Sociology Department Searches for Professor

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Author: Richie DeMaria

War, sexual identity, public trust and faith were all covered in a series of lectures by visiting sociologists vying for a spot in Occidental’s sociology department. Dr. Alec Campbell of Colby College, Dr. Elbert P. Almazan of UCLA, Dr. John Long of Temple University and Dr. Conrad Hackett of Princeton spoke to the campus community about their research.

The new professor will be decided by the sociology department, the members of the student search committee and Dean Eric Frank.

“We’re looking for someone who can teach quantitative methods extremely well, even to math-phobes, and will be able to teach other classes that are a good complement to the ones we already teach-which is why we are interviewing people who do food, mental illness, war and religion,” sociology professor Lisa Wade said.

Campbell, the first speaker, discussed the class makeup of the US military in his January 24 lecture “Rich Men’s Wars, Poor Men’s Fights: Elites, Classes and War in the Twentieth Century United States.”

Almazan, the second speaker, presented his research on the psychological effects of coming out on lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in the lecture “To Disclose or Not Disclose: Revealing Sexual Identity to Parents” on January 28 and 29.

Almazan found that prior experience in a same-sex relationship increased the likelihood of coming out, that gay men were more likely than lesbians or bisexuals to come out to their parents, and that coming out was associated with a higher level of distress among bisexuals. He focused on LGB individuals aged 18 to 25.

“Coming out can still be a lifelong and sometimes difficult process for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals,” Almazan said. He stressed the need for parents to be supportive of lesbian, gay and bisexual children. “Parents continue to be influential and need to be positive and supportive,” he said.

Long, the third speaker, followed with a presentation entitled “Acceptable Trust? Public Perception of Organizations Involved in Genetically Modified Food,” during which he focused on the American public’s desire to know who the producers behind genetically modified food are, rather than what is actually in the food itself.

“In the end, people want to know who makes it-is there a grand conspiracy theory?, they wonder-but don’t care about the science behind it,” Long said. The issue, he said, is one of trust. “Food involves the concept of trust,” he said. “We take food for granted.”

Hackett spoke last, on February 4. He presented his research on the relationship between faith and fertility, “How Does Religion Influence Fertility?” Hackett compared and contrasted varying attitudes on birthing between differing religious doctrines.

“Fertility matters in general because fertility is at an all-time historical low,” Hackett said.

Citing a survey which found Catholic women aged 20-29 years were most likely to consider three or more kids to be ideal, Hackett noted the emphasis placed on fertility in certain faiths. His research explored what factors made some faiths more emphatic about fertility than others. He found that congregational participation, education, number of siblings and marital status were good predictors for ideal and completed fertility of three or more kids.

“You need to be in the pews to get the cues,” he said about congregational participation.

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