Illinois State University Department of Sociology and Anthropology

09/03/2026

Meet our Fall 2026 Student Ambassadors! From left: Anthony Johnson, Sarah Schroeder, Dylan Thunder, Ambria Garner, and Vallesia Robinson.

Whether you need advice about classes, career paths, ISU in general, or just want to talk: they are here to help you succeed!

Click the link below for more info! 🔗

soa.illinoisstate.edu/student-life/ambassadors/

09/02/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Intan Suwandi who was recently acknowledged at the College of Arts and Sciences Awards ceremony for receiving the Outstanding Teaching Award, pre-tenure! Dr. Aaron Pitluck (who couldn’t be there), was also acknowledged for the Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw Teaching Fellowship. 👏👏

08/27/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Jason Whitesel, WGSS/SOA, who published a book chapter titled “Storying and Restorying the Fat Body: Disrupting the Medicalized Master Narrative with Fat-Activist Counternarratives” in “Narrative Knows No Boundaries”, in July 2026! 🎉

08/20/2026

The Sociology & Anthropology Department spiritwear webstore is NOW OPEN!
Shop the link below through October 2nd!

Welcome to our store! Shop custom apparel and spiritwear designed for ISU Department of Sociology & Anthropology students, families, and staff. Please place your order on or before: Friday, October 2nd Orders will be processed after the store closes and will be ready for distribution approx. 3 w...

08/20/2026

With funding from a research grant from the Wenner Gren Foundation, Dr. Shelby Putt traveled to preschools and in-home daycares across the Midwest to investigate the origins of human culture over the summer!

Dr. Shelby S. J. Putt, associate professor of anthropology, travels to preschools and in-home daycares across the Midwest to investigate the origins of human culture.

08/14/2026

Congratulations to Lauri Klump on successfully defending her sociology master’s thesis entitled “The Performance of Censorship: Deteriorating Teacher Autonomy in Missouri Public Schools”! 🥳

08/10/2026

Our new Department Chair, Dr. Max Viatori was in Lima, Peru, this last week for a meeting of the “Blue Anthropocene” project lead by PI Dr. Rebecca Irons (UCL), Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow. The meeting included a special tour of the maritime-themed items in the Museo Larco’s collections and a presentation by an ancestral fishing association that builds traditional caballito de totora reed boats.

08/03/2026

We are thrilled to share that Lauri Klump will be defending her sociology master’s thesis entitled “The Performance of Censorship: Deteriorating Teacher Autonomy in Missouri Public Schools” on August 13th at 11:00 am in 103 Schroeder Hall *and* via Zoom - Meeting ID: 857 8283 6928 Meeting link: https://illinoisstate.zoom.us/j/85782836928

All are welcome to attend in person or remotely via Zoom!

07/30/2026

Applause for Dr. Frank Beck and graduate student Natasha Tchaikovsky whose research found that the impact of FUSE, a McLean County program for people struggling with substance use and mental health, has resulted in fewer brushes with the criminal justice system—Their research was recently featured on WGLT!

The county-led program, in place since 2019, has contributed to fewer jail bookings for participants, including a steep decline in DUI and traffic charges.

07/29/2026

In collaboration with the ISU Latin American and Latino/a Studies program and the Department of Politics and Government, we had the opportunity to provide students with an experiential learning trip to Puerto Rico this summer where they were able to immerse themselves in the topics they’ve been learning
about such as environmental sustainability, community development, migration, and social justice! Read more about it here:

Students gain immersive learning experience through various forms of community engagement in Puerto Rico in summer 2026.