M AC A L E S T E R AC A D E M I C U P DAT E2 0 1 8 FA L L

SociologySociology examines how power, culture, and institutions influence the lives of people and activities of organizations. Studying sociology enables students to situate their own lives in broader context and to under-stand the dynamic development and interplay of political, economic, and cultural forces. Training in sociology cultivates skills graduates use in a variety of careers and civic activities: drawing on diverse perspectives to make informed judgments, evaluating multiple forms of evidence to interpret events, developing comprehensive un-derstandings of social life, and clearly communicating ideas. Macalester’s sociology program distinguishes itself by its emphasis on comparative/in-ternational sociology and its tradition of excellence in student research. In recent years, Macalester sociology stu-dents have won more than 30 regional and national awards for the quality of their research projects. In 2010, Macalester’s Sociology Department was recognized with the Departmental Award for Teaching Excellence by the Midwest Sociological Society. Students may major or minor in sociology.

FacultyTerry Boychuk, associate professor and chair, specializes in comparative-historical sociology, social policies, and nonprofit organizations. His latest publication, The Making and Meaning of Hospital Policy in the United States and Canada, is a comparative study of why movements to establish national health insurance failed in the United States and succeeded in Canada. More recently, he has studied the historical origins of the legal frameworks that define the nature and scope of the charitable nonprofit sector in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the British Commonwealth.

Erika Busse-Cardenas, assistant professor, specializes in international migration, gender and family, race and ethnicity, feminist studies, and ethnography. Her research has been published in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, International Journal of Sociology, and Racial and Ethnic Studies. She is currently conducting ethnographic research to investigate the interplay of gender and context of reception in the process of ethnic identity construction among Peruvian immigrants in the U.S. In addition, she is participating in two collaborative projects. One focuses on how feminist organizations draw on global discourses to shape women’s reproduction rights and policies in Peru. The other analyzes how race and (perceived) class of instructors shape employing feminist pedagogy in the classroom.

Erik Larson, professor, specializes in economic sociology, political sociology, and the sociology of law. His research focuses on the emergence and transformation of legal, economic, and political institutions in relation to global and national developments. For this research, he has traveled to China, Fiji, Ghana, Iceland, Japan, Switzerland and Taiwan. Three of his projects have received funding from the National Science Foundation. His publications include “Emerging Indigenous Governance: Ainu Rights at the Intersection of Global Norms and Domestic Institutions” in Alternatives: Global, Local, Political (co-authored with two Macalester students). He is co-editor of Law & Society Reader II (NYU Press 2014).

Khaldoun Samman, professor, specializes in world historical-comparative sociology, urban sociology, globalization, the sociology of religion, and classical and modern sociological theory. His latest book is The Clash of Modernities: The Islamist Challenge to Jewish, Turkish and Arab Nationalism. Drawing comparisons between Turkey, Israel, and the Arab World, his research surveys the origins of the present strife in the region and suggests alternative strategies that may help peacefully resolve conflicts in the Middle East.

CoursesAffirmative Action Policy

Comparative/Historical Sociology

Criminal Behavior/Social Control (First-year Course in Fall 2018)

Digital Society

Economic Sociology

The End of Men?

Environmental Sociology

Festival of Nations: Sociology of (Multi)Cultural Performance

Immigrant Voices

Indigenous Peoples’ Movements in Global Context

Interpretive Social Research

Introduction to Sociology

Islam and the West

Law and Society

Medical Sociology

Moral Panics

Nonprofit Organizations

Political Sociology

Public Schooling in America

Social Science Inquiry

Social Theories

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

Urban Engagement and Social Justice

Sociology

Honors ProjectsNicholas Shriver ’18 (Minneapolis), “Combative Values: Hybrid Masculinities and the Gendered Consumption of Violence in Women’s Mixed Martial Arts”

Nicholas Bascuñan-Wiley ’17 (Raleigh, N.C.), “Contextualizing Palestinian Hybridity: How Pragmatic Citizenship Influences Diasporic Identities”

Erica Ditmore ’17 (El Cerrito, Calif.), “Children as Bearers of Culture: How Authorities Interpret Law Protecting Culture in International Adoption”

Claire Looney ’17 (Seattle), “Does Social Consumption Mitigate Stigma? Identity Formation in an Urban Farmers’ Market”

Mahala Miller ’17 (Oak Park, Ill.), “‘I Treat Everyone with Respect’: Legal Debt Collection as Institutionalized Racism in a Color-blind America”

Junius Brown ’16 (Ridgefield, Conn.), “Battle for the Soul of the Working Class: Trajectories and Dynamics of Class Politics in the U.S. and France”

Yan Jin ’16 (Jiangsu, China), “Personalizing Service: Interaction & Assessment in Provider-Mediated Share Economics”

Hannah Kenyon Lair ’16 (Chicago), “Convenient Story: Minority Inclusion and Integration in the United States Armed Forces”

Alejandra Carrillo ’15 (Dearborn, Mich.), “Secrets of a Public Defender: Navigating the Courts, Judge, and Clients”

Lane Holden ’15 (Webster Groves, Mo.), “Negotiating the Neighborhood: The Role of Neighborhood Associations in Urban Planning Processes”

Madeline Spolin ’15 (Palo Alto, Calif.), “Lawyered Up: Local Communities, Courts, and Urban Renewal”

Mbemba Camara ’14 (New York), “Transnational Narratives: Interpretation and Appropriation of Black Identity by West African Immigrants”

Ethan Johnson ’14 (Duluth, Minn.), “How Does a Believer Become Evangelical? Using Habitus to Track the Transfer of Religious Meaning Across Social Contexts”

Hannah Johnson ’14 (Olympia, Wash.), “‘I’m More Than the Sum of My Parts’: Multiracial Identities and the Creation of Racial Meaning”

Jessica Muñoz ’14 (Hayward, Calif.), “Mexican Identity Beyond Labels, Beyond Borders”

Anna Pickrell ’14 (Moraga, Calif.), “The Mary Poppins Problem: Enforcing Protective Legislation for Domestic Workers in America”

InternshipsClaire Looney ’17 (Seattle), NAMI Seattle, intern

Mahala Miller ’17 (Chicago) Domestic Violence Legal Clinic of Chicago, and Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota

Zoe Nardone ’17 (North Bennington, Vt.), Green Card Voices, program associate

Logan Tootle ’17 (Choctaw, Okla.), Casa de Refugio Matilde, intern, and Minnesota Women’s Consortium, events coordinator intern

Anna Lee ’16 (Fort Lee, N.J.), Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, conservation and environmental education intern

Caroline Wright ’16 (Gaylord, Mich.), Grace Trinity Church, Ministry in a Changing World intern

Alejandra Carrillo ’15 (Dearborn, Mich.), Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs and American Civil Liberties Union

Arielle Lawson ’14 (Evanston, Ill.), The Family Partnership

David Lopez ’14 (St. Louis), Columbia University Summer Public Health Scholars Program

Rebecca McCrory ’14 (Seattle), Scholarship America

Hannah Rasmussen ’14 (St. Paul), Christians for Biblical Equality

Bailey Rehnberg ’14 (York, Pa.), Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

After MacalesterNick Bascuñan-Wiley ’17 (Raleigh, N.C.) is pursuing a PhD in sociology at Northwestern University.

Mahala Miller, ’17 (Denver) is with AmeriCorps VISTA with Habitat for Humanity.

Logan Tootle ’17 (Choctaw, Okla.) is working as a safe harbors youth worker at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, as well as part-time as a family advocate at Casa de Esperanza.

Yan Jin ’16 (Jiangsu, China) is a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Anna Lee ’16 (Fort Lee, N.J.) is a Department of Energy Scholar in Aiken, S.C.

Ellen Brady ’15 (St. Paul) is working with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Berkeley, Calif.

Madeline Spolin ’15 (Palo Alto, Calif.) is a corps member at Teach for America in Memphis.

Mara Aussendorf ’14 (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) is working for Public Health Management Corporation in Philadelphia as a project assistant.

Hannah Johnson ’14 (Olympia, Wash.) is an office assistant at SEO Scholars in New York City.

Rebekah Keller ’14 (Ballwin, Mo.) is attending law school at the University of Missouri.

Arielle Lawson ’14 (Evanston, Ill.) is working for Capitol Hill Housing in Seattle through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps Program.

Rebecca McCrory ’14 (Seattle) is attending graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University.

Meghan Merriam ’14 (Warroad, Minn.) is an office manager for Kinnix Group in Bloomington, Minn.

Jessica Muñoz ’14 (Hayward, Calif.) is working as a special assistant at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va.

Anna Pickrell ’14 (San Francisco) is a senior analyst at WCG, a W2O company in San Francisco.

Bailey Rehnberg ’14 (York, Pa.) is working for Environment Maryland as a clean water organizer.

Updated August 2018

macalester.edu/sociology