional responses to marital transitions to the emotion culture in the U.Swhich specifies the emotions men and women should and should not feel and express. For example, culture sadness is not only accepted but is expected for females in our culture while sadness is perceived as inappropriate for males. Simons current work attempts to elucidate the linkages between cultural norms about gender-appropriate emotions and the types of emotions and emotional problems men and women tend to experience and express in the U.S. In addition to clarifying the relationships among gender, marital status, and mental health, Simons award-winning paper takes stock of the meaning of marriage for women and men in the U.S. today. We are indeed fortunate to have Robin Simon on our sociology faculty at Florida State University.

Two Professors awarded Doctoral Directive Status

Professors Anne Barrett and John Taylor have been awarded Doctoral Directive Status by the Graduate School of Florida Sate University which means they can now supervise students for their dissertation research.

Dr. Armer is retiring this January

Dr. Catherine Fobes who was Michael Armer's student many years ago is saying thanks to him for his influence on her life. Dr. Armer is retiring from FSU and our Department in January 2005. We wish him all the best in his new stage of endeavor. (Dr. Fobes is visiting with us this year while on sabbatical leave from Alma College in Michigan.)

Dr. Martin wins the ASA Sex and Gender Section's 2004 for Distinguished Article

Patrica Yancy Martin (Florida State University), "Saying and Doing Vs. Said and Done": Gendering Practices, Practicing Gender at Work." Gender & Society 17 (3), 2003:342-366.

The article explores the dynamic of gender in the workplace in those fleeting moments of interaction between individuals where gender is drawn upon and 'practiced' expertly and unreflexively. Using interviews and observations from large private sector organizations, Martin differentiates the concept of 'practicing gender' from the concept of 'gender practices', which are related but more static in nature. Martin draws our attention to the roles of agency, intentionality, and reflexivity in practicing gender, and highlights its uni-directionality-the irreversibility of undoing something already said or done. By considering these aspects of practicing gender, together with the roles of pow! er and accountability, Martin provides fresh and compelling insights into the dynamic aspects of 'doing gender', and her analysis makes clear the all-too-often harmful consequences of practicing gender for reiterating the institution of gender and perpetuating women's disadvantages in the workplace. This innovative article represents a major contribution to the field of gender studies and is sure to shape the direction of research for years to come. (Chair, Naomi Cassirer)

2004 Departmental Awards

The following persons were winners of the 2004 departmental awards:

• Best undergraduate student paper award: Mona Lisa Salib, for “The Strategies, Success, and Repercussions of Women’s Motherist Activism”
• Allen/Klar Graduate Student Research Award: Jason Eastman, for “The Wild Ones: Reality Programs and Programming Reality”
• Graduate Student Teaching Award: Emily Boyd
• Michael Armer Faculty Teaching Award: Michael Armer