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 u undergraduate 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.