2007 North Central Sociological Association's Annual Meeting April 4-7, 2007 Chicago, IL

Sociology faculty and 10 students participated in this year’s North Central Sociological Association (NCSA) meeting in Chicago, April 4-7. The participation of the students was made possible through a travel grant provided by the SMC Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership (CWIL). Six of the sociology seniors presented the research from their senior comprehensive research projects including: Laura Frechette, Chelsea Gulling, Alice Holohan, Anna Konger, Maribeth Sarnecki, and Amanda Shropshire. In addition, three students presented on arrest data collected as part of CWIL fellow Carrie Erlin’s research team. We also caught up with Sam (Sarah) Medina (SMC 06) who is currently at the University of Connecticut in the Masters of Sociology Program.

. Laura Frechette (left) Carrie Erlin (right)

Chelsea Gulling

Susan Alexander

The Sociology Department’s newest faculty, Leslie Wang, gave a keynote address as the recipient of the NCSA’s 2006 Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Award. Sociology faculty Mary Ann Kanieski presented on her newest research project on “Parenting ‘Class’: Childrearing and Class Advantage.” Sociology department chair, Susan Alexander, presented on a new research project titled “Framing ‘Deserving Victims:’ Social Constructs of Displaced Hurricane Katrina Survivors.”

Chelsea Gulling, Irene Bayudan, and Mary Ann Kanieski

Leslie Wang's Keynote "Reflections on Teaching"

Amanda Shropshire (07), Sarah (Sam) Medina (06), and Carrie Erlin

For the second year in a row, a Saint Mary’s College Sociology major has won the North Central Sociological Association’s annual student paper competition. Alice Holohan won first place in this national competition for her paper titled “The Catholic Cross-Over: A Case Study of St. Thomas More Parish. 1950-2000.” The paper is a content analysis of Chicago’s St. Thomas More parish bulletins from 1958 to 2000. Alice discusses how the Catholic Church dealt with racial and class issues following World War II and particularly the liberal ideas generated from the Civil Rights Movement and Vatican II. She assessed whether the Church encouraged the Catholic white flight to the suburbs or whether it embraced its new African-American parishioners and remained a Wrightwood community anchor.

To read Alice’s paper, go to: http://www.saintmarys.edu/~socio/Senior%20Seminar%20F07/Alice%27s%20paper.doc

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS FROM the CONFERENCE

Amanda Shropshire		Breakfast laughs
The "Pope Dinner"	Carrie's Research Team	Alice Holohan. Chelsea Gulling, and Laura Frechette