Author: Brereton, Ajalon

Thomas Volscho: Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting

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Congrats to Sociology alum Thomas Volscho for winning the Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting for his work on the ABC Radio News podcast Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein. This award recognizes individuals who demonstrate the excellence of Edward R. Murrow in the broadcasting news profession.

***Excerpt from article***

“I worked on investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s finances and how he accumulated his fortune,” Volscho explained. “We found that Epstein began accumulating his real estate, airplanes, island, and other things shortly after selling stock on behalf of his billionaire client Leslie Wexner. I also reported on Epstein’s time as a teacher at the Dalton School and how he was dismissed, contrary to what he told people.”

 

Manisha Desai: Reflections on Decolonising the Transnational Feminist Analytic

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Manisha Desai

Check out Professor of Sociology and Asian and Asian American Studies, Manisha Desai, at the upcoming event:

"Reflections on Decolonising the Transnational Feminist Analytic" on October 7th, 2021 from 12:30pm-1:45pm.

While transnational feminist movements and praxis have a centuries old history, transnational feminism as an analytic emerged in the 1990s US academy in response to its own internal debates of theorising across difference and the larger context of the global gender equality regime that had emerged over the UN Women’s Decade and the Fourth World Conference in Beijing.

If Transnational Feminist Analytic (TFA) is to remain relevant as an example of theorising across differences, it needs to be in conversation with other imaginings across difference. In particular, Manisha Desai will highlight the need to attend to three such endeavors: decolonial feminisms that centre the settler coloniality of the Americas; Bahujan and Dalit feminisms that challenge the Brahmanic supremacy of unmarked Indian feminism; and decolonial, postsocialist feminisms that challenge the already recognized erasure of the erstwhile Second World from the transnational feminist analytic.

Register Here

Phoebe Godfrey: Sustainability, Community, and Food–Theory Meets Action for UConn Undergrads

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Check out a recent article on UConn Today, titled “Sustainability, Community, and Food–Theory Meets Action for UConn Undergrads,” where they recognize Associate Professor in Residence of Sociology, Phoebe Godfrey, as a faculty member dedicated to teaching classes for the Sustainable Community Food Systems Minor.

***Excerpt from article***

“Sustainable Community Food Systems provides motivated undergraduates with hands-on experiences in the community around issues of food, sustainability, and social justice,” says program co-founder and advisor Andrew Jolly-Ballantine, an associate professor-in-residence with UConn’s Department of Geography. “We designed the SCFS minor with the intent of providing UConn students with the kind of deep learning experience that is usually seen in small, liberal arts co-op or thesis programs.”

Now in its fourth year, the minor includes a core set of classes as well as a capstone thesis required of all participants, and the heart of SCFS is its dedicated team of faculty and mentors, including Phoebe Godfrey in Sociology; Kristina Wagstrom in Chemical Engineering; Jennifer Crushman in UConn Extension; and, until recently, Julia Cartibiano, former manager of Spring Valley Student Farm.

Carla Dhillon: New Faculty Bring Antiracism and the Environment to the Forefront

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Check out UConn Today’s recent article “New Faculty Bring Antiracism and the Environment to the Forefront,” where they introduce the new CLAS faculty, including our newest member to the department Carla Dhillon who will work across disciplines to advance Antiracism and Human Interactions with the Environment. 

***Excerpt from article***

Carla Dhillon is an incoming assistant professor in sociology. With a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Dhillon’s research bridges environmental sociology, decolonial studies, climate change, and social dimensions of science and technology. 

Dhillon examines pathways that aim to transform inequalities in environmental science practices. Her recent projects focus on the politics of cross-cultural climate change partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous parties, and on community-oriented science in environmental health and justice movements. Also a licensed civil engineer, Dhillon previously worked as a structural and sustainable building designer. 

As an educator, Dhillon emphasizes critical social analysis applied to environmental challenges. Her approach highlights voices and actions by those often excluded from formal environmental fields. 

Liz Holzer: Improving Water and Food Security in Ethiopia through Research

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Check out a recent article by the United Nations titled “Improving Water and Food Security in Ethiopia through Research” where they discuss the recent works of Water and Food Security, Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) project, with the help of Associate Professor of Sociology and Human Rights, Elizabeth Holzer, who is also one of the leaders of this project.

***Excerpt***

The Water and Food Security PIRE project aims to improve agricultural productivity and water management in low-income agricultural communities in the Blue Nile Basin, in northeast Africa. The main goal is to provide accurate seasonal predictions on farm-scale water availability and the corresponding crop yields during both wet and dry seasons. Local communities rely on the Blue Nile Basin to sustain their crops and in turn sustain themselves, but rainfall and water levels in the area can be unpredictable, causing crop failure and food shortages.

Laura Mauldin: Humanities Institute Fellow

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Congratulations to Associate Professor of Human Development & Family Sciences and Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies/Sociology Laura Mauldin for being selected as a faculty fellow for the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute (UCHI). “For All We Care” is a book project based on the stories of spousal/partner caregivers who everyday provide extraordinary care to their partners despite near total abandonment from the state. Mauldin uses interviews with dozens of spousal caregivers across the country, as well as her own experience, to reveal the realities of this untenable arrangement.


For more information check out the article "20th Class of Humanities Institute Fellows Pursue Wide Range of Scholarship" published on UConn Today.