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The Business of Birth: Reproductive Regimes and Maternity Care in the United States
Dr. Louise Marie Roth, The University of Arizona
In The Business of Birth, Louise Marie Roth explores the process of giving birth, and the ways in which medicine and law interact to shape maternity care. Focusing on the United States, Roth explores how the law creates an environment where medical providers, malpractice attorneys, and others limit women’s rights and choices during pregnancy and birth. She shows how a fear of liability risk often drives the decision-making process of medical providers, who prioritize hospital efficiency over patient safety, to the detriment of mothers themselves. Ultimately, Roth advocates for an approach that protects the reproductive rights of mothers. A comprehensive overview, The Business of Birth provides valuable insight into the impact of the law on mothers, medical providers, and maternity care practices in the United States.
November 17, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 951 9557 4094
Passcode: 797826If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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“Did you see that too?” Unpacking the Role of Reasoning about & Exposure to Microaggressions
Dr. Allegra J. Midgette, Texas A&M University
Prior scholarship has found that U.S. college students of racial and ethnic minoritized backgrounds experience frequent subtle behaviors that communicate negative messages towards their group or themselves as individuals (Nadal et al., 2015; Solorzano et al., 2000; Sue, 2010; Sue et al., 2007), also termed microaggressions (Pierce et al., 1978; Sue, 2010; Sue et al., 2007). Although microaggressions in higher education often occur in the presence of student bystanders, prior research suggests that individuals from dominant groups may not perceive such events as discriminatory (Lithinfeld, 2007; Sue et al., 2008a; Tynes & Markoe, 2010). Moreover, the majority of the research on microaggressions has focused on the experiences of targets (Lilienfeld, 2017) rather than perpetrators of microaggressive behaviors (Kanter et al., 2017). In today’s talk I will be presenting our recent research that has aimed to unpack both the role of exposure to microaggressions (e.g., observer versus target) in informing students’ understanding of racism and sexism, as well as the role of reasoning about microaggressions as an important method for capturing students’ evaluations and recognition of racial microaggressions (Midgette & Mulvey, 2021; Midgette & Mulvey, Under Review). Implications of these studies for both research methods and educational interventions will be discussed.
About Dr. Midgette:
Allegra J. Midgette, Ph.D. is a Visiting Assistant Professor and ACES Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University. She recently completed a two-year NICHD T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Midgette graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Education, with honors, magna cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Midgette’s research investigates the origins and social processes that support individuals in developing an understanding of justice and learning how to care for others in an inequitable and unjust world. Her work addresses two key questions: 1) How do we come to care about each other and about justice within the family? and 2) How do we become just in the face of inequality? To investigate these questions, Dr. Midgette employs a mixed methodology that places the experiential reality of children, adolescents, emerging adults and their families at the forefront. The long-term goal of her work is to characterize how cultural, societal, and family practices influence individual moral development, with the ultimate aim of supporting the creation of interventions that contribute to individuals’ development into more caring and just individuals.
November 3, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 913 1948 1544
Passcode: 715352If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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Gaslighted: How the Oil and Gas Industry Shortchanges Women Scientists
Dr. Christine Williams, The University of Texas at Austin
The oil and gas industry is one of the richest and most powerful industries in the world. In recent years, company avowals in support of diversity, much-touted programs for “women in STEM,” and, most importantly, a tight labor market with near parity in women pursuing geoscience credentials might lead us to expect progress for women in this industry’s corporate ranks. Yet, for all the talk of “the great crew change,” the industry remains overwhelmingly white and male. Sociologist Christine L. Williams asks, where are the women?
October 27, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 919 7799 9784
Passcode: 274536If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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Cycle of Segregation: Social Processes and Residential Stratification
Dr. Maria Krysan, University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Kyle Crowder, University of WashingtonThe Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed housing discrimination by race. But almost fifty years later, residential segregation remains virtually unchanged. Why does segregation persist at such high rates and what makes it so difficult to combat? In Cycle of Segregation, sociologists Maria Krysan and Kyle Crowder examine how everyday social processes shape residential stratification. The authors argue that past neighborhood experiences, social networks, and daily activities all affect the mobility patterns of different racial groups in ways that have cemented segregation as a self-perpetuating cycle in the twenty-first century. Cycle of Segregation demonstrates why a nuanced understanding of everyday social processes is critical for interrupting entrenched patterns of residential segregation. In this talk, Krysan will provide an overview of the central arguments of Cycle of Segregation. She will also share examples of engaged sociology she has undertaken since its publication, through her collaboration with Tonika Lewis Johnson, a Chicago-based social justice artist and creator of the Folded Map Project.
October 20, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 981 2344 4790
Passcode: 956600If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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The Evolution of Juan Crow in Higher Education: From Lulac v Richard to the Present
Dr. Isabel Araiza, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
The Race and Ethnic Studies Institute (RESI), in partnership with the Department of Sociology, invites you to attend our upcoming virtual Colloquium on Wednesday, October 13 at 12PM CST. Dr. Isabel Araiza, Associate Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of Mexican American Studies at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, will be presenting a critical look at the higher education opportunities provided to Mexican Americans.
Information in the RESI website
October 13, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom session
Meeting ID: 995 2207 0262
Passcode: 851972If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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Insecurity and Inequality in Academia: Differential Effects of COVID-19 on Work Conditions and Work-Life Balance in the Texas A&M Academic Community
Angelique Maes, Texas A&M University
Work-Life Balance (WLB) seems to be difficult to achieve in academia but is also highly coveted and is seen as an important factor for retention (Lindfelt et al 2018). Generally, the ability to obtain WLB appears to vary by gender, caregiving status, and cultural inequities (Hurtado et al., 2012; Philipsen, 2008; Philipsen & Bostic, 2010; Hermann et al 2014). This qualitative project examines the impacts of COVID-19 on individual scholars at Texas A&M University, while recognizing that the pandemic will have differential impacts on WLB and work conditions that are likely to widen existing gaps along the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, caregiver status, discipline, and appointment status. Our research questions include: How has the relationship between work-life balance and work productivity changed for scholars due to recent transformations to the organizational context of work? This qualitative research includes 101 participants representing 5 different categories of scholars that include 26 PhD Students, 14 Post-Doctoral Fellows, 19 APT Faculty, 20 Tenure-Track Faculty, and 21 Tenured Faculty. Participants completed two qualitative semi-structured interviews via Zoom. Each interview spanned between 1-2 hours. Interviews have been conducted and transcribed by a team of 7 graduate students, with 3 additional graduate students coordinating interviews and coding. Interviews are being coded by a team of undergraduate students. Qualitative analysis is being conducted with the use of the qualitative software Dedoose, where themes common in the data will be identified and coded. WLB was coded utilizing the following criteria: features of home-work situation, types of personal disruption and change to work-life balance. Preliminary results indicate that across scholars at Texas A&M University, WLB appears to have worsened due to the pandemic. Gender, caregiver status, and category of scholar are key to understanding individual experiences.
October 6, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom session
Meeting ID: 930 5911 7332
Passcode: 819231If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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Mexican Immigrant Parenting in Under-Resourced Latinx School-Communities at a Time of Strict Immigration Enforcement: An Ecological Approach
Dr. David Rangel, Brown University
Numerous studies have pointed to class-based cultural beliefs as the primary driver of childrearing and school-involvement practices (Lareau 2003; Calarco 2018). However, this focus on class-based differences homogenizes potential within-group variation and neglects how broader social forces can intersect to influence childrearing. Drawing on interview data with 30 parents from 17 Mexican immigrant households with elementary-aged children in San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, this paper qualitatively examines parenting practices and beliefs, and factors that structure them. Our interview data highlights how parents engaged in a range of childrearing practices not solely determined by class-based cultural values. Instead, contextual factors such as legal status, hostile immigrant contexts, and language (in)accessibility shaped parents’ interactions with schools, teachers, and their children. These contextual factors obscure fundamental childrearing beliefs and highlight how social and policy environments shape parenting in structurally disadvantaged contexts and their resulting inequalities.
September 29, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom session
Meeting ID: 991 7850 6546
Passcode: 560287If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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Reading Writing and Harassment: Educational Inequality at the U.S. Mexico Border
Peggy Sue Harris, Texas A&M University
Albert, a Mexican American high school student from El Paso, Texas, was on his way to class when U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped and questioned him, suspicious of his citizenship status. Soon, more stories like Albert’s began to surface prompting members of the community to sue Border Patrol for harassment. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor and Border Patrol was ordered to refrain from harassing individuals based solely on their Hispanic appearance. Unfortunately, Latinx youth continue to experience verbal and physical discrimination and harassment from Border agents despite the law today.
Albert’s story highlights the unique experience Latinx youth face attending school in the U.S.-Mexico Border region than those outside of it. These experiences are important as they can exacerbate educational inequalities between Latinx and non-Latinx students. Examining the impact a particular place can have on youth’s education, this research focuses on the educational inequality between White and Latinx students inside and outside the U.S.-Mexico Border region, questioning whether achievement for Latinx students is lower inside the US-Mexico Border region than outside of it, relative to the outcomes of White students.
September 22, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom session
Meeting ID: 958 7237 5029
Passcode: 732633If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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How COVID-19 Has Transformed Japan’s Culture of (Over)Work?
Dr. Hiroshi Ono, Hitotsubashi University Business School
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted labor markets around the world. Workers and corporations scrambled to adjust their workstyles to a new normal, by avoiding the commute and working remotely from their homes or elsewhere. Japan is a country that stood out for its inability to adjust to the remote work environment. Comparative statistics show that Japan reported the lowest number of people engaged in remote work among the OECD countries, as well as the lowest percentage of corporations that offered remote work policies.
In this colloquium, I will discuss why telework in Japan is difficult. The lack of telework in Japan may seem paradoxical, given the country’s reputation for being technologically advanced. I argue that it is not the technological infrastructure that is lacking in the Japanese workplace, but distinct features of work embedded in Japanese culture and its collectivist roots that prevent the effective implementation of telework. I rely on recently published data from various sources, and apply key sociological theories such as implicit contracts, gift exchange, dramaturgy and impression management to substantiate my main arguments. The paper concludes by drawing on implications for the future of work in Japan.
September 15, 2021
Wednesday, 7–8:30pm
Zoom session
Meeting ID: 946 6571 0045
Passcode: 138480If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799
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Chaos in the Military Response to Afghanistan
Dr. Stjepan Meštrović, Texas A&M University
Dr. Meštrović will draw from his research in US military responses to the war in Afghanistan to compare and contrast the most recent events with previous dilemmas and problems.
September 8, 2021
Wednesday, 12–1:30pm
Zoom session
Meeting ID: 991 0901 4650
Passcode: 613536If you cannot join with video, you can connect to the Zoom session via phone: 1–346–248–7799