Sociology Students Association

• Hang out after the department holiday party on Friday for some good clean SSA fun. Wine provided. #
• Join us for games and fun after the holiday party in the soc lounge. #

We only have twenty more tote bags to give away, so don’t miss your chance to pre-register before Friday! Not convinced yet that you want to come? Take a look at our program and our illustrious line-up of participants. Did we mention Frances Fox Piven, author of Regulating the Poor, will be there? And that we’ll be serving Manhattan’s best Korean comfort food for lunch?

We have more than two dozen presentations lined up from graduate students based in universities in three different countries. Also, an all-star team of faculty discussants and speakers, including Randy Martin, author of Empire of Indifference. And a keynote speech by Patricia Ticineto Clough. And all that for an unbeatable price: free! So, get ready to reimagine with us on November 20! Pre-register for our conference and get a gorgeous free tote bag! Does academia get any better than this!?

On Friday, 11 September 2009, the SSA is running the first colloquium of the new academic year. Our speaker will be Ananya Mukherjea, assistant professor of sociology and women’s/gender studies at The College of Staten Island. The title of her talk is “The Social Politics of Influenza: The Question of International, Inter-species, and Interpersonal Boundaries.” After her presentation, Ananya will take questions not only about the politics of the swine flu, but also about the transition from doctoral studies to a full-time faculty position.

After the colloquium, join your fellow students for a Mixer at Piano’s on the Lower East Side.

Further details about the Mixer and Ananya’s talk are in our flyer.

The sociology program is running a day-long professional-development workshop on activism and academia on Saturday, June 13, 2009. The event is being kicked off at 10am with remarks by Saadia Toor, assistant professor at The College of Staten Island. Several activist groups have been invited to discuss with students in the program, including Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), KABALIKAT Domestic Workers Support Network, and 123 Community Space. Food and drinks will be provided!

This day-long event will focus on methods of applied/empirical social research and their relationship to activism and social justice. How can we as sociologists be at once actively engaged in our communities and still maintain professional standards in our work? The workshop will address methodological, practical, organizational, theoretical and ethical questions. The first part of the workshop will focus on organizations within NYC, the current work they are engaged in and how they think academics could better serve activist communities. In the second part, there will be an emphasis on current scholarly work by academics who are engaged in community based or activist oriented projects.  This will be followed by a break out session.  These small informal groups, with the speakers you have heard throughout the day, will be for sharing your experiences and brainstorming for new ways to bridge the academic/activist divide.  The goal is to end with a better understanding of how to unite the academic and activist parts of ourselves and our research.