About the Department
Sociology at USF: Thriving in the Tampa Bay community
WE’RE STILL ON THE MOVE!
Greetings to Colleagues, Students, Prospective Students, and Community Members
It is still a very exciting time in the Department of Sociology as we continue
our work toward the final approval and implementation of a Ph.D. program. The
innovative program will offer an integrated series of graduate courses that emphasize
research and teaching in the area of Sustainable Communities in Global and Urban
Environments. In 2007, the administration supported the new program by creating
two new lines and we were ultimately allowed to hire our two top candidates, Elizabeth
Aranda and Elizabeth Vaquera. Both Drs. Aranda and Vaquera are engaged in exciting
research projects funded by the National Science Foundation. You can learn more
about their research by clicking on the “Faculty Projects” link. The administration
has also supported our current recruitment effort for a senior-level faculty member
who will be associated with the Sustainable Community Initiative and take a major
role in the Ph.D. program, when implemented. Unfortunately, the program has been
temporarily stalled as the Board of Governors is reluctant to approve any new Doctorate
programs in the State of Florida until the budgetary picture becomes clearer. We
have no doubt, however, that the Ph.D. in Sociology will become a reality in the
near future.
Despite the gloomy budget picture, we feel extremely fortunate to have two distinguished
scholars joining our faculty, beginning August 2008—Dr. John Skvoretz and Dr. Sara
Crawley. John received a B.A. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Sociology in 1969 from
Lehigh University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was a National Science
Foundation Graduate Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned a Ph.D.
in Sociology in 1976. He joined the faculty of the Department of Sociology at the
University of South Carolina in 1975 and served as the department chair for ten
years between 1984 and 1994 and then for the academic year 2000-2001. He served
as Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 2003-2005. John came to USF
in 2005 and served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He has contributed
to several areas of sociology: stratification and mobility, social network theory,
group processes, power in exchange networks and the structure of social action systems.
His work is characterized by the innovative use of mathematics to formulate theory
and analyze data.
Sara’s areas of interest include gender and sexualities theories, queer and feminist
theory, qualitative methods, social psychology and sociology of sport. Her work
focuses on construction of self and social impacts on the physical body. She has
published articles in Gender & Society, The Sociological Quarterly, Journal
of Contemporary Ethnography, Journal of Lesbian Studies, Hypatia, Cultural Studies/Critical
Methodologies, and International Review for the Sociology of Sport.
Her book, Gendering Bodies, co-authored with Lara Foley and Constance Shehan,
extends existing theories of gender performativity via symbolic interactionism to
demonstrate the social impacts of gender on physical bodies in everyday settings
as work, sports and sexuality. Her current book project, tentatively titled The
Butch/Femme Game, is based on interviews and field work with lesbians in
the South and theorizes the relationship between heternonormativity in everyday
talk and the formation of lesbian selves. Sara was the recipient of the USF Outstanding
Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2006. We are very excited about the research and
teaching expertise John and Sara will bring to our department.
We believe that sociology’s knowledge of the common social processes that shape
both individuals and their communities is of crucial importance not only for the
social sciences, but also for the natural sciences, engineering, education, and
medicine. You will see that our faculty members actively circulate a valuable understanding
of these processes throughout academic units all over campus, throughout the Tampa
Bay community, and to large global communities. It is sociology that is relevant
and beneficial for our society and our world. In addition, the department maintains
an interdisciplinary focus by linking our research and curriculum to applied anthropology,
women’s studies, education, gerontology, communications, religious studies, and
geography.
Our graduate program continues to attract highly qualified students from all over
the country. Our cohort of graduate teaching assistants includes students who received
their B.A. degrees from Temple University, Connecticut College, East Carolina University,
Black Hills State College, University of Central Florida, Eckerd College, as well
as the University of South Florida. Over the last several years our graduating cohorts
have done extremely well, receiving placements in some of the top Ph.D. programs
in the country or securing professional positions. You can read more about our current
and graduated students by clicking on the link above.
Our uundergraduate program continues to flourish. We currently have a very diverse
group of over 400 majors. During 2007-8 we awarded 107 Bachelor degrees. Our undergraduate
students are increasingly being admitted to high quality graduate programs across
the country or gaining employment in the professions. This all speaks positively
to the quality of our undergraduate and graduate students and to the commitment
of our faculty to all levels of education.
We are excited about our continued growth and success and hope that you will contact
us should you have any questions about Sociology at USF.