This month marks 22 years since the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA was an important first step toward improving the lives of American workers by helping them secure unpaid leave from their jobs for a variety of family issues, while protecting their employment security. But the FMLA left much to […]
Department of Sociology
Early Poverty Linked to Obesity in Women
Adolescent girls who grow up in poor households are more likely than their male counterparts to become overweight or obese, according to a new study by Tetyana Pudrovska, assistant professor of sociology. The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, shows long-lasting consequences of economic hardship in childhood for the risk of […]
Sociology Celebrates 100 Years
This year, the Department of Sociology celebrated its 100-year anniversary. Looking back at the department’s many achievements within the past century, this is a milestone worthy of a big celebration. In addition to its top national rankings, the department is home to an impressive number of eminent social scientists—from C. Wright Mills, whose seminal works […]
Keeping A Pulse On Population Health
A few years ago, a Plan II Honors student in Marc Musick’s sociology lecture came to him with a question. Musick had been talking about the shortage of doctors in rural and inner city areas. The student had grown up in the Rio Grande Valley and hoped to go on to medical school. Why, he […]
The Road to Gender Equity: Still Under Construction
Christine Williams has heard her share of conflicting arguments about gender equality in the sociology course she’s taught for more than two decades at The University of Texas at Austin. But there is always one question that gives her pause: “Women have achieved equality, so why is feminism relevant?” “I’m always taken aback when students […]
Food for Thought
Government Professor Bartholomew “Bat” Sparrow first got the idea to teach a class about food from his wife, who had worked at Whole Foods for eight years. The result was an undergraduate course—“The Politics of Food in America”—that uses food as a lens through which to view the entire U.S. political system. “The idea was […]
For Women, Job Authority Adds to Depression Symptoms
Job authority increases symptoms of depression among women, but decreases them among men, according to a new study from University of Texas at Austin sociologist Tetyana Pudrovska. “Women with job authority — the ability to hire, fire and influence pay — have significantly more symptoms of depression than women without this power,” said Pudrovska, the […]
Examining the Economic Self
Many people dream of getting rich, of leaving the drudgery of work for a life of financial freedom. Daniel Fridman, an assistant professor of sociology and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, investigated how groups of people in New York City and his native Buenos Aires attempt to take control of their […]
Millennial Nation
A Generational Look at Education, Money and Work Empathetic. Impatient. Innovative. Unfocused. Rational. Naive. Excited. These are the words millennials in the College of Liberal Arts use when they’re asked to describe themselves. However, it’s a question they’re not often asked. Plenty of people, from journalists to researchers to employers, are looking to define who […]
Making the Grade
Strategies for Improving Education in America Few dispute the value of education, but discussions about how our nation should improve it are becoming more intense and polarized. Of all the competing arguments—more technology, smaller classrooms, improved teacher training, universal pre-kindergarten—most people would agree that America’s education system needs to improve, and soon. According to recent […]
Regents Honor Outstanding Teaching
Five faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts received the 2013 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor. The awards program is one of the nation’s largest monetary teaching recognition programs in higher education, honoring outstanding performance in the classroom and dedication to innovation in undergraduate instruction. The […]
High School and Beyond
University of Texas at Austin sociologist and Population Research Center affiliate Chandra Muller and economist Sandra Black have received a $3.2 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to study the effects of cognition on health, mortality, education and employment from high school and beyond. The three-year grant will support a Muller-led study that […]
Restore Rundberg
Sociologist Works to Reduce Crime in Austin Neighborhood Struggles in the Rundberg neighborhood of Austin are evident at deteriorating apartments and trash-strewn vacant lots. But pride and hope are plentiful too, as many residents spruce up their homes, pitch in at community parks and enjoy new recreation centers. Alarming police statistics reveal another layer of […]
Longer Days for Telecommuters
New study shows boundary blurring between work and home With fluctuating gas prices and the increasing call for work-life balance, telecommuting has become a benefit touted by some companies. Yet according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin, for most telecommuters it may be adding extra work hours to their day. […]
A Space to Call Home
Take a walk through the new College of Liberal Arts Building, and the building feels as fresh and modern as it feels warm and lived-in—an impressive feat for a place that just opened in January. “This is our shot at greatness,” says Randy Diehl, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “This building ensures that […]
Teenage Alcohol Abuse May Be Cause, Rather than Effect, of Isolation and Poor Grades
Rather than gaining “liquid courage” to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociology study from The University of Texas at Austin. The study — conducted by Robert Crosnoe, professor of sociology, and Aprile Benner, assistant professor of human development and family sciences — […]
And the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards Go To…
Eight faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts received the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor, which recognizes extraordinary educators from system institutions. The University of Texas at Austin instructors, who represent a diverse set of disciplines and expertise, each received monetary awards of $25,000. The […]
How Long Will You Live? Chances Are…
How long will you live? And how does that compare to your fellow longhorns based on your race and gender? Graduate researchers are striving to eliminate health barriers and extend life expectancy for one and all. Life expectancy in the United States is on the rise – but not for everyone. Although many older Americans […]
Research Briefs: Spring 2012
College of Liberal Arts: Not Even Past Brings History to the Public The Web has many sites devoted to history, but only one brings together such a diverse group of historians with expertise in every major field and time period. For the past year, Not Even Past has drawn on the expertise of faculty and […]
Research Briefs: Fall 2011
The Right to Raise To increase volunteerism and donations, organizations should phrase requests differently to motivate people who already care about the cause, according to research from psychologist Marlone Henderson. For example, if the person already cares about the cause, the request should emphasize how much money is still needed (“We still need $50,000 to […]
Retired Faculty: Spring 2011
More than 30 College of Liberal Arts professors from more than a dozen departments have retired over the past year, after spending decades serving their students and the university community. Retirees include Linguistics Professor Robert King, who was the founding dean of the College of Liberal Arts and served in that post from 1979–1989 and […]
In Memoriam: Spring 2011
Norval Glenn, professor emeritus of sociology, who taught for 47 years at the university, died Feb. 15. He was 77 years old. A prominent scholar of family sociology, Glenn wrote extensively on marriage and divorce, aging and the life course, and methods and survey data analysis. In 2008, he co-directed the first nationally representative sample […]
Research Briefs: Spring 2011
Being Poor Can Suppress Children’s Genetic Potentials Growing up poor can suppress a child’s genetic potential to excel cognitively even before the age of 2. A study of 750 sets of twins by Assistant Professor Elliot Tucker-Drob does not suggest that children from wealthier families are genetically superior or smarter. They simply have more opportuni- […]
Q&A: Premarital Sex in America
Sociologists explore changing sexual landscape among college students While young women’s educational and career opportunities have skyrocketed over the past two decades, their opportunities for stable, long-term relationships have declined, according to the new book “Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate and Think About Marrying,” by University of Texas at Austin sociologists […]
The Burden of the Bullied
High school’s over, but the effects may be long term High school is long past for Kelly, now 38, but she still recalls when her family relocated to a small West Texas town at the beginning of her freshman year. The bullying started from day one with a new rumor circulating about her every Monday […]