A Message from Our New Department Chair Dr. Beth Anne SheltonOur departmental newsletter provides a glimpse of the many achievements of our students and faculty from the past academic year.  Take a look at all we accomplished during the 2017-2018 academic year!

First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Chair, Dr. Robert Kunovich, for his dedication and commitment to our students, faculty and staff in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.  He leaves the Chair position and the Department on a firm footing for those who follow. He also left the chair’s computer files in perfect order, a feat I won’t be able to duplicate.

Our outstanding faculty were the recipients of a number of awards and honors.  Dr. Heather Jacobson was promoted to professor of sociology, Drs. David Arditi and Amy Speier were promoted to associate professor with tenure and Dr. Naomi Cleghorn received the Distinguished Teaching Award.  Drs. Kelly Bergstrand and Isabel Montemayor successfully passed their third year reviews. The College of Liberal Arts and the University continue to support the research of faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Dr. Ritu Khanduri received a College of Liberal Arts Endowment for Faculty Research and Creative Activity award, a McDowell Center Supplemental Faculty Research grant and a Faculty Development Leave. Drs. Ashley Lemke and Amy Speier each received a Research Enhancement Program grant. The department is also well represented in program administration around campus. Dr. Jason Shelton continues as director for the Center for African American Studies.  Drs. Christian Zlolniski and David Arditi serve as directors of the Center for Mexican American Studies and the Center for Theory, respectively. 

Our students did important work during the 2017-18 academic year. Many rewarding learning opportunities were available, including study abroad and field school opportunities in South Africa and at the Way Ranch in San Marcos, Texas.  Our students also received numerous awards and scholarships.  Sociology students Catherine Pham and Keyandra Stewart each received the Blaine T. and Jean W. Williams Endowed Scholarship in Sociology. The Ben and Trudy Termini Fellowship was awarded to Anthropology students Luci Barnard, Paola Mireles and Caridad Zamarripa. Nathan Cole Baggett, Angela Barajas and Meagan Sanders received CoLA Dean’s Travel Awards to present their research papers at the Southern Sociological Society meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lambda Alpha and Alpha Kappa Delta, the Anthropology and Sociology honor societies, inducted twelve new students.  Finally, twenty-seven undergraduate Sociology and Anthropology majors and six Sociology graduate students completed their degrees – congratulations!  As you move forward, we invite you to please keep us up to date on your lives!

Dr. John M. O’Shea, Curator of Archaeology at the University Of Michigan Museum Of Anthropology, and the Emerson F. Greenman Collegiate Professor of Archaeology in the University’s Department of Anthropology presented the Ben and Trudy Termini Distinguished Anthropologist Lecture. O’Shea delivered an engaging and well attended presentation entitled, “We, at the Height, are Ready to Decline.” 

 I would also like to thank all of those who have made contributions to support the department and our students – especially Drs. Ben and Trudy Termini, Blaine Williams and Elaine Davenport, and Paul and Suzanne Baldon.

I invite you to read about these and other accomplishments in the pages that follow. I hope that your semester is off to a great start!  We are looking forward to another great year.

 Beth Anne Shelton, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTERTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ARLINGTON

FALL 2018

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

& ANTHROPOLOGY

University Hall Room 430

601 S. Nedderman Dr.Arlington, Texas 76019

0ffice 817-272-2661Fax 817-272-3759

Office Hours 8 am to 5 pm

Monday through Friday.....................

ADMINISTRATIVE FACULTY & STAFF

Dr. Beth Anne Shelton

Department Chair

Dr. Naomi Cleghorn Associate Chair

Mark GravesAdministrative

Assistant

Pat Woodward Sr. Office Assistant

M. Faye Hanson-Evans Office Assistant II

LaDorna McGee Undergraduate

Advisor

Dr. Heather Jacobson Sociology Graduate

Advisor.....................

Promoted to ProfessorHeather Jacobson was promoted September 1, 2018 to the rank of Professor of Sociology. The promotion to full professor is recognition that she has earned a national reputation in her field of expertise. Her promotion is preceded by years of outstanding contributions to research, teaching, and service at UT Arlington.

Professor Jacobson earned a BA in History and a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University in 1993. She earned an MPhil in Women’s Studies from the University of Dublin, Trinity College (1995) and an M.A. (2001) and Ph.D. (2006) in Sociology from Brandeis University.

Heather Jacobson is Director of Graduate Studies for the Sociology program. She is a family sociologist who works primarily at the intersection of inequality and family formation. In her first book, Culture Keeping: White Mothers, International Adoption, and the Negotiation of Family Difference (Vanderbilt University Press, 2008), she examines how conceptions of family and of race shape the ethnic practices of international adoptive families with children from China and from Russia. Her second book, Labor of Love: Gestational Surrogacy and the Work of Making Babies (Rutgers University Press, 2016), focuses on commercial gestational surrogacy in the United States, examining the experiences of surrogates as they negotiate the terrains of work and family in the new reproductive marketplace. Her current research project, based on in-depth interviews with infertility patients and assisted reproduction practitioners and observations in fertility clinics, is an ethnographic examination of frozen embryo disposition. She teaches courses on families, reproduction, race, and qualitative research methods.  

Newly Tenured Faculty DAVID ARDITI is Associate Professor and earned his BA in Political Science (Sociology) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2005). He earned his MA in Political Science (Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical and Cultural Thought) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2007) and his PhD in Cultural Studies from George Mason University (2012).

David Arditi teaches courses in Sociological Theory, Introduction to Pop Culture and Science and Technology in Society. He is currently developing a new website at UTA, MusicDetour, which will make music produced by UTA music students, alumni, professors and independent

artists in the North Texas region available for free to the world.

AMY SPEIER is a medical anthropologist specializing in reproductive health, globalization and medical tourism. In August 2016, her book Fertility Holidays: IVF Tourism and the Reproduction of Whiteness was released by New York University Press. This research is based on a multi-sited, multi-year ethnographic project with North Americans who travel to the Czech Republic for assisted reproductive technologies. In the book, she traces North American fertility journeys to the Czech Republic, examining the multiple motivations that compel North Americans to travel halfway across the globe in their quest for parenthood.

Dr. Speier's current research is an examination of couples from all over the world who are traveling to North America seeking fertility treatment. She is currently recruiting international intended parents, seeking to unravel the myriad ways that they navigate the complex reproductive industry of North America's "baby business".  She earned her BS in Anthropology from UC Berkeley (1997) and her PhD in Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh (2005).

Faculty Corner

Faculty Honors and Achievements Academy of Distinguished Teachers

NAOMI CLEGHORN was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2018. This award recognizes tenured faculty for a sustained record of outstanding teaching, personal commitment to students and the learning process, and the ability to motivate and inspire students. Academy members receive a permanent salary increase.

Naomi Cleghorn is an Associate Professor with Tenure and an archaeologist with a research interest in human origins and the Paleolithic/Stone Age of Eurasia and Africa. Her training is in both archaeology and biological anthropology. She teaches courses in both sub-disciplines, including Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Principles of Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Bioarchaeology, Human Osteology, African Archaeology, and Ice Age of Europe. Dr. Cleghorn has active research projects in

Russia and South Africa. Website: http://naomicleghorn.weebly.com/

Naomi Cleghorn earned a degree in Plan II Honors Program, University of Texas at Austin (1993). She earned an MA in Physical Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin (1996) and her PhD in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University (2006).

Third Year Review

KELLY BERGSTRAND, Assistant Professor of Sociology, passed her third year review without reservation. Bergstrand specializes in social movements, environmental sociology, and social psychology. Her current research projects include examining sources of community resilience after environmental disasters and investigating whether certain types of social movement issues are inherently more powerful in attracting resources and public support. Recent publications include articles in Mobilization, Nature Climate Change, Social Indicators Research, Energy Policy, Sociological Forum, and Social Science Research. She teaches courses in environmental sociology, research methods and social statistics.

ISABEL MONTEMAYOR, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, passed her third year review without reservation. As a critical interpretive medical anthropologist Dr. Montemayor is interested in the impact of macro-level policy, practices and structures on individual lives. Her research investigates the intersection of health care and immigration policy and their influence on the health seeking activities of Mexican immigrant/transnational lives. She has worked extensively with community organizations, served on various Latino health councils and conducts both domestic and international research in the Midwest (Michigan) and Mexico (Michoacan). She teaches a variety of cross-listed courses: Medical Anthropology, Global Cultures, Latino Health Issues, Border Cultures & Cartels. Dr. Montemayor also serves as Research Associate for the Center for Mexican American Studies and is the faculty advisor for Lambda Alpha (National Anthropology Honor Society-Alpha UTA Chapter).

Research Awards

RITU KHANDURI, Associate Professor of Anthropology, received a College of Liberal Arts Endowment for Faculty Research and Creative Activity award, a McDowell Center Supplemental Faculty Research Grant and a Faculty Development Leave. Dr. Ritu Gairola Khanduri researches on media, material culture and science in the context of India and the Indian diaspora. She is the author of Caricaturing Culture in India: Cartoons and History in the Modern World published by Cambridge University Press. As part of her public engagement, she contributed two essays to the blog Fifteeneightyfour and one to the Diplomat.

DR. ASHLEY LEMKE, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and DR. AMY SPEIER, Associate Professor of Anthropology each

received a Research Enhancement Proposal Grant. Dr. Lemke is an archaeologist who specializes in underwater archaeology. Dr. Speier is a medical anthropologist specializing in cross-border reproductive care, with a focus on reproductive health, globalizationand medical tourism.

Teach* Inspire* Motivate*

Julie Adkins, Anthropology

Julie Adkins (pictured here with her 1967 Buick LeSabre, who goes by the name of Zeke), has had a fairly uneventful year except for ongoing attempts to negotiate a peace treaty between two of her rescue dogs. In January she traveled to Guatemala to attend and celebrate the ordination of the first woman pastor in the Presbiterio del Norte of the Iglesia Evangélica Nacional Presbiteriana de Guatemala. Dr. Adkins continues to teach 3-4 sections of Introduction to Anthropology each year, along with a rotation of various upper-division classes – this fall semester, Urban Anthropology. In the spring, she will return to teaching one section of Global Cultures, something she has not done in about seven years, so she is already dusting off the relevant brain cells. Apart from UTA, she continues to preach most Sundays in various small Presbyterian churches in north Texas, and to sing professionally with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral Choral Artists. In her spare time (ha!), she is busy trying to clear space in her garage for a 1948 Packard.

David Arditi, SociologyDr. David Arditi has a passion for music. While his research centers on the Sociology of Music, music takes up much of his spare time as well. Dr. Arditi is a drummer who gigged for over a decade. His research allows him

to merge his non-academic interests with his research. Last Spring, for instance, Dr. David Arditi spent some time in Nashville hanging out, listening to music, and speaking with industry folks. This

research it. The product of this research will be a book entitled The Ideology of Getting Signed. Dr. Arditi continues to work on MusicDetour: The DFW Local Music Archive. The archive continues to grow with over 50 bands archived. Please contact Dr. Arditi if you would like to contribute music or resources to the archive, we are always looking for music by our students and alumni. Dr. Arditi continues to grow the Center for Theory. Finally, he recently became Editor of FAST CAPITALISM.

Krystal Beamon, Sociology Krystal Beamon received her Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. She joined UTA in the fall of 2008 after a three year tenure-track position at The University of Oklahoma. She was awarded tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor in Sociology in 2015 from the University of Texas Arlington. Her primary areas of scholarship are Race and Ethnic-ity, Sociology of Sport, and Inequality. Her book The Enduring Color Line in U.S. Athletics is among the top 10 best sellers in

that genre. She is a recipient of the prestigious Regents Outstanding Teach-ing Award. Dr. Beamon received the 2017 Rising Star Award from her alma mata,

Oklahoma State University for her outstanding accomplishments since graduation. She is teaching Inequalities in Public Education and Race and Ethnicity this fall.

Kelly Bergstrand, SociologyDr. Kelly Bergstrand continues her research into disasters, as well asmechanisms underlying why people are willing to take action for social and environmental causes. This August, she presented on her research looking at community strength and disaster recovery at the annual American Sociological Association. She was also a coauthor on an article published this year: “Villains, Victims, and Heroes in Character Theory and Affect Control Theory.” 

environmental sociology, social statistics, and research methods. Over the summer, she enjoyed hiking in the mountains of New Mexico.

Naomi Cleghorn, AnthropologyThis summer, Dr. Cleghorn continued archaeological excavations at Knysna, on the southern coast of South Africa, where she is studying the impact of sea level change on early coastal foragers who lived between 50,000 and 18,000 years ago. Over the past three years, more than 40 researchers and students from UTA and around the world have contributed to the project. This year, the team included five former UTA students – Stephanie Dolenz (B.A. 2018, now at Durham Univ., U.K.), James Ramsey (BA 2017, now at Texas State Univ.), Gabriel Griffin (BA 2017, now an Archaeological Field Technician for AECOM, Dallas), Sara Watson (BA 2016, now at Univ. of California Davis), and Hannah Keller (BA 2014, now at Univ. of Colorado Denver). This year’s Knysna research also facilitated three graduate thesis projects. The project is supported by grants from the Hyde Family Foundation, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the National Science Foundation, UTA, and private donors. This year, a grant from the Hyde Family Foundation supported student participation in this research and study at one other archaeological site (in Italy or Malawi). Seven students, including UTA alumni Stephanie Dolenz, James Ramsey, Gabriel Griffin, Hannah Keller, and Valerie Contreras (BA 2016), were fully funded through this initiative – the H.O.M.E.R. (Human Origins Migrations and Evolution Research) Project. The purpose of H.O.M.E.R. is to develop a community of archaeological field projects that share data collection standards and systems, and train students in multi-site contexts. Other H.O.M.E.R. directors include Dr. Curtis W. Marean (Arizona State Univ.), Dr. Jamie Hodgkins (Univ. of

Thompson (Yale Univ.).M. Faye Hanson-Evans, Sociology

Faye Hanson-Evans is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department

of Sociology and Anthropology where she teaches courses on the sociology of poverty, gender, social problems, and more. Faye earned her MA and BA in Sociology from UT Arlington and is both a McNair Scholar and Honors College alum. Her specializations include the sociology of poverty, political sociology, and quantitative data analysis. In 2017, Faye was named UT Arlington’s College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher in Distance Education. Last year, Faye worked as faculty advisor with her students to establish a new UTA student organization chapter - Project Downtown - a national 501(c) (3) that works specifically with the homeless populations of Arlington and Fort Worth. Most recently, Faye was named an I.D.E.A.S. Faculty Fellow for her outstanding course development and teaching practices – both online and in the classroom. Faye is also fur mom to Dolly and Barkley- her two Saint Bernard’s - and regularly finds herself unwittingly accessorized with slobber and dog hair.

Heather Jacobson, Sociology Heather Jacobson is a family sociologist

and Director of Graduate Studies for the MA in Sociology program. This past year,

she continued data collection on her new project on embryo cryo-preservation and disposition as well as new lines of inquiry into surrogacy. She gave talks on her new research at the Eastern Sociological

Society (ESS), the Southern Sociological Society (SSS), and the American Sociological Association (ASA). Her most recent book, Labor of Love: Gestational Surrogacy and the Work of Making Babies, was featured in Authors-Meets-Critics sessions at the ESS and SSS annual meetings. She participated in invited workshops at the University of Amsterdam and New York University for reproduction scholars. She was quoted in the Dallas Morning News, D. Magazine, and CBS Canada. Outside of work, Heather enjoys

traveling and sampling new foods. She ventured to Norway this summer with her family where they hiked and ate their way through traditional Scandinavian cuisine.

Dorothy Kalanzi, Sociology

Dr. Kalanzi’s research on HIV/AIDS and climate change in Africa is ongoing. She is currently teaching five courses including Medical Sociology, Social Inequality, and three sections of Introduction to Sociology. In spring 2018 she taught Medical Sociology, Social Inequality, and two sections of Introduction to Sociology. She will be teaching similar courses in spring 2019. Courses taught in the fall of 2017 included Social Statistics for the Social Scientist, Medical Sociology, and Social Inequality. Dr. Kalanzi also teaches Medical Sociology and Social Inequality during the summer.

Ritu Khanduri, AnthropologyDr. Ritu Gairola Khanduri researches on media, material culture and science in the context of India and the Indian diaspora. She is the author of Caricaturing Culture in India: Cartoons and History in the Modern World published by Cambridge University Press. She is currently pursuing projects on Gandhi and developing new research on India's visual culture. Dr. Khanduri enjoys seeing her students' course work presented in seminars and appearing in publications. She is passionate about teaching South Asia, India, Gandhi, visual culture and public engagement with cultural anthropology. Her life is ruled by two adorable cats, Lou and Leepoosing. She enjoys running, traveling, twitter, vegetarian cuisine, cooking for family and friends, music and films.

Robert Kunovich, Sociology Dr. Kunovich is currently teaching three courses: Social Aspects of Risk (SOCI 3348), Social Statistics (SOCI 3352), and Graduate Social Statistics (SOCI 5304). He will be on leave in the spring semester, happily resurrecting his research agenda after serving as department chair for four years. Dr. Kunovich conducts research in the areas of race, ethnicity, and nation; political sociology; and risk. His work in race, ethnicity, and nation focuses on anti-immigrant sentiment and national identity. In the area of risk, he is particularly interested in how preppers and survivalists

discuss the ethics of ‘looting’ versus ‘scavenging’ after a possible societal breakdown. When he is not working, Professor Kunovich enjoys watching The Walking Dead and other zombie-related

TV shows and

movies, playing music, and kayak fishing. He was excited to spend a few weeks in Prague this past summer. It was his first time back to Prague since studying Czech at Charles University in 1996.

Ashley Lemke, AnthropologyDr. Lemke is starting her third year in the Anthropology Department at UTA. She is an archaeologist who specializes in underwater archaeology. Last year she taught Introduction to Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology, and a summer archaeology field school. Archaeology field schools are important for students who want to go into archaeology as a career after graduation. Dr. Lemke took 12 students to live and work at Way Ranch, an archaeological site in San Marcos, Texas. In addition to running the Archaeological field school, Dr. Lemke went to Michigan for a few months to do

underwater archaeological research in the Great Lakes. This year her team worked on making 3-D photographic models of underwater archaeological sites that are 9,000 years old. Dr. Lemke edited a book, which will be published this fall by University Press of Colorado. She also received a grant from UTA to start a new underwater project in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Isabel Montemayor, AnthropologyDr. Isabel Montemayor is currently working on her manuscript tentatively titled "Healing Bodies across Borders" which investigates the transnational health seeking strategies of undoc-umented Mexican immigrants and their families living in Michoacan and Michigan.  In spring of 2017 she

presented her paper "Migrant Hometown Associations as Conduits for Care" at the Society for Applied Anthropology annual meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In spring of 2017 her collaborative paper "They Treat you a Different Way: Public Health Insurance, Stigma and the Challenge to Quality Health Care," was published in the journal Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. In fall of 2017 her collaborative article, "Medicaid Reform, Responsibilization Policies, and the Synergism of Barriers to Low-income Health Seeking," was published by the journal Human Organization.

Dr. Montemayor is the faculty adviser for Lambda Alpha (Anthropological Honor Society) and the student activist group Mavericks United.

Harvest Moon, SociologyHarvest Moon enjoys showing students how the insights of sociology can be applied in a variety of occupational settings. In her spare time she volunteers for several non-profit organizations. 

Karl Petruso, Anthropology  In January 2018 (Wintermester) Dr. Petruso directed an experimental intensive 12-day, one-credit study abroad program sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts with generous support from Dean Elisabeth Cawthon. Prof. Charles Chiasson, Director of the Classics Minor in the Department ofPhilosophy and Humanities, taught a course on ancient Greek religion for 15 UTA students in many majors; Dr. Petruso contributed lectures on the archaeology and architecture of Greek sanctuaries. Much travel in central and southern Greece and the island of Aegina was a highlight of the trip; all participants and faculty flew to Athens as a group via Qatar in the Persian Gulf (!), and fly-overs of southern Iraq and western Iran were an unexpected treat. Dr. Petruso is finishing two reports to be submitted this fall, one on interpretation of marks on lead ingots excavated from a Late Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Israel, the other a critique of recent scholarly works on ancient metrology, which will appear in the proceedings of workshops at the University of Munich

(2016) and the University of Göttingen (2017). His invited entry on explicitly quantitative approaches to ancient weight metrology, in press in the SAS Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences, will be published by Wiley & Sons this year.

Josephine Ryan, Anthropology Dr. Josephine Ryan is a cultural anthropologist with interests including food and culture, gender and sexuality, human rights, public health, and medical anthropology. This fall she is teaching Global Cultures and Medical Anthropology. She served as the Graduate Advisor for the Anthropology Program from 2009-2015.  She is active in the refugee resettlement community and works with non-profit organiza-tions that assist newcomers in attaining living wage employment. She also works in the area of human rights education and has traveled with students to locations in Africa, Europe, and Central America.

Beth Anne Shelton, SociologyBeth Anne Shelton earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. She studies gendered patterns of time use in the home, in the paidlabor force and in volunteer work. Most of her research addresses the relationship between work and family, focusing on how the inner workings of the home impact individuals’ labor force activities as well as how the constraints of work impact

families, including children, mothers and fathers. She presented and will soon publish (with Rebecca Deen) “From Civic Mindedness to Electoral Politics: Citizen Advisory Committees and the Decision to Run for School Board.” She and Deen also continue their work on women’s paths to civic engagement, public service and elected office. She teaches courses on family, work and the intersection of the two. For leisure she plays tennis, runs and

sometimes gets talked into kayaking in the ocean.

Jason E. Shelton, Sociology Jason E. Shelton’s primary research interests concern the Sociology of Religion, as well as the intersections of race, class, and political/social attitudes in the Post-Civil Rights Era. His articles have appeared in Social Science Quarterly, Du Bois Review, J o u r n a l f o r t h e S c i e n t i f i c S t u d y o f R e l i g i o n , Sociological Perspectives, Journal of African American   S t u d i e s ,   A m e r i c a n B e h a v i o r a l S c i e n t i s t a n d o t h e r r e spected publications. New York University Press p ublished his first bo ok, Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial Discrimination Shapes Religious Convictions, which won the dist inguished book award, sponsored by the Southern Conference on African American Studies and was recognized by the American Sociological Association’s section on the Sociology of Religion. Dr. Shelton has been interviewed by major media outlets for news stories relevant to his research such as the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Houston Chronicle, and

network television affiliates in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 2018 Dr. Shelton published two articles, and began writing his second book, which tracks changes across African American life over the last 50 years with respect to religion, political views, marriage and family. In his spare time, Dr. Shelton enjoys hanging out at the beach, playing golf, and going to old school Hip Hop concerts!

Shelley Smith, AnthropologyProfessor Smith continued her ongoing research project exploring the presentation of human evolution materials in 12 museums. Over the past year, she visited museums in Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., New York, San Diego, and San Francisco to collect additional data and to conduct interviews with museum curators and staff. She presented a poster at the American Association of Physical

Anthropolo-gists’ meeting on the Texas museum displays in her sample (Ft. Worth, Dallas, Austin, and Houston). You can see and read

this poster outside her department office.

Dr. Smith expresses her gratitude to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the McDowell Center, and UTA’s Research Enhancement Program for generous funding of this project. Finishing up a separate project, Dr. Smith published “Single (sub)species then and now: An examination of the non-racial perspective of C. Loring Brace” in the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology earlier this year. This article honors the contributions of University of Michigan paleoanthropologist Loring Brace not only to studies of human evolution but also to the history of the discipline of physical anthropology and in particular to our under-standing of the problematic concept of “race,” considered in a biological context. Photo: Professor Smith as a Sahelanthropus. Smithsonian morph-ing station image. Amy Speier, Anthropology Dr. Amy Speier is a medical anthropologist specializing in cross-border reproductive care, with a focus on reproductive health, globalization

and medical tourism. Her book, Fertility Holidays: IVF Tourism and the Reproduction of Whiteness, was released August 2016. This book traces North American fertility journeys to the Czech Republic, examining the multiple motivations that compel them to travel halfway across the globe in their quest for parenthood. Dr. Speier has been conducting fieldwork that is examining which international intended parents are traveling to North America for fertility care. This type of fertility travel is much more complex and varied, given the vastly

unregulated “baby business” in the United States. Dr. Speier teaches courses in Research Methods and Medical Anthropology. She has been working on her current research for two and a half years (!) and she is currently teaching Global Cultures and Food and Culture. She looks forward to teaching Theory in the spring. 

Robert Young, SociologyProfessor Young teaches in the areas of Social Psychology, Deviance and Research Methods. His scholarly interests lie within the domains of symbolic interactionism, cognitive sociology and social psychology.  His most recent research has dealt with such topics as social interaction processes, the roles of emotion and cognition in human action, and human-animal relationships. Currently his research and writing focuses on the cognitive, social-interactional and cultural processes of personal moral systems. His forthcoming article “Exploring Empathy, Compassion Fatigue, and Burn-out among Feral Cat Caregivers” will appear in the journal Society and Animals. Dr. Young likes his colleagues and students, adores his family and loves jazz!

Christian Zlolniski, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Director, Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) Christian Zlolniski is a social anthropologist interested in work, labor, and transnational migration in the U.S-Mexico borderlands. He teaches courses in anthropology on globalization, migration, and applied anthropology, as well as on Mexican American/Latino studies. Last summer he published the article “Export agriculture, transnational farmworkers, and labor resistance in the Mexico-US borderlands” in the journal Dialectal Anthropology. He also presented the paper “Corporate versus Independent Unions in Mexico’s Transnational Agriculture” at the European Association of Social Anthropologists Conference held at Stockholm University in August 2018. He has two kids –Pablo and Natalia– and enjoys travelling with his family while on vacation.

***

David Arditi, Amy Speier, Heather Jacobson

Newly promoted and tenured faculty were honored at a dinner in October.

CENTER FOR THEORY

University of Texas Arlington

The University of Texas Arlington’s (UTA) Center for Theory has continued to grow in the last year. As listed in our mission statement, the goal of the Center for Theory aims to “facilitate the research and teaching of a growing number of faculty and graduate students interested in contemporary social and cultural theories,” and in the last year, the Center for Theory has managed to assist research and teaching of social theory. During the 2017-2018 academic year, the Center for Theory hosted its annual Colloquium Series, which included seven presenters from various universities. In addition, the spring 2018 Colloquium speakers discussed theoretical studies focused on the theme, “The Digital Dialectic,” which produced diverse research perspectives and helped build a scholarly community centered on this topic.

The Center for Theory continues to host Fast Capitalism at UTA. Following the release of issue 15.1 in September of 2018, Dr. David Arditi took over as Editor of the Journal. Further, the Center

established the Ben Agger Theory Library, which already includes: 141 books, The Journal of Sociological Theory and The European Journal of Social Theory.

In the upcoming academic year, the Center will publish the book, The Dialectic of Digital Culture, a collection of essays from the “Digital Dialectic” colloquium series. All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to funding the Center. The Colloquium Series for this academic year has been growing in size, and we would like to include more people, especially alumni in the audience. Additionally, the Center plans to introduce a “Best Theory Paper Award” for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Fall 2018 Colloquium Series(All Colloquia Start at Noon)

September 19 UH 432 Lonny Harris Modern Languages – UTA October 17 UH 432 Miriam Rowntree Engllish – UTAOctober 31 COBA 239 Gabe Ignatow Sociology – University of North TexasNovember 14 COBA 239 Sonja Watson Modern Languages – UTA

Study Abroad and Field Schools 2018

South AfricaAssociate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Naomi Cleghorn led a team of UTA students and other researchers to Knysna, South Africa. Funding was supported by grants from the Hyde Family Foundation, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, UTA and private donors.

Students Gabe, James & Stephanie on site Dr. Cleghorn with bone tool Dr. Cleghorn on site

GreeceDr. Karl Petruso (Anthropology) and Professor Charles Chaisson (Philosophy & Humanities) directed a 12-day study abroad program in Greece sponsored by CoLA. Dr. Petruso lectured on archaeology & architecture of Greek Sanctuaries and Dr. Chaisson taught ancient Greek Religion.

Group photo at Temple of Poseidon, Sounion Dr. Petruso lecturing at Temple of Athena, Aegina Dr. Chiasson lecturing at Temple of Apollo, Delphi

San Marcos, TexasUTA Associate Professor Dr. Ashley Lemke taught a summer field school at Way Ranch in San Marcos, Texas. Students were able to live and work at a 6000-10,000 year old prehistoric archaeological site and participate in a real archaeological excavation.

Dr. Ashley Lemke (center) with students at Way Ranch

Celebration of Achievement Ceremony

The Annual Department of Sociology and Anthropology Awards Ceremony w a s h e l d M a y 3 , 2 0 1 8 . The guest speaker was David Ofuoku who received a Sociology BA major with a Business Administration minor from UTA in 2013. He is currently employed as a bank manager.

Graduating Anthropology Seniors were James Barrett, Karla Camacho, Stephanie DolenzS, Abigail Domogalla, Jeremy Dubhros, Rebekah EngellandM, Victoria GambrelC, Joseph Gilchrist, Gabriel Griffin, Taylor Kizer, Nathan McClanahanC, and Autumn Mcgaha.

David Ofuoku & Dr. Bob Kunovich

Graduating Sociology Seniors were A n n a A l d r i c h C, Giovanni Bonilla, Jeremy Dubhros, Nikki Johnson, Asia Mears, Liliana Molina, Jeremy Moore, Kasandra Moreno, Frida Negrete, Tho Pham, Vang Pham, Jesse Poston, Pablo Sandoval Hernandez, Ishti Shama, and Lethe Witt. *Summa Cum Laude(s), Magna Cum Laude (m), Cum Laude(c)

Sociology & Anthropology Students

Graduating Sociology Master’s Students were Aamal Alabed, Denise Carmona, Christopher Robertson, Megan Routh, Meagan Sanders, and Erin Taylor.

Anthropology Honor Roll Recipients who maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher within the major and 3.0 overall were Clay Evon*, Julie Ford*, Eunice Guevara*, Paulene Kolota*, Madison Roberts*, Alex Smith, and Jessica Smith*.

Sociology Honor Roll Recipients who maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher within the major and 3.0 overall were Rahim Haghiri*, Matthew Nguyen Le*, Elisa Richburg*, Michelle Villegas*, Charles Vogel*.

Anthropology Scholars who maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher within the major and 3.0 overall and have completed more than 12 hours of coursework in the major were Peyton Carroll*, Shawna Cooper, Stephanie Dolenz*, Abigail Domogalla, Jeremy Dubhros, Rebekah Engelland*, Victoria Gambrel*, Sarah Hendrix, Justin Jones*, Verkayla Laster, Joshua Lindquist*, Nathan McClanahan, Mycroft Roske*, and Alondra Smith*.

Sociology Scholars who maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher within the major and 3.0 overall and have completed more than 12 hours of coursework in the major were Anna Aldrich*, Teresa Baker*, Giovanni Bonilla*, Joseph Gibbs, Tracy Kwan*, Jeremy Moore, Hannah Nazari*, Frida Negrete, Catherine Pham*, Tho Pham, Vang Pham, Jesse Poston, Jessica Salas*, Tanner Strawbridge*, Angela Tipton*, Lethe Witt*. Asterisk indicates GPA of 3.5 and above.

The Ben and Trudy Termini Anthropology Fellowship went to Luci Barnard, Paola Mireles, and Caridad Zamarripa.

The Blaine T. and Jean W. Williams Endowed Scholarship in Sociology went to Catherine Pham and Keyandra Stewart.

College of Liberal Arts Scholars were Peyton Carroll, Stephanie Dolenz, Rebekah Engelland, Victoria Gambrel, Mycroft Roske, and Angela Tipton

Bob Kunovich, Keyandra Stewart, Jean & Blaine Williams

College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Travel Award was presented to Nathan Cole Baggett, Angela Barajas and Meagan Sanders.

Lambda Alpha Inductees were Luci Barnard, James Barrett, Peyton Carroll, Rebekah Engelland, Verkayla Laster, and Jessica Smith.

Alpha Kappa Delta Inductees were Angela Barajas, Hannah Nazari, Tatiana Rivera, Megan Routh, Erin Taylor, and Angela Tipton.

Sociology Masters Theses

AAMAL NAIM ALABED – spring 2018

Committee Chair: Dr. Jason SheltonAssimilation Theories & Muslims in the U.S. DENISE CARMONA –spring 2018Committee Chair: Dr. Jason SheltonObstacles In Achieving Success For Women

CHRISTINA CARNEY –summer 2018Committee Chair: Dr. Beth Anne Shelton Obscured Leisure: How Crafting is used

as an Escape for Stay at Home Mothers

CHRISTOPHER ROBERTSON

MEGAN ROUTH – spring 2018Committee Chair: Dr. Kelly BergstrandNuns Making Fun: An Exploration of Humor Among Women Religious

MEAGAN SANDERS – spring 2018Committee Chair: Dr. Kelly BergstrandNurturing With Nature

ERIN TAYLOR – spring 2018Committee Chair: Dr. Beth Anne Shelton

Shifting Stigma Management: LGBTQIA and the Transgender Community

Committee Chair: Dr. Jason Shelton Race, Class, and Attitudes Towards Use of Force by Police

Alumni: Where Their Degrees have taken them

BRANDON BUTLER, a McNair Scholar, received a double major with a BA in Anthropology and a BS in Biology from UTA in 2016. He received a Neuroscience Fellowship from the University of Southern California for fall 2018.

CHRISTINA CARNEY received her BA in Sociology from UTA in 2015 and her Master of Arts in Sociology in 2018. She is employed as a lecturer in Sociology at TCU beginning in the fall 2018.

LA TONYA DAVISON received a BA in Sociology from UTA in 2012 and a dual Masters in Social Work and in Sociology from UTA in 2015. She is a host of FISHBOWL RADIO NETWORK Online Music Player (fbrn.us). She hosts the segment, The Mental Speak Show. LaTonya is a 14 year Navy veteran, stand-up comedian, and mental health social worker. As a mental health therapist, she provides direct care to adults and children with mental, emotional, or behavioral issues.

ANA GONZALES received her BA in Sociology from UTA in 2017. She has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, one of the top ranked Sociology programs in the country.

HANNAH KELLER received her Honors BA , Summa Cum Laude, in Anthropology from UTA in 2014. She currently is in the graduate program in the Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, where her research is in Zoological Archaeology.

CHRISTOPHER ROBERTSON received a Master of Arts in Sociology from UTA in 2018. He has been accepted into a Ph.D. program from the University of Minnesota.

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Anthropology Club The Anthropology Club kicked off with a great start this year. Our plans include museum visits, distinguished brown bag lecturers, exciting events like flint knapping, and helping with the annual goat roast hosted by Dr. Naomi Cleghorn. We are looking forward to continuing with social events like our cultural lunches at local venues. We seek to promote increased awareness of local and national events in anthropology while encouraging fun activities for our student body. For more information on the Anthro Club you may go to http://mavorgs.collegiatelink.net/organization/anthropologyclub. Anthropology Club officers are Alanis Ramos, President, Clay Evon, Vice President, Dallas Schrader, Secretary, Katherine Moon, Historian, and Marcie Wollery, Treasurer. Dr. Ashley Lemke is Faculty Advisor.

Lambda Alpha (The Anthropological Honor Society Alpha Chapter of Texas)Lambda Alpha is a dynamic national collegiate organization which nurtures and rewards undergraduate and graduate students’ excellence in Anthropology. This year in addition to assisting with the Termini Lecture and Brown Bag series, we will be focusing on developing professional and scholarly skills such as networking and research. We will be attending conferences and lectures throughout the year. This year will also see the introduction of social hours, events designed to give members an opportunity to discuss anthropological topics and career paths 2018. Lambda Alpha President is Jessica smith, Verkayla Laster is Secretary and Peyton Carroll is Treasurer. Dr. Isabel Montemayor is Faculty Advisor.

Sociology Student Association (SSA)The Sociology Student Association (SSA) is an officially recognized, student-led organization at the University of Texas Arlington. The purpose of SSA is to demonstrate the practical and theoretical aspects of Sociology in ways beneficial to its undergraduate and graduate students and the surrounding Arlington community. Membership is not limited to sociology majors. SSA activities include career development events, educational activities, community involvement, and social events. Each semester’s activities are determined by the student members. SSA officers are Tanner Strawbridge, President, Tatiana Rivera, Vice-President, Iris Garcia, Treasurer, and Jennifer Wellman, Secretary. Faculty advisor is Dr. Kelly Bergstrand.

Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD)The Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) Sociological Honor Society Omicron Chapter of Texas welcomed new sociology scholars from UTA to its ranks during the 2017 year. Dr. Robert Kunovich, Faculty Advisor and Chapter Representative for AKD, inducted new initiates at last year’s ceremony co-sponsored with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Lambda Alpha. The ceremony also honored UTA’s own Sociology Scholars and Sociology Honor Roll students with a reception and banquet afterward. AKD assists with funding for students interested in attending or presenting at professional conventions. To stay informed of the latest national AKD news, join the Facebook group: Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honor Society, and for more information on the Alpha Kappa Delta International Honor Society of Sociology you can go to: http://alphakappadeltainternational.com.

***Finals week: Hosted by the Department of Sociology & Anthropology each semester is always a success. More than 100 students stopped by the office this past spring 2018. The theme for the week was “Unlock Your Success for Finals.” An Escape Room was set up so that students were able to replenish their supplies with Scantrons, pencils, drinks and snacks and relax in a designated quiet, safe place to study or take a power nap!

WE RECOGNIZE FIVE STUDENT SCHOLARS

Blaine T. and Jean W. Williams Endowed Scholarship in Sociology

The Blaine T. and Jean W. Williams Endowed Scholarship in Sociology was awarded to Catherine Pham and Keyandra Stewart

Catherine Pham Keyandra Stewart

The Blaine T. and Jean W. Williams Endowed Scholarship in Sociology was presented at the department’s Celebration of Achievement Ceremony in the spring of 2018 to Catherine Pham and Keyandra Stewart. The Endowed Scholarship in Sociology was established by their son, Blaine Williams and his wife, Elaine Davenport. Blaine T. Williams, Sr. and his wife, Jean Wood Williams were pioneers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Sociology and Social Work community. The scholarship is awarded annually to a junior or senior majoring in Sociology at the University of Texas Arlington.

The Ben and Trudy Termini Anthropology Fellowship

The Ben and Trudy Termini Anthropology Fellowship was awarded to Luci Barnard, Paola Mireles, and Caridad Zamarripa

Luci Barnard Paola Mireles Caridad Zamarripa

Dr’s Ben and Trudy Termini established their medical practices in Arlington in 1975 and retired in 2003. They were always interested in Anthropology and audited a course at UT Arlington. They eventually began sponsoring an endowed lecture series which has attracted many world renouned speakers. This years speaker was Dr. John M. O’Shea, Curator of Archaeology at the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology and the Emerson F. Greenman Collegiate Professor of Archaeology in the University’s Department of Anthropology. This year a sponsored Termini Fellowship was

awarded to three deserving Anthropology students.

“WE, AT THE HEIGHT, ARE READY TO DECLINE”

The Ben and

Trudy Termini Distinguished Anthropologist Lecture for 2018 welcomed Dr. John M. O’Shea, Curator of Archaeology at the

University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, and the Emerson F. Greenman Collegiate Professor of Archaeology in the University’s Department of Anthropology.

O’Shea received his Ph.D in Prehistoric Archaeology from Cambridge University in 1979. He has directed major field projects focused on Bronze Age societies in Hungary and Romania, and late prehistoric cultures in North America. He is also actively engaged in underwater archaeology, where his research involves both submerged prehistoric sites and historic shipwrecks.

O’Shea’s research is focused on understanding how middle range societies operate and evolve. He is also concerned with the development of theoretical and analytical tools necessary to conduct anthropologically relevant studies of such societies in the past. These approaches include the use of funerary practices as a means of investigating past social organization, and the analysis of risk and uncertainty in prehistoric economies as a driver for group interaction and social complexity.

O’Shea’s current work is focused on understanding the growth of complexity among the Maros group, a Middle Bronze Age culture in southeast Hungary, northern Serbia, and western Romania. Excavations at the Bronze Age tell of Pecica Şanţul Mare over the past ten years provide a unique view of the birth, florescence, and ultimate collapse of the Bronze Age polity, and the roles that intensive metal production and horse rearing played in this process.

Photo taken from University of Michigan site: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/lakehuron-arch/lab-members/john-oshea-2/

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology acknowledges with gratitude the following financial supporters:

Termini Lecture Series 2018

Ben and Trudy Termini, Endowed Lecture Series, Anthropology Blaine Williams and Elaine Davenport, Endowed Scholarship, Sociology

*****Paul and Suzanne Baldon, Anthropology donors Ms. Sharon R. Gamez-Bittner, Department donor Ms. Evelynn M. Gordon, Department donorMr. Jaegan O. Williams, Department donor