Sociology’s Importance Focus of ASA President’s Public Presentation at TAMIU
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Mar 21, 2012, 0 Comments
Courtesy Steve Harmon,
The importance of sociology and the opportunities available to those who study it will be the focus of a public presentation featuring American Sociological Association (ASA) President Erik Olin Wright Wednesday, March 21 at Texas A&M International University.
The presentation, free and open to the public, will be from 1-3 p.m. In the Anthony J. and Georgia A. Pellegrino Hall, room 101.
Dr.Wright will also discuss “Real Utopias,” the theme of the August 2012 ASA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colo. and the subject of his ongoing sociologicalresearch, which delves into how ideas of a utopia can be achieved through engagement in civic, community and education-based projects.
Wright and Jean Shin, director of ASA’s Minority Affairs Program, are visiting Laredo in an effort to connect with students and faculty from underrepresented groups, and to highlight the importance of sociology.
“The fact that there is a sociological component to everything is one of the things that makes sociology such a vital discipline,” said Wright, the VilasDistinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Sociology intersects all disciplines that study mankind, including history, psychology and economics and is integral to understanding and improving society. As part of our tour, we want to help students truly comprehend thebenefits of a sociological education.”
The pair’s tour includes stops at 11 schools, including nine minority-serving institutions around the South and Southwest.
In conjunction with each forum, Wright and Shin will hold a resource workshop for students to discuss post college opportunities available to those who studysociology.
From First Lady Michelle Obama and former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, of Maryland, the list of famous Americans who studied sociology is extensive.
Others who studied sociology include former U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman in Congress; Kal Penn, an actor and a former associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement; former NAACP head Roy Wilkins; former basketball star Alonzo Mourning; former U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, of New York; civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson; actor Dan Aykroyd; Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winning novelist Saul Bellow; and many others.
“We want students to understand that studying sociology opens up many doors,” Shin said. “We also want them to know that the American Sociological Association is available to assist them as they think about their futures.”
In addition to hosting forums and resource workshops, Wright and Shin will also meet with administrators at each school on the tour to emphasize the value and importance of having and maintaining robust sociology programs at their institutions.
For more information, please contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at 326.2180, e-mail pr***@ta***.edu " target="_blank"> pr***@ta***.edu or visit offices located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.
University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
