The Sociology Department provides a challenging and engaging environment for students entering into our Graduate program. Entering cohorts typically range from 5-12 students per year.

This year we welcome five new students to our program. 

Madison Danton 

Madison Danton has a B.A. in Psychology with a Sociology minor from the San Diego State University and is completing a M.A. in Social Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno.  He is interested in: demographic predictors of political attitudes and behavior, LGB political experience, influence of religion on understandings of political issues, social identity approach, and statistical methods.

Olivia Dono

I have a BA in history and sociology with a minor in women’s studies from St. Joseph’s College. My undergraduate thesis focused on the effectiveness of the social features in the popular first person shooter video game Overwatch. I am interested in studying culture, especially pop culture, gender, race/ethnicity, and intersectionality. I think pop culture is a useful tool for analyzing social issues and norms.

Chase Lonas

Chase Lonas received his BA in Middle East Studies/Arabic from Brigham Young University. His undergraduate studies allowed him to study in Jordan, which greatly influenced his research interests in culture, narrative, religion, nationalism, and political sociology.

Cassie Quattropani

Cassie Quattropani is a 24-year old Connecticut native. She is a graduate of Saint Anselm College (c/o 2017), majoring in sociology. Broadly, her research interests are in the area of gender inequality. Opposingly, her personal interests are much more specific, and include spending too much money at Barnes and Noble, livestreaming April the Giraffe, and waiting for new music from Taylor Swift. She looks forward to continuing her academic career in sociology at UConn, and figuring out the next steps as they come. 

Rianka Roy

I am from Kolkata, India. I have been a student of English literature in BA, MA and MPhil. In 2018, I submitted my doctoral thesis on social media surveillance and privacy at the School of Media, Communication and Culture, Jadavpur University. At present I teach English literature at an undergraduate college in Kolkata. I usually teach John Milton, Literature of the English Revolution, Postcolonial Literature and Critical Theory. I’m also interested in Digital Humanities, Media Studies and Cultural studies.

However, my passion for interdisciplinary research has driven me to pursue another doctoral program. It is my privilege and honor that the Department of Sociology has accepted me as a student. I look forward to having intense academic and cultural interaction and collaboration with the professors and students at the University of Connecticut.

Beyond academic engagements, I read a lot of crime fiction. PD James and Raymond Chandler are my favourite authors. I am also interested in film criticism and vocal music.