UAlbany Department of Sociology

Please join the department in congratulating Ph.D. candidate, Heeyoung Lee on receiving ASA's 2026 Howard B. Kaplan Memorial Award in Medical Sociology. This award recognizes outstanding graduate student scholars conducting exceptional research in medical sociology. Congratulations, Heeyoung!

We also would like to congratulate Jiangnan Liu on her election as Student Representative for the History of Sociology & Social Thought section for the American Sociological Association (ASA), for a two-year term, beginning Fall 2026! Way to go, Jiangnan!

Please join the department in congratulating Samuel Ocasio Jr on his election as Student Representative (2026-2027) for the Sociology of Education Section for the American Sociological Association (ASA). Great work, Sam!

Professor Tse-Chuan Yang, along with graduate candidate, Heeyoung Lee and graduate student, Golam Morshed Suhel recently published an article entitled, "Age segregation and deaths of despair among older adults, 2010-2022: Rural/Urban county comparisons." Please check it out at the link below!

authors.elsevier.com

Professor Joanne Kaufman published a new article in Sociological Forum, "The Impact of Early Life Victimization and Prejudice on Adult Socioeconomic Well-Being Among Sexual Minority Populations." Please find the link below:

The Impact of Early Life Victimization and Prejudice on Adult Socioeconomic Well‐Being Among Sexual Minority Populations Sexual minority populations experience higher rates of violent victimization and prejudice than heterosexual individuals. While both have long-ranging negative effects, when they happen earlier in li...

Join us for the next talk in the Race, Migration and Place Workshop with Prof. Paolo Boccagni on his upcoming book, Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance!
Speaker: Prof. Paolo Boccagni (Professor of Sociology, University of Trento)

Date: Monday, March 23, 2026
Time: 12:00–1:30 PM
Location: HU-354

Zoom Registration: https://albany.zoom.us/meeting/register/NdgbdZ-hQuCjYfts4LDE4Q

Professor Boccagni's work focuses on migration, home, displacement, and everyday life. His ethnographic research explores migrant transnational ties and the lived experiences of asylum seekers, particularly in Italy. This talk will engage directly with questions of waiting, belonging, and the politics of relevance, topics that resonate strongly with many of our shared research interests.

The book is available through UC Press (Open Access):
https://www.ucpress.edu/books/undoing-nothing/epub-pdf

Department of Sociology, University at Albany

Join us for the next talk in the Race, Migration and Place Workshop at the University at Albany, SUNY!

“Advantage from Disadvantage: The Emancipatory Potential of Du Bois’s Racial Theory”

Speaker: Aaron Major, Associate Professor of Sociology, UAlbany
Drawing from his forthcoming book Theories of Emancipation: Sociology and Socialism at the Turn of the 20th Century (Stanford UP, 2026)

Date: February 20
Time: 12:00–1:00 PM
Location: HU-354

Please see the attached flyer regarding a research study by graduate student, Chamanka Gamage, entitled, "Chasing the International Student's Dream Beyond Graduation: International Students and the U.S. Employment Struggle."

On December 5, we inducted eight new members to our chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), the International Sociology Honor Society, which was revived this Fall semester! We are excited to see what these students will do in the coming years! Lisbeth Valdez, a former graduate (Sociology and Journalism, 2019 and Second-Year Associate Attorney with O'Hagan Meyer); delivered a brilliant speech at the event! Congratulations to our inductees!

Ph.D. Candidate, Tsveta Dobreva, received the Daniel and Wendy J.L. Keyser Teaching Excellence Award, and was recognized at the CAS Full Faculty Meeting on Wednesday, December 3. Please congratulate Tsveta! We are very proud!