During the past decade, Macalester sociology students have won over twenty regional and national awards for the quality of research projects. In 2010, Macalester’s Sociology Department was recognized with the Departmental Award for Teaching Excellence by the Midwest Sociological Society.
Student Publications
Solo Authored
Kai P.Blake-Leibowitz. 2021. “Being Able to Breathe Publicly”: Trans and Gender Nonconforming People Healing through Embodied Activity. Advances in Trans Studies: Moving Toward Gender Expansion and Trans Hope (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 32), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 177-192.
Kyle Anne Piasecki. 2011. “Desire with Restraint: The Hybridization of Female Sexual Identities in Tunis”
Thomas Poulous. 2011. “Gay Men’s Motivations for Having Children: Gay Fathers and the Reconceptualization of Fatherhood & Homosexuality”
Jennifer Barnes. 2009. “Style and Consumption among East African Muslim Immigrant Women: The Intersection of Religion, Ethnicity, and Minority Status.” Sociological Insight 1: 85-105.
Alex Park. 2009. “A Tale of Two Townships: Political Opportunity and Violent and Non-Violent Local Control in South Africa.” Sociological Insight 1: 31-51.
Claire Posner. 2008. “Choosing Truth: The Influence of Function, Institutions and Global Culture on the Establishment of TRCs.” Missouri Valley Journal of Social Science
Co-Authored with Faculty
Erik Larson and Kate Ganong. 2011. “Intimacy and Belonging: The Association between Sexual Activity and Depression among Older Adults” Society and Mental Health
Erik Larson, Monique Murphy and Zachary Johnson. 2008. “Emerging Indigenous Governance: Ainu Rights at the Intersection of Global Norms and Domestic Institutions” Alternatives: Local, Global, Political.
Paper Awards
2022
Sociologists of Minnesota, Caroline Rose Student Paper Competition
Josh Groven ’23, First place: “‘Cool People’ vs. ‘Food Goodness’: Capitalist Grammar and Social Distinction at a St. Paul Restaurant and Salon”
Haoxuan Gao ’24, Second place: “Work Above and Beyond: How Peer Tutors Navigate Their Role and Manage Emotional Labor”
Midwest Sociological Society Paper Competition
Greer Lichtenberg, First place: “Looking Up and Playing Down: The Paradoxes of Performing Wealth at a Liberal Arts College”
Aidan Williams, Third place: “Plague! Public Health, Community Memory, and HIV/AIDS”
Midwest Sociological Society, Three Minute Thesis Competition
Inge Pham-Swann, First place: “Beyond Vegan: Producer and Restaurant Involvement in the Mainstreaming of Plant-Based Meat”
Xunwen (Aarron) Zou, Second place: “Ambassadors, Idols or Trash? Interpreting Foreignness and Race in the Chinese National-Building Project”
2021
Sociologists of Minnesota, Caroline Rose Student Paper Competition
Josh Groven (Junior), First Place: “Native Futures, Complex Pasts: South Africa’s Griqua at the Boundaries of Colonialism and Indigeneity”
Sophia Kaufmann (Junior), Second Place: “Dual Advocacy: The Garifuna’s Fight for Indigenous and Afro-Descendant’s Rights”
Inge Pham-Swann (Senior), Honorable Mention: “Constructing the ‘New Normal’: An Analysis of Student Interaction with Covid-19 Policies on North Star College’s Campus”
Midwest Sociological Society Paper Competition
Maria Arrealoa, Second place, “Collective Action in Times of Organizational Crisis: A Case Study of a Hybrid Nonprofit Organization”
2020
Annual Sociologists of Minnesota Caroline Rose Student Paper Competition.
Aaron Zou, First Place – “Multiculturalism: Just a Catchphrase? Perceptions of Immigration and Integration in a Multinational State”
Tori Gapuz, Second Place – “Migrant Filipina Nurses: Navigating a Racialized and Gendered Division of Labor”
Maria Arreola, Honorable Mention – “Assessing Nonprofit Advocacy in a Make-or-Break Election Cycle”
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
Margaret Breen, First Place – “The Dilemmas of Mobilizing while Lacking Resources: The Standing Rock Occupation as Tactical Innovation”
Susanna Morales, Second Place – “Beyond Assimilation and Care Work: Immigrant Women’s Foodwork as Agency”
2019
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
KP Blake-Leibowitz, First Place – “‘Being Able to Breathe Publicly:’ Trans and Gender Nonconforming People Healing through Embodied Activity.”
Olivia Chew, Second Place – “Tampoco soy una chica que está perdida por allí’: Class Disparities Embedded in the Tensions between Gender Discourses Navigated by Young Adults in Quito.”
Margaret Hinson, Third Place – “The Unrecognized Role of Parental Incarceration on In-School Suspension Rates.”
2018
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
Senior Nicholas Shriver, Second Place – “Combative Values: Hegemonic Masculinity and the Normalization of Women’s Violence in Mixed Martial Arts”
2016
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
Senior Rosa Druker, Third Place – “Supporting Strategies: Rethinking Parental Involvement for Latino Immigrants”
2015
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
Senior Sean D’Amico, Third Place – “On-Campus Barriers to Social Integration: Student Employment and Status Cultures in Higher Education.”
2014
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
Seniors, Laura Levinson, First Place – “Jezebels and White Girl Twerk Teams: Race, Sex, and the Twerking Body” and Mara Aussendorf, Third Place – “The Birdhouse and the Bee Hive: Parents’ Navigation of Successful Sexual Socialization”
Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Paper Competition
Senior, Mara Aussendorf, Third Place – “The Birdhouse and the Bee Hive: Parents’ Navigation of Successful Sexual Socialization.”
2013
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
IndiAna Gowland, Second Place – “No Boys/Girls Allowed: How Public Schools Respond to Uncertainty Regarding Single-Gender Education”
Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Paper Competition
IndiAna Gowland, Third Place – “No Boys/Girls Allowed: How Public Schools Respond to Uncertainty Regarding Single-Gender Education”
Sociology of Law Section of the ASA, Undergraduate Paper Award
Mary Pheng, “The Bureaucratic Savior: How Human Service Professionals Allocate Rights to Noncitizens”
2012
Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition
Senior sociology majors Jeremy Carp, Kate Lanning, and Chloe Souza have won the top three prizes at the 48th Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition. Carp received first prize, Lanning placed second, and Souza was awarded third prize by the Midwest Sociological Society. Read more
2011
Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Paper Competition
Emily Christie, first place. “‘Declaraciones de Deseo y Declaraciones de Realidad’: State-Indigenous Relations and Intercultural-Bilingual Education in Peru and Guatemala”
Evelyn Daugherty, second place. “Language in the Name of National Security: The Transformation of Arabic Language Instruction in U.S. Institutions of Higher Education”
Midwest Sociological Society, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Evelyn Daugherty, first place. “Language in the Name of National Security: The Transformation of Arabic Language Instruction in U.S. Institutions of Higher Education”
Jenny Evgenia Grinblo, first place. “Craft-a-Go-Go: Identification, Gender, and Occupational Autonomy in the Go-Go Dancing Occupation”
Morgen Chang, third place. “Making or Maintaining Connections Online? YouTube as Both Site and Tool of Social Interaction”
2010
Midwest Sociologists for Women in Society
Alexandra Zoellner, first place. “‘I’m a Community Clinic Kind of Gal’: Coping with Emotional Labor in Community-Based Organizing.”
2009
Sociology of Law Section of the ASA, Undergraduate Paper Award
Shantee Rosado, honorable mention. “El Que no Tiene Dinga, Tiene Mandinga : Black Collective Identity Formation among Afro-descendants in Latin America.”
Society for the Study of Social Problems, Global Division Undergraduate Student Paper Award
Shantee Rosado, “El Que no Tiene Dinga, Tiene Mandinga : Black Collective Identity Formation among Afro-descendants in Latin America.”
Sociological Insight Article Award
Alex Park, First Prize, “A Tale of Two Townships”
Jennifer Barnes, Second Prize, “Style and Consumption …”
Midwest Sociological Society, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Alex Park, First Prize, “A Tale of Two Townships”
Jennifer Barnes, Second Prize, “Style and Consumption …”
Chen-Yu (Andy) Wu, Third Place, “Remedial Strategy or Subliminal Racism? A Comparative Study on the Origins of Affirmative Action Policies in South Africa and Malaysia”
North Central Sociological Association, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Jenna Perkins, First Place. “Student Political Advocacy: Professor, Parents, and Volunteer Service as Key Social Force.”
2008
Society for the Study of Social Problems, Global Division Undergraduate Student Paper Award
Claire Posner. “Choosing Truth.”
Law and Society Association Undergraduate Paper Competition
Patricia Bass. “Regulating the ‘Social Mix:’ How and Why do France the United States Desegregate Housing?”
Claire Posner, honorable mention. “Choosing Truth.”
Sociology of Law Section of the ASA, Undergraduate Paper Award
Claire Posner, honorable mention. “Choosing Truth.”
Midwest Sociologists for Women in Society
Joanna Trigg, First Place. “Markets, Governments, and the Feminization of Poverty: A Comparison of the United States, Germany, and Sweden.”
2007
Law and Society Association, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Rebecca Sheff. “Strategic Choices in Diverse Contexts: The Maasai Indigenous Rights Movement.”
Sociology of Law Section of the ASA, Undergraduate Paper Award
Ashley DeMinck. “The Origins of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions: South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Peru.”
Midwest Sociological Society, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Ellen Bracken, Third Place. “Off the Beaten Path: Rural Students and the Pursuit of Higher Education.”
Midwest Sociologists for Women in Society
Elizabeth Newman, First Place. “From Political to Personal: Forming Feminist Identities.”
Sociologists of Minnesota, Caroline Rose Paper Contest
Audrey Peer, First Place. “Selecting Environments: The Mediating Influence of College Choice on Binge Drinking.”
Thomas Phelan, Second Place. “Jazz and the Academy.”
2006
Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Paper Competition
Demoya Gordon. “Policing Sexuality in America’s Churches: Theological, Congregational, and Political Influences on Regulation of Same-Sex Behavior.”
Midwest Sociological Society, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Cris Ramon, Second Place. “Institutional Activism: Variability and Consistency in the Development of Worker Owned Cooperatives.”
Ian Ritz, Fourth Place. “Playing for an Active Community: Youth Sports Participation and Civic Engagement.”
North Central Sociological Association, Undergraduate Paper Competition
Demoya Gordon, Third Place. “Policing Sexuality.”
Sociologists of Minnesota, Caroline Rose Paper Contest
Galen Baynes, First Place. “Power and Paradox: A Case Study of the Wayuu Indigenous People’s Movement.”
Presentations
2016
Midwest Sociological Association – Anna Lee, Caroline Wright, Emma Soglin, Hannah Lair, Jessica Miller, Junius Brown, Kassia Massey, Natalie Ramos, Rosa Druker, Yan Jin
2015
Midwest Sociological Association – Ellen Brady, Jonah Schennum, Lane Holden, Lexi Carrillo, Luisa Aya, Madeline Spolin, Sarah Vandelist, Sean D’Amico
2014
Midwest Sociological Association – Rebecca McCrory, Mbemba Camara, Jessica Munoz, Laura Levinson, Ethan Johnson, Meghan Merriam, Mara Aussendorf, Bailey Rehnberg, Anna Pickrell, Hannah Johnson
2013
Midwest Sociological Association – Rachel Gunsalus, Mary Pheng, IndiAna Gowland, George Chester, Anna Michelson, Gordon Starr, Claire Henkel, Joseph Macula, Carley Davenport, Riley Koval
2010
Alexandra Zoellner, Midwest Sociological Association
Daniel Henry, participant in ASA Honors Program
2009
Shantee Rosado, Society for the Study of Social Problems and Midwest Sociological Society
Jennifer Barnes, Midwest Sociological Society
Carolina Lopez, Midwest Sociological Society
Alex Park, Midwest Sociological Society
Chen-Yu (Andy) Wu, Midwest Sociological Society
2008
Claire Posner, Society for the Study of Social Problems
Joanna Trigg, Midwest Sociological Society
Andy Wu, participant in ASA Honors Program
2007
Ellen Bracken, Midwest Sociological Society (session on “Diverse Experiences of Various Student Populations”)
Elizabeth Newman, Midwest Sociological Society (session on “Midwest Feminism: A Reflection and Discussion”)
Audrey Peer, Midwest Sociological Society (session on Social Psychology of Health); Sociologists of Minnesota
Thomas Phelan, Sociologists of Minnesota
2006
Demoya Gordon, North Central Sociological Association
Cris Ramon, Midwest Sociological Society
Ian Ritz, Midwest Sociological Society
Gaylen Baynes, Sociologists of Minnesota
2005
Amelia Cotton Corl, Sociologists of Minnesota (preliminary analysis of data for senior thesis)
Cris Ramon, participant in ASA Honors Program