Sociology
Site Contents
Welcome to the Department of Sociology
2012 Newsletter
|
Sociology studies how societies are organized, and the consequences of varying forms of organization on people's lives. It is scientific, based upon systematic analyses of evidence; it is non-obvious, in making discoveries that might not otherwise be noticed; and it is important, in identifying opportunities and strategies for change that can improve society.
Purdue's Department of Sociology: produces world-class scholarship, in the books and articles it publishes; offers two outstanding undergraduate majors, one in Sociology and another in Law and Society; and delivers an exceptionally strong graduate program leading to the Ph.D. At the graduate level, the Department's research and training programs are currently organized into six areas: Family and Gender; Health, Aging, and the Life Course; Law and Society; Sociology of Religion; Social Inequality; and Social Movements and Political Sociology.
Bert Useem
Professor and Head
Departmental Events
Under the direction of Dr. Brian Kelly, the Department will host a symposium on April 19, 20. From Street to Elite: Ethnographies of 21st Century Youth will bring together scholars currently engaged in cutting-edge research on young people’s lives across the social strata. Through this mini-conference, we will bring together a panel of scholars to explore the continuities and variances in the lived experiences of youth.
Scholars speaking at this symposium include:
Dr. Katherine Newman – Johns Hopkins University
Dr. David Grazian – University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Alice Goffman – University of Wisconsin
Dr. Ashley Mears – Boston University
Dr. Jooyoung Lee – University of Toronto
Dr. Shamus Khan – Columbia University
We welcome participation in this event from faculty and students at our neighboring universities. Registration is free and open to the public, but we do ask that all attendees register for the event. Further details and a portal for registration will be made available soon at the following website: www.conf.purdue.edu/street
We hope that you are able to join us for this event.
Departmental Highlights
Professor Fenggang Yang is the Director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society here at Purdue. The Center’s newsletter can be found here. A $2 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to the Center supports studies and train researchers in the social scientific study of religion in China and in the Chinese diaspora. Watch an interview from the John Templeton Foundation here.
